British prime minister Keir Starmer praised the “resilience” of Ukrainians as he addressed personnel taking part in training being provided by British personnel and other allies to Ukrainian troops.
Addressing Ukrainians taking part in the programme to train troops, the prime minister thanked them for attending and said it is “incredible to see the resilience and inspiration that you have” as they head to the Russian frontline.
He said that some attending were there for the second “or even the third time” and that it was “humbling” to see “so many people have come from different backgrounds, civilian backgrounds, doing all sorts of other jobs, and now heading either to the frontline for the first time or heading back to the frontline”.
Starmer added: “I don’t think it could come at a more important point.
“I think it’s incredible that all of the predictions at the beginning of this conflict were that the aggressor Russia would succeed very quickly, and they didn’t.
“Because of the resilience of the Ukrainians, because as you fought back and forth for your country and fought for all of us in fighting for your country.”
Russian attack kills woman in Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, governor says
Russia struck the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia with two guided aerial bombs on Tuesday, killing a woman and injuring at least 22 other people, including children, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said.
He said the attack damaged residential buildings and an infrastructure facility.
Fedorov said doctors were treating children as well as others injured in the attack, during which one of the guided bombs reportedly struck a densely populated area of the city at about 1140am (0840 GMT).
Over the course of its war on Ukraine, Russia has frequently targeted Zaporizhzhia, which was home to approximately 710,000 residents before Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The attack on Zaporizhzhia comes as Kyiv says it is prepared for any discussion with Moscow to halt attacks on civilian targets.
Putin willing to discuss Zelenskyy's call for halt to attacks on civilian infrastructure - Kremlin
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has been speaking to journalists in his regular media briefing.
He said Russia is ready to consider a proposal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a halt to attacks by both sides on each other’s civilian infrastructure, such as energy facilities.
But Peskov said there are no concrete plans in place yet for direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow, something Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed an openness towards yesterday.
Zelenskyy said on Monday that Ukraine was ready for any form of discussion to bring about an end to attacks on civilian facilities, which include water, transportation, electricity and communication systems.
“Ukraine maintains its proposal not to strike at the very least civilian targets. And we are expecting a clear response from Moscow,” he said. “We are ready for any conversation about how to achieve this.”
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Peskov was quoted by the Reuters news agency as having said:
Actually, the president explained the complexity of this topic just yesterday, answering journalists’ questions.
That is, if we talk about civilian infrastructure facilities, we need to clearly differentiate in what situations these facilities can be a military target, and in what situations they cannot.
Peskov quoted Putin as saying that a civilian facility could become a military target if enemy combatants were meeting there. “Therefore there are nuances here that it makes sense to discuss,” he added.
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Russia says it has taken another east Ukrainian village
Russia’s defence ministry says its forces have taken the village of Sukha Balka in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Russia has been slowly increasing the amount of territory it controls over the past year, mostly in eastern Ukraine, with Moscow’s forces continuing to make incremental battlefield gains despite heavy casualties.
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In a televised meeting with his commander-in-chief on Saturday, Vladimir Putin said a temporary Easter ceasefire would last from 6pm Moscow time (4pm BST) on Saturday until midnight (10pm BST) on Sunday.
Putin claimed he had ordered his forces to “stop all military activity” along the frontline during this window for “humanitarian reasons”.
But both Kyiv and Moscow subsequently accused each other of violating the ceasefire, with drone strikes and shelling.
Washington said it would welcome an extension of the truce, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would pause strikes for 30 days. Putin, however, did not give orders to extend the 30 hour ceasefire – which never was -nbeyond Sunday.
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Here is some more detail and context on Vladimir Putin saying he is open to the possibility of bilateral talks with Ukraine for the first time in years.
As we mentioned in the opening post, the Russian president told state TV yesterday that Moscow has a “positive attitude towards any peace initiatives”, adding he hopes Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukrainian officials “feel the same way”.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin’s comments showed an openness to engage in direct talks with Kyiv about not striking civilian targets, something Zelenskyy proposed over the weekend.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine was “ready for any conversation”, suggesting he is willing to engage in ceasefire talks with Russia on condition it doesn’t cross any of his red lines and protects civilians from attacks.
