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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UK Defence Secretary to convene next 'coalition of willing' meeting - ICYMI
Defence secretary John Healey is set to convene the next meeting of the “coalition of the willing” next week, as the head of the British armed forces has been in Kyiv for discussions with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr Healey will host defence ministers in Brussels alongside his French counterpart on Thursday, the Ministry of Defence said.
He will then chair the Ukraine Defence Contact Group with his opposite number from Germany on Friday.
Overall, 30 countries are expected to contribute to the group.
Mr Healey said on Saturday: “Our coalition of nations, working at pace and willing to stand with Ukraine for the long-term, is a stark contrast to Russia who stand alone with only North Korea for a friend.
“As Putin prevaricates over a ceasefire, we will continue to ramp up our military planning, exploring the air, sea and land forces that could support a lasting peace in Ukraine.
“However, we will not jeopardise the peace by forgetting about the war.
“That’s why in the week ahead we will also convene the Ukraine Defence Contact Group to supply Ukraine with the military equipment they need to put them in the strongest possible position as they fight back brutal, continuing Russian attacks.”
Ukrainian team to visit US for minerals deal talks this week
A Ukrainian team will travel to the US early this week to discuss a minerals deal, a Kyiv source has told Reuters.
Washington has proposed a more expansive minerals deal which Ukraine has been reviewing in recent days - and has not publicly commented on.
The countries came close to agreeing a framework agreement in late February when Volodymyr Zelensky met Donald Trump in the White House - before the Ukrainian president was booted out after a public spat in front of the cameras.
The agreement could give the US access to Ukraine’s valuable mineral resources, including titanium, lithium, and uranium, economy minister Yuliia Svyrydenko told the Associated Press.
Submitted by the US after weeks of silence, the draft is more expansive than an earlier framework and could require approval by Ukraine’s parliament, she said.
Critics argue the deal risks undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty and EU membership prospects.
Ms Svyrydenko stressed that the US draft reflects only one side’s position and is not final. “What we have now is a document that reflects the position of the US Treasury legal team. This is not a final version, it’s not a joint position.”
Dozens including children still hospitalised after Kryvyi Rih attack
As of Monday morning, more than 30 people remain in hospital following Russia’s ballistic missile attack on Kryvyi Rih on Friday.
A total of 18 adults and two children remain in a serious condition following the attack.
Local official Oleksandra Vilkul said, according to Ukrainska Pravda: "Currently, 33 people who were injured in the attack on 4 April remain in hospital, among them four children. A total of 18 people are in a serious condition, including two children."
A humanitarian aid centre will be opened in the city’s Saksahanskyi district, he added.
"The centre will provide building materials and accept applications for financial assistance from the city. Aid will be provided to everyone who needs it.”
In pictures: Kryvyi Rih residents mourn in playground after Russian attack kills nine children
Russia attacks Kharkiv six times on Monday morning - regional authorities
Russia has attacked Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region six times on Monday morning, the chief of the region’s military administration has said.
The attack caused two injuries, fires and damage to a high-rise building, houses, and power transmission lines, Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.
“As a result of a strike on the eighth floor, the balconies and apartments of a nine-storey apartment building caught fire, covering an area of 100 square metres,” Mr Syniehubov wrote.
“The building was partially damaged. A 67-year-old man and a 79-year-old woman were injured in the attack."
Putin congratulates Russian ice hockey player in US for breaking NHL scoring record
Vladimir Putin has congratulated Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin on breaking the all-time National Hockey League record, the Kremlin said on Monday.
He scored his 895th goal on Sunday to break the all-time record set by Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky - that few believed would ever be beaten.
Mr Ovechkin, considered one of ice hockey’s greatest players, has previously been vocal in his support for the Russian president.
In 2017, he launched Putin Team, a social movement which aimed to unite people who are “proud of their country and want to make Russia stronger”.
But since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he has said only that he hoped “it was going to be over and we are going to be living in a good world”.
Asked if he still supported Putin, Ovechkin said according to the Guardian: “Well, he’s my president, but [like] I said, I’m not in politics, I’m an athlete.”
Russian advances are slowing, says UK defence ministry
Russian advances in eastern Ukraine have slowed down in the first part of 2025, the UK defence ministry has said.
Moscow’s forces likely only seized 143 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory throughout March, an average of less than five square kilometres per day, the ministry said in an intelligence update over the weekend.
The rate of advance has dropped each month since November, it said, adding that Ukraine has “carried out tactical counter-attacks, reversing some of Russia’s gains around Pokrovsk”.
US soldier in Russian prison has prison sentence reduced
A court in far east Russia has reduced the prison sentence of a US soldier convicted of stealing and making murder threats, state media has reported.
Staff Sgt Gordon Black, 34, was arrested in May 2024 after flying to Vladivostok to see his girlfriend - after she accused him of stealing from her.
Black's girlfriend, Alexandra Vashchuk, told reporters last year that “it was a simple domestic dispute”, during which Black "became aggressive and attacked" her, stealing money from her wallet. She described Black as “violent and unable to control himself”.
He was convicted one month later and sentenced to three years and nine months behind bars.
After losing one appeal, Black successfully had his sentence reduced to three years and two months. The judge partially sustained a request by his lawyers to acquit him of the murder threats and reduce the punishment for theft.
The US army said Black hadn’t obtained travel clearance before his trip, and given the hostilities in Ukraine, it is unlikely he would have been granted approval.
Zelensky: Our army must be strong enough
Volodymyr Zelensky has paid tribute to the importance of the Ukrainian army in an X post, declared that the Kyiv’s forces must be “strong enough” to build the “entire security architecture”.
“The primary and most effective guarantee of our security for Ukraine is our state’s Defense Forces and Security Forces, along with the appropriate motivation, supplies, and all necessary defense capabilities,” Mr Zelensky said, in call for Ukraine to be sufficiently armed against Russia.
“We must always remember how much depends on our army—on all Ukrainians who are defending the life of Ukraine with their own lives,” he added.
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.
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