Ukraine's Zelensky hosts talks with U.N. chief, Turkey leader

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting the U.N. chief and Turkey’s leader in Lviv near Ukraine’s border with Poland

Turkey's president and the U.N. chief met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on August 18 in a high-stakes bid to ratchet down a war raging for nearly six months, boost desperately needed grain exports and secure the safety of Europe's biggest nuclear power plant.

The gathering, held far from the front lines in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, near the Polish border, marked the first visit to Ukraine by Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan since the outbreak of the war, and the second by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.

Mr. Erdogan has positioned himself as a go-between in efforts to stop the fighting. While Turkey is a member of NATO — which backs Ukraine in the war — its wobbly economy is reliant on Russia for trade, and the country has tried to steer a middle course.

At the meetings, Turkey agreed to help rebuild Ukraine's infrastructure, including roads and bridges, and Mr. Zelensky asked Mr. Guterres to seek U.N. access to Ukrainian citizens deported to Russia, according to the Ukrainian president's Website. Mr. Zelensky also requested U.N. help in freeing captured Ukrainian soldiers and medics.

On the battlefield, meanwhile, at least 11 people were killed and 40 wounded in heavy Russian missile strikes on Ukraine’s Kharkiv region on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Ukrainian authorities said.

Russia's military claimed that it struck a base for foreign mercenaries in Kharkiv, killing 90. There was no immediate comment from the Ukrainian side.

Heightening international tensions, Russia deployed warplanes carrying state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles to the country’s Kaliningrad region, an enclave surrounded by two NATO nations.