Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky accuses Kremlin of ‘engaging in yet another deception’ over peace proposal – UK Times

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia is engaging in “yet another deception” by failing to hand over its peace settlement proposal before a potential meeting between Moscow and Kyiv.

“Even the so-called ‘memorandum’ they promised and seemingly prepared for more than a week has still not been seen by anyone,” Mr Zelensky said.

“Ukraine has not received it. Our partners have not received it. Even Turkey, which hosted the first meeting, has not received the new agenda.

“Despite promises to the contrary, first and foremost to the the United States of America, to President (Donald) Trump: Yet another Russian deception.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (below) said on Wednesday that Moscow had drafted a memorandum outlining a settlement position in the three-year-old conflict in Ukraine.

North Korea enabled Russia to increase missile attacks on key Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and supplied more than 20,000 containers of munitions, according to a UN group.

The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, a group comprising 11 UN members, said Moscow helped the North improve missile performance in return by supplying data.

As many as nine million rounds of artillery and rocket launcher ammunition were shipped from North Korea to Russia by Russian cargo vessels as part of military cooperation between the two countries in violation of UN sanctions, the report said.

“At least for the foreseeable future, North Korea and Russia intend to continue and further deepen their military cooperation in contravention of relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” the group said in its first report.

Kyiv has accused Moscow of failing to send a memorandum outlining proposals for a future ceasefire – something it says was agreed on in previous talks.

Donald Trump issued a two-week deadline for Vladimir Putin to demonstrate he wants to end the war.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Russia’s proposal to hold another round of peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul next week had heightened Ankara’s hopes for peace.

Nato member Turkey hosted an initial round of peace talks in March 2022 and again on May 16.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held talks in Moscow on Monday and Tuesday, including with Vladimir Putin. He will also meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday.

Erdogan said Ankara was in contact with both countries.

“The road to a resolution goes through more dialogue, more diplomacy. We are using all our diplomatic power and potential for peace,” he was cited as saying by his office.

There is no indication on the ground that Russia is preparing to restart the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine which it is occupying, an official from the UN nuclear watchdog that has a small team on site said on Thursday.

“Our teams continue to confirm there is no indication at the moment that there will be any active preparations for a restart of the plant now,” the International Atomic Energy Agency official said on condition of anonymity.

Russia opened a criminal case on Thursday after two men, including a local government official who had fought in Ukraine, were killed in an explosion in the southern city of Stavropol, authorities said.

Zaur Gurtsiev, a city official who was due to be appointed to Stavropol’s regional administration, and another unidentified man, were killed.

Video footage published on social media showed two men standing close to some parked cars and a bench when a bright light filled the screen and the footage cut out.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said the bodies of two men with multiple injuries had been discovered on Thursday outside a multi-storey building and that criminal cases investigating murder and the illegal possession of explosives had been opened.

Stavropol region governor Vladimir Vladimirov and other officials offered their condolences to Gurtsiev and his family.

Fibre optic drones have become the latest weapon of war used by Ukrainian troops against Russian invaders.

A spool which is tens of thousands of metres long is fitted to the boittom of a drone, with a physical fibre optic cord attached to the controller.

“The video and control signal is transmitted to and from the drone through the cable, not through radio frequencies,” a drone engineer wit the 68th Jaeger Brigade explained to the BBC.

“This means it can’t be jammed by electronic interceptors.”

Venia, a drone pilot, explained to the broadcaster that the drones can be used in more cramped and lower places. Drones can enter a house and look for targets inside, for example.

Russia began using the drones before them, Venia added.

North Korea has shipped more than 20,000 containers of munitions and other such material to Russia for the war in Ukraine, according to a report.

The Kim Jong-un regime helped Russia increase missile attacks against Ukrainian cities including critical civilian infrastructure, the report adds.

We’ll bring you more lines from the Monitoring Group report as they come in.