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Ukraine’s air defence units were trying to repel a Russian air attack on Kyiv early on Sunday, according to the city’s mayor
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Russia has launched drone attacks on Kyiv, the city’s mayor said, just hours after President Vladimir Putin proposed direct talks with Ukraine.
Ukraine’s air defence units were trying to repel a Russian air attack on Kyiv early on Sunday, according to the mayor. Witnesses heard blasts in the city from what sounded like air defence units in operation.
The reported attack comes after Ukraine, European leaders and President Donald Trump earlier agreed on an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
Putin then proposed that the talks be “without preconditions” in Istanbul on 15 May.
The ceasefire announcement was made Saturday by the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Poland and Ukraine after a meeting in Kyiv. They threatened Putin with new “massive sanctions” if he failed to comply.
Mr Trump was patched into a phone call with the leaders afterwards.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “We have to think about that. These are new developments. We have our own position,” he said.
Sir Keir Starmer told reporters that the EU leaders were “calling Putin out”, saying: “If he is serious about peace, then he has a chance to show it.”
Allied leaders made “material progress” towards a ceasefire in Ukraine on Saturday, Sir Keir Starmer said.
This happened before Vladimir Putin made his proposal for direct peace talks with Ukraine.
The prime minister said on Saturday that European allies “together with the US” are “calling Putin out” and pledged to ramp up sanctions further if he “turns his back on peace”.
He had travelled to Kyiv alongside his French, German and Polish counterparts for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky about the so-called coalition of the willing.
The leaders in the Ukrainian capital also spoke by phone to US President Donald Trump, who has also previously called for a 30-day truce.
In response to Mr Putin’s comments on direct talks with Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said Mr Putin’s comments were “a first step, but not enough” and that the Russian president was “looking for a way out, but he still wants to buy time”.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has yet to respond to Vladimir Putin’s invitation for direct talks in Turkey.
Russia, Putin said, had proposed several ceasefires, including a moratorium on striking energy facilities, an Easter ceasefire and most recently the 72-hour truce during the celebrations marking 80 years since victory in World War Two.
Both Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating the temporary truce proposals, including the 8-10 May ceasefire.
Despite Putin’s call for peace talks, Russia on Sunday launched a drone attack on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, injuring one person in the region surrounding the Ukrainian capital and damaging several private homes, Ukrainian officials said.
Putin said that he does not rule out that during his proposed talks in Turkey, both sides will agree on “some new truces, a new ceasefire,” but one that would be the first step towards a “sustainable” peace.
Vladimir Putin, whose forces have advanced over the past year, has stood firm in his conditions for ending the war despite public and private pressure from Donald Trump and repeated warnings from European powers.
In June 2024, he said that Ukraine must officially drop its Nato ambitions and withdraw its troops from the entirety of the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia.
Russian officials have also proposed that the US recognise Russia’s control over about one-fifth of Ukraine and demanded that Ukraine remains neutral though Moscow has said it is not opposed to Kyiv’s ambitions to join the European Union.
Putin casts the war as a watershed moment in Moscow’s relations with the West, which he says humiliated Russia after the Soviet Union fell in 1991 by enlarging Nato and encroaching on what he considers Moscow’s sphere of influence, including Ukraine.
Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly said he wants to end the “bloodbath” of the Ukraine war which his administration casts as a proxy war between the United States and Russia.
“I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens,” Trump said in his Truth Social post on Sunday. “The USA wants to focus, instead, on Rebuilding and Trade. A BIG week upcoming!”
Good morning,
Here is a recap if you are just joining us:
Vladimir Putin proposed direct talks with Ukraine earlier today that he said should be aimed at bringing a durable peace.
The Russian leader, who has offered few concessions towards ending the conflict so far, said the talks in Istanbul in Turkey on 15 May, will be aimed at eliminating the root causes of the war and restoring a “long-term, lasting peace” rather than simply a pause for rearmament.
“We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,” Putin said from the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday. “We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul.”
“Our proposal, as they say, is on the table. The decision is now up to the Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who are guided, it seems, by their personal political ambitions, and not by the interests of their peoples.”
Trump hails Putin’s proposal
In a message on the social network Truth Social, Trump hailed Putin’s proposal as a positive for ending the war.
“A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!” Trump said. “Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending ‘bloodbath’ hopefully comes to an end.”
European leaders met in Kyiv on Saturday
Mr Putin’s proposal came hours after major European powers demanded on Saturday in Kyiv that Putin agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire or face “massive” new sanctions.
Putin dismissed what he said was the attempt by some European powers to lay down “ultimatums”.
Ukraine’s air defence units were trying to repel a Russian air attack on Kyiv, the city’s mayor said early Sunday, after the country’s air force warned of a drone attack on the capital.
It comes just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed direct talks with Kyiv in Istanbul on May 15.
Keir Starmer and other European leaders have warned Vladimir Putin he faces “massive” new sanctions if he does not agree to an almost immediate 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin writes.
The prime minister said they were “calling out” the Russian leader with the backing of Donald Trump. “If [Putin] is serious about peace he has a chance to show it now,” Sir Keir said.
And he warned there were “no more ifs and buts” after he flew to Kyiv to stand side by side with President Zelensky, saying Putin had not required extra conditions to be met when “he wanted a ceasefire to have parade – and he does not need them now”.
Read more here:
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants direct talks with Ukraine “without preconditions” on May 15 in Istanbul, he said on Sunday.
The proposal comes after Ukraine, European leaders and President Donald Trump earlier agreed on an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The ceasefire announcement was made Saturday by the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Poland and Ukraine after a meeting in Kyiv.
They threatened Putin with new “massive sanctions” if he failed to comply.
The leaders then called Mr Trump on the phone after the meeting.
US president Donald Trump has shared a letter on Truth Social that calls for the release of three Americans who are being held in Russian prison.
Mr Trump shared the letter a few hours after he had a joint call with European leaders and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in which he backed their plan to call for a ceasefire.
In the letter shared to social media platform Truth Social, three Americans, Robert Gilman, David Barnes, and Andre Khachatoorian are highlighted.
In a picture shared by Ukraine’s foreign minister, Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, Donald Tusk, Volodymyr Zelensky and Friedrich Merz explain their ceasefire plan to US president Donald Trump.
The call was “warm” and “fruitful” and secured the president’s backing for Saturday’s ultimatum to Vladimir Putin – agree a ceasefire or face more punishing sanctions.
Sir Keir Starmer has said that European allies “together with the US” are “calling Putin out”, as the pressure increases on Russia to accept an unconditional ceasefire.
Speaking from Kyiv, the prime minister said that allies will “ramp up sanctions” if Russian president Vladimir Putin “turns his back on peace”, as he and allies backed plans for a 30-day ceasefire.
Sir Keir and his Ukrainian, French, German and Polish counterparts spoke to US President Donald Trump on Saturday to update him on their progress on the so-called coalition of the willing.
It comes after Mr Trump promised “further sanctions” from the US and “partners” if any ceasefire is struck and then not respected.
Read more here:
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Ukraine war latest: Russia strikes Kyiv hours after Putin proposed direct peace talks – The Independent
