Ukraine-Russia battle newest: Putin makes calls for for Black Sea ceasefire regardless of launching large drone assault

Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister Mariana Betsa says nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children have been abducted by Russia during the war.

“So far, we identified almost 20,000 Ukrainian children who were forcefully deported by Russia in grave breach of international law to the Russian territory,” she told a UK parliamentary committee.

“This is a massive crime that Russia commits.”

Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister Mariana Betsa will shortly address a UK parliamentary committee.

Ms Betsa will be appearing before the International Relations and Defence Committee, alongside the founder of Save Ukraine Mykola Kuleba, and Daria Zarivna, the advisor to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine and operations director of Bring Kids Back UA.

The Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin’s order to halt strikes on energy infrastructure is being adhered to by Russian forces.

Kremlin spokesman Dmirty Peskov said on Wednesday that the moratorium on attacking energy infrastructure has been in force since March 18 and was being fulfilled by Russia.

Moscow said yesterday that oil refineries, energy pipelines and nuclear power stations would not be targeted for 30 days in a deal struck with Ukraine.

Overnight Russia carried out drone attacks on Ukraine, and Volodymyr Zelensky said civilian infrastructure was hit.

Volodymyr Zelensky shared photos of the aftermath of Russia’s drone strikes on Ukraine overnight, which came after the countries reached an agreement to halt attacks in the Black Sea.

Following days of intense talks with the US, both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to stop attacks in the Black Sea.

They also agreed to take steps towards agreeing to a ceasefire on energy infrastructure.

Here is what the White House said both countries agreed to, in separate talks with the US in Saudi Arabia earlier this week:

• Cease using force and allow the safe naviagation of ships in the Black Sea.
• Develop measures for implementing the agreement to ban strikes on energy facilities.
• Work with mediating countries ton implement the agreements.
• Work towards a lasting peace.

Volodymyr Zelensky says the overnight attacks from Russia were a “clear signal” that Russia did not want a real peace.

“Launching such large-scale attacks after ceasefire negotiations is a clear signal to the whole world that Moscow is not going to pursue real peace,” the Ukrainian president wrote on X.

“Since March 11, there has been a US proposal for a total ceasefire, a complete halt to strikes. And literally every night, through its attacks, Russia keeps saying ‘no’ to our partners’ peace proposal.

He added: “Everyone who was affected must be given assistance. But there must also be clear pressure and strong action from the world on Russia – more pressure, more sanctions from the United States – to stop Russian strikes. “

The Ukrainian president says Russia’s overnight drone attacks were proof that Russia wanted the war to drag on.

Russia launched 117 drone attacks through the night, and the key Ukrainian Black Sea port city of f Mykolaiv was struck.

Volodymyr Zelensky said many regions came under attack from Russia, despite the countries reaching an agreement to end attacks in the Black Sea and start working towards a ceasefire.

“Last night, there were another 117 proofs in our skies of how Russia continues to drag out this war – 117 strike drones, most of them Shaheds. A significant number were shot down by our air defenders,” he said on X.

“Dnipro, Sumy, Cherkasy, and other regions came under Russian attack. There was a massive drone strike on Kryvyi Rih – targeting a local enterprise and civilian infrastructure. In Okhtyrka, Sumy region, homes, stores, and civilian infrastructure were damaged. Communities in Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions also came under fire.”

Defence Secretary John Healey says he’s “proud” of the UK’s leading role in building a ‘coalition of the willing’ to support Ukraine.

Mr Healey was asked about US special envoy Steve Witkoff’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, after Mr Witkoff dismissed Sir Keir Starmer’s plans for a peacekeeping force as being based on a “simplistic” idea.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Healey said: “I’m proud that the UK, alongside France, is leading the coalition of the willing, ready to stand by Ukraine in the event of a negotiated peace just as we have through the war.

“And we’re responding to the US challenge to European nations like the UK to do more to support Ukraine.

“We’re responding to the requirement of Ukraine to say, ‘look, post-ceasefire, what are the security arrangements that give us the confidence that any negotiated peace will, as President Trump has said, be a durable peace’.

“That’s what we’re preparing for: the success of the negotiations we’ve seen, longer term, in Saudi Arabia, but the future of Ukraine as an independent sovereign nation that has been fighting so hard for its future over the last three years against Putin’s illegal invasion.”

While Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said he would immediately observe the ceasefire, Russia said they would only halt action if certain conditions including the lifting of sanctions was met.

Overnight, Russia launched a drone attack on the city of Mykolaiv, a key Black Sea port.

Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the military administration, described it as the biggest drone attack on the city since the war began.

“Apparently, this is how the occupiers ‘want peace’,” he wrote on telegram.

But as world affairs editor Sam Kiley writes from Odesa, Ukraine has been beating Russia in the Black Sea – which has been crucial in getting Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.

World Affairs Editor Same Kiley has spent time with the Ukrainians fighting Russia on the Black Sea. Watch here: