What you need to know
Rutte: Trump could bring this to a positive end
Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary-general, said after meeting President Trump he did not see the US walking away from its Ukraine peace process.
“When you look at the outcome of the meeting yesterday in London, we can be quite positive on where we are,” Rutte said. “So I’m not seeing a situation where the US is walking. I’m seeing a situation that under President Trump’s leadership could bring this to a positive end. There is something on the table now, I think, where the Ukrainians are really playing ball and I think the ball is clearly on the Russian court now.”
Rutte added that Nato members should be spending “considerably higher” than 2 per cent of GDP on defence. “It has to be considerably north of 3 per cent,” he said.
The US can avoid ‘World War Three’
Arseniy Yatsenyuk, a former Ukrainian prime minister, said the US needed to “turn the tide” in Ukraine in order to avoid “World War Three”.
“History repeats itself and I don’t want this bloody history to repeat once again. In the end, they had to step into the Second World War — so my message to America is that we can avoid World War III but we need definitely and urgently and right now to turn the tide and to unfold a new comprehensive and realistic plan how to bring peace to Europe,” he told Times Radio.
Sanctions, Crimea and Russian concessions
Asked if he would consider more sanctions for Russia “if the bombs keep falling”, Trump suggested a deadline for US peace efforts. He said: “I’d rather answer that question in a week. I want to see if we can have a deal.”
Did the US believe Crimea should be handed to Russia? Trump said it was “just handed it over” under President Obama. “Now they say, well, can you get it back? I think that’s going to be a very difficult thing to do.”
What concessions have been offered by Russia? Trump said: “Stopping the war. Stopping taking the whole country. Pretty big concession.”
Trump: ‘It takes two to tango’
President Trump has been asked why he was not putting more pressure on Russia to come to a peace deal.
“You don’t know what pressure I’m putting on Russia. They’re dealing,” he replied. “We’re putting a lot of pressure on Russia, and Russia knows that. Some people that are close to it know. Or [Putin] wouldn’t be talking right now.
Trump, speaking in the Oval Office alongside Jonas Gahr Store, Norway’s prime minister, continued: “I think he wants to make a deal. We’re going to find out very soon. But it takes two to tango. And you have to have Ukraine want to make a deal, too. And they’re being hit very hard. And I do believe they want to make a deal.”
UK ‘could join European defence programme’
Talks with Sir Keir Starmer could lead to the UK joining a European defence programme, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said after the two met in London on Thursday.
UK and EU officials hope that a defence and security pact will be the highlight of a summit on May 19. Both sides wish to improve ties as President Trump casts doubt on the United States’ commitment to Nato.
“We will discuss work on a strategic security and defence partnership agreement, which might pave the way then to a joint procurement and UK participation in our SAFE programme,” Von der Leyen said. She was referring to a €150 billion joint EU fund for missiles, artillery, drones, ammunition and other equipment.
View on occupied Crimea ‘part of negotiations’
The Trump administration’s willingness to acknowledge Russian control of Crimea “could change” and was “just part of the negotiating” between the White House and the Kremlin, William B Taylor, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, has told Times Radio.
“Crimea is not part of Russia. It has been part of Ukraine since 1954,” Taylor said. “The proposal for the United States to acknowledge or accept or recognise that Crimea is part of Russia is just part of the negotiating. That could change.
“Right now, the Russians occupy Crimea and other parts of Ukraine as well but you don’t have to recognise that de jure, legally. You can acknowledge de facto that they are there, they are occupying, they’ve been occupying Crimea since 2014 — but you don’t have to acknowledge or recognise that the Russians own Crimea.”
Deal ‘imperative for Ukraine’ as weapons run out
Ukraine is running out of munitions which are unlikely to be replaced as US support wavers and Europe is unable to step up, General Sir John McColl, the former deputy supreme allied commander of Nato from 2007 to 2011, has said.
He was concerned that Trump would “walk away from the peace deal that he and his administration are trying to broker”. “We’ve heard that from him, we’ve heard that from the vice president as well. And if that’s the case, then that’s really difficult from a military perspective for Ukraine”, the retired British officer told Times Radio.
“When President Biden was in the White House, he authorised a series of arms packages. And so there was a stockpile of vital munitions that were built up. And those are running out. President Trump has not authorised any new packages and Europe is not in a position to fill the gap created by the US.
