Ukraine-Russia struggle newest: US and Russian officers to satisfy in Munich as Zelensky provides Ukraine peace talks warning

A former foreign secretary has warned Sir Keir Starmer and David Lammy that they must use this weekend’s Munich defence and security conference as an opportunity to stand up to Donald Trump over Ukraine.

Tory grandee Sir Malcolm Rifkind raised the spectre of the infamous 1938 Munich conference, where the then British prime minister Neville Chamberlain struck the “peace for our time” deal with Hitler and allowed him to invade Czechoslovakia.

It comes as Sir Keir, in an interview with ITV’s Robert Peston, did not guarantee that Ukraine would have a seat at the table in the talks about ending the war with Russia, only saying that President Volodymyr Zelensky “must be involved”.

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Russian drone attacks damaged port infrastructure in southern Ukraine, officials said, while neighbouring Moldova said two drones had blown up on its soil and Nato member Romania found drone fragments and remnants of explosives at two sites.

Kyiv said Moscow attacked Ukraine with 140 drones overnight, injuring one person in the Izmail district of Ukraine’s Odesa region which lies on the Danube River and borders Romania and Moldova

Out of 140 drones, the Ukrainian air force said it shot down 85 and 52 did not reach their targets, probably due to electronic countermeasures. Moldova’s foreign ministry said four Russian drones had fallen on its territory and two had exploded.

Moldovan president Maia Sandu said Russian actions were “putting Moldovan lives at risk”. “Russia respects no borders, attacks civilians, spreads terror… Leave us, peaceful nations, alone,” she said.

In Romania, residents of the eastern counties of Tulcea and Galati were advised to take cover. Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and two of Spain’s Eurofighters currently taking part in air policing missions, the defence ministry said.

Volodymyr Zelensky has warned world leaders not to trust “Putin’s claims of readiness to end the war.”

Recounting his phone call with the Polish prime minister, Zelensky wrote on social media: “I emphasized that Ukraine must negotiate from a position of strength, with strong and reliable security guarantees, and that NATO membership would be the most cost-effective for partners. Another key guarantee is serious investment in Ukraine’s defense industry.”

He added: “I also warned world leaders against trusting Putin’s claims of readiness to end the war.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky has praised a “good result” on the frontline of Ukraine’s nearly three-year-old war against Russia.

In his nightly video address, the president praised the actions of the 425th separate assault regiment, appearing to indicate the action had taken place near the frontline city of Pokrovsk.

“There is a good result,” Mr Zelensky said. “It would be improper to describe the geography. I won’t make this political, but I want to congratulate the boys of the 425th separate assault regiment.

Your strength clearly has meaning. Well done!”Russian forces have been advancing towards Pokrovsk for weeks as part of their steady drive through eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, capturing a string of villages.

A Ukrainian official has denied Ukraine’s participation in today’s joint meeting between US and Russian representatives in Munich.

US president Donald Trump yesterday told reporters that Ukraine has also been invited to the Munich meeting. “Not sure exactly who’s going to be there from any country, but high-level people from Russia, from Ukraine and from the United States,” he told reporters.

Dmytro Lytvyn, an advisor to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, said there was nothing on the table from Ukraine. “No talks with the Russians are planned in Munich,” he said, according to Kyiv Independent.

“Ukraine’s position remains unchanged. Ukraine must first speak with America. Europe must be part of any serious conversation for a genuine and lasting peace. Only a coordinated, unified position should be on the table for talks with the Russians. We don’t meet with Russians at an empty table.”

And British defence figures are said to reacted furiously to claims Ukraine will be forced to give up land to Russia in a peace deal, saying of the US administration’s stance: “The bastards are going to do this”.

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French president Emmanuel Macron said only Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky could negotiate on behalf of his country with Russia to end the war, warning a “peace that is a capitulation” would be “bad news for everyone”.

“The only question at this stage is whether president Putin is genuinely, sustainably, and credibly willing to agree to a ceasefire on this basis. After that, it is up to the Ukrainians to negotiate with Russia,” Mr Macron told the Financial Times.

US president Donald Trump on Wednesday separately discussed the war with Russian president Vladimir Putin and Mr Zelensky and told US officials to begin talks on ending the nearly three-year-long conflict.

Mr Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday, said Ukraine would have a seat at the table during any peace negotiations with Russia over ending the war.

The French president said Mr Trump had created a “window of opportunity” for a negotiated solution, where “everyone has to play their role”, adding that it is now up to Mr Zelensky to discuss territorial and sovereignty issues.

Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will not accept any peace agreement that does not include Ukraine in talks.

The Ukrainian president spoke to journalists on Thursday, following a call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

“We cannot accept it, as an independent country, any agreements (made) without us,” Mr Zelensky said as he visited a nuclear power station in western Ukraine.

“I articulate this very clearly to our partners. Any bilateral negotiations about Ukraine, not on other topics, but any bilateral talks about Ukraine without us, we will not accept.”

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth signaled a dramatic shift in American military policy towards Europe during a speech in Brussels on Wednesday.

“We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine,” Mr Hegseth said. “But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.”

This marks a stark turn from the previous Joe Biden administration’s support for Ukraine to eject Russian forces from its land completely. The hardline stance under the Trump regime has already faced backlash, with accusations that the US is “betraying” Ukraine.

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Senior officers, veterans, politicians and ordinary soldiers have lashed out at Donald Trump’s plans to meet Vladimir Putin in peace talks that exclude Ukraine.

Ukrainian rap star Oleksandr Yarmak, who is also head of research and development in the country’s new unmanned aerial vehicle force, told The Independent: “Regardless of the plans of Trump and the murderous Putin, we will defend our country.

“If Russia is not punished for its bloody deeds, this world has no future.”

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