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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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Russia has launched a fresh air attack on Kyiv, Ukraine’s military said, as president Volodymyr Zelensky’s demands for an immediate ceasefire fall on deaf ears.
Residents in the Ukrainian capital were ordered to “stay in shelters” by mayor Vitali Klitschko, while air defences lurched into action to down the Russian drones.
Several explosions were heard around the city by witnesses for Reuters news agency, in what sounded like air defence systems in operation.
The attack came just hours after Mr Zelensky has said Ukraine is ready to commit to a full 30-day ceasefire starting today, reiterating his push for Moscow to accept “complete silence” so the two countries can work out next steps towards peace.
“We are ready to move toward a ceasefire even starting today, if Russia is ready to take reciprocal steps: complete silence, a lasting ceasefire of at least 30 days,” he wrote on social media.
“That’s a fair timeframe to prepare the next steps. Russia must stop the war—halt its assaults and shelling.”
Earlier, Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian fighter jet using a sea drone in a world first, Kyiv’s military intelligence has said.
Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó has hit back at Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian president criticised Budapest for blocking Kyiv’s EU accession.
Speaking to journalists after hard-right Hungarian leader Viktor Orban rejected Kyiv’s proposed accession to the EU, Mr Zelensky pointed to a poll by the Hungary’s opposition which showed “70 per cent are in favour of Ukraine’s accession to the EU”.
Mr Szijjártó said Zelenskyy “has to come to terms with the fact that Hungarians have every right to express their opinion on Ukraine’s fast-track EU accession”.
He added: “The fact remains: Ukraine wants to join an association that we are members of, and not vice versa… Therefore, Kyiv should choose the appropriate tone.”
Vitali Klitschko, the former heavyweight boxer who is now mayor of Kyiv, ventured last month into hazardous political territory: he delicately suggested in an interview that Ukraine might need to cede land to end its battle against Russia.
After a flood of angry online comments, he walked back his comments, saying on Facebook that “territorial concessions contradict our national interests and we must fight against their implementation until the last”.
US president Donald Trump and his negotiators believe the only route to ending the Russian war in Ukraine is for Kyiv to acknowledge in some form that it is not getting back the Ukrainian land Moscow’s troops have taken since invading.
US vice president JD Vance said the war is “not going to end any time soon”.
“It’s going to be up to them (Ukraine and Russia) to come to an agreement and stop this brutal, brutal conflict. It’s not going anywhere. It’s not going to end anytime soon,” Mr Vance said in an interview with Fox News.
“Of course they (the Ukrainians) are angry that they were invaded, but are we going to continue to lose thousands and thousands of soldiers over a few miles of territory this or that way? I hope both of them come to their senses.”
Mr Vance’s comments came shortly after Ukraine signed a mineral and profit-sharing deal with the US on Wednesday.
Russia has launched a fresh air attack on Kyiv on Saturday night with residents ordered to stay in their bomb shelters, Ukrainian authorities said.
Ukraine’s air defence units were engaged in repelling the overnight attack, with mayor Vitali Klitschko warning people to “stay in shelters” on the Telegram app.
Reuters’ witnesses heard several explosions in what sounded like air defence systems in operation.
Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine is ready to commit to a full 30-day ceasefire starting today, reiterating his push for Moscow to accept “complete silence” so the two countries can work out next steps towards peace.
“Right now, no one sees any such readiness from Russia,” the Ukrainian president wrote. “On the contrary, their internal rhetoric is increasingly mobilizing.
“We are ready to move toward a ceasefire even starting today, if Russia is ready to take reciprocal steps: complete silence, a lasting ceasefire of at least 30 days.
“That’s a fair timeframe to prepare the next steps. Russia must stop the war—halt its assaults and shelling.”
Volodymyr Zelensky has congratulated Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese for his landslide election win.
“Ukraine sincerely values Australia’s unwavering support and its principled stance on ending Russia’s war and securing a dignified and lasting peace,” the Ukrainian president wrote.
“We look forward to further strengthening our productive partnership in pursuit of peace, security, and freedom.”
Shortly after sitting down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral, Donald Trump was left with a lingering concern: perhaps Vladimir Putin was just “tapping” him along.
The second Trump-Zelensky meeting, by all accounts, was a much more positive affair than their notorious clash in the Oval Office in late February. And on Wednesday it appeared to pay off – with the U.S. and Ukraine finally signing a long-awaited minerals deal.
Now, insiders have revealed details of the Vatican exchange between the two world leaders, and how it may have helped create a diplomatic breakthrough and boost Ukraine’s fortunes in the ongoing war with Russia.
James Liddell writes:
Two women have been injured after Russian forces dropped explosives from a drone into the heart of the southern city of Kherson, local authorities said.
“The Russian army attacked a central street in Kherson with a first-person view drone at around 12:50. Two women aged 55 and 83 have been injured as a result,” Kherson’s state administration said.
The women have sustained explosive and craniocerebral injuries, contusions and shrapnel wounds, doctors said according to Ukrainska Pravda. Their condition is moderate, medics added.
A 74-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man were also injured after Russian troops targeted the settlement of Antonivka on Saturday morning.
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Ukraine war latest: Putin’s forces launch attack on Kyiv after Zelensky demands truce – The Independent
