Donald Trump has suggested he could join Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian president Vladimir Putin in Turkey this week if the two leaders meet for peace talks there.
“I've got so many meetings, but I was thinking about actually flying over there. There's a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen, but we've got to get it done,” Mr Trump said in the White House yesterday. Mr Trump’s current schedule has him visiting Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar this week.
Mr Zelensky on Sunday night agreed to Russian president Mr Putin’s offer of direct talks between the two countries and said he “will be waiting for Putin in Turkey on Thursday personally”.
This comes as Moscow hit back at Europe's 30-day ceasefire ultimatum as “unacceptable” and “unsuitable” following Western threats of sanctions.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was wrong to “use such language with Russia” as Europe’s deadline for Russia to agree to a truce with Ukraine got closer.
European countries, with the backing of US president Donald Trump, have told Vladimir Putin to agree to the ceasefire by Monday or face more sanctions.
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Russia’s contradictory messaging on Pope Francis’s death — and the strategy behind it
Ukraine’s allies pile pressure on Putin to join Zelensky for peace talks
Will Zelensky empty-chair Putin in Turkey after calling his bluff on peace talks?
Key Points
- Trump suggests he could join Putin and Zelensky in Turkey this week
- Fighting continues on frontline despite proposed ceasefire, says Ukrainian military
- Russia setting conditions to reject Zelensky’s invitation to meet Putin – ISW
- How the Kremlin has responded to Zelensky's Putin challenge
Ukraine says it destroyed all 10 drones that Russia launched overnight
06:50 , Arpan RaiUkraine's air defence units destroyed all 10 drones that Russia launched overnight, Ukraine's air force said this morning.
This is the lowest number of drones that Russia has launched in an overnight attack in at least several weeks, according to Reuters' calculations.
Warsaw fire accusations baseless, Kremlin claims
06:44 , Arpan RaiThe Kremlin has fired back against Poland’s claim Russia was behind a fire that destroyed a shopping centre in Warsaw last year.
Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski said yesterday that he was ordering the closure of Russia's consulate in the southern city of Krakow in response to the blaze.
“The Russian consulate will have to leave. And if these attacks continue, we'll take further action,” Mr Sikorski said.
Speaking with journalists, Kremlin spokesperson DmitryPeskov described the accusations as being groundless and rooted in anti-Russian sentiment.
He also said that Warsaw's decision to close the consulate would damage bilateral relations between Russia and Poland, which Mr Peskov described as already being in "a deplorable state."
Will Zelensky empty-chair Putin in Turkey after calling his bluff on peace talks?
06:36 , Arpan RaiVolodymyr Zelensky has thrown down the gauntlet – and is calling Vladimir Putin’s bluff – by announcing he will indeed be in Turkey on Thursday for direct talks on a ceasefire.
Over the weekend, Putin effectively rejected the Ukrainian president’s call for 30-day unconditional truce, which is backed by Sir Keir Starmer, the leaders of France, Germany and Poland (who were all in Ukraine) as well as members of the 31-country “coalition of the willing”.
The month-long break from fighting was designed, Zelensky said, as the “foundation for diplomacy” to allow talks for a longer deal. It was supposed to be a continuation of a three-day temporary truce that Putin had initially called, but which expired on Sunday.
Never one to be cajoled, Russia resumed mass drone attacks in Ukraine early on Sunday, launching 108 attack drones from six directions, Ukraine’s air force said.
And instead of pausing fighting, Putin called for direct peace talks to be held on 15 May in Istanbul, brokered by his frenemy, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
We can only assume Putin expected his spanner-in-the-works suggestion to be rejected by Zelensky.
Chief international correspondent Bel Trew looks at how the week might unfurl:
Will Zelensky empty-chair Putin in Turkey after calling his bluff on peace talks?
Fighting continues on frontline despite proposed ceasefire, says Ukrainian military
06:23 , Arpan RaiThe Ukrainian military's general staff said that as of 10pm (1900 GMT) yesterday, there have been 133 clashes with Russian forces along the frontline since midnight, when the ceasefire was to have come into effect.
Ukraine's top commander, Oleksander Syrskyi, was quoted by Volodymyr Zelensky as saying the heaviest fighting still gripped the Donetsk region, the focus of the eastern front, and Russia's western Kursk region, nine months after Kyiv's forces staged a cross-border incursion.
The fighting was at the same intensity it would be if there were no ceasefire, said Viktor Trehubov, a spokesperson for the military on Ukraine's eastern front.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the Toretsk direction in Ukraine, while Russian forces advanced at Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Novopavlivka.
Russia setting conditions to reject Zelensky’s invitation to meet Putin – ISW
05:59 , Arpan RaiOfficials in Russia appear to be setting conditions for Vladimir Putin to reject Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s invitation to meet in Istanbul for bilateral ceasefire negotiations, a US-based think tank said.
Mr Zelensky’s invitation is “pure spectacle” and “comedy”, according to Russian Federation Council speaker Konstantin Kosachev, further claiming that high-level meetings are not organised in “such a difficult situation”, The Institute for the Study of War said.
Additionally, doubts have been expressed over whether Mr Putin will travel to Istanbul to meet with Mr Zelensky by Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs deputy chairperson Alexei Chepa.
