Zelenskyy to lead Ukraine’s delegation at Munich Security Conference which JD Vance will attend

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will lead Ukraine’s delegation at the Munich Security Conference next week, which U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, are also expected to attend, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff said Thursday.

Andriy Yermak, who will attend, told The Associated Press the Ukrainian delegation will present the country’s position on ending the war and their views on how “a long and lasting peace” can be achieved.

“It’s necessary that the leaders and the experts in politics who will be in Munich realize that this is momentum,” he said about Ukraine’s message for the event. “That we are very near to really ending this war by a just and lasting peace, but (it’s) necessary to be together… Not to give Russia an opportunity to divide the world, to divide partners.”

The Munich summit is a regular forum for global international security discussions which has taken on new significance amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and other challenges.

The annual conference comes at a pivotal moment for Ukraine, which is striving to establish a relationship with the new U.S. administration — a key partner during the nearly three-year war against Russia.

During his election campaign, President Donald Trump promised to end the fighting within 24 hours, revising that later to within six months of taking office. However, Russia and Ukraine remain far apart, and it is unclear how a ceasefire deal would take shape.

At the Munich meeting, Yermak said Ukraine hopes to discuss what security guarantees could be put in place to prevent repeated aggression by Russia.

The presidential aide said there is still no set date for a meeting of Zelenskyy and Trump but he reiterated that it should happen as soon as possible, adding “we are working on it.”

Yermak confirmed that Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia will visit Kyiv after the Munich Security Conference, around the end of February.

In an attempt to get the new U.S. administration up to speed, Ukrainians plan to provide Kellogg with “full and real information” about the situation on the battlefield, ongoing mobilization efforts, and the status of weapons and equipment delivery.

“I think it’s important that we go through these consultations and negotiations before the (Trump) administration has any plans,” he said. “Because our position is that it’s impossible to have, and will be a big mistake to have, any plans without participation by Ukraine in preparing this plan.”

On Monday, Trump indicated that he wants to reach an agreement with Ukraine to gain access to the country’s rare earth materials as a condition for continuing U.S. support for its war against Russia. The remark aligns with elements of Zelenskyy’s “victory plan,” which he presented to Kyiv’s allies, including Trump, last autumn.

Trump also suggested that he’s received word from the Ukrainian government that it would be willing to make a deal to give the U.S. access to the elements critical to the modern high-tech economy.

Yermak said there is not yet a framework of discussion on the subject, but that Ukraine is looking into a strategic partnership with the U.S. even after the war ends, and that it is part of Zelenskyy’s strategy in approaching the new administration.

“We want that Americans to look to us not just for democracy, which they helped to survive during this terrible war of Russia against Ukraine,” he said. “But to look to us as a very important and very interesting strategic partner in the future”

Ukrainian forces struck an airfield in southern Russia that was being used to launch Iran-designed Shahed drones, Ukraine’s General Staff claimed Thursday. France, meanwhile, said it had delivered the first batch of Mirage fighter jets to Ukraine and the Netherlands sent more F-16s.

The nighttime attack on the Primorsko-Akhtarsk airfield in Russia’s Krasnodar region started a fire, the General Staff wrote on Facebook. The facility houses and fires drones and maintains aircraft used to attack Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhzhia border region.

It was not possible to independently verify the claim. The Russian Defense Ministry reported downing Ukrainian drones over Krasnodar, but it didn’t say where or mention the airfield.

Ukraine has developed its own long-range drones as part of its effort to grow its domestic arms industry and become less dependent on Western help to fight its almost three-year war with Russia. The drones have at times reached deep into Russia, hitting oil refineries, weapons stores and airfields.

France said it had delivered the first fighter jets promised to Ukraine by President Emmanuel Macron last June.

“The first of them arrived in Ukraine today,” Sebastien Lecornu, the minister of the armed forces, said on social platform X. Lecornu did not say how many planes were delivered.

Ukraine also received more F-16s from the Netherlands, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said, though it didn't specify how many.

European countries have previously supplied F-16s, though Ukrainian officials have rarely mentioned them in official comments about the fighting.

Russian forces fired 77 Shahed and other types of drones, as well as two ballistic Iskander-M missiles, at Ukraine overnight, according to Ukraine’s air force. A statement said 56 drones were destroyed and 18 others were jammed and lost mid-flight.

Some buildings were damaged, but no casualties were reported.

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Associated Press journalist Illia Novikov contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine