Ukraine strikes Khanskaya airfield in Russia’s Republic of Adygeya hosting 57 aircraft. The Office of the President of Ukraine disproves Zelenskyi’s readiness to accept a ceasefire in exchange for security guarantees, points to the Peace Formula. Zelenskyi holds talks with UK Prime Minister Starmer and NATO Secretary General Rutte in London.
Ukraine strikes Khanskaya airfield in Russia hosting 57 aircraft
The Ukrainian military struck Khanskaya airfield in Russia’s Republic of Adygeya overnight, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Thursday.
Ukrainian forces struck “an ammunition depot at the military installation. [Russian] air defenses were at work close to the target site, and a fire broke out,” the General Staff said.
The airfield hosted Su-34 and Su-27 warplanes. The military was assessing the damage caused after a fire broke out at the facility.
The operation was jointly conducted by Ukraine’s Security Service, Main Intelligence Department of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, and Special Operations Forces, the General Staff said.
Some 57 Russian combat and training aircraft and helicopters, including Su-34s, Su-35s and Mi-8s, were stationed at Khanskaya airfield during the drone attack, a source in Ukraine’s Security Service told Ukrainska Pravda. He did not say if the attack impacted any aircraft.
“Massive fires rage at the airfield, and ammunition detonates. Satellite monitoring confirms it. Local authorities have ordered evacuation,” the source said.
Russia is using this airfield in the Krasnodar region (that sits 450 km from the frontline) for refueling and missile and bomb attacks on the units of the Defense Forces and Ukrainian cities and villages, the source added.
They also said that Ukrainian drones struck late on Wednesday a base in Russia’s Krasnodar region where Shahed drones are stored. Following powerful explosions the site caught fire and detonations started.
Office of the President disproves Zelenskyi’s readiness to accept ceasefire in exchange for security guarantees, points to Peace Formula
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera said on Wednesday that Zelenskyi is ready to accept a ceasefire along the actual contact line in exchange for security guarantees from the allies. In a series of comments to Ukrainian and Western media on Thursday, advisor to the President of Ukraine on communications Dmytro Lytvyn disproved the statement.
“This is not true. We have a Peace Formula that clearly details how Ukraine sees a just peace. Talks with partners continue on the same basis, aiming to strengthen Ukraine’s positions,” Lytvyn told Interfax Ukraine.
A victory plan that is to be presented to the UK, France, Italy and Germany in the coming days is aimed to push the implementation of the peace formula, he added.
Corriere della Sera said Zelensky was ready for a ceasefire without recognizing the occupied territories as Russian.
He will never be able to officially give up the occupied territories, it said.
“Yet he would be ready for a ceasefire along the actual contact line without recognizing a new official border, in exchange for some commitments to be made by the West. First of all, these are security guarantees by the U.S., similar to the ones that the Americans provided to Japan, South Korea and the Philippines,” the article reads.
Zelenskyi also wants guarantees of Ukraine’s fast-track EU membership from Italy, France, and Germany, Corriere della Sera said.
Zelenskyi holds talks with UK Prime Minister Starmer, NATO Secretary General Rutte in London
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi met NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in London on Thursday, in a trilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Permissions for Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons to strike deep inside Russia were on the meeting agenda.
“I had very good talks, the trilat together with President Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Starmer, and then after that, my bilat with the Prime Minister,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said. “We are not only into this because of the fact that we want to support Ukraine, yes, of course, that is the main reason, but also because supporting Ukraine in this fight against Russia is crucial for our collective safety here in this part of Europe, in Canada, in the United States, all over NATO territory,” he continued.
It’s up to individual allies to greenlight Ukraine’s use of Western-provided long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia, Rutte said, answering a journalist’s question. There are legal grounds for it, he added.
“First of all, that is up to individual Allies to decide how weapons they deliver into Ukraine can be used. Legally, that is possible because legally Ukraine is allowed to use its weapons if they can hit targets in Russia, if these targets present a threat to Ukraine. But whether, individual Allies do that, this in the end, also always up to individual Allies,” Rutte said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has held talks with Volodymyr Zelensky inside 10 Downing Street in London on Thursday.
Zelenskyi met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday.
Ahead of the visits, Zelensky said on Wednesday that he will meet with the leaders of the UK, France, Italy and Germany to ask the key allies for military assistance.
During the trilateral meeting in London, Zelenskyi shared details of Russia’s airstrikes on civilians and facilities, including the energy grid, and recent attacks on the Black Sea Grain Initiative infrastructure, the Office of the President said.
The leaders also discussed a swift implementation of the decisions made at the NATO Washington Summit, in particular, on strengthening Ukraine with new air defense systems, aircraft capabilities, and allied investment in Ukraine’s production of shells, drones, and long-range weapons.