“So in terms of the imperative for reaching a deal, then I think that clearly that imperative lies with Ukraine.”
Top-down foreign policy creates challenges for UK
British diplomats face a challenge dealing with President Trump’s approach to foreign policy, Sir Mark Lyall Grant, former UK national security adviser and former ambassador to the UN, has told Times Radio.
“Britain has long had a unique ability to influence American policy upstream, precisely through quiet diplomatic channels between the two establishments,” Sir Mark said. “What’s more difficult at the moment is that a lot of the policy is completely top down, driven by President Trump himself and the people he has surrounded himself (with).
“His top advisers and politicians are essentially spokespeople for President Trump and they don’t appear to be willing or able to influence him from below. And that is the difficulty I think that British diplomacy has at the moment.”
Times event: 100 days of Trump
Join us on Thursday, May 1 for an exclusive event reflecting on Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, with sharp analysis and thought-provoking debate on the policies and controversies that have defined his presidency so far.
Confirmed speakers include Hugo Rifkind, columnist and Times Radio presenter; Josh Glancy, editor of The News Review; columnist Matthew Syed; economist Linda Yueh; and Republicans Overseas UK spokesperson Sarah Elliott.
For more information and to book tickets, click here.
US still talking trade with China
President Trump also insisted that trade talks with China were continuing, despite Beijing’s claims that negotiations were not taking place as he had announced.
“We may reveal it later but they had meetings this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China,” Trump said.
Trump for the Nobel peace prize?
Jonas Gahr Store, the Norwegian prime minster, swerved a question about whether Trump “deserves to be nominated” for a Nobel peace prize.
Store replied: “Well, I salute President Trump for having been taking very important initiatives to get this conflict towards an end, which both parties deserve. We need to have a ceasefire, save lives, and move towards something which is more secure for Europe, for the people concerned.
“On that prize, you know, that is the committee taking care of that, which is completely working on its own terms, and I cannot comment on that.”
Is Nato sacrosanct?
President Trump gave an equivocal answer when asked if he thought Nato was “sacrosanct”. Jens Stoltenberg, a former Nato secretary-general and a member of the Norwegian delegation, was facing him across the table.
Trump said: “Well, it’s a very interesting question. It’s certainly very important for Europe, and I think without us, it wouldn’t be nearly as powerful.”
Deadline for peace talks
Asked if the US had a deadline for the peace talks, President Trump said: “I have my own deadline, we want it to be fast. After that, we’re going to have a very much different attitude. But I think it has a very good chance of getting done.”
Putin will heed my words, says Trump
President Trump has suggested that President Putin will take notice of his exhortation to cease missile attacks on Ukraine after Thursday’s strike on Kyiv.
Trump was about to meet Jonas Gahr Støre, Norway’s prime minister, at the White House when he was asked if Putin would listen to him. “I do,” he said.
Trump was also asked if Russia was serious about peace. He said: “We are thinking very strongly that they both want peace. We have to get [Russia and Ukraine] to the table.”
“We’re waiting a long time. They have to get them to the table and I think we’re going to get peace. I think they both want to make peace. I do believe so. There’s a lot of hatred there. There’s a lot of very bad blood, a lot of distrust. But I think we’re going to, I hope we’re going to get there for the sake of a lot of young people that are dying.”
Trump claimed that 5,000 young people a week were “dying in that ridiculous war”.
Zelensky defends his stance in Oval Office row
President Zelensky has defended his conduct in the ill-tempered Oval Office meeting with President Trump and JD Vance, telling an American podcaster that he would “always defend … the dignity of our country”.
Trump and Vance, the vice-president, berated Zelensky, especially after he warned that America would one day feel the impact of Russian aggression. A visibly angry Trump told him: “You’re gambling with World War Three.”
Zelensky said on Thursday that he had been trying to impress upon Trump that Russia was the aggressor. The US president has repeatedly said that Ukraine “started” the war. At other times Trump has suggested that both countries were responsible for Russia’s invasion.
“We consider the United States as a strong strategic partner with an influence,” Zelensky told Ben Shapiro, a pro-Trump media personality, during an interview in Kyiv that was recorded on Tuesday. “We would really like to have these two strengths used towards Russia, so that the force would be towards Russia because they’re the one who is the aggressor. We would like to have this common understanding that Russia is the aggressor, not we,” he said.
“You shouldn’t be saying that Ukraine and Russia started this war. I believe that it’s painful for our people to hear. This is why we respond in this way. We’re talking about the dignity of our country,” he said. “Even if we’re talking in a diplomatic environment, everything is related to Ukraine’s dignity. I will always defend it. This is my job.
Give more, Nato chief tells members
Mark Rutte, Nato’s secretary-general, has urged its 32 member nations to devote more funds, equipment and political energy.
“In 2025, we need to significantly increase our efforts to ensure Nato remains a key source of military advantage for all our nations. Our continued freedom and prosperity depend on it,” Rutte wrote in his annual report, which has been posted on Nato’s website.
Rutte was in Washington on Thursday meeting senior US officials. Nato is the world’s biggest military alliance but America is stepping back from its role as underwriter of European security.
Poland condemns ‘bestial Russian attacks’
Poland, which is among Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, has expressed solidarity following Russia’s missile attacks.
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Cash in on turbulence, urges Putin
President Putin has urged his officials to take advantage of opportunities in the global economy arising from market turbulence and intensifying trade wars.
Russian trade with the United States and European Union has fallen sharply because of sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. Because of those sanctions, however, Russia was not on the list of tariffs that President Trump announced last month. Even so, Moscow is braced for a protracted period of lower oil prices — its main export — and declining budget revenues.
Putin told officials: “The global economic situation is becoming more complicated as commodities and financial markets experience significant fluctuations due to intensified global competition. It is necessary not only to monitor these factors and predict their changes but also to use the emerging opportunities to develop domestic production, trade relations and exports to strengthen the national economy as a whole.”
Kyiv missile strike injured 90
The number of people wounded in the attack on Kyiv has also risen. The emergency services say that 90 were injured when a residential building in the Sviatoshynskyi district was hit by a missile.
Kyiv death toll rises
The death toll from the Russian strike on Kyiv early on Thursday has risen to 12, emergency services in the Ukrainian capital have reported.
“Rescuers continue to clear the rubble,” said Pavlo Petrenko, spokesman for the city’s emergency services. He said a 17-year-old boy and a 27-year-old woman whose bodies had been pulled out of the rubble were the latest confirmed victims.
Europe’s plan to stop Russian fuel imports
The European Commission will present its plan for phasing out imports of Russian fossil fuels in the next two weeks, Ursula von der Leyen, the president, said at an energy event in London on Thursday.
The European Commission has pledged to stop importing Russian fossil fuels by 2027, in response to Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Why Kyiv would rather fight than give Crimea to Russia
Analysis by Marc Bennetts in Kyiv
For President Trump, the solution to the war in Ukraine is extremely simple: Kyiv should recognise the realities on the ground and put aside its objections to the Kremlin’s land grabs. For many Ukrainians, though, Trump’s demands are not only unrealistic but a threat to the very existence of their country.
President Zelensky’s refusal to acknowledge Russian rule in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that was annexed in 2014, led Trump to post on his Truth Social platform: “It’s inflammatory statements like Zelensky’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War.” Crimea had been “lost years ago”, he said.
For Kyiv, the recognition of Russia’s seizure of Crimea would set a “dangerous precedent” and only encourage President Putin’s appetite for Ukrainian lands.
Read in full here.
Putin is the obstacle to peace, Macron says
President Macron has said that President Putin is the only person holding up a peace deal.
“If President Putin says yes, the weapons will fall silent tomorrow, lives will be saved,” he said. “US anger should be directed at only one person, President Putin.”
North Korean ballistic missiles caused Kyiv devastation
The weapon that killed at least eight people in a major Russian attack on Kyiv overnight was the North Korean KN-23 (KN-23A) ballistic missile, a Ukrainian military source told Reuters.
Russia has not commented directly on the strike, with the Kremlin saying only that it has been hitting “military and military-adjacent” targets. Russia and North Korea have denied weapons transfers that would violate UN embargoes.
Russia fired 70 missiles and 145 drones overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force.
Ukraine has said North Korea has supplied Russia with vast amounts of artillery shells as well as rocket systems, thousands of troops and ballistic missiles, which Moscow began using for strikes at the end of 2023.
