Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow accused of ‘hollow’ peace claims as 74 people wounded in Sumy missile strike

Ukraine has accused Russia of “making hollow statements about peace” while ceasefire talks take place in Saudi Arabia, as official said 74 people – including 13 children – were wounded in missile strike on the city of Sumy.

A hospital, residential area and school were heavily damaged in the attack, Sumy mayor Artem Kobzar said, with footage showing emergency services battling large plumes of black smoke.

“The enemy launched a missile strike on the city centre. Several high-rise buildings, and a school are damaged. Children were in a shelter,” regional governor Volodymyr Artiukh said at the attack site.

The attack came after ceasefire talks got underway in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh today between Russian officials and a delegation from the Trump administration.

US envoys began simultaneous but separate talks with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia on Sunday night, with the discussions focussing on a ceasefire in the Black Sea and the terms of a halt on attacks on energy infrastructure. Talks between delegates from Kyiv and Washington will resume later on Monday.

The White House says achieving security in the Black Sea to allow the free flow of shipping is a key aim of the talks, which Russian negotiator Grigory Karasin reportedly said are progressing “creatively”.

Dozens injured after Russian missile strike hits hospital in Sumy, local officials say

Ukraine accuses Russia of ‘hollow’ peace claims after Sumy attack

Talks progressing 'creatively', says Russian negotiator

Four Russian helicopters destroyed by Ukrainian missiles

US-Ukraine meeting was 'productive', says Kyiv's defence minister

21:07 , Andy Gregory

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has accused Russia of making “hollow statements about peace” after officials said at least 74 people – including 13 children – were wounded in a missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy.

As Russian and US officials met for ceasefire talks in Saudi Arabia, following a third consecutive night of drone attacks on Kyiv, Mr Sybiha said: “Moscow speaks of peace while carrying out brutal strikes on densely populated residential areas in major Ukrainian cities.

“Instead of making hollow statements about peace, Russia must stop bombing our cities and end its war on civilians.”

Read more details in our report on today’s developments:

Ukraine war latest: Russian missile hits hospital while US pushes for ceasefire

20:44 , Andy Gregory

Donald Trump has said the US is discussing “lines of demarcation” in Ukraine, as talks continue in Saudi Arabia.

Speaking to reporters as he met with his cabinet in the White House, Mr Trump said: “We're talking about territory right now. We're talking about lines of demarcation, Talking about power, power plant ownership. Some people are saying the United States should own the power plant ... because we have the expertise.”

20:02 , Andy Gregory

A Labour MP has criticised Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff after he propagated the “offensive and inaccurate” Kremlin claim that Ukraine is a “false country”.

In his lengthy interview with far-right commentator Tucker Carlson, Mr Witkoff said it was “correct” that, from the Kremlin’s perspective, annexed Crimea and four mainland Ukrainian territories partly occupied by Moscow should be part of Russia, calling questions over whether Ukraine will cede these territories “the elephant in the room”.

He told Carlson: “There's a sensibility in Russia that Ukraine is just a false country, that they just patched together in this sort of mosaic, these regions, and that's what is the root cause, in my opinion, of this war, that Russia regards those five regions as rightfully theirs since World War Two, and that’s something nobody wants to talk about.”

In comments to The Independent, Labour MP David Taylor said: “Having visited Ukraine twice since the outbreak of the war, the idea that the sovereign nation is a ‘false country’ is both offensive and inaccurate. Not least because a ‘false country’ would not be able to fend off an adversary with a military five times larger than its own.

“The Ukrainian people are the most resilient, brave and steadfast I have met. Ukrainian troops are on the frontline defending not just Ukraine’s future, but the West’s. Putin’s tyranny knows no borders, he poses a real and direct threat to Europe.”

18:25 , Andy Gregory

The head of the British armed forces has said that “Europe’s two leading nuclear powers are stepping up to forge a stronger and deeper partnership” after a meeting with French counterparts.

The chiefs of the British and French armies, navies, and air forces met in London on Monday, as well as the head of both countries’ defence forces.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Chief of the Defence Staff, said: “At this pivotal time for European security the third meeting of the British and French Chiefs of Staff should be seen as a sign of reassurance and commitment. Europe’s two leading nuclear powers are stepping up to forge a stronger and deeper partnership that has a vital foundational role to play in the security of the continent.

