Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was prepared to freeze combat operations along the existing frontlines to bring a swift end to the conflict, while firmly rejecting territorial concessions.
In an interview with ABC News on Friday, Zelensky expressed willingness to reach a ceasefire deal but rejected proposals to give up 25 percent of Ukrainian territory.
Zelensky also expressed regret over the recent decline in U.S. military assistance, saying Ukraine had received only 24 interceptor missiles for its Patriot air defense systems from the United States over the past three months, far below its average monthly requirement of 350. He underscored the urgency of the situation, saying 30 ballistic missiles struck Kiev on Thursday night alone.
Meanwhile, U.S. media have reported increased pressure from Washington on Zelensky to make concessions to secure a peace agreement, with U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly blaming Kiev for the lack of progress in U.S.-brokered talks.
Trilateral talks among Russia, Ukraine and the United States are scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, in the first half of November, with a focus on security arrangements for Russia and Ukraine following a peace settlement, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.
Zelensky says Ukraine ready to freeze front lines but rejects territorial concessions
China's civil aviation industry started winter-spring season on Sunday, with 216 domestic and foreign airlines planning to offer 116,000 passenger and cargo flights per week, said the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
Running from Oct 25 to March 27 next year, the winter-spring season will see around 94,000 flights operated by 61 domestic airlines, with 34 domestic airlines planning to open 288 new domestic routes.
"In the new season, we plan to open 21 new routes, with a focus on increasing frequencies and launching new routes to popular ice-and-snow tourism areas such as the three northeastern provinces (of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang) and Xinjiang, as well as traditional popular tourism and warm-weather destinations in south China and southwest China," said Gao Lingyun, deputy general manager of the Network Revenue Department of China Eastern Airlines' Marketing Division.
In terms of international flights, 191 airlines plan to arrange 21,812 flights per week, reaching 85 foreign countries. Passenger services will cover 84 countries with 16,654 weekly flights.
Passenger flights to Central Asia, South Asia, North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America will all increase year on year, with flight volumes to 17 countries, including Kazakhstan, India, Canada, and Belgium, growing by more than 40 percent.
"We will continue to restore and expand our international route network. In the new season, we will soon launch the first route from China to Iceland. In addition, we will focus on optimizing our southbound route network and increase capacity in the Australia-New Zealand market, as well as key Southeast Asian markets including Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam," said Zhou Yeting, senior deputy manager of Network Planning and Flight Planning at Air China.
The aviation market for inbound tourism is also growing notably, with planned frequencies on 16 premium inbound tourism routes, including Moscow-Haikou, Ulan Bator-Beijing and Busan-Zhangjiajie, rising 45.9 percent year on year.
China's civil aviation starts winter-spring season with 116,000 domestic, int'l flights planned per week
