Ukraine-Russia war live: Trump wants Kyiv to give up land in exchange for security guarantees, Zelensky says – UK Times

The US is prepared to offer Ukraine high-level security guarantees as part of a peace deal – but only if Kyiv agrees to withdraw from the eastern region of Donbas, president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

In an interview with Reuters, Zelensky indicated that Washington’s proposal ties long-term protection for Ukraine directly to territorial concessions, a condition he suggested could undermine the country’s future security.

“The Americans are prepared to finalise these guarantees at a high level once Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbas,” he said.

Russia has long insisted that full control of Donbas is a core war aim, raising the stakes for any negotiated settlement.

Zelensky warned that giving up the region would weaken Ukraine’s defensive position and risk emboldening Russia, arguing that control of eastern territories is central to both Ukraine’s security and that of Europe.

“I would very much like the American side to understand that the eastern part of our country is part of our security guarantees,” he said.

Key questions around the proposed guarantees remain unresolved, including who would fund Ukraine’s military deterrence and how allies would respond in the event of renewed Russian aggression.

Russia sought to blackmail the United States by offering to stop sharing military intelligence with Iran if, in return, Washington would cut off Ukraine from its intelligence data, president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.

Zelensky, who said on Monday that Ukraine’s military intelligence has “irrefutable” evidence that Russia is continuing to provide intelligence to Iran, told Reuters he had seen the data but provided no further details.

Speaking at his presidential compound in Kyiv, Zelensky said that some Iranian drones — used to attack US military assets and its allies during the war in the Middle East — contained Russian components.

“I have reports from our intelligence services showing that Russia is doing this and saying: ‘We will not pass on intelligence to Iran if America stops passing intelligence to Ukraine.’ Isn’t that blackmail? Absolutely,” Zelensky said.

He did not specify whom Russia was addressing in the reported remarks. Russia has denied assisting Iran in its month-old conflict with the United States and Israel – a denial that Washington said earlier this month it had also received directly from Moscow during discussions on the issue.

Zelensky added that he hopes Ukraine can secure long-term agreements with some Gulf countries to fund the production of Ukrainian drone interceptors or supply much-needed air defence missiles.

Ukrainian drone strikes have killed two civilians in Russia’s border region of Belgorod, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

Gladkov said an 18-year-old man riding a motorcycle was killed in a village near the border, while a separate strike killed a woman in her car in the town of Graivoron.

Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, has been repeatedly targeted during the war, with Kyiv stepping up cross-border drone and artillery attacks in recent months.

Moscow rarely provides independent verification of such incidents, and Ukraine does not always comment on reported strikes inside Russian territory.

Russian attacks killed two people in Ukraine’s north-eastern city of Kharkiv and the surrounding region, while a strike on the Danube port of Izmail damaged port facilities and energy infrastructure, officials said.

Prosecutors in the Kharkiv region said in a statement on Telegram early on Thursday that a woman injured in an attack on the city had died of her injuries in hospital.

They said nine people were injured in strikes on two districts of the city, a frequent target of Russian forces, located about 30km (18 miles) from the border.

Prosecutors also said a Russian drone killed a man in his car in a district closer to the border.

Local officials in the Danube port of Izmail in south-western Ukraine said the town had come under attack, with damage to port and energy facilities.

In Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 17 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted and destroyed on their way to the capital over the course of Wednesday.

The interception of drones targeting the capital has become relatively frequent, although the number involved varies widely.

The United States has briefed Russia about its latest ⁠talks with Ukraine, Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin aide Yuri ⁠Ushakov as ​saying ⁠on Wednesday. “Talks took place in Florida ⁠last Saturday with ​the Ukrainian ⁠delegation.

“They ‌held negotiations, they (the US) provided us with ‌a detailed briefing ‌on the results, and we know where ⁠we stand now,” Ushakov said.

The last three-way peace talks between the three countries took place last month, prior to the Iran war.

Britain’s commandos will be able to board and halt Russia’s shadow fleet vessels as they pass through UK waters, the Prime Minister has announced.

Sir Keir Starmer said the UK would join northern European allies in intercepting the tankers, in an attempt to “go after” the sanction-breaking ships “even harder”.

The Prime Minister has given approval for the UK to start seizing shadow fleet vessels as he travels to Helsinki, Finland, for a summit with national leaders from the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).

The JEF, a military coalition of 10 northern European countries led by the UK, aims to defend against Russian incursions.

It also includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

Moscow’s shadow fleet is reported to be made up of more than a thousand ageing tankers.

They illicitly ship oil and other goods out of Russia by flying the flags of other countries, with the aim of evading sanctions imposed by the West since the invasion of Ukraine began.

JEF countries Finland, Sweden and Estonia have recently intercepted suspected shadow tankers travelling through the Baltic.

Russia’s Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga, major export terminals, suspended crude oil and oil products loadings on Wednesday, two sources told Reuters, after massive Ukrainian drone attacks sparked blazes, with smoke visible from Finland.

The drone attacks on the Baltic ports amount to one of the largest strikes to date against Russia’s oil export facilities in the four-year war, and are likely to add to uncertainty on the global oil markets caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

At around the same time that Ust-Luga was hit early on Wednesday, two stray Ukrainian drones landed in neighbouring Latvia and Estonia, including one that hit an Estonian power station without causing damage.