Ukraine-Russia conflict newest: Putin assaults Ukraine port after Moscow accused of mendacity over Black Sea ceasefire

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:

Ukrainians have paid respects to a volunteer medic, Oleksandr “Bohushâ” Oliynyk, who was reportedly killed in service.

Russia’s foreign minister says the US will need to enforce the new deal allowing cargo ships to pass through the Black Sea.

“We will need clear guarantees,” Sergei Lavrov told the Russian state Channel One television.

“And given the sad experience of agreements with just Kyiv, the guarantees can only be the result of an order from Washington to Zelensky and his team to do one thing and not the other.”

Mr Lavrov said Russia wanted this not only to be able to make a profit but to also help improve food security in Africa and the Global South.

“We want the grain and fertiliser market to be predictable, so that no one tries to ‘ward us off’ from it,” he said.

Ukraine’s President has welcomed the progress on a ceasefire but says Russia’s actions over the next few days will show the world whether the Kremlin is serious about peace.

Volodymyr Zelensky warned that any action taken by Russia to go against the new agreement to stop targeting ships in the Black Sea should be met with force.

“How Russia behaves in the coming days will reveal a lot – if not everything. If there are air raid alerts again, if there is renewed military activity in the Black Sea, if Russian manipulations and threats continue – then new measures will need to be taken, specifically against Moscow,” he said in his nightly video.

The president said Russia was already “actively deceiving” mediators and lying about its actions.

“Moscow always lies. And it depends on the world – on all those who truly need peace – whether Moscow will be allowed to lie again,” Mr Zelensky said.

“We in Ukraine will do everything to ensure that the agreements work out and that there are no strikes. But the Russians must know and must realise: if they carry out strikes, they will face a strong response and they will bear the responsibility.

Mr Zelensky pointed out that Ukraine had come to a 30-day ceasefire agreement, but it was Russia that refused to accept it.

“It is Russia’s stance that is prolonging this war,” he said.

Ukraine’s military says it shot down 56 of the 117 Russian drones that were deployed across the fighting fronts.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said the drones came from several different directions, including Kursk and Crimea

The Ukrainian army said it successfully shot down 56 of the drones in the south, north, east and centre of Ukraine. A further 48 drones were lost, but Ukraine said no consequential damage was caused.