Vladimir Putin said he was ready for peace talks with Ukraine days after Ukraine’s renewed assault on Russian oil infrastructure sparked fuel shortages.
Calling the Ukrainian strikes a ploy to "destabilise society", the president said: “Russia, however, as has been stated repeatedly, is ready for peace negotiations with Ukraine. It is ready to proceed on the basis of the agreements reached back in Istanbul, agreements which, I would remind you, were initiated at the time by the Ukrainian delegation.”
The remarks came after Ukraine’s UN envoy, Andrii Melnyk, warned that Kyiv could reconsider its current ceasefire proposal if there was no meaningful international push to end the war, saying “our patience is not endless”.
Meanwhile, a Trump cabinet member reportedly described Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as “the special-needs child for the Europeans”, according to a new book released on Tuesday.
Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump recounts a meeting to discuss a proposed minerals deal with Ukraine where US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent is quoted as saying: “I’ve dealt with this little f*****. He’s tricky. He’s like the special-needs child for the Europeans. And he’s acting like Mr Bean on crack.”
Key Points
- Putin says 'ready for peace talks' after Kyiv’s attacks on refinery
- Russia accuses US of not following through on Trump-Putin 'understandings'
- Ukraine submits updated bid for OECD membership, Zelensky says
- Recap: Nato must be ready for wars fought by AI-controlled drones, warns top general
- Ukraine says it hit a railway bridge to Crimea, seeking to isolate the Russian-held peninsula
Crimean city tightens limits on public life and orders early shutdown
06:11 , Arpan Rai
The city of Sevastopol in Russian-controlled Crimea said it had restricted the operating hours of public transport, shops, cafes and street lights, and had also banned mass outdoor activities, in addition to previously announced fuel sale limits.
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet, announced on Monday evening "enforced temporary measures", including the closure of public transport at 10pm, and of large shops and cafes at 8pm.
Street lighting was dimmed. Anzhelika, a resident of Crimea's largest city who gave only her first name, told Reuters the measures were good for public safety.
"On the street lights, I think that's the right thing to do, the protection of the city comes first," she said.
Russia's gasoline output last week was down about 25 per cent from the daily average in June 2025, industry sources said.
According to LSEG data and market sources, its seaborne oil product exports were down about 15 per cent in the first half of June compared to the first half of May, due to unplanned refinery maintenance after repeated drone attacks.
Last week, four industry sources said Russia was set to import fuel by sea in June as it seeks to manage the gasoline shortage.
Watch: Putin says Russia is ready for peace talks with Ukraine
05:59 , Arpan Rai
Russia says US hasn't followed through on Trump-Putin 'understandings'
05:32 , Arpan Rai
Russia has accused the United States of failing to deliver on "understandings" reached between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at a summit in Alaska last August, a shift that suggests growing frustration in Moscow.
In the space of three days, three senior Russian officials have said, without providing specifics, that Washington has not followed through.
On Tuesday, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that the summit may have been a US "ploy to buy time to rearm the Kyiv regime".
Lavrov's deputy, Sergei Ryabkov, also accused the US of departing from the "fundamental understandings" reached in Alaska, according to Interfax.
It quoted him as saying, however, that dialogue with the US would continue.
“We also see Washington’s line moving closer to the most rabid anti-Russian policies pursued by the US’s closest European allies namely, the – UK and France," another agency, RIA, quoted Ryabkov as saying, referring to last week's G7 summit in France.
‘You’re an idiot’: Trump enjoyed ‘sport’ of watching Bessent tear into Lutnick right in front of him, book reveals
05:12 , Arpan Rai
President Trump “enjoyed the sport” of watching Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clash in front of him, a new book claims.
Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump recounts a meeting to discuss a proposed minerals deal with Ukraine, ultimately announced in May last year.
“I’m not a big fan of Ukraine,” Trump said, according to authors and New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. “Except their women. They keep winning Miss Universe.”
Lutnick reportedly went on to tell the president Bessent had “screwed up” the deal with the war-torn European ally.
In response, Bessent is said to have looked at Lutnick’s own proposal and told him: “This is a s****y deal. You’re an idiot”.
Trump enjoyed ‘sport’ of watching Bessent rebuke Lutnick, book reveals
Putin says 'ready for peace talks' after Kyiv’s attacks on refinery
04:44 , Arpan Rai
Russian president Vladimir Putin has said he is ready for peace talks with Ukraine, just days after strikes on its infrastructure led to fuel shortages.
