Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Two countries exchange attacks on each other’s capitals two days before Moscow is due to host world leaders for Putin’s Victory Day parade
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
Ukraine is prepared to accept a 30-kilometre demilitarised zone with Russia, Donald Trump’s envoy to the region has claimed.
Keith Kellogg said the zone, which could see both Ukrainian and Russian forces withdrawing 15 kilometres from their current position, would be controlled by peacekeepers.
A ceasefire “in place”, meaning both sides retain the territory they currently hold, may be the best way out of the current situation, according to Mr Kellogg.
“So you tell the Ukrainians ‘Look, this is one of those things that’s going to be evolving over time. And if you do a ceasefire in place, the ground that you own, the ground that you fought for, that’s your ground right now.’”
The demilitarised zone would be controlled by the ‘coalition of the willing’, the Anglo-French-led group of European countries prepared to put boots on the ground to facilitate peacekeeping efforts in Ukraine.
Earlier, Ukrainian authorities said a mother and son were killed and seven people, including four children, injured in Kyiv overnight as Russia and Ukraine attacked each other’s capital cities.
Kamikaze drones continued to fly over Ukrainian territory on Wednesday morning, Kyiv’s air force said, more than nine hours after Russia began the attack.
Vladimir Putin will travel to China at the end of August, reciprocating Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s expected visit to Russia this week, the Kremlin has announced.
Mr Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the visit will be part of a “good tradition”, in which Mr Xi visits Moscow to attend celebrations of Russia’s defeat over Nazi Germany, and Mr Putin travels to China to attend events marking the Allied defeat of Japan.
“This was the case 10 years ago, in 2015, and this will be the case this year,” Mr Ushakov said. In September, Beijing is set to host an event marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which China refers to as “the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression”.
In 2015, China marked the 70th anniversary of its role in the defeat of Japan with a massive military parade involving more than 12,000 troops, 500 pieces of military equipment and 200 military aircraft.
Defence secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly blocked military aid flights to Ukraine within days after US president Donald Trump entered office without the administration knowing.
An order from the US military told freight airlines at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and a US base in Qatar to halt 11 flights loaded with artillery shells and other weapons bound for Ukraine, according to Reuters.
The verbal order reportedly came from Mr Hegseth’s office, according to US Transportation Command records reviewed by Reuters.
His instructions sparked mass confusion across Washington, DC and in Kyiv, underscoring what officials and critics have warned is a Pentagon in disarray and driven by haphazard decision-making.
The pause in aid was previously reported, but Mr Hegseth’s apparent direct role in making the call to halt the flights carrying military aid was not. The flights resumed several days later after then-national security adviser Mike Waltz intervened, according to Reuters.
Alex Woodward reports from New York:
Chinese president Xi Jinping has left Beijing for his state visit to Russia, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.
He will be welcomed as Vladimir Putin’s “guest of honour” for Moscow’s commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over the Nazis and, according to Beijing, Mr Xi will deepen his “mutual trust” with the Russian president.
Mr Xi, whose country buys more Russian oil and gas than any other, and which has thrown Moscow an economic lifeline that has helped it navigate Western sanctions imposed over its war in Ukraine, is due to arrive on Wednesday evening.
He is the most powerful world leader expected to attend a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany.
The Kremlin has described attempted Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow as showing Kyiv’s tendency to commit “acts of terrorism” – despite Moscow’s own attack on the Ukrainian capital which killed a mother and son.
Russian air defence forces downed 14 Ukrainian drones on Wednesday, the city’s mayor said, as Kyiv targeted the Russian capital for the third consecutive day.
The drones forced most of the Russian capital’s airports to close hours before Chinese president Xi Jinping was due to fly in for a visit that Kyiv has made clear it opposes.
In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The Kyiv regime continues to demonstrate its essence, its propensity for terrorist acts.”
“All necessary measures are being taken by our intelligence services and our military to ensure that the celebration of the Great Victory is held in a calm, stable and peaceful environment,” he added.
A poll has shown that 47 per cent of Ukrainians have a fairly positive expectation of the US critical minerals deal, as of early May.
Conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, the survey also found that 22 per cent of respondents expect the deal will have negative consequences, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Another 19 per cent believe it will have no impact on Ukraine, while 12 per cent were undecided.
The deal was signed last week after months of intense negotiations, and will see Washington and Kyiv share profits from the future sale of Ukraine’s mineral and energy reserves.
Earlier, we reported that two people had been killed in Russia’s intense overnight drone attack on Kyiv.
It has now emerged that a mother and son were the two people who died, according to Ukrainian authorities.
At least seven people, including four children, were also injured in the attacks, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding that Russia fired four ballistic missiles and 142 drones at Kyiv and five other regions.
Residents evacuated their apartment buildings still in night dress, and waited outside the damaged as emergency workers battled blazes in their apartment blocks.
Russian drones continued to circle the Ukrainian territory at 11am (9am BST) on Wednesday, more than nine hours after the first air raid sirens sounded over the region.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump envoy says Kyiv ready for demilitarised zone controlled by peacekeeping force – The Independent
