Ukraine-Russia warfare newest: Moscow plans new offensive as Putin drags out talks with Trump, Kyiv says
The White House has rejected Vladimir Putin’s suggestion for a temporary administration in Kyiv, while also seeking sweeping access to Ukraine’s minerals and energy commodities.
The Russian President said Volodymyr Zelensky’s government must be replaced to pave the way for a peace accord during a visit to a Russian nuclear submarine base on Thursday, before Moscow launched a drone assault on Ukraine overnight.
A White House national security council spokesperson snubbed the Kremlin leader’s demand and said the governance in Ukraine is determined by its constitution and the people of the country.
The Trump administration is also pushing for a major new resources deal with Kyiv that would give the US control over all of Ukraine’s energy assets and rare minerals. Yesterday, the Ukrainian president said the US is constantly changing the terms of a key minerals agreement as part of peace deal.
Earlier, Emmanuel Macron announced that a British-French military delegation will be sent to Ukraine to scout Kyiv’s needs and what can be done to support its army – and that troops would be deployed as a “reassurance force” to uphold any potential peace deal agreed with Russia.
What it’s really like to be on Putin’s kill list
Christo Grozev won international plaudits as the investigative journalist who exposed the perpetrators involved in the poisoning of Alexei Navalny and Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury.
Then, the Kremlin started to focus its sights on him.
What it’s really like to be on Putin’s kill list
Zelensky says Putin would have nothing to say at peace talks
Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s president would have nothing to say at peace talks.
Speaking after the “coalition of the willing” summit in Paris yesterday, Zelensky said Vladimir Putin was “not ready for direct talks”.
“I’ve never been afraid, it’s just Putin wants war – what can a man who wants war say at peace talks?” he said in translated comments.
Analysis: Become a US or Russian colony? That’s Ukraine’s choice
The latest US offer to trade Ukraine’s minerals for back pay is nothing short of a colonial protection racket, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley.
Who is in Starmer’s Coalition of the Willing?
Sir Keir Starmer met with world leaders in Paris earlier this week for the third meeting of the so-called “coalition of the willing”, a group convened by the prime minister and French president Emmanuel Macron to bolster support for Ukraine against Russia.
Some 30 leaders have gathered to discuss Ukraine’s ongoing security after the US brokered a ceasefire agreement between Moscow and Kyiv over the Black Sea earlier this week, which the Kremlin says cannot commence unless certain conditions are met.
My colleague Rachel Clun has more details in this report:
Ukraine government is legitimate and must be respected – UN chief
Ukraine has a legitimate government that must be respected, the UN Secretary-General has said.
Antonio Guterres made the comments on on Friday after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Ukraine could be placed under a form of temporary administration to allow for new elections.
Pictured: Zelensky speaking to journalists today
Fire breaks out in Ukrainian hotel after Russian drone strike
Four people have been injured after a Russian drone strike sparked a large fire at a hotel in Ukraine.
The regional governor of the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro said a hotel and restaurant complex caught on fire late on Friday.
Serhiy Lysak said the injured were being treated in hospital and firefighters were bringing the blaze under control.
“A large fire has broken out in the restaurant complex,” Lysak wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “There was also a fire in a multi-storey apartment building and private houses.
Pictures and videos posted on line showed flames and large plumes of smoke wafting skyward in the city.
New draft minerals deal differs from earlier version, Zelensky says
A new draft minerals deal proposed by the United States is “entirely different” from an earlier framework, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The Ukrainian president said the new draft would require further assessment by lawyers.
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Zelensky added that Ukraine would not accept a deal that threatens its integration with the European Union.
Ukraine strikes Russian border post
Kyiv’s forces have struck a border post in Russia’s Bryansk region, Ukraine’s military said.
Russian military infrastructure was damaged in the area, which had been identified by Ukraine as the site of drone launches.
“As a result of the strike, military equipment at the post was destroyed along with communications equipment…,” the General Staff said in an online statement, adding the strike was in response to “dozens of daily strikes by attack drones”.
“It is known that many launches of Russian attack drones were identified at this location.”
Why does Trump want Ukraine’s minerals so much?
Ukraine’s minerals are now central to global geopolitics, with Donald Trump seeking a deal with Volodymyr Zelensky to access them.
But what are these minerals exactly and why are they so sought after?
Well, Ukraine has deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals that are critical for modern industry.
Source: independent.co.uk
