Putin announces new three-day temporary ceasefire for May public holiday
Russia was accused by Kyiv and its European allies of breaching the previous temporary truce on Easter Sunday
Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine next weekend to mark the 80th anniversary of victory in WW2, the Kremlin has said.
The 72-hour ceasefire is the second announced by Moscow in recent weeks, after it declared a 30-hour Easter Sunday truce - which Kyiv and its European allies accused it of breaching.
The Kremlin said the truce will last from the beginning of 8 May and last until the close of 10 May, adding that Russia give an “adequate and effective response” to any Ukrainian violations. Moscow remains ready for peace talks without any preconditions, the statement added.
Mr Putin is looking to win back favour with Donald Trump, after the US president said he was “very disappointed” in Russia’s continued bombardment of civilian areas in Ukraine.
Mr Trump also said he believes Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to give up Crimea in order to strike a peace deal with Russia.
Meanwhile, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un confirmed he sent his troops to support Russian president Vladimir Putin’s war efforts in Ukraine for the first time.
Mr Kim said his deployment order was meant to "annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area”.
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Russia could provide military help to North Korea if needed, Kremlin says
Russia can provide military assistance to North Korea if needed, the Kremlin has said after president Vladimir Putin thanked Pyongyang for sending troops to help Moscow’s war effort.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said North Korea's role in combat operations in Russia's Kursk region had demonstrated the effectiveness of a strategic partnership treaty signed by Mr Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the RIA news agency said.
The pact included a mutual defence clause, under which could help North Korea in return if help was needed, he said.
Trump says he is 'very disappointed' in Putin
Donald Trump has said he is “very disappointed” in Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, as Moscow’s forces continue bombarding Ukraine amid Washington’s efforts to force through a peace deal.
Speaking before boarding Air Force One in New Jersey, the US president said: "I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal.”
Mr Trump added that he was "very disappointed that they did the bombing of those places [such as Kyiv, where nine people were killed in a Russian airstrike on Friday] after discussions".
He reiterated that his talks with Volodymyr Zelensky before the Pope’s funeral had gone well, describing the Ukrainian president as “calmer”.
Mapped: Territory Ukraine could lose as details of US peace deal proposal revealed
Last week, the US laid out its “final” proposals for peace in Ukraine, making clear the territory which it says Kyiv must cede to Moscow in order to achieve peace.
A Washington team has been engaging in intense shuttle diplomacy, looking to force through a deal between Ukraine and Russia as progress towards peace appeared to be slowing.
During talks in Paris and London over the past 10 days, US officials passed on the proposals to their European and Ukrainian counterparts - who responded with their own set of proposals, demonstrating a significant gap in position.
Here’s the territory Ukraine could stand to lose if the Washington’s vision for peace is pushed through:
Mapped: Territory Ukraine could lose as details of US peace deal proposal revealed
Trump peace proposals akin to Ukrainian capitulation - German minister
German defence minister Boris Pistorius has described Donald Trump’s peace proposals as “akin to a capitulation”.
Speaking to German TV news service Tagesschau, Mr Pistorius said: "Ukraine on its own could have got a year ago what was included in that [Trump] proposal, it is akin to a capitulation. I cannot discern any added value.”
He accepted that a sustainable ceasefire may “involve territorial concessions” but said these will not go “as far as they do in the latest proposal from the US president”.
Putin hails North Korean fighters for standing 'shoulder to shoulder' with Russia
Vladimir Putin has hailed North Korean troops for standing “shoulder to shoulder’ with Russian soldiers in its western Kursk region, after Kim Jong-un admitted for the first time the role his countrymen played in Moscow’s war effort.
In a statement posted on the website of the Kremlin, Putin praised those who had "shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters, defended our Motherland as their own."
He added: "The Russian people will never forget the heroism of the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea] special forces. We will always honor the heroes who gave their lives for Russia, for our common freedom, fighting side by side with their Russian brothers in arms.”
In pictures: Ukrainians pay respect to fallen soldiers in cemetery
Moscow waiting for signal from Kyiv regarding direct negotiations - Kremlin
Moscow is waiting for a signal from Ukraine from Kyiv regarding direct negotiations to end the war, the Kremlin said on Monday.
There are no signs of any movement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, three days after revealing that the prospect of direct talks had been raised in a three-hour meeting between Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday.
Asked by a reporter if the signal for direct talks should come from Ukraine or the United States, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "Well, from Kyiv, at least Kyiv should take some actions in this regard. They have a legal ban on this. But so far we don't see any action."
Kyiv accuses Russia of playing for time in an attempt to seize more territory, while Moscow has accused Ukraine of being unwilling to make any concessions and only seeking a ceasefire on its own terms.
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Ukrainian soldier behind 'Russian warship, go f*** yourself' slogan honoured at football game
The Ukrainian soldier who was behind the world-famous ‘Russian warship, go f*** yourself’ slogan, which became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance in the early days of Russia’s invasion, has been honoured at a football match.
On the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Roman Hrybov made the final communication to Russian warship Moskva. The phrase became widely adopted as a Ukrainian slogan, featuring in pro-Ukrainian demonstrations across the West and even being commemorated on a postage stamp by Ukrposhta, the Ukrainian postal service.
He was awarded a medal for his actions at the end of March.
On Sunday, Mr Hrybov was honoured at a football match between Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv.
At least six killed in Russian attacks over past day
Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least six civilians and injured 13 more over the past day, regional authorities reported on Monday morning.
Moscow’s forces have intensified their attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities in the past week.
Five people were killed and six injured in a attacks across Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, according to governor Vadym Filashkin, including an attack against Kostiantynivka which damaged 21 houses.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, a 73-year-old woman was injured during Russian drone and artillery attacks on the Nikopol district, governor Serhii Lysak said.
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