There have been no direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Unlike former US president Joe Biden, Donald Trump – and his team – have directly engaged in talks with Russia.
Last Friday, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, warned that the US could walk away from its mediating role within “days” if there were no signs of progress in talks. Trump later backed up this sentiment, but did not provide a timeline.
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Russian forces have retaken the St. Nicholas Belogorsky monastery in the village of Gornal in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops had been holed up, Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing a security source.
A Russian military Telegram channel said Ukraine had deployed troops, artillery and drone launchers at the historic site, which it said Russia had retaken after 10 days of fierce fighting. We have not been able to independently verify these claims.
Russia has been trying to eject Ukrainian forces from Kursk since last August after Ukraine launched a daring incursion that Volodymyr Zelenskyy hoped would give him a bargaining chip in any future talks to end the war.
However, in recent weeks Russia has retaken a swath of territory inside Kursk and has begun to push ahead into Ukraine’s neighbouring Sumy region.
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Russian attacks across Ukraine kill five civilians over the past day – officials
Russian attacks against Ukraine killed at least five civilians over the past day, officials said. Two deaths (of a 54-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man) were reported in the village of Petropavlivka in the Kharkiv region.
Officials said a 24-year-old man was killed by a Russian drone in the village of Ivashky, also in Kharkiv, yesterday evening.
The governor of the Kherson region said one person was killed and seven others injured in Russian attacks on 36 settlements across the oblast over the past day.
In the Sumy region, Russia targeted the Esman community, reportedly killing one person yesterday. We have not been able to independently verify this information yet.
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As we mentioned in the opening post, Ukraine is due to participate in talks with US and European countries in London on Wednesday.
British prime minister Keir Starmer has told Volodymyr Zelenskyy he supports Kyiv’s calls for a full ceasefire and said the UK and France, backed by a “coalition of the willing”, have proposed providing a “reassurance” force for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
The US, however, has so far held off its support as it pulls back from its long role as a bulwark of European security.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said:
Already this Wednesday, our representatives will be working in London.
Ukraine, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States - we are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just as we have done before, to achieve an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace.
Russia has maintained its maximalist demands: that Ukraine cede all the land Putin claims to have annexed and accept permanent neutrality. Ukraine says that would amount to surrender and leave it undefended if Moscow attacks again. The opposing demands have frustrated Washington, with US President Donald Trump wanting to bring a quick end to the war, which he has described as a huge drain on American resources.
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Russia launches overnight strike on Odesa after Putin suggests he is open to direct talks with Ukraine
Welcome back to our live coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said for the first time in years that he is open to bilateral talks with Ukraine, having previously demanded Volodymyr Zelenskyy be replaced before it could happen.
Speaking to Russian state TV, Putin said:
We have always talked about this, that we have a positive attitude towards any peace initiatives. We hope that representatives of the Kyiv regime will feel the same way.
His comments were followed by Russian forces launching a mass overnight drone attack on Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa, which, according to local officials, injured three people and damaged many apartment buildings.
“The enemy targeted a residential area in a densely populated district of Odesa,” mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov wrote in a post on Telegram.
Putin’s change of rhetoric on truce talks came as representatives from Ukraine, the UK, France and the US were set to meet in London tomorrow to talk about a potential ceasefire agreement.
Zelenskyy, under pressure from Washington to agree to some sort of agreement or have support potentially withdrawn, said the London talks “have a primary task: to push for an unconditional ceasefire. This must be the starting point”.
In some other developments:
The Ukrainian air force said on Tuesday that Russia launched 54 drones during an overnight attack. The air force said it shot down 38 drones and another 16 did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures.
Russia’s air defence units destroyed 10 Ukrainian drones overnight, downing half of them over the Crimean Peninsula, according to reports.
Leaks suggest the Trump administration is now pushing for a “peace deal” that heavily favours Russia. It would include a pause to the war along the existing 1,000km frontline; recognition that Crimea belongs to Moscow; and a veto on Ukraine’s Nato membership.
There are also unconfirmed reports that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station – which Russia seized in 2022 – would be part of a “neutral” zone.
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