“Today’s deliberations will help shape the future of British and French military co-operation, and our shared efforts to support Ukraine with military aid now and after any peace deal.

“The combined convening power of Britain and France is immense. The political leadership of Prime Minister Starmer and President Macron is reflected in the military planning that is now under way between our respective staffs as we draw together a coalition of the willing from Europe and beyond.”

17:56 , Andy Gregory

Russia’s defence ministry said it has started planned exercises involving Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles, state media reports.

According to the ministry, Yars ICBM regiments in Sverdlovsk and Altai regions “will be deployed to field positions”.

The Yars is a nuclear-capable missile that can be moved around on trucks or stationed in silos.

17:28 , Andy Gregory

Donald Trump has said he expects to soon sign a deal handing the US a stake in Ukraine’s critical minerals.

Speaking to reporters as he met his cabinet, Mr Trump also said that Washington is talking to Ukraine about the potential for American firms owning Ukrainian power plants.

17:02 , Rachel Clun, with PA

The Prime Minister is not concerned about remarks made by White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff about the coalition of the willing being created to help Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.

In an interview with the pro-Trump personality Tucker Carlson, Witkoff said Sir Keir Startmer’s plan was “simplistic” and a "combination of a posture and a pose"

Asked if the prime minister was worried about the comments, his official spokesperson said: "No, The PM has repeatedly said that a lasting peace in Ukraine can only be achieved if we provide real and credible security assurances to deter Putin.

"And the coalition of the willing is a group of nations politically aligned to the defence, security and sovereignty of Ukraine... if there is a deal, it's a deal that has to be defended."

16:49 , Rachel Clun

The Russian attack on Sumy that has left dozens injured including children shows that Russia “wants to continue the terror”, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

Sharing a video of the destruction on X, Mr Shmyhal wrote: “Russia attacked the civilian infrastructure in Sumy. Residential and private houses in particular were damaged. There are casualties, including children.”

He continued: “Ukraine is striving for peace, and Russia is once again showing that it wants to continue the terror. The international community must increase the pressure on Russia to stop the aggression and ensure justice and save the lives of Ukrainians.”

16:35 , Alex Croft

16:20 , Alex Croft

World affairs editor Sam Kiley reports from Ukraine:

The electronic hum in the sky above told him that the Russians were on a hunting safari and that he was the prey. Leaping from his bicycle, Oleksandr left its wheels spinning as he bolted through a hole in a fence hoping to find cover.

Horrified to discover he was still in the open air, he threw himself against the fence, hoping to blend in, to somehow hide. The drone tracked sideways, hung above him, and dropped its bomb.

The explosion tore a chunk of his leg away.

“He was hovering above me. I had a feeling that he was playing a computer game, dropping bombs on peaceful civilians,” Oleksandr Sensky said from the hospital where he is recovering in Kherson.

Read more:

Russian drone pilots hunting Ukrainian civilians on the streets ‘like a video game’

16:03 , Alex Croft

15:46 , Alex Croft

In the grand rooms of Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton hotel, a US delegation has been deployed for an intense round of diplomacy with officials from Moscow and Kyiv.

With Russia-US discussions ongoing and a second round of Ukraine-US talks to come later in the day, here’s everything we know so far.

Ukraine and US officials met last night. Defence minister Rustem Umerov hailed the talks as “productive and focussed”, as the delegations prepare to meet again today.

Talks between Moscow and the US began today, and were described as “creative” by a Russian negotiator, during a break after three hours of negotiations.

Along with a ceasefire on energy infrastructure and the prospect of longer-term peace, Washington is seeking to achieve a Black Sea ceasefire in the intense round of diplomacy. This would ensure safe navigation for commercial vessels in the Black Sea.

The Russian side has been playing down the possibility of ceasefire talks moving quickly. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that many aspects of a peace deal are yet to be sorted, while Moscow’s Foreign Ministry said current negotiations “should not be expected to produce a breakthrough”.

Russia’s delegation is being led by 70-year-old security service advisor Sergei Beseda, and 75-year-old Grigory Karasin, a career diplomat and former ambassador to Britain.

Sources close to Donald Trump have told the Telegraph that he will begin to get “frustrated” if Russia and Ukraine both continue bombing energy infrastructure - accusations they have both levelled at each other.

