Ukraine-Russia warfare newest: Kyiv faces ‘critical’ interval on frontline forward of Trump envoy’s ‘Putin talks’ in Moscow

Lithuania intends to provide an additional €20 million for Ukraine to purchase ammunition, Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė has said.

She urged allies to accelerate assistance to Ukraine, warning that “the summer may be very difficult”.

Šakalienė said that Lithuania described ammunition as one of the most urgently needed resources for Ukraine at present.

Special envoy of US President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Russia, where he is expected to meet with Vladimir Putin on Friday, according to reports.

This will mark their third meeting as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to find a path toward ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, Axios reports, citing a source familiar with the trip and flight data from FlightRadar.

A source in politics told Kyiv Post: “Trump wants some kind of victory [in talks with Putin on ending the war] in his first 100 days in office. Hopefully there’ll be some version of a ceasefire — including a humanitarian track.”

According to Axios, if no ceasefire deal is reached by the end of the month, Trump may impose additional sanctions on Russia.

Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in ceasefire negotiations and was recently described as “p***** off” over Putin’s recent comments about Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defence announced that a “major” new package of military support will be delivered by British and Ukrainian suppliers to help boost Ukraine’s armed forces as they continue to defend against Russian attack.

The package, worth £450 million, includes £350 million from the UK, with further funding being provided by Norway, via the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine.

It will include £160 million of UK funding to provide repairs and maintenance to vehicles and equipment that the UK has already provided to Ukraine – partnering UK companies with Ukrainian industry.

The package also includes a “close fight” military aid package – with funding for radar systems, anti-tank mines and hundreds of thousands of drones – worth more than £250 million, using funding from the UK and Norway building on the work of the drone capability coalition, led by the UK and Latvia.

Defence Secretary John Healey added: “2025 is the critical year for the war in Ukraine, and this is the critical moment.”

The Netherlands has announced the allocation of €150m to bolster Ukraine’s air defense capabilities.

Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans made the announcement to journalists ahead of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Mr Brekelmans referenced President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent appeal for greater air defense support adding hat the Netherlands would continue delivering F-16 fighter jets as part of its ongoing assistance.

He said the new €150m package would “further help Ukraine protect its skies”.

At least three people have been injured after Russian glide bombs were dropped on Kupiansk, according to State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

One of the glide bombs hit the yard of a private residence, damaging the house and starting a fire.

“Russian aviation dropped bombs on Kupiansk, causing fires and resulting in casualties. Preliminary reports indicate three people were injured,” their message states.

At another location, a medical facility building was damaged, with eight garage boxes and three ambulances burning over a total area of 320sqm.

Norway has officially joined the drone coalition for Ukraine, which is led by the United Kingdom and Latvia.

The Norwegian Defense Ministry announced on X: “Norway is now officially a part of the international drone coalition led by Latvia and the United Kingdom. Together we are building a strong alliance to support Ukraine.”

Norwegian Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik signed the respective document in Brussels on Friday joining 18 other countries, including Latvia, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Estonia, Italy, New Zealand, Canada, and Lithuania in the pact.

During the EU-Ukraine Association Council meeting in Brussels, discussions centered on financing two million artillery shells for Ukraine’s defense.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Ukrainian television that all parties agreed to start implementing the project immediately.

“Europe has awakened and is actively advancing defense industry and security innovation programs. Ukraine holds a significant role in this cooperation, participating in major initiatives such as the European Defense Strategy and the European Defense Program,” he said.

“We are already participants in these processes and will continue to play an active role.”

The Prime Minister revealed that the European Commission plans to allocate approximately €800 billion for defense industry development and innovation in the coming years.

The Russian Defence Ministry has accused Ukraine of attacking Russian energy infrastructure five times in the last 24 hours.

The ministry said in a statement that Ukrainian strikes had hit power facilities in Russia’s Kursk and Bryansk regions, as well as energy targets in Russian-controlled parts of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia, which Moscow has claimed as its own.

The Independent was unable to verify the reports of the strikes.

Ukraine has made similar accusations against Russia since the US-brokered moratorium on strikes on each other’s energy facilities.

Germany will provide €11billion of military support for Ukraine until 2029, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said on Friday.

In his post on X, Umerov said that the deliveries planned for this year would help strengthen Ukrainian air defences and support Kyiv troops on the battlefield.