By the start of 2025, Pyongyang had supplied Russia with 148 KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles, according to Ukrainian intelligence.
Putin must stop lying, Macron says
President Macron has told President Putin to “stop lying” over wanting peace in Ukraine while continuing to strike the country.
“The only thing to do is for President Putin to finally stop lying,” Macron said during a visit to Madagascar, saying the Russian leader was telling US negotiators “he wants peace” but then continued “to bombard Ukraine”.
“In Ukraine, they only want a single answer: Does President Putin agree to an unconditional ceasefire?”
Ramaphosa calls for unconditional ceasefire
During their press conference in Pretoria, President Ramaphosa said the meeting with President Zelensky had reaffirmed the “bonds” between South Africa and Ukraine. He also said he had spoken with Trump and Putin earlier this week.
He said South Africa sees diplomacy as the only path to peace in Ukraine and noted his government has experience in this area because of the transition from apartheid.
“If there is one thing history … has taught us it is diplomacy and dialogue is more important than any weapon,” he told reporters.
Asked if he subscribed to the US view that Ukraine may have to cede territory to Russia to achieve peace, Ramaphosa replied that he supported an “unconditional ceasefire”.
Trump tells Putin: ‘Vladimir, stop!’
Donald Trump has taken to his Truth Social account to condemn the overnight strikes on Kyiv by Russia, which claimed at least eight lives.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV,” wrote the US president. “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”
Last night Trump lashed out at President Zelensky and accused him of being an obstacle to a peace deal.
Zelensky: US putting no pressure on Russia
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he did not see signs the United States was putting “any strong pressure” on Russia as part of its peace push.
The Ukrainian leader, at a joint press conference in South Africa alongside President Ramaphosa, said it was already a big compromise on Kyiv’s part to agree to negotiate with Russia once a ceasefire is in place.
He added that Ukraine was fighting for “our survival”.
UK unveils Russian tech sanctions
The Foreign Office has announced some 150 new trade sanctions against Russia.
They target software and technology used in Russian defence and energy sectors, including banning video game controllers used to pilot drones on the front lines in Ukraine.
The Foreign Office minister, Stephen Doughty, said: “Putin thought he could use British markets to boost his war effort, buying harmless goods and turning them into tools of war — but the UK is exposing and acting on this sinister trade.
“Today’s action clamps down on Russia’s sneaky trading and deprives Putin of the goods he desperately needs to fight his barbaric war.”
Starmer: Attacks demonstrate Moscow is ‘aggressor’
Russia’s overnight strikes on Kyiv are “a real, human reminder” that Russia is the aggressor, Sir Keir Starmer said.
The prime minister said: “I think it’s a real reminder that Russia is the aggressor here and that is being felt by the Ukrainians, as it has been felt for three long years now.
“That’s why it’s important to get Russia to an unconditional ceasefire. Obviously, we had talks in London this week, Paris last week. We’re making progress towards the ceasefire. It’s got to be a lasting ceasefire.
“But these attacks — these awful attacks — are a real, human reminder of who is the aggressor here and the cost to the Ukrainian people.”
Moscow blames ‘drug addict’ Zelensky for deadlock
Russia has accused President Zelensky of a “schizophrenic” attitude to peace talks, saying he “torpedoed” talks in London by refusing to countenance recognition of Moscow’s rule over Crimea.
Maria Zakharov, the combative spokeswoman of Russia’s foreign ministry, used Moscow’s frequent and false smear that Zelensky is supposedly a drug addict to denigrate the Ukrainian leader.
“Yesterday, Zelensky, apparently having sniffed [drugs], categorically rejected any concessions and announced [Kyiv] does not recognise the joining of Crimea, as he put it, to Russia,” she said.
“He demonstratively expressed his wish to hold negotiations only about a ceasefire, and only on his own conditions.”
Zakharova added that Zelensky had, “wrecked the London round of consultations, confirming Bankova’s [Zelensky’s administration] intention to torpedo the … peace process”.
Talks in London between the US, UK, France, Germany and Ukraine were postponed on Wednesday amid reports that the US and Russia had made progress in bilateral negotiations to end the conflict, including division of territory between the warring sides.
Kremlin welcomes US stance on Crimea
The Kremlin has said that it fully shares President Trump’s assertion that Ukraine lost Crimea years ago and it cannot be returned.