Vladimir Putin earlier discussed the ongoing talks in Riyadh with his counterpart from the United Arab Emirates, President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to state media.

15:34 , Alex Croft

15:19 , Alex Croft

The casualty toll of a Russian missile strike on Sumy has risen to 65, including 14 children, Ukraine’s prosecution service said.

Several high rise buildings and a school were damaged in the attack, regional governor Volodymyr Artiukh said. Local authorities said a hospital was also damaged in the strike.

14:58 , Alex Croft

14:45 , Alex Croft

Ukraine struck a gas distribution station in Russia’s Belgorod region on Saturday, the defence ministry in Russia has claimed according to RIA state news agency.

Both sides have accused the other of hitting energy infrastructure targets in the days since Vladimir Putin agreed to a halt on such strikes in a phone call with Donald Trump.

14:34 , Alex Croft

14:20 , Alex Croft

Officials from Russia are holding ceasefire talks with a US delegation in Saudi Arabia, as Donald Trump reportedly pushes to secure a truce in time for Easter.

Kyiv’s delegation sat down with Washington’s team in Riyadh on Sunday night, and Moscow is following suit on Monday – in what are believed to be the first such parallel peace talks since the early days of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

After three years of brutal warfare, US officials have said that Mr Trump hopes to secure a ceasefire deal by 20 April, a symbolic date on which both Western and Orthodox celebrations of Easter will overlap this year.

However, the Kremlin appeared to temper any hopes of a swift truce ahead of the Riyadh talks, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warning that progress on a deal was unlikely as it was “only the beginning” of what would be “difficult” negotiations. On Monday, the Kremlin said there are still many different aspects that need to be worked out over a peace deal.

Washington, meanwhile, has flattered Putin, with special envoy Steve Witkoff praising him as “super smart” and “not a bad guy”.

Andy Gregory takes a look at what to expect from the US-led talks in Saudi Arabia:

Ukraine ceasefire talks: What is being discussed as Trump pushes for truce by Easter

14:04

Many aspects related to a possible settlement in Ukraine still need to be worked out, the Kremlin has said as Russian and US officials convene in Saudi Arabia for talks.

The Black Sea initiative, which concerns shipping security in the body of water separating parts of Ukraine and Russia, is on the agenda in the Riyadh talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added.

Moscow shares a common understanding with the US regarding its desire to move towards a settlement, Mr Peskov said, adding that Russia continues to monitor the situation after attacks by Kyiv.

13:51 , Alex Croft

Four children are among the at least 28 casualties of a Russian missile attack in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, local officials said.

A hospital and residential area was heavily damaged, mayor Artem Kobzar said, with footage showing large plumes of smoke rising from the apparent site of the missile strike.

"The enemy launched a missile strike on the city centre. Several high-rise buildings, and a school are damaged. Children were in a shelter," the Sumy region's governor Volodymyr Artiukh said, stood at the site of the attack.

Heavy black smoke and fires could be seen in the background, as well as a car with shattered windows. Smoke also rose from the upper floors of a five-storey residential block nearby.

Sumy, about 30 km (18.6 miles) from the Russian border, as well as the surrounding region, is subject to constant drone and missile strikes by Russia.

13:42 , Alex Croft

13:33 , Alex Croft, Andy Gregory

As we reported earlier today, Russia-US talks in Saudi Arabia are set to cover topics including a partial ceasefire over energy infrastructure and the Black Sea, Nato membership, and more.

But one of Moscow’s key demands has been an easing of Western sanctions on Russia - something which the White House appears to have softened its stance on in recent months.

Vladimir Putin also wants to see presidential elections in Ukraine.

Kyiv has not held any elections since 2019 because of wartime martial law, which prohibits holding elections. Ukrainian officials also say that holding an election during the war would be impossible in practice, given many citizens live under Russian occupation. Mr Trump last month lashed out at Mr Zelensky as a “dictator”, enraging Washington’s allies.

Since Mr Trump returned to the White House in January, sources say his administration has been studying ways it could ease sanctions if Moscow agrees to end the war. However, this month Mr Trump also raised the prospect of imposing large-scale banking curbs and tariffs on Russia until peace is achieved.

