Ukraine-Russia struggle newest: Putin prolonging struggle, says Zelensky, as Kremlin aide calls truce ‘respite for Kyiv’

The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that it had shot down 74 out of 117 drones launched by Russia overnight.

Another 38 drones did not reach their targets likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, the military added in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

The document, drawn up in February, outlines the Russian plan to weaken the U.S. position on the Ukraine crisis by boosting tensions between the Trump White House and other nations as Russia moves ahead with its plans to pick apart the country, reports Gustaf Kilander from Washington.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Kyiv’s allies to ensure Russia does not “deceive” them over ceasefire negotiations.

Following high-level talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Saudi Arabia, Kyiv announced it was prepared to accept a proposed 30-day ceasefire with Moscow.

However, in his nightly address on Wednesday, a day after the summit in Jeddah, Mr Zelensky stressed the need for vigilance.

“We must move toward peace,” he said, but warned: “The key factor is our partners’ ability to ensure Russia’s readiness not to deceive but to genuinely end the war. Because right now, Russian strikes have not stopped.”

Attention has now turned to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s response to the ceasefire proposal.

Former US president Donald Trump, commenting on Washington’s position, said the US had received “some positive messages” and added, “We have people going to Russia right now”.

Mr Trump also issued a warning to Moscow, stating: “In a financial sense, yeah we could do things very bad for Russia, would be devastating for Russia”.

The European Parliament has condemned the United States for allegedly coercing Ukraine into surrendering to Russia, accusing Washington of prioritising a peace deal over Kyiv’s sovereignty.

In a resolution passed on 12 March, EU lawmakers “strongly deplore any attempts at blackmailing Ukraine’s leadership into surrender to the Russian aggressor for the sole purpose of announcing a so-called ‘peace deal”.

The statement follows Ukraine’s announcement that it was prepared to accept a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire, contingent on Russia adhering to the terms. Shortly after Kyiv signalled its willingness, Washington resumed military aid that had previously been suspended.

The resolution criticises the US for attempting “to negotiate a ceasefire and peace agreement with Russia over the heads of Ukraine and other European states,” branding the approach “counterproductive and dangerous”.

It further states that Russian president Vladimir Putin is effectively being “rewarded” for waging a full-scale war against Ukraine.

The European lawmakers urged for stronger support for Ukraine, warning that shifting US foreign policy poses a risk. They called for measures to “increase the effectiveness and impact of sanctions on Russia” to cripple its capacity to continue military aggression and threaten European security.

The resolution was backed by 440 members of the 720-seat European Parliament.

Poland’s president has called on the US to transfer nuclear weapons to its territory as a deterrent against future Russian aggression, a proposal he said he recently discussed with US president Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg.

“The borders of Nato moved east in 1999, so 26 years later there should also be a shift of the Nato infrastructure east. For me this is obvious,” Andrzej Duda told the Financial Times in an interview.

It would be safer if those weapons were already in the country, Mr Duda said.

Ukraine hopes this will show that it has always been Russia that is the one in the way of peace.

But even if Mr Putin agrees to a temporary truce, which is a big if, Ukraine and Europe are clear that Russia has a long history of breaking ceasefire agreements, reports Tom Walting.

Turkey has emerged as a key potential partner in restructuring European security, diplomats and analysts have told the Reuters news agency, as Europe scrambles to bolster its defence and find guarantees for Ukraine under any forthcoming ceasefire deal urged by the United States.

European countries have been unsettled by US president Donald Trump’s plan to end the Ukraine war, which has upended Washington’s policy, halted Russia’s isolation with possibility of rapprochement, piled pressure on Kyiv after disastrous talks with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky and endangered transatlantic ties.

Analysts say Europeans’ push to maintain Ukraine’s military capabilities and agree security guarantees, while boosting its own defence without Washington, has created a rare opportunity for Turkey to deepen ties with Europe despite lingering disputes over the rule of law, maritime issues with Greece and Cyprus, and Ankara’s long stalled European Union membership bid.

“European countries that thought they had the luxury of excluding Turkey until today are now seeing that they cannot exclude Turkey anymore,” said Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat and director of the Centre for Economic and Foreign Policy Studies.

Speaking after talks with Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Wednesday, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said he brought a “clear proposal for Turkey to take on the greatest possible co-responsibility” for peace in Ukraine and regional stability.

A senior European diplomat said Turkey had “very important views” on what is needed for peace in Ukraine.

Mr Erdogan had managed to balance his relationship between Mr Zelensky and Russian president Vladimir Putin during the war, the diplomat said, “so it makes sense to have him on board”.

Russia’s operation to eject Ukrainian forces from the western Russian of Kursk has entered its final stage, state news agency TASS reported on Thursday citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday visited the western Russian region of Kursk for the first time since Ukrainian forces seized some territory in the region.