Putin said the strikes from Ukraine are a ploy to "destabilise society" as Ukraine’s attacks on oil refineries have doubled since the start of this year, with one of the biggest attacks on Moscow’s oil refinery last week since the war began.
“Russia, however, as has been stated repeatedly, is ready for peace negotiations with Ukraine. It is ready to proceed on the basis of the agreements reached back in Istanbul, agreements which, I would remind you, were initiated at the time by the Ukrainian delegation,” Putin said yesterday.
“That means they were satisfied with them. And I see no grounds for us to depart from those agreements,” the Russian president said.
“Strikes against civilian infrastructure - what are they aimed at? To destabilise society, amid such a massive onslaught, when the entire West is working for them and these drones are coming in huge numbers, to create a sense of uncertainty about the actions of the Russian armed forces,” Putin said.
Ukraine submits updated bid for OECD membership, Zelensky says
04:42 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine has submitted a revised application to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a club of mostly advanced economies, president Volodymyr Zelensky said as Kyiv pursues closer integration with Western institutions.
Ukraine has been working with the OECD on reforms and governance standards for several years and is now seeking candidate-country status as a step towards full membership.
Zelensky, after meeting with Mathias Cormann, OECD's Secretary-General, on his visit to Kyiv, said in a Telegram post that prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko has submitted the updated bid.
“We hope to obtain candidate country status as early as this autumn. The next stage will be a roadmap toward OECD membership. We discussed this during our meeting," Zelensky wrote.
Sevastopol without power after Ukrainian strikes
04:18 , Arpan Rai
Power was cut off in Sevastopol in Russia-annexed Crimea after Ukraine attacked energy facilities there, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the city's governor, said on Telegram this morning.
The defence systems downed nine drones over the city, Crimea's biggest, he said earlier on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Russian shelling of the eastern Ukrainian city of Balakliia killed one person on Wednesday, local authorities said on Telegram.
Recap: Nato must be ready for wars fought by AI-controlled drones, warns top general
03:00 , Rebecca Whittaker
Nato is preparing for future wars fought by thousands of drones controlled by AI, according to a top Nato general.
Major-General Constantin-Adrian Ciolponea, who represents the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) in Europe, told The Times that the military alliance must adapt to the new technology.
“The next stage of evolution for drones will be swarm-type attacks when you don't have one or two, ten or twenty — you have thousands of drones commanded from a single point, whether that is a human or just a ’mother’ drone,” the special forces officer told the outlet.
“Nations without this type of [swarm] technology will be forced to join a security organisation or to accept the conditions of an aggressor,” he warned.
Watch: Ukraine releases drone footage of attacks on Crimea
02:00 , Rebecca Whittaker
Ukraine says it hit a railway bridge to Crimea, seeking to isolate the Russian-held peninsula
01:00 , Rebecca Whittaker
Ukraine said Tuesday its forces struck a railway bridge, a power plant and other key infrastructure targets in Crimea as Kyiv’s military authorities seek to isolate the vital Russian-held peninsula in the latest stage of the 4-year-old war.
The drone attacks added to the woes on the Black Sea peninsula, where Russian authorities have had to suspend gasoline sales to civilians as Ukraine has intensified its recent campaign to disrupt supply lines and the electrical grid at the height of the summer tourist season.
Read more here:
Ukraine says it hit a railway bridge to Crimea, seeking to isolate the Russian-held peninsula
Russia accuses US of not following through on Trump-Putin 'understandings'
Wednesday 24 June 2026 00:00 , Rebecca Whittaker
Russia has accused the United States of failing to deliver on "understandings" reached between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at a summit in Alaska last August, a shift that suggests growing frustration in Moscow.
In the space of three days, three senior Russian officials have said, without providing specifics, that Washington has not followed through.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that the summit may have been a US "ploy to buy time to rearm the Kyiv regime".
Lavrov's deputy, Sergei Ryabkov, also accused the US of departing from the "fundamental understandings" reached in Alaska, according to Interfax. It quoted him as saying, however, that dialogue with the US would continue.
"We also see Washington’s line moving closer to the most rabid anti-Russian policies pursued by the US's closest European allies - namely, the UK and France," another agency, RIA, quoted Ryabkov as saying, referring to last week's G7 summit in France.
Watch: Huge plume of smoke billows from production plant in Russia’s Voronezh after strike
Tuesday 23 June 2026 23:00 , James Reynolds
Recap: Russian attack kills three in Ukraine's Kryvyi Rih
Tuesday 23 June 2026 22:00 , James Reynolds
A Russian missile attack killed three people in Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday, accusing Russia of hitting a civilian area with cluster munitions.
Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city's defence council, said that 25 people had also been injured in the attack by a ballistic missile with a cluster munition warhead.
"People died within 200 meters of each other because of this barbaric weapon," Vilkul said, adding the city would mark a day of mourning on Wednesday.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is a native of Kryvyi Rih, reacted to the strike by calling for more international pressure on Russia to end the war and quicker supplies of air defence munitions to Ukraine.
Russia eyes diesel export ban, fuel imports amid Ukrainian strikes
Tuesday 23 June 2026 21:00 , James Reynolds
Russia is considering a diesel export ban, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday, amid reports on possible fuel imports to tackle shortages, as Ukraine steps up strikes.
Speaking at a televised government meeting headed by Putin on Tuesday, Novak said Russia was considering the introduction of a ban on diesel exports and changes to tax legislation to help the domestic fuel market.
Novak also said that oil companies had delayed maintenance work at refineries and were using fuel reserves to meet demand.
"We are using reserves that were not previously tapped, and are also encouraging increased supplies of additional volumes to the domestic market. Relevant amendments to tax legislation have been prepared in coordination with the government," he said.
The Vedomosti newspaper said imports were raised as an option at a meeting chaired by Novak on Monday.
Ukraine warns ceasefire offer may be withdrawn after deadly Russian attacks
Tuesday 23 June 2026 20:00 , James Reynolds
Ukraine’s UN envoy, Andrii Melnyk, warned that Kyiv could reconsider its current ceasefire proposal if there was no meaningful international push to end the war, saying “our patience is not endless”.
Melnyk said Ukraine remained open to direct negotiations with Russia but cautioned that its offer of a ceasefire along the current front lines was already a significant concession. “If the security council would further choose a wait-and-see approach, I cannot exclude that Ukraine may recalibrate and modify its offer. Ceasefire along the de facto front line is already a great compromise,” he said.
The warning comes as Ukraine projects growing confidence after a series of strikes on Russian oil facilities, supply routes and military infrastructure. Ukrainian attacks have disrupted fuel supplies in Russian-occupied Crimea, where authorities have restricted civilian gasoline sales.
Meanwhile, an Egyptian chef was killed when the Turkish dry cargo vessel Victress caught fire during Russian attacks in the Black Sea, according to Ukrainian officials. Eight crew members, including Turkish and Indian citizens, were evacuated.
Russian strikes overnight wounded six people in Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv, while Kyiv briefly issued an air raid alert. In Sumy, a drone strike killed three members of a family.
UK long-range strike weapons could be sent to Ukraine within a year
Tuesday 23 June 2026 19:00 , James Reynolds
Britain has tested new long-range strike weapons, with the government hoping for delivery to Ukraine within months.
The initiative aims to produce munitions more quickly and affordably than existing systems like Storm Shadow missiles.
New systems, capable of hitting targets at least 500km away and carrying a 225kg warhead, have been fired at a range in the Hebrides, with further UK trials planned.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) challenged firms to develop weapons exceeding 600km per hour, costing around £400,000 per unit, and producing at least 20 a month within months of an order.
New UK long-range strike weapons could be sent to Ukraine within a year
Nato must be ready for wars fought by AI-controlled drones, warns top general
Tuesday 23 June 2026 18:00 , James Reynolds
Nato is preparing for future wars fought by thousands of drones controlled by AI, according to a top Nato general.
Major-General Constantin-Adrian Ciolponea, who represents the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) in Europe, told The Times that the military alliance must adapt to the new technology.
“The next stage of evolution for drones will be swarm-type attacks when you don't have one or two, ten or twenty — you have thousands of drones commanded from a single point, whether that is a human or just a ’mother’ drone,” the special forces officer told the outlet.
“Nations without this type of [swarm] technology will be forced to join a security organisation or to accept the conditions of an aggressor,” he warned.
Treasury Secretary quoted saying Zelenskiy is “the special-needs child for the Europeans"
Tuesday 23 June 2026 17:47 , Rebecca Whittaker
United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is quoted saying that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is “the special-needs child for the Europeans,” in a new book released today.
Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump recountsa meeting to discuss a proposed minerals deal with Ukraine.
In the book Bessent is quoted saying: “I’ve dealt with this little f***er. He’s tricky. He’s like the special-needs child for the Europeans. And he’s acting like Mr Bean on crack.”
Read more here:
Trump enjoyed ‘sport’ of watching Bessent rebuke Lutnick, book reveals
