This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Russian forces launched a massive aerial attack overnight on Ukraine on August 21, the largest this month so far, according to the Ukrainian authorities.
The strikes came days after US President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders to try to push forward peace negotiations.
Following the overnight strikes, Zelenskyy said he expected a “strong reaction” from Washington if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to meet him directly, and that he wanted to see a plan for Western security guarantees finalized within seven to 10 days.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched 574 drones and 40 missiles at multiple regions, causing civilian casualties and significant damage to residential areas and infrastructure.
A US-owned manufacturing plant was hit at Mukacheve, in the Zakarpattya region near Ukraine’s western border.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said the Mukacheve attack caused serious damage and casualties and that the strikes were “contrary to all efforts to end the war.”
“A fully civilian facility that has nothing to do with defense or the military,” he added, noting that this is not the first time Russian forces have targeted American businesses in Ukraine.
He cited previous strikes on Boeing offices in Kyiv earlier this year.
The governor of the Zakarpattya region, Myroslav Biletskiy, said the plant is a civilian enterprise producing mostly household goods. He added that it was hit by two Kalibr missiles that caused a fire at the plant spreading over an area of 7,000 square meters.
Russia denies deliberately targeting nonmilitary sites, but its strikes routinely destroy homes, hospitals, schools, and energy facilities.
The Washington talks on August 18 finished with a call for Putin to meet Zelenskyy for face-to-face talks.
It was also agreed that a plan would be worked out for post-war security guarantees for Ukraine, led by European countries but with US support.
US and European military planners have since began meetings to explore what the overall security package could be, ahead of a final decision on it by political leaders.
On August 21, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said any presence of European troops in Ukraine would be “absolutely unacceptable,” calling them “foreign intervention in some part of Ukrainian territory.”
A day earlier he said the issue of security in Ukraine cannot be discussed without Russia.
Could Putin And Zelenskyy Meet?
Lavrov told reporters on August 21 that Putin has repeatedly said he is ready to meet Zelenskyy, but there are some issues that need to be resolved before such a meeting could happen.
“Of course, I hope when and if it comes to signing future agreements, the issue of the legitimacy of the person signing these agreements on the Ukrainian side will be resolved,” Lavrov emphasized.
Putin has questioned the legitimacy of Zelenskyy over the postponement of elections in Ukraine due to the war.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said on August 21 that he aimed for a trilateral meeting including Trump.
“We want to have an understanding of the security guarantees architecture within seven to 10 days. And based on that understanding, we aim to hold a trilateral meeting,” he said.
“If the Russians are not ready, then we would like to see a strong reaction from the United States,” Zelenskyy stressed.
