Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he could meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin, but only after his allies agree security guarantees for Ukraine to deter future Russian attacks once the fighting stops.
He also warned that both sides are preparing for further fighting. Russia is building up troops on the southern front line and Ukraine is test-launching a new long-range cruise missile, Mr Zelensky said.
Russia said that Ukraine did not appear to be interested in "long-term" peace, accusing Kyiv of seeking security guarantees that are incompatible with Moscow's demands.
The US President is trying to end Russia's three-and-a-half year invasion of Ukraine through talks with Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin.
While Donald Trump has upended a years-long Western policy of isolating the Russian leader, he has made little tangible progress towards a peace deal.
"We want to have an understanding of the security guarantees architecture within seven to ten days.
"We need to understand which country will be ready to do what at each specific moment," President Zelensky said.
A group of allies - led by the UK and France - are putting together a military coalition to support the guarantees.
Last night, the Russian army set one of its insane anti-records. They targeted civilian infrastructure facilities, residential buildings, and our people.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 21, 2025
Several cruise missiles were lobbed against an American-owned enterprise in Zakarpattia. It was a regular civilian business,… pic.twitter.com/CQLSQls4Oq
Once an outline of the security guarantees is agreed, President Trump would like to see a bilateral meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky.
However, any talks with the Russian leader should he held in a "neutral" European country, the Ukrainian leader said, ruling out a summit in Moscow.
He also rejected the idea of China playing a role in guaranteeing Ukraine's security, citing Beijing's alleged support for Russia.
The comments came as Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles against Ukraine overnight - the biggest barrage since mid-July - killing one person in the western city of Lviv and wounding many others.
Russian missiles also targeted an American-owned factory complex in the west of the country, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
The attack wounded 19 people, she added on social media.
President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine Andy Hunder said that the factory was "one of the largest American investments in Ukraine.
"Russia continues to destroy and humiliate US businesses in Ukraine, targeting companies that invest and trade on the US stock markets," Mr Hunder said on Facebook.
France condemned the overnight strikes as showing Moscow's "lack of will to seriously engage in peace talks", describing them as the "most massive attack in a month".
A later shelling of the city of Kherson killed one person and wounded more than a dozen, a local official said.
On the front lines, Russia said it had captured the village of Oleksandro-Shultyne in the east of the Donetsk region, the latest in a long string of territorial gains.
The village lies less than 8km from Kostiantynivka, a fortified town that Russia has been pressing towards on both sides.
In comments to journalists, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of making unrealistic security demands.
Any deployment of European troops to the country would be "absolutely unacceptable", he said.
The rhetoric of Ukrainian officials is "directly showing that they are not interested in a sustainable, fair, long-term settlement," Mr Lavrov added.
President Zelensky also announced that Ukraine had tested a long-range cruise missile, known as Flamingo, that can strike targets as far as 3,000km away.
"The missile has undergone successful tests. It is currently our most successful missile," he told reporters, adding that mass production could begin by February.
Since President Trump returned to the White House in January and began pushing for an end to the fighting, Russian forces have continued to slowly but steadily gain ground across the front line.
Mr Zelensky said that Moscow is building up troops in the Zaporizhzhia region, which Russia claims as its own, along with four other Ukrainian regions.
Mr Trump met Mr Putin in Alaska last Friday, before bringing the Ukrainian and European leaders to Washington for separate talks on Monday.
President Zelensky has said the only way to end the war is a meeting with Mr Putin and that President Trump should also be present.
But Moscow has played down the prospect of a summit between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders any time soon, saying that it wants to be included in discussions on future security guarantees for Ukraine.
US Vice President JD Vance said that European countries will have to take the "lion's share" of the burden of security assurances.
"I don't think we should carry the burden here. I think that we should be helpful if it's necessary to stop the war and to stop the killing.
"But I think that we should expect, and the president certainly expects, Europe to play the leading role here," Mr Vance told Fox News.
"No matter what form this takes, the Europeans are going to have to take the lion's share of the burden."
Accreditation AFP/Reuters