“This completely corresponds to our understanding and to what we have been saying for a long time,” Dmitry Peskov, President Putin’s spokesman, told reporters.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday that “Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion”.
The US leader also criticised President Zelensky for insisting Kyiv would not legally recognise the occupation of Crimea, saying this was “very harmful to the Peace Negotiations”.
Peskov refused to comment on reports that US recognition of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea could be part of a peace deal.
“I repeat: work is continuing,” he said of talks over the conflict, adding: “We are focused on continuing the negotiation process and we value the intermediary role of the American side.”
US and South Africa ‘want end to Ukraine war’
As he met his Ukrainian counterpart, President Ramaphosa of South Africa announced on X he had spoken to the US leader on the eve of President Zelensky’s visit and the two had “agreed that the war should be brought to as end as soon as possible”.
He said he and President Trump had also agreed to “to meet soon to address various matters regarding US-South Africa relations”.
Since taking office Trump has attacked South Africa for what he claims is the persecution of the white Afrikaner minority. He cut aid to the country and offered Afrikaners refugee status in the US.
The South African government has denied white people are being persecuted and said Trump, whose key adviser, Elon Musk, was born in South Africa, has been taken in by right-wing propaganda.
Eye witness: anger on shattered streets of Kyiv
There was palpable anger among survivors of last night’s attack on Kyiv, as rescue workers continued to clear rubble and remove shattered glass from apartment blocks.
The suspected ballistic missile that slammed into the city’s Sviatoshynskyi district at about 1am tore roofs from buildings and destroyed parked cars. The devastation stretched over hundreds of metres.
“There can’t be any peace with Russia. Putin wants to destroy us,” said Viktor, 66, as he stood outside his daughter’s windowless flat. “I don’t believe a word he says.”
Another woman started to comment, but then stopped herself. “I can’t speak about Putin without swearing,” she said. “When is all this going to end?”
Others queued at tents set up by humanitarian groups to provide aid, including psychological assistance. Volunteers helped carry out wreckage from damaged flats, a task that will likely take days to complete.
“We are stronger together,” one of them said, smiling in face of the latest dose of death and destruction delivered by Russia.
Russian critic of army leadership sent to penal colony
A Russian general who became famous for accusing top brass of betraying his troops fighting in Ukraine has been sentenced to five years in a penal colony for fraud.
Ivan Popov was also stripped of his rank and given an 800,000 rouble (£7,225) fine by a military court in Tambov for allegedly stealing 1,700 tonnes of metal products intended for military construction.
Popov came to prominence in 2023 when he accused the Russian army leadership’s failure to provide adequate artillery support to frontline troops in Ukraines.
“The armed forces of Ukraine could not break through our army from the front, [but] our senior commander hit us from the rear, treacherously and vilely decapitating the army at the most difficult and tense moment,” he said.
Popov was arrested on suspicion of fraud in May last year in what was widely seen as punishment for his criticism.
Zelensky meets South African president
President Zelensky has arrived at the Union Buildings in Pretoria where President Ramaphosa greeted him, smiling and shaking his hand.
The two then went in the building for private talks.
The Ukrainian leader had already announced he is cutting short his visit to return to Kyiv following overnight Russian attacks on his capital city.
From the street far below protest songs could be heard, as despite the rain supporters of former President Jacob Zuma’s new populist, anti-Western opposition party were demonstrating.
The Umkhonto We Sizwe party has called the Ukrainian leader a “NATO” puppet.
UK ‘does not recognise Russian sovereignty over Crimea’
Britain does not recognise Russian claims over Crimea or any territory “illegally seized from Ukraine”.
Stephen Doughty, a foreign office minister, told the Commons: “The UK position on Ukrainian sovereignty is well known and our position has not changed. We do not recognise Russian sovereignty over any territory illegally seized from Ukraine, including Crimea, and when, how and on what terms this war comes to an end can only be decided by negotiations with Ukraine at the heart of them.”
He also said there had been “no softening of the UK’s commitment to the coalition of the willing” and that the government’s commitment to sanctions remains “undiminished”.
The government was even “ramping up the pressure” by announcing new sanctions including on the re-purposing of game console controllers to kill Ukrainians.
