President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is discussing the possibility of hosting US troops as part of peace talks with US president Donald Trump.
He told reporters that a troop presence in Ukraine would be a major security boost for Kyiv.
“Of course, we are discussing this with President Trump and with representatives of the (Western) coalition (supporting Kyiv). We want this. We would like this. This would be a strong position of the security guarantees,” he said in a WhatsApp chat with the media.
The White House had no comment on the issue of dispatching US troops to Ukraine under any peace settlement with Russia.
Zelensky also reiterated his commitment to ongoing peace talks, saying that he is ready to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin “in any format”, according to reports.
Moscow accused Ukraine of a 91-drone attack on the Russian leader’s personal residence but failed to provide “plausible evidence” for its claims, according to Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha.
Russia declined to provide evidence of an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on Putin’s personal residence in Valdai.
Putin raises stakes in peace talks with boast of Oreshnik missiles in Belarus
Russia boasted it had deployed nuclear-capable missiles inside Belarus on Tuesday as Vladimir Putin sought to escalate tensions over Ukraine – just as peace talks appeared to be gaining momentum.
The intermediate-range Oreshnik missiles can reach speeds of up to Mach 10 and are immune to interceptions, according to Putin; Russia’s missile forces chief, Sergei Karakayev, previously claimed the weapons “can strike targets across the entire territory of Europe”.
Tensions between the countries have soared after Russia accused Ukraine of attacking Putin’s personal residence with 91 drones.
More here.
Russia’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik missiles moved into Belarus
Russia’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system has officially entered active service, the country’s defence ministry has announced, as diplomatic efforts continue to seek a resolution to Moscow’s conflict in Ukraine.
The deployment of the advanced weapon system took place in neighbouring Belarus, its neighbouring ally, which also shares a border with Nato countries Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
While the ministry confirmed the activation, it refrained from disclosing the number of missiles deployed or providing further specific details regarding the system’s capabilities or location within Belarus.
This move follows earlier remarks by Russian president Vladimir Putin in December, who stated the Oreshnik would be combat-ready this month.
During a meeting with senior Russian military officials, Putin had warned that Moscow intended to expand its territorial gains in Ukraine should Kyiv and its Western allies reject the Kremlin’s demands during peace negotiations.
Moscow first used the Oreshnik, which is Russian for “hazelnut tree,” against Ukraine in November 2024, when it fired the experimental weapon at a factory in Dnipro that built missiles when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union.
Putin has praised the Oreshnik’s capabilities, saying that its multiple warheads, which plunge toward a target at speeds up to Mach 10, are immune to being intercepted.
He warned the West that Moscow could use it against Ukraine’s Nato allies, who’ve allowed Kyiv to use their longer-range missiles to strike inside Russia.
Russian port, gas pipeline in Tuapse hit by Ukrainian drones
A Ukrainian drone attack damaged port infrastructure and a gas pipeline in a residential area in Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse, the regional administration said this morning, adding no injuries were reported.
Emergency crews were dispatched to repair the damage, the operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region said on Telegram. The port’s berth had been damaged, it added.
SHOT, a Telegram news channel with sources in Russia’s security services, said a series of explosions was heard over Tuapse late last night and that residents in one district reported a fire.
Several Ukrainian media, including the RBC-Ukraine media outlet, posted photos on Telegram appearing to show a large fire burning in the distance at night, with a communications mast silhouetted in the foreground.
US ambassador to NATO casts doubt on Russian drone attack claims
Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO, cast doubt on Russia’s claim that Ukraine attacked President Vladimir Putin’s residence on Tuesday.
“It is unclear whether it actually happened,” Whitaker told Fox Business “Varney & Co.”
“It seems to me a little indelicate to be this close at a peace deal, Ukraine really wanting to get a peace deal done, and then to do something that would be viewed as reckless or not helpful,” he said.
Whitaker said that he wants to see U.S. intelligence on the incident.
Europe backs Ukraine over Russia’s drone attack allegations
Europe rallied behind Ukraine on Tuesday over Russia’s unproven accusations that Kyiv had assaulted the presidential residence in Novgorod with drones overnight into Monday.
The German government said it shares Ukraine’s worry that the allegations could be used for further escalation.
A source close to French President Emmanuel Macron also said that there was no evidence to corroborate the accusations made by the Russian authorities.
“Ukraine and its partners are committed to a path of peace, while Russia has chosen to continue and intensify its war against Ukraine. This is in itself an act of defiance against President Trump’s peace agenda,” the source told Reuters.
This mysterious ‘drone attack’ shows paranoid Putin will never be a peacemaker
Reports of an unlikely aerial raid on Putin’s residence remind us that the Russian president sees endless conflict and confusion as the best means to control, says MARK ALMOND – he fears victory over Ukraine almost as much as defeat:
Putin raises stakes in peace talks with boast of Oreshnik missiles in Belarus
Russia said on Tuesday that it had deployed nuclear-capable missiles inside Belarus as Vladimir Putin sought to escalate tensions over Ukraine.
The latest threat came after the Kremlin accused Ukraine of targeting the Russian presidential residence in Novgorod without providing evidence – something Kyiv dismissed as “lies” intent on undermining progress in peace talks.
Read the latest:
Russia claims Ukraine striking Moscow
Russia is now claiming that Ukraine launched a series of drone attacks against Moscow on Tuesday.
Authorities said one person was injured near the capital.
Russia’s air defence units destroyed a total of 27 Ukrainian drones over three hours from 5pm GMT, according to the defence ministry.
It comes just a day after Russia accused Ukraine, without providing evidence, of trying to attack President Vladimir Putin’s residence – something US and European officials have expressed doubt over.
Are Ukraine and the US any closer to a workable peace deal?
Natia Seskuria, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) thinks not.
She told The Independent following the latest talks in Florida: “I believe it is premature, and in many ways exaggerated, to suggest that the parties are genuinely closer to peace when the most critical questions – above all the territorial settlement-remain unresolved.
“The core issue of the future of the occupied territories, including the remaining parts of the Donbas region under Ukrainian control, lacks any clarity, which severely limits how much weight can be attached to talk of ‘progress.’
“There is also no clear evidence that President Trump is exerting serious pressure on Russia to make substantive concessions, whereas Russian officials have repeatedly reaffirmed their determination to secure control over the entire Donbas region – a concession that Kyiv has consistently described as a red line it cannot cross.
“There has been some degree of progress on other problematic issues, such as the framework for security guarantees, but as long as the territorial question remains unresolved, it can easily derail the entire process.”
