Violent Russian bombing targets Kiev… Zelensky is ready to exchange lands with Moscow

The Russian army bombed Kiev with missiles on Wednesday, killing at least one person, the city’s mayor said shortly after sirens were activated.

“According to a preliminary report, one person was killed in the Podilsky district… In the Darnytsky district, a fire broke out on the territory of a private enterprise,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a post on Telegram.

He added that the missile attack also left three people injured, two of whom were taken to the hospital, while the third received medical care on the spot.

According to government emergency services, the shelling caused material damage and fires in at least four areas of the capital.

This initial toll was issued shortly after the Ukrainian authorities warned residents that their areas were being subjected to Russian ballistic missile bombardment.

Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said that air defense systems around Kyiv were repelling ballistic missile attacks.

Russia and Ukraine are racing against time to achieve gains on the ground that they can use at the peace negotiating table that US President Donald Trump has pledged to achieve between them.

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview published Tuesday that Ukraine is ready to offer a land swap with Russia as part of possible peace negotiations to end the war that has been going on between them for nearly three years.

Zelensky is scheduled to meet US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday at the Munich Security Conference, as the United States pushes for an end to the war.

Vance is a critic of the US support that enables Ukraine to continue to hold out.

“There are voices saying that Europe can provide guarantees without the Americans, and I always say no,” Zelensky said in an interview with The Guardian newspaper, which was published on its website on Tuesday.

“Security guarantees without the United States aren’t real security guarantees,” he continued.

Trump is seeking to reach an agreement between the two parties, but the terms of any potential agreement raise concerns for Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Trump expressed his hope that Russia’s release of detained American Mark Fogel would be a prelude to starting new relations with Moscow in order to end the war in Ukraine.

“Russia has treated us very well,” Trump said in the Oval Office, adding, “I hope this is the beginning of a relationship that will enable us to end that war”.

In his interview with the Guardian, Zelensky said, “We’ll exchange territory for territory,” adding that he could offer to hand over to Moscow territory that Ukraine has controlled in the Kursk region for six months, but indicated that he didn’t know what territory he might ask for in return.

“I don’t know, we’ll see, but all our lands are important, there is no priority,” Zelensky said.

Russia announced the annexation of five Ukrainian regions: Crimea in 2014, followed by Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhia in 2022, although it doesn’t fully control them.

On Monday, Trump said that Keith Kellogg, his special envoy charged with trying to stop the war between Russia and Ukraine, will visit Kyiv on February 20.

While Trump seeks a quick end to the conflict, Zelensky demands that Washington include security guarantees in any deal.

Kiev fears any settlement that doesn’t include firm military commitments, such as NATO membership or the deployment of peacekeeping forces, calculating that otherwise the Kremlin will be able to prepare for its next offensive.

Last week, the Ukrainian president confirmed that his country is ready to receive investments from US companies in its rare minerals, stressing that part of our mineral resources is located in the “occupied region”.

In the interview with the Guardian, the Ukrainian president said, “Those who help us save Ukraine will rebuild it with their companies, with Ukrainian companies… We’re ready to talk about all these things in detail”.

He said that Ukraine has mineral reserves that are among the largest in Europe, stressing that their falling into Russia’s hands doesn’t serve the interests of the United States.

Zelensky described these reserves as valuable natural resources that we can offer our partners previously unavailable investment opportunities.

“For us, this will create jobs, and for American companies, it will create profits,” he added.

The Munich conference comes as Russia advances into the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, where it has taken control of several towns over the past year, most of which have been completely destroyed by months of Russian bombing.