Ukraine-Russia conflict reside: Kyiv warns of Russian ballistic missile take a look at forward of Trump-Putin telephone name | EUROtoday

Polish customs seized 5 metric tons of tires for civilian Boeing plane which have been as a consequence of transit by way of Belarus and Russia, the nation’s National Revenue Administration mentioned this morning, including such items are coated by European Union sanctions.

“Officers… discovered during the inspection of a truck in Koroszczyn that the driver was transporting tires used in Boeing civil planes instead of the declared car and bus tires,” the National Revenue Administration mentioned.

“The sender of the goods was a company from Spain, and the recipient was from Azerbaijan. Criminal fiscal proceedings were initiated in connection with customs fraud. The sanctioned goods were detained,” the officials said in a statement.

Western sanctions against Russia have been toughened repeatedly since its full-scale invasion on Ukraine in 2022 without ending the war.

Ukraine’s military has reported another day of heavy fighting along the frontline, with at least 70 clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces reported so far.

Once again, the heaviest fighting was in the direction of Pokrovsk, according to Ukraine’s military, with Vladimir Putin’s forces making 25 attempts to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their positions in settlements near the Donetsk city, which has been central in Moscow’s sights for months now.

In its daily update, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Ukrainian troops had already repelled 22 attacks on the Povkrovsk axis, with three more confrontations ongoing.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky met with US vice president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and European leaders in Rome yesterday, as he intensified his efforts ahead of Donald Trump’s on call with Vladimir Putin.

The Ukrainian president said on X that during his talks with the American officials, they discussed the negotiations in Turkey and that “the Russians despatched a low degree delegation of non-decision-makers”.

He also said he stressed that Ukraine is engaged in “actual diplomacy” to have a ceasefire.

“We have additionally touched upon the necessity for sanctions towards Russia, bilateral commerce, defence cooperation, battlefield state of affairs and upcoming prisoners trade,” Mr Zelensky said.

“Pressure is required towards Russia till they’re desirous to cease the conflict,” he said.

The push came as the Kremlin launched its largest drone barrage against Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, firing a total of 273 exploding drones and decoys, Ukraine’s air force said yesterday.

The attacks targeted the war-hit nation’s Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.

President Donald Trump is hoping separate phone calls today with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will make progress toward a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.

Mr Trump has expressed his hopes for a “productive day” Monday — and a ceasefire — in a social media post over the weekend. His effort will also include calls to Nato leaders.

Mr Trump said his discussion with Mr Putin would focus on stopping the “massacre” of the war.

It also will cover trade, a sign that the US president might be seeking to use financial incentives to broker some kind of agreement after Russia’s invasion led to severe sanctions by the US and its allies that have steadily eroded Moscow’s ability to grow.

Mr Trump’s hope, according to the post, is that “a conflict that ought to have by no means occurred will finish”.

The Republican president is banking on the concept his pressure of persona and private historical past with Mr Putin might be sufficient to interrupt any deadlock over a pause within the preventing.

“His sensibilities are that he’s got to get on the phone with President Putin, and that is going to clear up some of the logjam and get us to the place that we need to get to,” mentioned Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff. “I think it’s going to be a very successful call,” he said.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that he, Sir Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Poland’s Donald Tusk are aiming to speak with Donald Trump ahead of the US president’s planned call with Vladimir Putin likely to take place today.

Mr Merz said he had discussed the issue with US secretary of state Marco Rubio while the two men were attending the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican. Mr Merz said he also spoke at length at the Vatican with Ukraine’s[presidentVolodymyrZelensky}[presidentVolodymyrZelensky}

“I spoke with Marco Rubio, including about the call tomorrow. We agreed that we will speak again with the four state leaders and the US president in preparation of this conversation,” the German chancellor told reporters.

Volodymyr Zelensky said he met Pope Leo following the new pontiff’s inaugural Mass at the Vatican, adding that Kyiv was ready for talks in any format to get real results in ending the war with Russia.

The Ukrainian president said on Telegram that he was grateful to the Vatican for its readiness to host direct talks between Ukraine and Russia and “for its clear voice to defend just and lasting peace”.

After the first direct peace talks in Turkey, the Kremlin said on Russian president Vladimir Putin could meet Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, but only if certain agreements were reached.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not specify what agreements would be required from Russia’s point of view. Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky have not met since December 2019.

President Zelensky had challenged the Kremlin leader to meet him in Turkey this week but Mr Putin instead sent a team of aides and officials to meet Ukrainian negotiators on Friday for the first bilateral, face-to-face talks since March 2022.

Ukraine said it had raised the issue of a Putin-Zelensky meeting at the talks.

Mr Peskov said Russia considered such a meeting was possible, but only as a result of work between the two sides to “obtain sure leads to the type of agreements”.

He added: “At the identical time, when signing paperwork that the delegations are to agree upon, the primary and basic factor for us stays who precisely will signal these paperwork from the Ukrainian facet.”

Mr Peskov didn’t elaborate on that comment.

After a night of air alerts, Ukraine’s Air Force said as of 8am Russia had launched 273 drones at Ukrainian cities, more than the previous record Moscow had set in February on the war’s third anniversary.

In the ruins of her family home in the Obukhiv region west of Kyiv, Natalia Piven, 44, told Reuters of how she squeezed into a cellar with her son after an air raid warning, just in time to survive a first wave of drones.

They then ran out to a bomb shelter at a kindergarten, before another wave of drones bore down on the village. Their house was completely destroyed.

A 28-year-old woman who lived next door was killed. Ukrainian authorities said three other people were injured including a four-year-old child.

“I cannot get over it. I simply cannot. I could clearly hear the drone flying right towards my house,” Ms Piven said.