“Kremlin-level officials have not formally responded to Zelensky's invitation as of this report, although statements from lower-level Russian officials indicate that Putin will likely not travel to Istanbul and meet with Zelensky,” the ISW said.
How the Kremlin has responded to Zelensky's Putin challenge
05:39 , Arpan RaiWhile the Kremlin has effectively rejected an unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by the European nations, it has reiterated it would take part in possible peace talks later this week without preconditions.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky threw down the gauntlet to his Russian counterpart and said he is willing to meet Vladimir Putin in Turkey “personally” to settle the war.
In the past 24 hours, there has been no direct response from the Kremlin to the invitation made by Mr Zelensky for a face-to-face meeting.
But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to say who might travel to Istanbul from the Russian side.
"Overall, we're determined to seriously look for ways to achieve a long-term peaceful settlement. That is all," Mr Peskov said.
If Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin, who make no secret of their contempt for each other, were to meet on Thursday it would be their first face-to-face meeting since December 2019.
Macron rubbishes cocaine train claims: ‘Fake news spread by France’s enemies’
05:15 , Arpan RaiFrance has shut down a wild conspiracy peddled by the Russian foreign ministry that Europe’s leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, were doing cocaine together on a train into Ukraine.
The claims centre on a video in which French president Emmanuel Macron picks up a white tissue from a table and German chancellor Friedrich Merz retrieves a coffee stirrer. Sir Keir is seen smiling on the opposite side of the table.
The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote a lengthy diatribe on social media site Telegram over the weekend in which she claimed the video was evidence that the trio had spent the train journey doing cocaine and had forgotten to remove the drug paraphernalia. She claimed the tissue was a bag of cocaine and the stirrer was a spoon used to consume the drugs.
Macron rubbishes cocaine train claims: ‘Fake news spread by France’s enemies’
Putin says ‘no’ to a ceasefire, but ‘yes’ to talks with Zelensky – what is he up to?
04:51 , Arpan RaiVladimir Putin’s 2am press conference on Sunday was not just theatre, it was his latest salvo in the psychological battle to shape global perceptions of who is truly to blame for Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Russia was ready for peace talks in Turkey this Thursday, Putin said, with no conditions attached. That meant no ceasefire as a prelude to talks.
Volodymyr Zelensky took the wind out of Putin’s sails by replying that he was willing to break the Ukrainian taboo on negotiating with the Kremlin so long as it occupied its territory. He even said in his television address: “We are prepared to end the war.”
That was a big concession to the invader, but it was accompanied by a demand that Putin agree to a 30-day ceasefire – also demanded by the four European leaders whom Zelensky had just met.
By declaring that he would be waiting for him in Istanbul, and daring Putin to meet him face to face for the first time since 2019, Zelensky was throwing down a challenge. It could yet blow up in either leader’s face.
Summit diplomacy can end wars, writes Mark Almond:
Putin says ‘no’ to a ceasefire, but ‘yes’ to talks with Zelensky – what is he up to?
Rubio discusses Ukraine ceasefire with European counterparts
04:30 , Arpan RaiUS secretary of state Marco Rubio discussed the "way forward for a ceasefire" in Ukraine with his European counterparts, including the foreign ministers of Britain and France and the EU's foreign policy chief, the State Department said last night.
Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha and his German and Polish counterparts were also on the call, according to the readout.
This came shortly after Donald Trump offered to join Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin if they meet in Turkey this week for direct peace talks.
Ukraine and its European allies have been seeking to put pressure on Moscow to accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, which was supposed to have started yesterday.
Russia slams Europe ceasefire ultimatum as 'unacceptable'
04:16 , Arpan RaiThe European proposal for a 30-day ceasefire is an “unacceptable” ultimatum, the Kremlin said.
Europe, with the backing of US president Donald Trump, proposed a 30-day ceasefire beginning yesterday.
The European countries, including the UK, threatened Vladimir Putin with further sanctions if he failed to agree.
“The language of ultimatums is unacceptable for Russia, it is not suitable. You can't use such language with Russia," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Ukraine and its European allies have been seeking to put pressure on Moscow to accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire from Monday, with the leaders of four major European powers travelling to Kyiv on Saturday to show unity with Mr Zelensky.
Earlier yesterday, the German government said Europe would start preparing new sanctions against Russia unless the Kremlin by the end of the day started abiding by the ceasefire.
Trump suggests he could join Putin and Zelensky in Turkey this week
04:01 , Arpan RaiDonald Trump has suggested he could join Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian president Vladimir Putin in Turkey this week if the two leaders meet for peace talks there.
“You may have a good result out of the Thursday meeting in Turkey … and I believe the two leaders are going to be there. I've got so many meetings, but I was thinking about actually flying over there. There's a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen, but we've got to get it done,” Mr Trump said in the White House yesterday.
Mr Trump’s current schedule has him visiting Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar this week.
The US president added that he insisted that the meeting between the two leaders takes place.
“I think you’re going to have … maybe a good meeting, you have the potential for a good meeting. A meeting wasn’t going take place, and I insisted that that meeting take[s] place...,” Mr Trump said.
