Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump says he and Putin will discuss ‘dividing up assets’ in Ukraine
US president says phone call with Putin on Tuesday will cover 'land and power plants'
Donald Trump says he and Vladimir Putin will discuss "dividing up certain assets" in Ukraine as part of peace talks that will include “land [and] power plants".
The US president and his Russian counterpart are due to talk on Tuesday.
"A lot of work's been done over the weekend. We want to see if we can bring that war to an end,” the US president said while flying from Florida to Washington on Air Force One on Sunday night. "We're already talking about that, dividing up certain assets," he added.
The US president's comments came as a Russian official said Moscow will seek "ironclad" guarantees in any peace deal that Nato nations will exclude Kyiv from membership, and that Ukraine will remain "neutral".
Russia’s deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko also repeated the Kremlin’s position that Moscow is categorically against the deployment of Nato observers to Ukraine.
Elsewhere, Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed Andrii Hnatov as the new chief of the general staff of the armed forces, as the war-hit nation said it was restructuring and strengthening its military. .
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Russia, Ukraine trade drone strikes as ceasefire prospects remain uncertain
Three people, including a 7-year-old, were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Belgorod border region, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram, according to a Reuters report.
Two of the victims were hurt when a drone struck their house, sparking a fire in the Gubkinsky district, while the third was injured in an attack on the village of Dolgoye, Gladkov said.Alexander Gusev, governor of Voronezh and acting governor of Russia's southern Rostov region both said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in their regions.
Russia’s defence ministry reported on Sunday that its air defence units destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones—16 were downed over the southwestern Voronezh region, nine over Belgorod, and the remainder over the Rostov and Kursk regions.
Ukrainian authorities reported multiple Russian drone strikes, including an attack on the northern Chernihiv region, where firefighters were tackling a blaze at a high-rise building ignited by the assault, according to Ukraine's state emergency service.
In pictures: Russian drone attack sets apartment building in Ukraine on fire
Keir Starmer’s steady leadership offers the best chance of forcing Putin to make peace
The coalition of the willing is growing. The attendance list for Sir Keir Starmer’s video conference was impressive. The United Kingdom is now at the head of a roll call of 26 nations in support of Ukraine. These included all the larger countries in Europe, including Italy – even if Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, repeated her refusal to put troops into Ukraine under any circumstances.
The European Union itself was represented, even if not all its members were. So was Nato. And there were the leaders of four countries outside Europe: Canada, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand. The coalition is also backed, Sir Keir said, by Japan. Canada was represented by Mark Carney, its new prime minister, who understands that his nation must stand up to Donald Trump as well as to Vladimir Putin if either threatens it.
Keir Starmer’s steady leadership offers the chance of forcing Putin to make peace
Italy rules out deploying peacekeeping forces in Ukraine
Italy has no plans to deploy peacekeeping forces on the ground in Ukraine to support a potential ceasefire, prime minister Giorgia Meloni's office announced on Saturday.
The statement followed the ‘coalition of the willing’ hosted by Keir Starmer, where members discussed ways to bolster Ukraine’s security in the event of a peace agreement with Russia.
Meloni joined the virtual meeting alongside leaders from 24 other nations.
“The Prime Minister confirmed that Italy intends to continue working with European and Western partners and with the United States to define credible and effective security guarantees, reiterating that national participation in a possible military force on the ground is not envisaged,” the statement said.
Australia open to sending peacekeepers to Ukraine, says Albanese
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said Australia could offer Ukraine a “small contribution” of peacekeepers if requested, though he emphasised it was too early to discuss specifics until Russia agreed to a ceasefire.
Albanese participated in the ‘coalition of the willing’ call chaired by Keir Starmer, and reaffirmed Australia's commitment to standing up to “bullies” like Vladimir Putin.
“Vladimir Putin’s a bully. You know what Australians do? They stand up to bullies. They don’t get intimidated by an authoritarian leader engaging in that sort of rhetoric.”
He added that Australia would “stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes” and expressed openness to considering new forms of support. However, he noted that any additional contributions would be based on Australia’s “capacity and comparative strengths.”
“It is the right thing to do and it is in Australia’s national interest. Because what happens in the Euro-Atlantic has serious implications for our region – the Indo-Pacific – and vice versa,” Albanese said in a statement.
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