13:20 , Alex Croft

More than 50,000 Ukrainian troops have been trained in the UK over the past two-and-a-half years, as Kyiv mobilised the male civilian population for the war effort against Russia.

Recent data shows that a small number of them - less than 1 per cent - went missing during these training periods and claimed asylum in the UK, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

"A small number out of more than 52,000 soldiers trained with us over the past two and a half years have fled. It’s less than 1%. The vast majority of fighters who come to us are highly motivated and dedicated to their mission,” said Operation Interflex commander Colonel Andy Boardman, who led the British operation to train Ukrainian troops.

Ukraine’s military command said only two soldiers went AWOL to claim asylum in 2024, and 12 more have done so since the beginning of 2025.

13:03 , Rachel Clun

Vladimir Putin has discussed the ongoing talks between Russia and the US with United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to Russian state media TASS, AP reports.

Russian and US officials have been discussing a ceasefire this morning in Riyadh, while a Ukrainian delegation is also in the Saudi city to continue discussions with the Americans.

Grigory Karasin, head of the foreign affairs committee in the Russian parliament's upper house and a participant in Monday's talks, told the Interfax news agency the negotiations were going on in a "creative way" and that the US and Russian delegations "understand each other's views."

12:47 , Rachel Clun, with AP

China has shut down reports it was considering sending peacekeepers to Ukraine to help enforce a peace deal.

German newspaper Welt reported on the weekend that Chinese diplomats had been talking with European counterparts about joining a peacekeeping force.

But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said those reports were incorrect.

"Let me stress that the report is completely false. China's position on the Ukraine crisis is clear and consistent," Guo said at a briefing on Monday.

China has continued to import Russian oil and natural resources, but has not supplied Russia with any weaponry or personnel.

12:32 , Rachel Clun, with Reuters

The people in Kherson who have faced relentless attacks since the war with Russia began three years ago want peace, but are wary of peace talks yielding anything lasting.

Serhiy is in hospital after a grenade blew off his foot while he was walking to work.

"There won't be peace if they are on that bank of the river," he told Reuters, declining to give his family name and asking that his face not be shown, because he feared retribution if Russian forces identify him.

"It will be constant terror, constant shelling. We need to get them out of there, there's no other way."

Ihor is also in hospital after also being struck by a grenade dropped from a drone. He told Reuters he wanted a ceasefire to work.

"I don't want other people to be brought to the hospital like this," he said, of his leg now held together with metal rods and screws.

"We believe that Trump will end the war this year, as he promised, and we will have peace.”

12:17 , Alex Croft

12:03 , Alex Croft

A huge cyberattack has been carried out on Ukraine’s state-owned railway company, the organisation said on Monday.

The attack was aimed at disrupting train traffic but failed to do so, the company’s board chairman said later in the day.

"Operational traffic did not stop for a moment. The enemy attack was aimed to stop trains, but we quickly switched to backup systems," Oleksandr Pertsovskyi told national TV.

The railway said it will sell tickets offline on Monday before back-ups are recovered after what it called a "systemic, non-trivial and multi-level" attack.

Since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 and the closure of airspace over Ukraine, trains have become the main mode of transport, carrying around 20 million passengers and 148 million tonnes of freight last year.

11:49 , Alex Croft

Talks between Russian and US officials in Saudi Arabia are progressing “creatively”, Russian delegate Grigory Karasin said.

Speaking during a break after three hours of talks, the 75-year-old career diplomat said the two sides had discussed issues regarded as “irritants” in their bilateral ties.

Karasin, who served as the deputy foreign minister and the ambassador to Britain, is now a member of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, and chairs its international affairs committee.

Beside Karasin on the Russian side of the negotiating table is 70-year-old Sergei Beseda, an adviser to the chief of Russia’s FSB security service.

11:41 , Alex Croft

Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov has arrived in Saudi Arabia to join the second round of talks between Washington and Kyiv in as many days.

Mr Umerov’s arrival, reported by Saudi state TV, came as Russian and US delegations negotiated the possibility of a partial truce and the prospect of a longer-term peace deal.

11:36 , Alex Croft

Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:

Keir Starmer hailed his “good relationship” with Donald Trump just hours before the US President’s special envoy slammed the PM’s Ukraine peace plan as "a posture and a pose".

