Ukraine blasts UN chief for accepting BRICS summit invitation in Russia

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has blasted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for what it said was his acceptance of an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to a BRICS summit, while staying away from a "peace summit" on the war in Ukraine.

"The UN Secretary-General declined Ukraine's invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland," the ministry said in a post on the X social media platform on Monday.

"He did, however, accept the invitation to Kazan from war criminal Putin. This is a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace. It only damages the UN's reputation."

Putin hosts a summit of BRICS nations in the central Russian city of Kazan from Tuesday, aimed at showcasing the clout of non-Western countries. Leaders attending include Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman earlier this month said Guterres had told Minister Sergey Lavrov at the UN General Assembly last month that he intended to go to Kazan.

But deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq, when asked on Monday if Guterres would attend, said: "Announcements on his future travels will be later on down the line."

The peace summit in a Swiss mountain resort in June, which brought together more than 90 countries, denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine and sought a way to end the conflict, though Russia was not invited and dismissed it as meaningless.

Ukrainian President Voldoymyr Zelenskyy says he wants to stage a second summit by the end of the year, but Russia has said it has no intention of attending.

Drone attack in Tula

In other developments, a Ukraine drone attack damaged two distilleries in Russia's Tula region south of Moscow, its governor said.

"According to preliminary information, there are no casualties," Tula governor Dmitry Miliayev said on the Telegram messaging app.

"Emergency services specialists are working at the scene. The situation is under control."

It was not immediately clear how big the attack was that damaged the distilleries in the town of Yefremov and the village of Luzhkovskyi.

Separately, another Ukraine drone attack damaged a boiler house and a non-residential building in Russia's western region of Bryansk, which borders Ukraine, its governor said.