Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin bombs energy plant hours after promising Trump attacks would stop
Ukrainian city of 100,000 left without electricity after attack on power grid
Vladimir Putin’s forces launched a major air raid on energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Slovyansk city late last night, just hours after the Russian leader told Donald Trump he would pause such attacks.
Military officials told the Kyiv Post that Russia's airstrikes left the entire city of 100,000 people without electricity.
Mr Putin had told Mr Trump in a phone call earlier on Tuesday that he would temporarily stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities and claimed to have issued orders along these lines.
During the call the Russian leader refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire that the US hoped would be the first step towards a permanent peace deal.
Kyiv confirmed it was ready to support the watered-down agreement from Moscow and not hit Russia's energy grid for about a month.
After the call, US envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News that a new round of talks with Russia will take place this Sunday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. "The devil is in the details," he said, adding: "We've got to figure out those details."
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Ukraine attempts new cross-border incursion into Belgorod, Russia claims
Russia is still facing active fighting at its border between Belgorod region and Ukraine, the region's governor said this morning, a day after Moscow said its forces had thwarted Kyiv's troops from pushing across the border.
"The situation in Krasnoyarsk district remains difficult," the governor of the southwestern Russian Belgorod region said in a video posted on his Telegram channel.
Russia's defence ministry, in a statement reported by Russian news agencies, said Russian forces had thwarted five Ukrainian attempts to push across the border into its southwestern Belgorod region.
Donald Trump has said Washington and Moscow have already begun discussing "dividing up certain assets" between Ukraine and Russia as part of a deal to end the conflict.
He said before his call with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that control of land and power plants would be part of the conversation, which came on the anniversary of Russia annexing Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula 11 years ago. That bold land grab by Russia set the stage for Russia to invade its neighbor in 2022.
But neither the White House nor Kremlin made any mention of land or power plants in their post-call statements.
White House special envoy Steve Witkoff on Sunday suggested that US and Russian officials have discussed the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — Europe's largest — in southern Ukraine. Russian troops seized the plant early in the war and it has been caught in the crossfire, fueling fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe.
The plant is a significant asset, producing nearly a quarter of Ukraine's electricity in the year before the war.
Putin bombs Donetsk energy plant hours after promising to stop attacks
Russian forces launched a major air raid on energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Slovyansk city late last night, just hours after the Russian leader told Donald Trump he would pause such attacks.
Shortly after the call between Trump and Vladimir Putin ended last night, air raid sirens wailed and explosions rang out in Ukraine.
Military officials told the Kyiv Post that Russia's airstrikes left the entire city of 100,000 people without electricity.
Mr Putin had told Mr Trump in a phone call earlier on Tuesday that he would temporarily stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities and claimed to have issued orders along these lines.
The strike on Slovyansk’s energy infrastructure was carried out using an aerial bomb, Ukrainian military correspondent Bohdan Miroshnykov said.
US envoy says talks with Russia on Ukraine war to take place on Sunday in Jeddah
US envoy Steve Witkoff has said talks with Russia on the Ukraine war will take place on Sunday in Jeddah.
"The devil is in the details. We've got a team going to Saudi Arabia, led by our national security adviser and our secretary of state, and I think, you know, we've got to figure out those details," Mr Witkoff told Fox News' "Hannity" show last night, referring to top US diplomat Marco Rubio and White House national security adviser Mike Waltz.
Oil depot in Russia's Krasnodar hit in Ukraine drone attack
A Ukrainian drone attack sparked a small fire at an oil depot located near the village of Kavkazskaya in the Krasnodar region, Russian regional authorities said this morning.
Officials claimed that no one was injured in the fire that spread across 20 square metres (215 square feet). But 30 employees were evacuated, the administration of the southern Russian region said on Telegram.
"The work at the facility has been suspended," the administration said.
Zelensky remains sceptical Putin is ready for peace
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky remains sceptical that Vladimir Putin is ready for peace as Russian forces continue to pound Ukraine.
"This is not a game where only Putin dictates the rules," Zelensky said, making clear he remains doubtful that the Russian president was serious about wanting peace.
Ukraine open to any proposals that lead to lasting and just peace, says Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters that Ukraine is open to any proposals that lead to a sustainable and just peace, but stressed the need for full transparency in discussions.
Zelenskyy said he was seeking more details on what Putin and Trump agreed on, but rejected Putin's demand for halting military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine, warning that such a move would weaken Ukraine.
"We need to understand what the conversation is about," Zelenskyy said. "What are the details? And hopefully, we will be fully informed, and our partners will discuss everything with us."
He added: "There are two sides in this war — Russia and Ukraine. Trying to negotiate without Ukraine, in my view, will not be productive."
Explosions in Kyiv shortly after Trump-Putin call
Shortly after the call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin ended, air raid alerts sounded in Kyiv, followed by explosions in the city.
Local officials urged people to seek shelter.
Ukraine aid not discussed in Trump-Putin call, US president tells Fox News
US President Donald Trump told Fox News that aid to Ukraine was not discussed in his call on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump made the comments in an interview on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" show.
Russia's Medvedev says Putin-Trump call shows there is only Russia and US in 'dining room'
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said late on Tuesday the phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on resolving the conflict in Ukraine showed only Moscow and Washington are "in the dining room."
"The phone call between Presidents Putin and Trump proved a well-known idea – there is only Russia and America in the dining room," Medvedev, who is also deputy chairman of Russia's security council, wrote in a post on social media platform X.
"The main course is a Kiev-style cutlet. Enjoy your meal!"
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