Steve Witkoff said the Labour leader’s idea of a peacekeeping force made up of the ‘coalition of the willing’ was based on a "simplistic" notion of thinking "we have all got to be like Winston Churchill".

In an interview with the pro-Trump personality Tucker Carlson, Mr Witkoff also praised Vladimir Putin, saying that he "liked" the Russian president. "I don't regard Putin as a bad guy. He's super smart," he said.

Mr Witkoff is leading the US ceasefire negotiations with Russia and Ukraine.

Starmer praises ‘good relationship’ with Trump hours before US envoy slams peace plan

11:29 , Alex Croft, Andy Gregory

As we’ve reported today, Russian and Ukrainian officials will meet their US officials counterparts in Riyadh’s Ritz Carlton hotel for separate peace talks, as Washington pushes for a partial ceasefire in an intense round of diplomacy.

Throughout Monday, talks will cover a partial ceasefire over energy infrastructure and the Black Sea, Nato membership, and more.

But one of the most crucial sticking points will be which areas of Ukrainian territory Russia is allowed to hold onto in the event of a longer-term peace deal.

While Russia controls much of Donetsk and Luhansk, where fighting has been raging since 2014, Ukraine retains much of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, despite Putin’s attempt to illegally annex all four regions following a referendum in September 2022 decried as a sham by the international community.

Russia’s Kommersant newspaper cited sources who attended a private business event with Putin last week as saying he wants the US to formally recognise the four regions – where Ukrainians continue to give their lives to prevent Russian gains – along with Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

Ukraine says it already recognises that it cannot recapture some occupied Ukrainian territory by force and that it will have to be returned diplomatically over time – but that Kyiv will never recognise Russian sovereignty over Ukrainian territory.

11:18 , Alex Croft

11:11 , Alex Croft

Germany’s outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz will join a summit of the ‘coalition of the willing’ in Paris this Thursday.

The coalition is made up of the countries who want to be actively involved in supporting peacekeeping efforts in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire deal.

Berlin expects concrete agreements relating to Ukrainian security to be made in the Paris summit, Mr Scholz’s spokesperson said.

"It is under consideration to make conclusions there, that is to say concrete decisions," the spokesperson said at a government press conference on Monday.

The summit, taking place on the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, will focus on coordination among supporters of Ukraine as well as possible peace talks, he added.

11:01 , Alex Croft

A Russian Orthodox priest has been jailed for two weeks over a photo from 2014 in which he is displaying a Ukrainian flag.

Nikolai Savchenko was arrested after posting the photo on social media. He was sentenced with displaying an extremist symbol, according to Mr Savchencko and court documents quoted by Russian media.

The Russian Orthodox Church strongly backs the war in Ukraine and has previously punished dozens of priests who defied its official line.

Ksenia Luchenko, an expert on the Russian Orthodox Church and is critical of its leadership, said Mr Savchenko's arrest was unique, however.

"If this is true, then this is the first case of detention of an active cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church who was not banned and not defrocked," Ms Luchenko, who is based outside Russia, posted on her blog.

10:49 , Alex Croft

Donald Trump will become “frustrated” if Russia and Ukraine keep bombing each other’s energy infrastructure, sources close to the US president have told The Telegraph.

The sources told the outlet that Mr Trump was growing angry at the continued attacks, despite promises from both sides of a partial ceasefire.

Moscow and Kyiv have both accused each other of attacking energy infrastructure since Vladimir Putin agreed to the 30-day truce last week.

“He will get frustrated if they [Ukraine and Russia] keep bombing infrastructure, infrastructure and energy,” said one person close to the administration.

10:21 , Alex Croft

10:19 , Alex Croft, Andy Gregory

As we have reported, an energy infrastructure ceasefire, Black Sea truce, Nato membership and security guarantees in Ukraine will all feature in high-level talks in Saudi Arabia.

US partial ownership of Ukrainian energy facilities and minerals - which the Trump administration is keen on - is also likely to be discussed when officials from Washington and Kyiv meet for the second time in two days today.

While efforts to seal a deal granting the US a vast stake in Ukraine’s rare earth mineral deposits stumbled after the disastrous White House meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky last month, the US president claimed on Friday that a deal would be signed very shortly.

