Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces launch fresh drone assault as Trump says Putin wants to meet him
It comes after Donald Trump said ending the conflict within six months was more realistic than 24 hours
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Your support makes all the difference.Vladimir Putin’s forces have launched a fresh drone assault on Ukraine as Donald Trump revealed the Russian leader wants to meet him.
Russian troops fired up to 72 drones at Ukraine overnight, hitting various buildings in the northern region of Chernihiv, as Kyiv’s airforce was scrambled to down 33 of them, it said.
It comes as US president-elect Donald Trump said Putin wants to meet him and a meeting was being set up as the war in Ukraine crosses 1050-day mark.
“He wants to meet, and we are setting it up,” Mr Trump said in remarks before a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.
“President Putin wants to meet. He has said that even publicly and we have to get that war over with. That’s a bloody mess,” Trump said about the Russia-Ukraine war.
On Thursday, Trump pushed back his campaign pledge to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours and said six months was a more realistic target.
“The whole [Trump] team is obsessed with strength and looking strong, so they’re recalibrating the Ukraine approach,” a European official told the Financial Times.
In pictures: More than 100 wounded or killed in Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia
Europe expects Trump to stay engaged with Ukraine, says Meloni
Europe expects US president-elect Donald Trump to continue supporting Ukraine and strike a balance between diplomacy with and deterrence against Russia, Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni has claimed.
Ms Meloni says she does not expect Mr Trump to disengage from Ukraine despite concerns he could sacrifice Ukrainian interests to push for an end to its war with Russia.
But she added that security guarantees are needed for Ukraine to prevent another Russian invasion.
Biden set to push new Russia sanctions before Trump era begins
President Joe Biden is expected to unveil new sanctions targeting Russia’s economy this week, according to a US official, as part of measures to bolster Kyiv’s war effort against Moscow before Donald Trump takes office.
The steps come as the Biden administration was also readying $500 million (£407m) in new military aid for Ukraine on Thursday that was set to include air defense missiles, air-to-ground munitions and support equipment for F-16 fighter jets, a US official who declined to be named said.
President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House on 20 January has sparked hope of a diplomatic resolution to end Moscow’s invasion but also fears in Kyiv that a quick peace could come at a high price.
Advisers to Trump have floated proposals to end the Ukraine war that would effectively cede large parts of the country to Russia for the foreseeable future.
Biden aides say they want to put Ukraine in the strongest position on the battlefield to give them leverage for possible negotiations with Russia this year.
There were no immediate details on the sanctions Biden would levy in his final days but Biden aides are briefing Trump’s aides on the steps they are taking, the official said.
Zelensky says allies’ deployment in Ukraine one of best ways to bring peace closer
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the potential deployment of partners’ contingent in Ukraine “is one of the best instruments” to force Russia into peace.
“Let’s be more practical in making it possible,” he said in an address to allies at the Ramstein military base in Germany.
French president Emmanuel Macron remains the only European leader to have spoken openly about the possibility of Paris’ troops being sent to Ukraine.
Ukraine defence meeting begins
A meeting of Ukraine’s top allies has begun today to discuss future support for Kyiv.
It is the 25th meeting since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, involving around 50 countries discussing how best to help Kyiv continue to defend itself against Moscow.
“We are grateful to our friends from about 50 partner countries for their unwavering support and commitment to the values of freedom,” the Ukrainian defence ministry wrote in a statement.
Polish officials earlier this week expressed concern that this could be the final meeting, which have been held at the Ramstein air base in Germany, given the return of Donald Trump to the White House off the back of promises to end the war.
Russian drones cross into Belarusian airspace
Four Russian drones fired at Ukraine have misfired into Belarusian airspace, a monitor has reported.
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
As Ukraine reports that Russia has fired dozens of glide bombs over the last 24 hours, some of which killed 13 and wounded 113 more in one attack in southeastern Zaporizhzhia, below is an explainer on what these munitions are.
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
Winged explosives weighing up to 1,500 kilograms – and nicknamed the ‘building destroyer’ – have had a devastating impact wherever they have been used, writes Tom Watling. Kyiv is battling them as best it can but needs Western allies to step up and provide more weapons, air defences and ammunition
Russian firefighters were on Thursday still battling a fire reported to have broken out at an oil depot near an air base for strategic bombers in the Volga region, more than 24 hours after a Ukrainian drone attack.
“It takes a certain amount of time to complete the burnout process. The situation is under control,” regional governor Roman Busargin said in a Telegram post.
A state of emergency was in effect in Engels, a city of 200,000 people some 730 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow, after the blaze spread and two firefighters died trying to put it out.
Busargin said the fire had broken out at an industrial site, which he did not name, after a mass drone attack. The Ukrainian military said on Wednesday that it had set fire to an oil depot that serves an air base for Russian nuclear-capable bombers.
Engels is hundreds of kilometres from Ukraine. In December 2022, three Russian air force personnel were killed when a drone was shot down there.
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains?
Ukraine-Russia war map 2025: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline?
Russian forces are advancing in the east, slowly but surely, and they are shrinking Ukraine’s partial hold of the border region of Kursk
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