Bombing of Kyiv ‘absolutely horrific’, UK says
The UK government condemned Russia’s recent missile and drone attacks on civilians, including the “absolutely horrific scenes overnight” in Kyiv.
Stephen Doughty, a foreign office minister, also told the Commons that yesterday’s meeting of representatives of the UK, France, Germany and the US in London was “productive and successful and significant progress was made in reaching common position on next steps”.
He added: “All parties reiterated strong support for Trump’s commitment to stopping the killing and achieving just lasting peace.”
Airstrikes achieved their goals, Russia boasts
Moscow said it achieved its objectives in a “massive strike” on Ukraine overnight.
Russia said on Thursday it had targeted Ukraine’s defence industry, including plants that produced “rocket fuel and gunpowder”, during strikes that Kyiv said killed at least eight people.
“Overnight, the Russian armed forces carried out a massive strike with long-range air, land and sea-based weapons, and drones, on Ukraine’s aviation, aerospace, machine-building and armoured vehicle industries,” the Russian defence ministry said.
It added: “The objectives of the strike have been achieved”.
Kyiv shaken by worst airstrikes since July
For residents of Kyiv, drone attacks have become an almost nightly occurrence. But Wednesday’s barrage of ballistic missile and kamikaze drones was the deadliest strike since July, when over 30 people were killed in the Ukrainian capital.
“I woke up from the sound of the blasts. I’d been sound asleep because I take medication to calm my nerves,” said Olena, a middle-aged woman. “We ran straight to the air raid shelter in the metro.”
“A neighbour, a veteran of the war, died in the attack,” she said. “Another boy we know is still missing. I think Putin did this because our president refused to agree to his terms for ending the war. This was his answer.”
Nearby, survivors sat on a bench outside a wrecked block of apartments, the few possessions that they could salvage piled in front of them in bags.
“I’ve lived here my whole life,” said one woman, shaking with emotion. “Where am I going to go now?”
Zelensky can’t agree a peace deal, Kremlin claims
Russia has claimed that is becoming clearer “with every second” that the government in Kyiv is unable to negotiate a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
Maria Zakharova, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, said: “With every day, with every hour, with every second, Zelensky’s inability to make a deal is becoming more obvious.”
Zakharova accused Zelensky of “sabotaging” both a 30-day mutual cessation of attacks on energy infrastructure, and a 30-hour Easter ceasefire announced by President Putin.
On both occasions, Ukraine accused Russia of violating the agreements, while Moscow said Ukrainian attacks continued against Russian targets.
Devastation in the wake of Russian attacks
The scene in the Sviatoshynskyi district, where many of the victims of last night’s attack had their homes, was one of utter devastation on Thursday morning.
The missiles destroyed or damaged hundreds of flats in an ordinary residential area in the west of Kyiv.
“We were at home, when we heard the first explosion. We grabbed our baby and managed to go into the corridor and then a second explosion blew out the front door and all the windows,” said Oleksandr, 30. “We weren’t injured, but our flat wasn’t hit as badly as many others.”
He was standing next to remains of his car as he spoke. Other locals sat around in shock around the shattered husk of the apartment building. “We don’t feel any effect of the peace talks,” Oleksandr said.
Shapps: Disgusting that Trump’s backing tyranny
Former defence minister Grant Shapps said he has “some theories” as to why President Trump “seems to support the tyrant”, President Putin, but he is barred by the Official Secrets Act from sharing why.
He told Times Radio: “I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch, and many of your listeners will already know because it’s publicly reported that he’s had previous run-ins with Kyiv, unrelated to the war, and people may come to their own theories as to why he seemed to be in cahoots with Putin, who after all is a dictator who wants a completely different type of world to the one which has been constructed after the Second World War.”
Shapps added that he finds it “really disgusting” that the leader of the free world is “coming out as nothing more than a swaggering bully and choosing tyranny over democracy”.
Zelensky cuts short trip to South Africa
President Zelensky has announced he is cutting short his trip to South Africa following the deadly attacks overnight on Ukraine.
Shortly after touching down in South Africa, Zelensky said on X that after meeting President Ramaphosa he would be cancelling the rest of his programme and returning to Kyiv.
“The foreign minister of Ukraine will hold all the necessary meetings in South Africa to fully inform the country’s political and civil society leaders about the situation,” he said.