Ukraine’s gas infrastructure could also be of interest to the White House, with Kyiv owning the world’s third-largest underground gas storage capacity.

In a recent call with Mr Zelensky, Mr Trump also suggested that the US could help to run – and possibly own – Ukraine’s four nuclear power plants.

10:10 , Alex Croft

Moscow has said that a Russian halt on striking energy infrastructure in Ukraine remains in place - despite its claims that Kyiv has continued to attack such targets.

Russia is monitoring the situation and the US is welcome to do the same and reach its own conclusions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

Vladimir Putin agreed in a call with Donald Trump on Tuesday last week to observe a 30-day ceasefire on Ukrainian energy targets.

"So far, there have been no other orders from the president," Peskov said when asked if Russia intended to maintain the truce.

"Our armed forces are following all instructions of the supreme commander-in-chief, but of course we are monitoring the situation very closely. Our American interlocutors are also able to monitor the situation and draw the appropriate conclusions."

Kyiv, which accused Russia of flouting its moratorium almost immediately, said it would need to sign a formal document to suspend its own attacks, something which has not happened.

10:04 , Alex Croft

Moscow has accused Kyiv of attempting to strike a pumping station in Russia’s Krasnodar region, as the two sides meet US officials in Saudi Arabia to negotiate a partial truce involving energy infrastructure.

Ukrainian forces attempted to hit the Kropotkinskaya pumping station on the CPC pipeline, the Russian defence ministry said on Monday.

The drone was downed by Russian anti-aircraft units and crashed around 7 kilometres away from the pumping station, the ministry added.

The pumping station was previously attacked on February 17, and it has been out of service and under repair ever since.

09:45 , Alex Croft

Many aspects related to a possible settlement in Ukraine still need to be worked out, the Kremlin has said as Russian and US officials convene in Saudi Arabia for talks.

The Black Sea initiative, which concerns shipping security in the body of water separating parts of Ukraine and Russia, is on the agenda in the Riyadh talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added.

Moscow shares a common understanding with the US regarding its desire to move towards a settlement, Mr Peskov said, adding that Russia continues to monitor the situation after attacks by Kyiv.

09:33 , Alex Croft

As we earlier reported, a ceasefire on energy infrastructure and a truce in the Black Sea will be two of the key points of negotiations between US, Russian and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia today.

A third topic will likely be the prospect of Ukraine joining Nato and the possibility of security guarantees in the event of a full ceasefire.

While Ukraine has previously suggested territory could be temporarily ceded in exchange for Nato security guarantees, Mr Trump has said he does not believe Russia would “allow” Ukraine to join Nato.

Moscow insists that Ukraine’s military must be reduced in the event of a peace deal, a move Ukraine is almost certainly unlikely to accept. Meanwhile, Britain and France are seeking to assemble a Western “coalition of the willing” to offer military security guarantees to Kyiv under any peace deal.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff dismissed the Anglo-French proposition on Sunday as “a posture and a pose” which he claimed was based on a “simplistic” notion of the European leaders thinking “we have all got to be like Winston Churchill”.

09:25 , Alex Croft

09:13 , Alex Croft

A veteran of Russia's FSB security service and a former long-serving diplomat are leading the Russian delegation in the latest round of talks with the US over Ukraine.

Sergei Beseda, 70, is an adviser to the chief of Russia’s FSB security service. He was the head of FSB’s 5th service from 2009 until 2024, a branch which ran agents in former Soviet countries and was believed to be closely involved in intelligence preparations for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Grigory Karasin, 75, is a career diplomat who served as the deputy foreign minister and the ambassador to Britain. He is now a member of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, and chairs its international affairs committee.

Karasin and Beseda have both been placed under Western sanctions.

09:00 , Alex Croft

Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has praised Russian president Vladimir Putin as “super smart”, as talks over a ceasefire in Ukraine get underway in Saudi Arabia.

Ahead of Sunday’s discussions in Riyadh, Mr Witkoff – a former real estate mogul tasked by Mr Trump with leading negotiations on Ukraine’s future – met with Mr Putin in Moscow for a second time on Thursday for talks on ending the war.

Speaking to far-right commentator Tucker Carlson in an interview broadcast on Friday, Mr Witkoff said he “liked” the Russian president, who he described as “gracious”. He added: “I don't regard Putin as a bad guy. He’s super smart.”

