Ukraine-Russia war latest: US to host Kyiv team for minerals deal talks while Trump demands Putin stop bombing
Trump doesn’t ‘like the bombing’ and has called on Moscow to stop, after 20 were killed in a devastating strike on Kryvyi Rih
A Ukrainian team will visit Washington this week for crunch talks on a minerals deal, the first visit since the deal collapsed in dramatic fashion five weeks ago.
Volodymyr Zelensky was set to sign a framework agreement in late February before he was booted out of the White House, when a furious Donald Trump berated the Ukrainian president for not being thankful enough for US war assistance.
Since then, teams from Kyiv and Washington have been working to hash out a revised agreement - and to rebuild a broken relationship.
Washington has proposed a more expansive minerals deal which could give it access to valuable mineral resources, including titanium, lithium, and uranium, according to economy minister Yuliia Svyrydenko.
But the deal has not yet been agreed by Ukraine and it is unclear exactly how close the two sides are to reaching an agreement.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has urged Russia to stop bombing Ukraine, after a ballistic missile strike in Kryvyi Rih killed 20, including nine children.,
“We are talking to Russia. We would like them to stop,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One. “I don’t like the bombing, the bombing goes on and on, and every week thousands of young people being killed.”
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EU rejects request to find 'drone wall' for Estonia and Lithuania
The EU has denied funding to Estonia and Lithuania for a cross-border “drone wall” which would enhance surveillance and security against the threats to their eastern borders, LRT reported on Monday.
Proposed in May 2023 by the Lithuanian Interior Minister, the initiative sought to create a system which could detect and destroy drones along the borders with Russia and Belarus.
The initiative later gained support from regional partners including Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Norway and Finland. But the EU has denied rejected the application for 12 million euros in funding, Lithuanian officials said.
EU finance ministers discuss new fund for defence gear
EU finance ministers will discuss setting up a defence fund to buy and own defence equipment, and charge members a fee for its use, a paper prepared for the ministers' discussions showed.
The paper, drafted by the Bruegel think tank, was commissioned by the Polish presidency of the EU and could generate large defence funding without boosting national public debt levels - a worry of many high-debt countries.
The paper is part of an EU discussion on how to finance preparations against a potential attack from Russia as European governments realise they can no longer fully rely on the United States for their security.
One thing that could rupture Russia’s friendship with China
As he looks to solidify his territorial gains in Ukraine in a potential ceasefire deal, Russian president Vladimir Putin has one eye trained on Russia’s southern border – and boosting Russian influence in Central Asia.
Following his 2024 re-election, Putin made Uzbekistan his third foreign visit after China and Belarus. The visit signalled the region’s continued importance to Moscow.
In response to Western sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine war, trade and investment between Russia and Central Asian countries have grown significantly.
Russia’s Lukoil and Gazprom are now the dominant foreign players in Uzbekistan’s energy fields. In Kazakhstan, Moscow controls a quarter of the country’s uranium production.
Read more:
One thing that could rupture Russia’s friendship with China
In pictures: Kryvyi Rih residents mourn after Russian attack kills nine children
Mapped: Ukraine left with a sliver of land in Kursk after Russian advance
Russia says Ukraine of attacked energy facilities six times over past day
Ukraine attacked Russian energy infrastructure six times over the previous day, its defence ministry has claimed, despite a US-brokered halt to such strikes.
Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of breaching a US-brokered halt to such strikes in recent weeks.
Russia said Ukraine struck power facilities and electrical substations in Russia's Rostov, Voronezh and Bryansk regions, as well as in the Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Donetsk, parts of which Moscow controls.
The Independent was not able to verify reports of the strikes.
Russia will try to resolve US-Iran nuclear tensions, says Kremlin
Russia will do all it can to resolve tensions between the US and Iran around Tehran’s nuclear programme, the Kremlin has said.
Donald Trump recently warned Iran that it must reach a nuclear deal with the US if it wants to avoid being bombed.
Moscow has reiterated its previous offer to mediate between the two sides. Kremlin spokeman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday: "We are in constant consultations with our Iranian partners, including on the topic of the nuclear deal.
"This process will continue, including in the near future. And, of course, Russia is ready to make every effort, to do everything possible to contribute to this problem's resolution by political and diplomatic means."
In his first term, Mr Trump withdraw the US from a 2015 deal with Iran which placed strict limits on Tehran’s nuclear capabilities in exchange for sanctions relief.
Russia losing nearly 150 soldiers per square mile claimed - Ukrainian military
Russian forces are losing an average of 146 soldiers, one tank and two armoured combat vehicles pieces per square kilometre claimed of Ukrainian territory in 2025, the Ukrainian military has said.
The calculations, carried out by the Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, are based on the losses suffered by Moscow’s forces on the eastern front alone, during the first quarter of the year, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
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