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

Zelensky condemns Russian strikes on hometown: ‘Diplomacy means nothing to them’

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.”

Key Points

• Ukrainian team to visit US for crunch minerals talks this week
• Trump asks Russia to stop the war: ‘I don’t like the bombing’
• Russia showing 'complete disrespect' towards peace talks, says EU
• Russian envoy says next Russia-US contact could be this week
• Macron urges ‘strong action’ against Russia if it continues to ‘refuse peace’

[7 April 2025 21:29 · Alex Croft]

Why does the US want Ukraine's minerals?

Geologist and researcher Munira Raji writes:

Ukraine is often recognised for its vast agricultural lands and industrial heritage, but beneath its surface lies one of the world’s most remarkable geological formations, the “Ukrainian Shield”.

This massive, exposed crystalline rock formed over 2.5 billion years ago, stretches across much of Ukraine. It represents one of Earth’s oldest and most stable continental blocks.

The formation has undergone multiple episodes of mountain building, the formation and movement of magma and other change throughout time.

These geological processes created favourable geological conditions for forming several mineral deposits including lithium, graphite, manganese, titanium and rare earth elements.

All these are now critical for modern industries and the global green energy transition.

Ukraine has deposits containing 22 of 34 critical minerals identified by the European Union as essential for energy security. This positions Ukraine among the world’s most resource-rich nations.

[7 April 2025 22:00 · Alex Croft]

Life in Kyiv goes on despite repeated Russian airstrikes

A street vendor prepares items for sale at a flea market as smoke rises in the distance following a Russian missile attack, in Kyiv on April 6 (AFP/Getty)

Russian bombardments have continued despite ceasefire efforts (AFP/Getty)

[7 April 2025 23:00 · Angus Thompson]

Trump says Russia 'bombing like crazy' despite US demands

US president Donald Trump has repeated his displeasure at Russia’s continued bombardment of Ukraine despite his demands.

Speaking during an Oval Office press conference alongside Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier, Trump was asked by a member of the press why he wasn’t placing tariffs on Russia as part of his global trade war.

(AFP via Getty Images)

“We're not doing business, essentially, with Russia because they're in a war,” he said.

“And I'm not happy about what's going on with with the bombing, because they're bombing like crazy right now.

“They're bombing... I don't know what's happening there. That's not a good situation.

He said US delegates were meeting with both Russian and Ukrainian officials and “getting sort-of close” to a ceasefire agreement.

“But I'm not happy with all the bombing that's going in the last week or so, horrible.”

[8 April 2025 01:00 · Angus Thompson]

Russian forces attack eastern town of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian military says

Russian forces on Monday mounted multiple attacks on villages around the eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk, the Ukrainian military's general staff said on the Telegram social media platform.

Russian forces have for months been attempting to encircle Pokrovsk, a logistics hub, but Ukrainian resistance has slowed the Russian advances in the area.

Russian forces have for months been attempting to encircle Pokrovsk (Ukraine press service)

Ukraine has consented to a ceasefire proposed weeks ago by Washington.

But Russia is still negotiating with the United States its terms for accepting a truce in the more than three-year war.

US president Donald Trump has voiced frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the continued fighting, and Ukrainian officials want him to compel Putin to stop.

Trump vowed during his election campaign last year to bring a swift end to the war.

"We're talking to Russia. We'd like them to stop," Trump told reporters on Sunday. "I don't like the bombing."

[8 April 2025 02:00 · Angus Thompson]

Zelensky confirms Ukrainian troops active in Russia's Belgorod region

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed for the first time on Monday that Ukrainian troops have been active in Russia's Belgorod region as they seek to protect Ukrainian towns near the border.

Ukrainian troops remain in parts of the neighbouring Russian region of Kursk eight months after a cross-border incursion, though Russian forces have recaptured much lost territory.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky (EPA)

In his nightly video address, Zelensky said Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, had presented a report "on the front line, our presence in the Kursk region and our presence in the Belgorod region."

"We continue active operations in the enemy's border areas and this is absolutely justified. The war must return to where it came from.

"Our main objective remains the same: to protect our land and our communities in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions from Russian occupiers."

He later referred to operations in the area by Ukraine's 225th Assault Regiment and congratulated the unit for its performance.

[8 April 2025 03:00 · Alex Croft]

Kremlin says Russia needs answers before a ceasefire. What are Moscow's questions?

The Kremlin said earlier on Monday that there can be no ceasefire until Russia’s questions have been answered.

Kyiv and its allies have accused Moscow of deliberately delaying a ceasefire without any genuinely reason, as it looks to seize more territory before sitting around the negotiation table.

"President Putin does support the idea of the need for a ceasefire, but before that a number of questions must be answered," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier today.

"These questions are still hanging in the air; so far no one has given an answer to them."

Exactly what the questions consist of is not entirely clear, but Vladimir Putin has previously said that any peace agreement must address what Moscow sees as the root causes of the conflict: essentially a tug of war between Russia and the West over Ukraine's future and the post-Soviet enlargement of NATO towards Russia's borders.

He also said the ceasefire would have to ensure that Ukraine did not simply use it to regroup, and that key questions about verification of a truce would need to be clarified.

The Kremlin on Monday laid the blame for the lack of answers on Kyiv which it said was unable to control a number of its "extremist and nationalist units".