Russia launched on Sunday its largest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of the war, destroying homes and killing at least one woman a day before US president Donald Trump is due to discuss a proposed ceasefire with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
[ Trump says he will call Putin on Monday to discuss stopping Ukraine warOpens in new window ]
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, straining to restore ties with Washington after a disastrous February White House visit, met vice-president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio in Rome on Sunday on the sidelines of Pope Leo‘s inauguration.
Zelenskiy said the meeting was “good” and released pictures of Ukrainian and US officials sitting outside at a round table and smiling. Ukrainian media said the meeting lasted 40 minutes.
The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland planned to speak to Trump before the US and Russian presidents speak on Monday, German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday.
After a night of air alerts, Ukraine’s air force said that as of 8am on Sunday Russia had launched 273 drones at Ukrainian cities, more than the previous record Moscow had set in February on the war’s third anniversary.
Trump has shifted US rhetoric from supporting Ukraine towards accepting some of Moscow’s narrative about the war that Putin launched in 2022. But Kyiv and its European allies are working hard to persuade Trump that it is Moscow that is holding up a truce now.
Zelenskiy has said he would accept Trump’s proposal for an immediate ceasefire of at least 30 days with no conditions. Moscow says it would consider a ceasefire but only if conditions are met, including a halt in arms supplies to Kyiv.
It also says any peace talks must address the “root causes” of the conflict, including its demands that Ukraine cede territory, be disarmed and accept neutral status. Kyiv calls that tantamount to capitulation and says it would be left defenceless in the face of future Russian attacks.
On Saturday, a Russian drone attack killed nine civilians after hitting a shuttle bus in the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine, Kyiv said. Zelenskiy called the attack “deliberate” and urged stronger sanctions on Moscow, which said it had attacked a military facility. – Reuters
