Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said peace talks with the US are “not easy” and dismissed European leadership as a “frenzy”. Meanwhile, an elderly Russian woman has been killed in a “massive” Ukrainian drone strike. Follow the latest on the war.
Tuesday 15 April 2025 09:44, UK
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke is back tomorrow for his regular Q&A on the Ukraine war.
Submit your questions in the box at the top of the page.
“That war should never have been allowed to happen.”
This Donald Trump’s latest comment on the war in Ukraine, as he repeated claims that it would never have begun if he were president.
In yet more remarks that will worry leaders in Kyiv and the rest of Europe, Trump questioned Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s competence.
“Everybody’s to blame,” he added, referring to Zelenskyy, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian intelligence says it foiled attempts by Russian spies to set off explosions in central Ukraine.
Three agents of Russian military intelligence were detained, the SBU said, who were preparing to blow up a police building and a Ukrainian soldier’s car in the city of Vinnytsia.
The intelligence service said: “SBU officers discovered hostile intentions in advance and detained the executors of the Russian order when they were setting up a hidden camera near the site of the planned explosion.
“The detainees were two unemployed residents of the Kyiv region, whom the occupiers recruited in Telegram channels in search of ‘easy money’.”
The third member of the group was involved in making the explosives and placing them in containers filled with screws, the SBU said.
The three people are in Ukrainian custody and face life in prison.
Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has said negotiations between the US and Russia “might be on the verge of something that would be very, very important for the world at large”.
Speaking to Fox News last night, Witkoff discussed what he perceives as Vladimir Putin’s demands, after he met the Russian leader for talks in St Petersburg on Friday.
“Towards the end, we actually came up with – I’m going to say finally, but I don’t mean it in the way that we were waiting; I mean it in the way that it took a while for us to get to this place – what Putin’s request is to get to, have a permanent peace,” he said.
He also hinted at what Putin’s security demands might be, saying a peace deal is “about the so-called five territories, but there’s so much more to it: there’s security protocols, there’s no NATO, NATO Article 5, I mean, it’s just a lot of detail attached to it.”
Article 5 is the principle of the NATO alliance where an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all members, with a coordinated response.
Witkoff continued: “It’s a complicated situation… rooted in… some real problematic things happening between the two countries and I think we might be on the verge of something that would be very, very important for the world at large.”
He added that he believed “there is a possibility to reshape the Russian-United States relationship through some very compelling commercial opportunities that I think give real stability to the region too.”
Ukrainian paratroopers helped repel a ‘massive assault’ by Russian forces overnight, Kyiv’s military says.
Kremlin troops launched an attack with more than two dozen armoured vehicles alongside infantry.
“The audacity of the attack went off scale,” Ukraine’s general staff said in an update this morning.
“The invaders marched in a column, hoping to break through our defences.”
The assault began with soldiers riding motorcycles “who maneuvered and tried to break through”.
“Intelligence noticed the enemy forces in time, and the coordinated actions of the artillerymen and drone pilots of the 71st Jaeger Brigade and neighbouring units broke the enemy’s battle formation, and then methodically destroyed it.
“The equipment was left to burn on the battlefield.
“The scattered infantry tried to hide in the landing, but was destroyed by drones and airdrops.”
Deep frost and snow practically stopped the development of grain crops across Ukraine in early April, according to state meteorologists.
The minimum temperature over the start of the month dropped to -11C for two-eight days, with field work suspended due to snow and weak soil warming.
This prevented the sowing of early spring grains.
Heavy rainfall, however, made up for the lack of moisture, APK-Inform consultancy quoted forecasters as saying.
In recent years, Ukraine, a key grain exporter, has suffered from moisture deficit, particularly in May and June, which are critical for plant development.
These maps show the latest territorial situation, indicating how much ground is held by Russian and Ukrainian forces.
The first map shows a wide view of the conflict, and from left to right you can see closer views of the fronts in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk and of the Russian region of Kursk.
More now from Sergei Lavrov, who spoke to the Kommersant newspaper overnight.
In that interview, he described peace talks with the US as “not easy” – see our 6.46am post.
But he also went on to compare Washington – which he credited for “trying to delve into the problem” – with Europe.
“Well, as for the American side, we have already noted that, unlike the Europeans, who, well, I can’t even find another word other than ‘frenzy’,” he said.
“First of all, the leadership of France, Britain, the Baltic countries, some other EU and NATO countries… unlike them, the Trump administration is trying to delve into the problem.”
Kursk’s regional authority has shared images from the overnight attack on the region.
As we reported earlier, the defence ministry has accused Ukraine of launching a massive drone attack there, killing one elderly woman and injuring nine.
Russia’s top diplomat has given a bit of insight into talks with the US over ending its war in Ukraine.
Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said it’s “not easy” to agree on key parts of a possible peace deal.
“They are being discussed,” he said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper.
But he also said: “It is not easy to agree the key components of a settlement.”
That comes just three days after hailing Donald Trump for what he described as a better understanding of the conflict that any other Western leader.
“When we speak about eliminating root causes of any conflict, including the Ukrainian conflict, this is the only way to resolve the problem and to establish long-lasting peace,” he added on Saturday.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Ukraine war latest: Sergei Lavrov hits out at European leadership 'frenzy' – Sky News
