Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday said he had held a meeting the day prior with US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns, who is currently in the region to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Burns visited Kyiv as Russia showered the city with missiles. Zelenskyy reported that the CIA head had spent time in a bomb shelter before the two men met.
“We had a meeting with him… (we) talked about all the issues that are important to Ukraine,” Zelenskyy told a televised news conference, saying the two men had discussed what he described as Russia’s nuclear threat.
In Washington, a US official said Burns had travelled to Kyiv to meet the Ukrainian President and intelligence counterparts following his trip to Turkey’s capital, Ankara.
Burns had previously met Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spy chief, Sergei Naryshkin, in Turkey on Monday, conducting the first known and high-level in-person US-Russian contact since Moscow invaded its neighbour on 24 February. During the meeting, the CIA head raised the issue of nuclear weapons and American prisoners in Russia.
Polish President Andrzej Duda also met Burns on Wednesday, as reported by the head of Poland’s National Security Bureau.
