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Comes as Russia’s attacks on Ukraine continue, with five people killed and 61 injured in mass drone and missile strike overnight
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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed his meeting with US president Donald Trump at Pope Francis’ funeral was the best they have had together.
The two world leaders had a brief conversation on the sidelines of the funeral at the Vatican a week ago.
In comments released by his presidential administration today, Mr Zelensky said that he and Mr Trump agreed that a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow was the correct first step towards peace in the war in Ukraine.
It comes as Russia’s attacks on Ukraine continue, with five people killed and 61 injured in a mass drone and missile strike overnight, Ukrainian officials have said.
Meanwhile, US officials finalised new economic sanctions against Russia to intensify pressure on Moscow to embrace president Mr Trump’s efforts to end its war, sources say.
The targets include state-owned energy giant Gazprom and major organisations in the natural resources and banking sectors, an administration official said. Mr Trump would need to approve the package.
The US has also pulled out of mediating in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, with State Department official Tammy Bruce saying envoys would no longer “fly around the world at the drop of a hat” to mediate.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed air defence systems and sanctions on Russia with Donald Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican.
He also said the critical minerals deal signed by the two countries on Wednesday was mutually beneficial, and that it would allow Ukraine to defend future US investments, as well as its own territory and people.
Russia has accused Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky of having “unequivocally threatened” world leaders who are planning to arrive in Moscow for its Victory Day celebrations.
Mr Zelensky said that Ukraine cannot provide security assurances to foreign officials planning to visit Russia around 9 May for its World War II commemorations, warning that Moscow could stage provocations and later attempt to blame Ukraine.
In response to Mr Zelensky’s comments, which were made public on Saturday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that he had “unequivocally threatened the world leaders who are planning to arrive in Moscow on 9 May.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday that Russia expects Kyiv to take steps to de-escalate before Victory Day.
“We will, of course, expect (from) Kyiv not ambiguous, but final statements, and most importantly, actions aimed at de-escalating the conflict during the holidays,” Mr Peskov told journalists.
The US will no longer mediate between Russia and Ukraine, leaving the two countries to work out how to end the war, a state department official says.
Tammy Bruce said US envoys would no longer fly around the world “at the drop of a hat” to act as a go-between in peace talks.
It was now “between the two parties” to present concrete ideas on how the conflict would end, she insisted, although the US remained committed to helping.
My colleague Jane Dalton has the full story:
Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed that its air defences shot down 170 Ukrainian drones overnight.
The ministry said eight cruise missiles and three guided missiles were also intercepted.
A key grain terminal was hit in an overnight drone strike on Novorossiysk in Russia, according to reports.
Bloomberg News reported Ukrainian drones hit the target in the southern Russian city.
Four people were injured in a drone strike on the Black Sea port city overnight, according to Krasnodar region governor Veniamin Kondratyev.
Two Togolese nationals have been captured in Ukraine while fighting alongside Russian forces, Togo’s foreign ministry has confirmed.
In a statement, it alleged the majority, most of whom are young students, were lured to Russia by institutions based there offering scholarships.
The deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council has said nobody could guarantee Kyiv would survive to see 10 May if Ukraine attacked Moscow during World War Two victory celebrations on 9 May.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire in May in the war with Ukraine to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War Two.
Responding to Moscow’s offer of the three-day ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready as long as the ceasefire would be 30 days in length, something Mr Putin had already ruled out in the near term, saying he wants a long-term settlement not a brief pause.
Mr Zelensky said Ukraine, given the continued war with Russia, could not guarantee the safety of any foreign dignitaries who came to Moscow for the traditional 9 May victory parade.
“We cannot be responsible for what happens on the territory of the Russian Federation. They are responsible for your security, and therefore we will not give you any guarantees,” he said.
Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president who has emerged as one of Moscow’s most outspoken anti-Western hawks since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, called Mr Zelenskiy’s statement a “verbal provocation” and said nobody had asked for Kyiv’s security guarantees for the 9 May events.
“(Mr Zelensky) understands that in the event of a real provocation on Victory Day, nobody will be able to guarantee that Kyiv will live to see May 10,” Medvedev said on his official Telegram channel on Saturday.
Russian forces used drones with thermobaric warheads in the overnight strike on Kharkiv, the region’s prosecutor’s office has said.
In a statement on Telegram on Saturday, it said thermobaric weapons create a powerful blast wave and a hot cloud of smoke, causing large-scale destruction.
The prosecutor said its use may indicate a deliberate violation of international humanitarian law.
Five people have been killed and 61 injured after Russia launched a mass drone and missile strike overnight, Ukrainian officials have said.
In the region that suffered the worst casualties, two children were among the 51 wounded in Kharkiv late on Friday, the regional prosecutor’s office said, while one person was killed, according to the regional state administration head.
Then four people were killed and eight others were injured in Donetsk Oblast, the regional governor said on Saturday.
And two more people were also injured in Sumy Oblast, according to the regional military administration.
Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with 183 drones and two ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian air force said early on Saturday, with 77 shot down and another 73 falling without causing any damage.
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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky claims Trump meeting at Pope’s funeral was ‘best’ conversation they had – The Independent
