Petr Pavel categorically rejected the possibility of negotiating peace without Ukraine, as was negotiated with Hitler in Munich, without Czechoslovakia.
"Ukraine needs security guarantees, and the draft agreement offered to them does not provide that," the Ukrainian president said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a just peace in Ukraine that respects the country's territorial integrity, ahead of a vote at the UN on a US-drafted resolution that makes no mention of territorial integrity at all.
"Tomorrow marks three years since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, in clear violation of the UN Charter and international law," Guterres said.
"On this tragic occasion, I reaffirm the urgent need for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, a peace that fully respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders, in accordance with the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions," Guterres added.
According to him, 80 years after the end of World War II, the war in Ukraine poses a serious threat not only to peace and security in Europe, but also to the basic and fundamental principles of the UN.
Guterres welcomed all efforts to achieve a just and inclusive peace.
The announcement comes at a time when the US, under the leadership of Donald Trump, is increasing pressure on Kiev and wants the UN General Assembly and Security Council to decide tomorrow on a short text calling for a quick end to the conflict in Ukraine, but without mentioning the country's territorial integrity.
Ukraine and the Europeans must, for their part, submit to the Assembly a text that once again demands the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine and an end to Russian attacks on that country.
It is a similar call to previous UN General Assembly resolutions that have been adopted by the vast majority of member states since 2022, with the support of US Democrat Joseph Biden.
(Beta)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Russia had launched more than 200 drones in an overnight attack, the largest of the war, as he condemned Russian "air terror" and called for unity among Ukraine's allies.
"Our people are fighting air terror every day. On the eve of the third anniversary of the full-scale war, Russia launched 267 drones against Ukraine - the largest attack since Iranian drones began striking Ukrainian cities and villages," Zelensky wrote on the X social network.
Reuters reported that the Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement that 138 drones were shot down and another 119 disappeared from radar after being jammed by electronic warfare, adding that Russia also launched three ballistic missiles. Damage was reported in five regions of Ukraine.
Moscow has been carrying out massive nighttime drone attacks on Ukraine for months, trying to exhaust air defenses.
Zelensky said that Russia launched nearly 1.150 drones, more than 1.400 guided aerial bombs and 35 missiles of various types into Ukraine last week.
The Ukrainian president thanked those who manage Ukraine's air defense and called on the country's foreign allies to be united in securing a "just and lasting peace."
"This is achievable through the unity of all partners — we need the strength of all of Europe, the strength of America, the strength of everyone who seeks lasting peace," Zelensky said.
Kiev and its European allies were upset by new US President Donald Trump's verbal attacks on Zelensky last week, as well as by a meeting of US and Russian delegations in Riyadh to which Ukraine was not invited, according to Reuters.
The United Kingdom will announce a significant package of sanctions against Russia on February 24, the anniversary of the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.
As Lamy stated the day before the anniversary (February 23), it will be the largest package of sanctions against Russia since the first days of the war.
The measures will be aimed at "weakening their military machinery and reducing the revenues that fuel the destruction in Ukraine," Lamy said.
"Now is the time to increase the pressure on Putin's Russia," the British minister added.
Lamy reiterated Britain's military support for Kiev, including a pledge to provide three billion pounds (3,62 billion euros) annually and a readiness to send British troops as part of a peacekeeping force if necessary.
"Off the battlefield, we will work with the United States and European partners to achieve a sustainable and just peace, while remaining consistent in our position that there can be no decision on Ukraine without Ukraine itself," Lamy stressed.
(Radio Slobodna Evropa, Ne.V.)
Russia launched several waves of missile and drone strikes on the capital Kiev and other parts of Ukraine overnight, killing one civilian in Kryvyi Rih and damaging buildings and cars in Kiev and elsewhere, officials said on Monday.
A man died in hospital and a 30-year-old woman was seriously injured in rocket attacks on the city of Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Sergei Lisak said on the Telegram messaging app.
A building providing infrastructure services was also damaged, Lisak said, without providing other details.
Three people were injured in a drone attack in the Odessa region when a private house caught fire, Oleh Kiper, the governor of the region on Ukraine's Black Sea coast, said on Telegram.
A 53-year-old woman was also injured and several residential buildings were damaged in the attack on the southeastern Zaporozhye region, Ivan Fedorov, the region's governor, said on Telegram.
Multiple drone attacks on the capital Kiev damaged several residential buildings and cars, but there were no immediate reports of injuries, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war, which will mark its third anniversary on Monday and which Russia began with an invasion of its smaller neighbor in February 2022.
Thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainians.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Kiev and the central and eastern parts of the country were under an airstrike alert for about six hours overnight.
The Ukrainian Air Force said today that Russia launched 267 drones in an overnight attack, Reuters reported.
It said 138 drones were shot down and 119 disappeared from radar after being disrupted by electronic warfare, adding that Russia also launched three ballistic missiles.
Damage was reported in five regions of Ukraine.
Moscow has been carrying out massive nighttime drone attacks on Ukraine for months, trying to exhaust air defenses.
Reuters reports that the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that its air defense units intercepted and destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones overnight in six regions of the country.
The next meeting between Russia and the United States (US) in Saudi Arabia on efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine will be at the level of department heads, not at the level of deputy foreign ministers, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, as reported by the Izvestia newspaper today.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on Saturday about the war in Ukraine and efforts to combat the illegal fentanyl trade, Trudeau's office said in a statement, Reuters reported.
The call came as leaders of the Group of Seven major industrialized nations plan to hold talks with NATO's secretary general, European Union chiefs and the leaders of Romania and Poland on Monday to discuss the war in Ukraine.
The White House said both Trump and Trudeau expressed a desire to see an end to the three-year war.
"The leaders said they both looked forward to the call on Monday," the White House said in a statement.
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