Ukraine-Russia war latest: Macron says new package of EU sanctions on Moscow is ‘unprecedented’ – UK Times

Russia views recent comments by a top US general about NATO’s purported ability to swiftly capture the Russian Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad as hostile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

General Christopher Donahue, the US Army Europe and Africa commander, said NATO could seize Kaliningrad “from the ground in a timeframe that is unheard of and faster than we’ve ever been able to do”, according to Defense News.

The Kremlin said it it agreed with Zelensky’s statement that there needed to be more momentum around peace talks between the warring sides.

Two rounds of talks between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey this year yielded an agreement to exchange prisoners and soldiers’ remains. But no date has yet been set for a new round of talks and both sides remain far apart on the terms of any ceasefire.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said that recent warnings by Trump regarding possible secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian exports were not viewed in Moscow as a sign that bilateral talks with Washington were at an end.

Russia has built up a certain immunity to Western sanctions and adapted to them, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov called the sanctions illegal, saying every new restriction created negative consequences for those countries that backed them.

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky are considering a deal that involves Washington buying battlefield-tested Ukrainian drones in exchange for Kyiv purchasing weapons from the US.

The Ukrainian president said his latest talks with Mr Trump focused on a deal that would help each country bolster its aerial technology.

Ukrainian drones have been able to strike targets as deep as 800 miles (1,300 km) into Russian territory.

“The people of America need this technology, and you need to have it in your arsenal,” Mr Zelensky told the New York Post.

The Ukrainian leader said drones were the key tool that has allowed his country to fight off Russia’s invasion for more than three years.

“We will be ready to share this experience with America and other European partners,” he said. Ukraine was also in talks with Denmark, Norway and Germany, Mr Zelensky said.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that he had just spoken with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and added he welcomed the adoption of the European Union’s latest package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.

“The Russian attacks must stop immediately,” he wrote in a post on social media platform X.

“France is and remains at Ukraine’s side.”

Ukraine’s Zelensky has said that he assigned Umerov to the security council in order to activate the negotiation process with Russia.

“The implementation of the agreements from the second Istanbul meeting is ongoing,” he wrote on X, referring to recent talks between the two warring sides in Turkey earlier this year.

“This process needs more momentum.”

Zelensky added that he was also assigning Umerov, who until Thursday’s government reshuffle served as defence minister, to work on arms agreements with Kyiv’s allies.

The transformed nature of modern warfare is starkly evident to a weary Ukrainian platoon commander, medically evacuated from the front lines.

The skies above Ukraine now swarm with kamikaze, surveillance, bomber, and anti-drone UAVs.

These numerous, cheap, and deadly machines are considered by Kyiv to be a primary reason Ukraine can withstand advancing Russian forces this year and beyond, a view shared by a dozen Ukrainian commanders, officials, and arms manufacturers.