Ukraine-Russia war live: Trump ‘very angry’ with Putin for stalling ceasefire and threatens more sanctions – UK Times

Russia’s defence ministry says it has captured Zaporizhzhia, a village in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, after a missile attack.

“Battlegroup Center units completed the liberation of the settlement of Zaporozhye in the Donetsk People’s Republic through successful offensive operations,” the ministry said in a statement, using its own names for the village and the region that it claims to have annexed, illegally, from Ukraine.

It said a missile strike on Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) units killed up to 170 troops and foreign mercenaries over the past day.

The village is unrelated to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which is in another region of the same name to the south.

The village lies just 7km from the border of Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region.

After threatening Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump warned Ukraine’s president Volodomyr Zelensky of “big, big problems” ahead if he backs out of a mineral deal with the US.

The US president’s remarks come hours after he criticised Russian president Vladimir Putin for comments he made about the leader of Ukraine.

“He’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal,” Mr Trump told reporters on Air Force One of Mr Zelensky, referring to an agreement that would provide the US with access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

“If he does that, he’s got some problems. Big, big problems. We made a deal on rare earth. And now he’s saying, ‘well you know, I want to renegotiate the deal’.”

Speaking en route from Florida to Washington, Mr Trump said: “He wants to be a member of Nato. He was never going to be a member of Nato. He understands that.”

Although he insisted to reporters that “we’re making a lot of progress”, he acknowledged that “there’s tremendous hatred” between Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin, a fresh indication that negotiations may not produce the swift conclusion that he promised during the campaign.

In an earlier interview with NBC News, he referenced comments Mr Putin made on Friday about temporarily putting Ukraine under external governance.

Mr Trump said he was “angry, pissed off” when the Russian leader “started getting into Zelensky’s credibility”.

Vladimir Putin is making a mockery of ceasefire efforts, a Ukrainian MP has told The Independent.

Oleksandr Merezhko, who chairs the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign policy committee, said earlier this week that Donald Trump may change his attitude towards the Russian autocrat when he realises Putin is not serious about peace.

Mr Trump’s declaration that he is “p***** off” at the Russian autocrat could be the first evidence of such a change in attitude.

Dealing with Putin is “worse than dealing with gangsters” because “you can never trust, you can never rely [on him]”, Mr Merezhko said.

He added: “It’s an illusion to believe you can make a deal with Putin [which will] be followed conscientiously by Putin. It’s a total illusion.

“Trump should understand that on Putin’s part, it’s a mockery. It’s a mockery, all this negotiation process. When Trump realises this, maybe he will change his attitude towards Putin.”

Sir Keir Starmer has updated US president Donald Trump about recent talks between European countries concerning the proposed ‘coalition of the willing’ peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

But what actually is the coalition?

The central focus of the coalition of the willing is a peacekeeping force, and European leaders are expected to discuss what, exactly, they are willing to contribute to a military effort on the ground in Ukraine.

The group also needs support from the US, which has provided crucial intelligence information to Ukraine throughout the conflict.

So far only the UK and France have committed to providing troops to the cause, and Sir Keir will present a detailed plan on what that peacekeeping force could provide to leaders at the Elysee Palace on Thursday.

The leaders are also expected to discuss ongoing military aid and funding to bolster Ukraine’s military.

Russian forces are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in the coming weeks to maximize the pressure on Ukraine and strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ceasefire talks, Ukrainian government and military analysts said.

The move could give Russian President Vladimir Putin every reason to delay discussions about pausing the fighting in favor of seeking more land, the Ukrainian officials said, renewing their country’s repeated arguments that Russia has no intention of engaging in meaningful dialogue to end the war.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said sanctions against Russia are “essential” to help bring about a just end to the war in Ukraine.

In his nightly address on X, the Ukrainian president said that the “geography and brutality of Russian strikes” show that Vladimir Putin “couldn’t care less about diplomacy”.

“Russia deserves increased pressure—all the tough measures that can break its capacity to wage war and sustain the system that wants nothing but war,” Mr Zelensky wrote.

“Sanctions against Russia are essential. More air defense for Ukraine is essential. More cooperation and unity among all partners is essential.”

Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer agreed that “collective pressure” is needed on Vladimir Putin in a Sunday night phone call, Downing Street said.

The two leaders held the call after news broke that the US president is “p***** off” at the Russian autocrat, whose comments were “not going in the right direction”.

A Downing Street statement said: “Discussing Ukraine, the Prime Minister updated the President on the productive discussions at the meeting of the Coalition of Willing in Paris this week.

“The leaders agreed on the need to keep up the collective pressure on Putin.”