Ukraine-Russia conflict dwell: Zelensky says US ‘constantly changing’ phrases of uncommon earth deal | EUROtoday

Russia is more and more prioritising its manufacturing of high-precision missiles, in line with the newest focused assaults by Ukraine, mentioned a US-based suppose tank.

“The Ukrainian General Staff reported that the 19 to 20 March Ukrainian drone strike against Russia’s Engels Airbase destroyed a large number of cruise missiles and strategic fuel reserves as Ukrainian officials reported that Russia is prioritising the production of high-precision missiles,” the Institute for the Study of War mentioned.

It added: “The Ukrainian General Staff reported on March 27 that the Ukrainian drone strike destroyed 96 air-launched cruise missiles and that Russian forces intended to use these missiles in at least three separate strike series against Ukraine on unspecified dates in March and April 2025.”

Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation Head Lieutenant Andriy Kovalenko additionally identified final week that the Engels Airbase saved Kh-101 cruise missiles, suggesting that many or all the 96 destroyed missiles had been Kh-101s.

It is just not the total ceasefire Donald Trump is continuous to push for 3 years into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, however the transfer is seen as progress by the White House.

A US delegation held separate talks with counterparts from Russia and Ukraine over three days into Tuesday.

But how lengthy the present deal will maintain – and even when it formally begins – stays unsure after Russia carried out drone strikes on a key Ukrainian port metropolis in a single day.

This is what we all know in regards to the deal.

Some 30 leaders have gathered to debate Ukraine’s ongoing safety after the US brokered a ceasefire settlement between Moscow and Kyiv over the Black Sea earlier this week, which the Kremlin says can’t begin until sure circumstances are met.

Here’s the checklist of all world leaders a part of Sir Keir-led coalition:

Vladimir Putin has praised the efforts in in search of an answer from the BRICS grouping it promotes as a substitute for conventional alliances – singling out China and India for reward.

He mentioned Russia was able to cooperate with many nations, together with North Korea, to assist finish the conflict.

Western and Ukrainian sources say greater than 11,000 North Korean troops have been despatched to bolster Russian forces within the Kursk area, though Moscow has not confirmed this.

Additionally, Mr Putin mentioned Russia was additionally able to work with Europe, however including that Europe “conducts itself in inconsistent fashion”.

European nations, he mentioned, had been making an attempt “lead us around by the nose, but it’s okay, we’ve become used to it. I hope that we won’t make any mistakes based on excessive trust in our so-called partners.”

Volodymyr Zelensky has mentioned the US is continually altering the phrases of a key minerals settlement as a part of peace deal, expressing frustration over lack of a closing settlement on Ukraine’s uncommon earth deal pitched by Washington.

“At the end of the day, they constantly change the terms. I am not going to Washington because there’s no issue on the agenda,” Mr Zelensky mentioned after the Leaders’ Summit on Support for Ukraine in France.

The Trump administration has proposed a brand new, extra expansive minerals cope with Ukraine, in line with three folks conversant in the continuing negotiations and a abstract of a draft proposal obtained by Reuters.

Mr Trump has mentioned a minerals deal will assist safe a peace settlement by giving the United States a monetary stake in Ukraine’s future.

A “reassurance force” for Ukraine is a part of a “spectrum of options” being thought-about by the so-called “coalition of the willing”, Downing Street has mentioned.

A No 10 spokesperson mentioned: “Military planning has started in earnest. We have teams working on air, sea and land as well as rebuilding the Ukrainian army. This will in the end depend on what is agreed in the peace deal.”

Asked how a “reassurance force” would differ from a peacekeeping power, he mentioned: “I think there is a spectrum of options and what you will see next week is senior British and French military leaders going to Ukraine to discuss with the Ukrainian military how this will work in practice.

“This will look both at rebuilding the Ukrainian military and how the reassurance force will work.”

Britain and France will ship a joint army delegation to Ukraine to develop plans to implement any future ceasefire deal, Sir Keir Starmer has mentioned.

The prime minister, talking after a summit in Paris, revealed military chiefs from France and the UK will assess Kyiv’s wants and the way they will uphold peace ought to an settlement be struck.

Sir Keir additionally referred to as for a deadline for Russia to come back to the negotiating desk, including: “We need to see this developing in days and weeks, not months and months”.

Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell experiences from Paris:

US officers have mentioned that short-term funding was being given to an initiative documenting kidnapped Ukrainian youngsters, after Republican president Donald Trump’s administration determined to pause this system on 25 January.

The US government-funded initiative led by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab helped monitor hundreds of Ukrainian youngsters kidnapped by Russia.

The determination to terminate the programme, referred to as the Ukraine Conflict Observatory, got here after Trump ordered a broad evaluate to forestall what he says is wasteful spending of US taxpayer {dollars} with causes that don’t align with American pursuits.

Ukraine says that greater than 19,500 youngsters have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory throughout the conflict in Ukraine with out the consent of household or guardians, calling the abductions a conflict crime that meets the UN treaty definition of genocide.

Vladimir Putin mentioned Russia was steadily shifting ahead to reaching the objectives it had set out in its Ukraine operation.

Russia, Mr Putin mentioned, was in favour of “peaceful solutions to any conflict, including this one, through peaceful means, but not at our expense”.

“Throughout the entire line of military contact, our troops are holding the strategic initiative,” Mr Putin mentioned.

“We are gradually – perhaps not as quickly as some might like – but still persistently and with confidence moving towards achieving the goals set out at the beginning of this operation,” the businesses quoted him as saying.

The Netherlands will pace up the discharge of its promised €3.5bn euros of help for Ukraine and can ship €2bn this 12 months as an alternative of in 2026, a spokesperson for Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof mentioned on Thursday.