Ukraine war briefing: Trump calls for ‘ideally a 30-day ceasefire’ backed with sanctions

Donald Trump aft a telephone telephone with Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for “ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire”. “If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners volition enforce further sanctions,” Trump posted. Zelenskyy said aft the telephone connected Thursday that helium told Trump that Ukraine was acceptable for talks connected the warfare with Russia “in immoderate format” but archetypal “Russia indispensable amusement that it is superior astir ending the war, starting with a afloat and unconditional ceasefire”.

The telephone betwixt Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy connected Thursday went “very well”, said a elder Ukrainian official. The speech lasted astir 20 minutes and focused connected diplomacy and the genuine ceasefire that the US and Ukraine are trying to establish, portion the presidents besides discussed the Ukraine-US minerals deal, ratified connected Thursday by the Ukrainian parliament.

Ukraine has accused Russia of violating Vladimir Putin’s self-declared ceasefire 734 times wrong its archetypal 12 hours. Kyiv’s overseas minister, Andrii Sybiha, called it a “farce”. The Russian president’s unagreed ceasefire aims to support parades and different proceedings connected Russia’s biggest secular holiday, the 80th day of triumph implicit Germany successful the 2nd satellite war.

In its opening hours, Russian bombs struck north-east Ukraine, sidesplitting astatine slightest 1 civilian, said Ukrainian officials who added that artillery assaults took spot crossed the 1,000km (620 mile) frontline, though with little strength than successful the erstwhile 24 hours. Russia carried retired 63 assaults on the frontline. Attacks took spot adjacent Chasiv Yar successful the Donetsk region. Large-scale rocket and drone attacks abated for a abbreviated time, the Ukrainian aerial unit said. But Russian forces fired a rocket successful cardinal Ukraine’s Poltava region, a apical determination authoritative said, damaging roofs of houses erstwhile aerial defences brought it down.

The Russian defence Ministry accused Ukrainian forces of attacking its positions and said Russian forces would proceed to “mirror” Ukraine’s actions during the Kremlin’s ceasefire. The Russian regions of Belgorod, Lipetsk, Orenburg, Ryazan and Tambov issued drone alerts, but determination were nary reports of immoderate drones being changeable down oregon intercepted. Russia’s civilian aviation authorization Rosaviatsia concisely imposed restrictions connected flights to and from the airdrome successful Nizhny Novgorod.

Reuters journalists with a Ukrainian drone portion adjacent the beforehand successful eastbound Ukraine said a Russian infantry raiding enactment tried to beforehand connected Thursday, but was stopped by drones. “The infantry are inactive coming,” said 1 of the soldiers successful the unit, a 33-year-old who identified himself by his callsign Mikha. A 2nd idiosyncratic who identified himself arsenic Nazar said successful the six hours since the Russian ceasefire started determination had been 3 strikes connected his conception of the front: “The facts talk for themselves.”

Germany said Trump voiced enactment for European efforts to extremity the Ukraine war successful a archetypal telephone telephone with the caller German chancellor, Friedrich Merz. A German connection said: “Trump said helium would powerfully enactment Germany’s efforts, unneurotic with France, Great Britain, Poland and different European partners, to execute lasting peace.” Merz assured Zelenskyy of his enactment and remained unfastened to arming Ukraine with Germany’s Taurus cruise missiles, which the erstwhile chancellor, Olaf Scholz, refused to do.

Britain has announced further sanctions targeting Russia’s shadiness fleet of lipid tankers. Keir Starmer, the premier minister, said his authorities was sanctioning up to 100 tankers liable for carrying much than $24bn worthy of cargo since the commencement of 2024. The UK besides said the ships are damaging captious subsea cables successful Europe.

Starmer is owed to be a meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) successful Oslo connected Friday wherever Ukraine and Arctic information are connected the agenda. The British-led subject confederation is expected to denote further enactment for Ukraine’s equipped forces including intensive grooming exercises and efforts to antagonistic disinformation. The JEF consists of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, and Sweden, arsenic good arsenic the UK.