Zelensky added that Russia must stop its strikes immediately.
“It has been 44 days since Ukraine agreed to a full ceasefire and a halt to strikes … And it has been 44 days of Russia continuing to kill our people.”
Peace deal is not close, Ukrainian MP warns
It is unlikely any sort of peace is close, a Ukrainian MP has claimed.
Oleksiy Goncharenko said the overnight attacks were “really awful” and unscored Ukraine’s need to end the war “as soon as possible”.
Talking to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Goncharenko said Kyiv’s “red lines” include not recognising occupied territories as Russian as well as the need for security guarantees.
“I hope [President Trump] will understand to achieve this peace you need to put pressure not just on Ukraine but on Russia too,” he said.
Zelensky in South Africa for talks with Ramaphosa
President Zelensky is in Pretoria for talks with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, as he tries to shore up international support following the latest attack from President Trump.
Ukraine and South Africa’s relations have been strained, as Pretoria took a neutral stance on Russia’s 2022 invasion and refused to vote with Ukraine and its allies at the UN.
This drew condemnation from President Biden’s administration, especially after South Africa hosted Russian ships for war games. The former US ambassador to South Africa accused Pretoria of secretly arming Russia — allegations that were never proven.
“It is crucial to bring a just peace closer. We are working to ensure that the G20 countries are actively engaged in diplomatic efforts,” Zelensky said in a post on X.
70 missiles launched at Ukraine
Russia fired 70 missiles and 145 drones in a large-scale attack on Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force.
Ukraine units shot down 48 missiles and 64 drones, while 68 drones were redirected by electronic warfare, the air force said in a post on Telegram.
The Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhia and Khmelnytskyi regions were all hit by the Russian attack.
Kremlin repeats nuclear threat to West
Moscow reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in the event of territorial aggression by Western countries, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council has said.
Sergei Shoigu told state news outlet TASS that in November 2024 Russia made amendments to its nuclear weapons policy.
“Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in the event of aggression against it or the Republic of Belarus, including with the use of conventional weapons,” said Shoigu.
“In the event that foreign states commit unfriendly actions that pose a threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, our country considers it legitimate to take symmetrical and asymmetrical measures necessary to suppress such actions and prevent their repetition,” he added.
Trump: Zelensky comments are inflammatory
President Trump has lashed out at President Zelensky after Ukraine appeared to resist a US ultimatum to concede swathes of territory to end the war.
The US president said a peace deal was very close but accused Zelensky of “harming” the negotiations and making “inflammatory” comments after the Ukrainian president said that Kyiv would not accept Russian sovereignty over Crimea.
Trump said Ukraine was in a dire situation with “no cards to play” after he abruptly withdrew American negotiators from talks in London.
• Zelensky is key obstacle to peace deal, says Trump
Strikes show Putin ‘not interested in peace’
The Russian missile strike on Kyiv overnight shows Moscow is not interested in halting its invasion, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on Thursday.
President Putin “demonstrates through his actions, not words, that he does not respect any peace efforts and only wants to continue the war”, Sybiha said on X.
“Yesterday’s Russian maximalist demands for Ukraine to withdraw from its regions, combined with these brutal strikes, show that Russia, not Ukraine, is the obstacle to peace.”
He added that “Moscow, not Kyiv, is where pressure should be applied”, after President Trump said that President Zelensky was “harming” the negotiations.
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In pictures: Russian attack on Kyiv
Kharkiv also comes under attack
The mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, reported a Russian missile attack.
The city in the northeast of the country endured two overnight waves of Russian missiles, injuring two people and smashing windows, Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram.
There was also damage in the Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv, where emergency services said Russian forces launched a second strike on rescue teams attending a fire, injuring one worker.
The Ukrainian state railway network said that infrastructure had been damaged and that two railway workers had been injured.
One of the deadliest Russian strikes of war
Early on Thursday morning, at least eight people were killed and more than 60 wounded in a “massive” missile attack on Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s state emergency service.
In one of the deadliest strikes on the capital in the three-year war, five districts suffered damage and 42 people were hospitalised, including six children.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said that residents from one building were trapped under rubble in the western Sviatoshynskyi district.
Pictures posted on Telegram showed rescue teams working with floodlights, moving cautiously through piles of rubble and clambering up ladders extended along the facades of buildings.