Andy Gregory reports:

Trump’s special envoy praises ‘super smart’ Putin ahead of Ukraine ceasefire talks

08:41 , Alex Croft

Ukrainian missiles destroyed four Russian helicopters in Russia’s Belgorod region, Kyiv’s military said.

Moscow’s forces had established a landing site for the aircraft from which it could carry out rapid operations and surprise attacks on Ukraine, Kyiv’s Special Operations Forces said.

Footage appears to show the destruction of two Russian Ka-52 and two Mi-8 helicopters, which Ukraine says have bee actively used in Russia’s war.

“We proved that nothing is out of reach for Ukraine's Special Operations Forces," the unit said in a statement according to The Kyiv Independent.

The Belgorod region borders Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions - and is regularly used by Russia to attack Ukrainian territory.

08:28 , Alex Croft

A phone call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump was a “step towards a face-to-face meeting, the Kremlin said on Sunday.

The Russia-US talks currently underway in Riyadh would also be such a step, it said according to Interfax news agency.

Meanwhile, it has been reported in Bloomberg that Washington hopes to reach a broad ceasefire in Russia's war in Ukraine within weeks, targeting a truce agreement by April 20, citing people familiar with the planning.

08:19 , Alex Croft

A five-year-old girl was among those killed in an overnight Russian drone attack on Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said on Sunday.

The girl’s father was one of the two other people killed in Kyiv on Sunday. Another 10 people were injured including an 11-month-old child, the city’s military administration said.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, the girl and her father moved to Kyiv after fleeing from Orikhiv, a front line town in the region of Zaporizhzhia. The mother of the girl, who survived the attack, reportedly remains in hospital.

Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the military administration, said the attack reflects the reality of Russia’s “desire for peace”.

08:11 , Alex Croft

Russian air defence destroyed 28 drones fired by Ukraine last night, Moscow’s defence ministry said on Monday.

Twelve drones were downed over the border Kursk region and the southern Russia Rostov region, the ministry said on Telegram.

The remaining four were destroyed over Crimea, the Krasnodar region and the waters of the Sea of Azov.

It is not clear exactly how many drones were fired in total.

08:00 , Andy Gregory

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow’s main focus on Monday would be on a possible resumption of the UN-brokered July 2022 deal to ensure safe navigation for commercial vessels in the Black Sea.

Despite Russia having unilaterally withdrawn later that same year, the Kremlin claimed that Mr Putin had “responded constructively” to a Trump initiative on Black Sea shipping and had agreed to begin negotiations.

In remarks that will do little to assuage European fears that the White House is increasingly parroting Kremlin propaganda, US special envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News on Sunday: “I feel that [Mr Putin] wants peace.

“I think that you’re going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries. And from that, you'll naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire.”

07:39 , Alex Croft

Broadly, the talks will focus on the details of a proposed 30-day ceasefire on strikes on energy infrastructure – as well as a longer-term peace deal.

Following a phone call last week, Mr Putin and Mr Trump agreed “that the movement to peace will begin” with a 30-day pause in attacks on Russian and Ukrainian energy facilities, the White House said.

But that narrowly defined ceasefire was quickly cast into doubt, with Kyiv accusing Moscow of bombing its own oil depot in Kursk to undermine the agreement, while also striking hospitals and homes in Ukraine and knocking out power to some railways.

Nevertheless, Mr Zelensky has said that Kyiv would draw up a list of facilities which could be subject to a partial ceasefire, including not just energy, but also rail and port infrastructure.

A moratorium on energy facilities could disproportionately favour Moscow, given Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities have been a key route for Kyiv to inflict pain on its aggressor.

07:32 , Alex Croft

Officials from Kyiv and Washington met in Riyadh’s grand Ritz-Carlton hotel behind closed doors on Sunday, where they discussed details of a partial ceasefire in Ukraine.

Kyiv’s delegation was led by defence minister Rustem Umerov, who hailed the “productive and focussed” talks on X after the meeting concluded.

Mr Umerov said the meeting addressed the “complex technical issues” of a ceasefire on energy infrastructure, and that the delegation was focussed on Kyiv’s goal of securing a “just and lasting peace” for all of Europe.