Ukraine war latest: North Korea said to have sent Russia 20,000 containers of ammunition to aid Putin’s war effort – UK Times

Russia has accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine, saying it’s a stab in the back by its longtime Slavic Balkan ally.

“Serbian defense enterprises, contrary to the ‘neutrality’ declared by official Belgrade, continue to supply ammunition to Kyiv,” the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, SVR, said in a statement.

Serbia’s populist president Aleksandar Vucic told the state RTS television that he has recently discussed the issue of the arm exports to Ukraine with Russian president Vladimir Putin and that it was agreed that the two countries form a “working group” to establish how Serbian-made weapons reach the Ukrainian frontlines.

Russian president Vladimir Putin currently has no plans to speak to US president Donald Trump, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Mr Trump has shown increasing frustration with Mr Putin in recent days, warning on Tuesday the Russian leader was “playing with fire” by refusing to engage in ceasefire talks with Kyiv as his forces made gains on the battlefield.

In response to Mr Trump’s remarks, the Kremlin said that president Putin prioritises Russia’s national interests above all else.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Russia’s proposal to hold another round of peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on 2 June had raised Ankara’s hopes for peace.

Speaking to reporters on a flight from Azerbaijan, Mr Erdogan said Ankara was in contact with both countries and the recent momentum in peace efforts was an opportunity to reach lasting peace.

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

Nato member Turkey has maintained good relations with both sides since the start of the war. It hosted an initial round of peace talks in March 2022 – a month after Russia’s invasion of its neighbour – and again on 16 May, the first direct meeting between Moscow and Kyiv in three years.

Russia is under increasing pressure to reach a ceasefire, and while delegates from Moscow and Kyiv did not agree on one in Istanbul this month, they agreed to trade 1,000 prisoners of war and share their views on the contours of a truce.

Germany could send its long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine this year, chancellor Friedrich Merz has said, a move which would help Kyiv strike deep into Russian territory.

Berlin pledged to ramp up its military support for Ukraine during a meeting between Mr Merz and Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, in which the former promised new military aid worth €5bn (£4.2bn).

Mr Merz did not mention Taurus missiles as he announced an increase in support for Kyiv – but he later addressed the issue when speaking on German TV.

The US has said Vladimir Putin should take Washington’s proposal for a ceasefire deal as it was Moscow’s “best possible outcome”.

Speaking at the UN security council, the US said it wanted Russia to agree to a comprehensive 30-day land, air, sea and critical infrastructure ceasefire.

“We want to work with Russia, including on this peace initiative and an economic package. There is no military solution to this conflict,” acting deputy US Ambassador John Kelley told the security council.

“The deal on offer now is Russia’s best possible outcome. President Putin should take the deal.”

Mr Kelley said the first US step was to put forward a proposal for an immediate, unconditional and comprehensive ceasefire, which had been accepted by Ukraine pending Russia’s agreement.

“Since then, we have been urging Russia to accept a ceasefire,” he said.

“If Russia makes the wrong decision to continue this catastrophic war, the United States will have to consider stepping back from our negotiation efforts to end this conflict,” he warned, adding that Washington could also impose further sanctions on Russia.

A first round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine on 16 May failed to reach an agreement on a ceasefire – which Moscow has said was impossible to achieve before certain conditions were met.

Ukrainian drones launched a night-time attack on Russia’s western Kursk region, damaging a hospital and apartment buildings and injuring at least one person, the regional governor said early this morning.

In the Kursk region, where Russia’s military says Ukrainian forces who staged the incursion last August have been ejected, governor Alexander Khinshtein said Ukrainian drones swarmed the main town, also called Kursk.

“Drone fragments damaged the No 1 city hospital in Kursk. Windows were smashed. Fortunately, no patients were injured,” Mr Khinshtein wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “Falling drone fragments have also damaged high-rise apartment buildings.”

Ukraine’s military says its forces remain active in small areas of Kursk region.

Across the border in Ukraine’s Sumy region, the regional governor reported fresh fighting in villages near the border where Russia has been seizing territory. He said various areas in his region were constantly changing hands.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has said he wants to create a buffer zone in Sumy, which was used to help launch Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk last year.

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 bottom 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.

But a war of words erupted following the offer, with Kyiv accusing Moscow of failing to send a memorandum outlining proposals for a future ceasefire – something it says was agreed upon during the previous talks.

The latest row comes after US president Donald Trump issued a two-week deadline for Vladimir Putin to demonstrate he actually wants to end the war he started three years ago.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of engaging in “yet another deception” by failing to hand over its peace settlement proposal before a potential meeting between officials from the two countries next week.

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

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

Moscow has proposed a second round of direct peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Monday, two weeks after similar negotiations failed to bear fruit.

Kyiv says the memorandum was due following those talks.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow has drafted the memorandum and will present it at the next direct talks, adding that Kyiv had not responded to the offer of talks on Monday.

The Russian delegation to the second round of talks with Ukraine in Turkey’s Istanbul will be the same as for the first round, the Tass news agency cited Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova as saying.

Russia has proposed holding the next round of direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Monday.

The Russian delegation for the first round held in Istanbul on 16 May included an adviser to the president, a top diplomat and senior military and intelligence officials.