Ukraine-Russia war latest: US ‘intensifies demands for minerals’ as UK military delegation to visit Kyiv
It comes as Emmanuel Macron hosts a 'coalition of the willing' leaders at the summit in Paris
Donald Trump has intensified his demands for US control over Ukraine’s rare minerals and energy assets, according to a fresh proposal seen by multiple media outlets.
The new deal would see the US receive all royalties from such assets until Ukraine has paid off at least $100bn of war debt to the US, and hand Kyiv just 50 per cent thereafter, while giving the US a veto over the sale of any such assets to other nations, according to reports.
One analyst labelled the fresh proposal an “expropriation document” incompatible with Ukraine joining the EU, telling The Telegraph: “I’ve never seen anything like it before ... I have to wonder whether the real intention might not be to force Zelensky to reject it.” One Kyiv official described the proposal as “robbery” to the Financial Times.
It came as Emmanuel Macron announced that a British-French military delegation will be sent to Ukraine to scout Kyiv’s needs and what can be done to support its army – and that troops would be deployed as a “reassurance force” to uphold any potential peace deal agreed with Russia.
What is the Black Sea ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine – and will Putin honour it?
‘A deal with Putin is an illusion’: Ukrainian officials warn Russia making ‘mockery’ of ceasefire talks
Russia’s ceasefire delays suit Ukraine - if it survives another year, Kyiv can win the war
The Black Sea ceasefire is a great con: Trump has dealt an impossible hand to Zelensky
What is behind Putin’s arrest of Russian billionaire Vadim Moshkovich?
Russian prosecutors asked a judge on Thursday to put billionaire Vadim Moshkovich – founder of the country's top agriculture company Rusagro – in pre-trial detention on suspicion of large-scale fraud.
Moshkovich – who is Russia’s 55th richest businessman, according to Forbes – and ex-chief executive of Rusagro Maxim Basov were detained and police raided several Rusagro offices.
Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper said the criminal case against Moshkovich was related to a conflict with the founders of Solnechny Produkti – which is Russia’s leading producer of sugar, meat, oil and fat products, and is ranked among the country's top five landowners. It controls 6,850 square kilometres of land – more than four times the area of Greater London.
According to Kommersant, the founders of Solnechny Produkti had a long legal battle but that the situation suddenly changed a month ago. It was unclear why.
Rusagro has a head office in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine and is subject to frequent attacks. Rusagro, which is not under Western sanctions, is Russia’s only major listed agricultural company.
Guy Faulconbridge reports:
What is behind Putin’s arrest of Russian billionaire Vadim Moshkovich
Watch Putin’s speech in full after Starmer accuses Russia of ‘playing games’
Watch in full below as Vladimir Putin addressed the International Arctic Forum in Murmansk, a city in northwest Russia.
It came after the British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer argued that Putin must be given a deadline to make progress on a Ukraine ceasefire, as he met with European allies.
Sir Keir accused Putin of “playing games” and attempting to drag the Donald Trump-initiated process out to allow his forces time to continue their assaults on Ukraine.
Watch Putin’s speech in full after Starmer accuses Russia of ‘playing games’
New US mineral deal proposals 'not compatible with EU membership for Ukraine', says analyst
An analyst has described the Trump administration’s latest proposals on a deal granting the US control over Ukraine’s critical minerals and energy assets as “an expropriation document”.
“It is an expropriation document,” said Alan Riley, an expert on energy law at the Atlantic Council. “There are no guarantees, no defence clauses, the US puts up nothing.
“The Americans can walk away, the Ukrainians can’t. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Under the proposals, the US would be able to veto sales of Ukraine’s resources to other countries, according to The Telegraph.
Prof Riley told the outlet: “It is not compatible with EU membership, and perhaps that is part of the purpose. I have to wonder whether the real intention might not be to force Zelensky to reject it.”
Zelensky urges US to react after Russia strikes energy infrastructure in Kherson
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged the US to respond after he said Russian artillery had damaged Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the front-line city of Kherson – two days after the White House announced that each side had agreed to a truce on energy strikes.
“Two days ago, there was a night when there were no strikes on the energy sector, today energy infrastructure in the city of Kherson was damaged by Russian artillery,” Mr Zelensky said in Paris. “I believe that the US should respond with actions.”
The United States announced separate agreements with Kyiv and Moscow on Tuesday to pause attacks in the Black Sea and against each other's energy installations, the first such deal since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.
Speaking after the summit in Paris, Mr Zelensky said: “Our side, as long as no one understands who is monitoring what ... all this [evidence] will be prepared and transferred to the US, and after that we are waiting for America’s reaction, since they told us that they will respond to violations.”
Kherson regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said work was continuing to restore power to consumers who had been left without supply as a result of Russian shelling.
US now pushing for deal to apply to all of Ukraine's rare minerals and energy assets, report says
The Trump administration is pushing for a dramatically expanded deal to control Ukraine’s critical minerals and energy assets without any security guarantees in return, according to a report.
In what the newspaper described as an aggressive expansion of the White House’s previous demands, prior to a deal collapsing during Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous visit to Washington last month, the Financial Times reported that a new draft of the deal sent to Kyiv on Sunday would apply to all mineral resources – including oil and gas – across the entirety of Ukraine’s territory.
And Washington is reportedly demanding that Ukraine and the US set up a supervisory board to oversee a joint investment fund to split the income from oil, gas, and mineral projects between the two countries. The US would appoint three of its five board member, handing Washington full veto power over the fund, the FT reported.
Three senior Ukrainian officials told the outlet that a deal is unlikely to be signed next week, contrary to claims in Washington. One labelled the new US draft proposal “unfair”, while another likened it to “robbery”.
A third official said that a team of legal advisers has been brought in to help Kyiv examine the document as they prepare a counter-offer.
Watch: The Independent’s Archie Mitchell reflects on Starmer’s Ukraine coalition meeting
Putin says Russia will strengthen its military capability in the Arctic
Vladimir Putin has claimed that Russia is worried about Nato’s activities in the Arctic and will respond by strengthening its military capability in the polar region.
“We are certainly concerned about Nato members describing the Far North as the region of possible conflicts,” the Russian president said, noting that Russia’s neighbors Finland and Sweden have joined the alliance. “Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic, but we will closely follow the developments and mount an appropriate response by increasing our military capability and modernising military infrastructure.”
Russia has sought to assert its influence over wide areas of the Arctic in competition with the United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway as shrinking polar ice from the warming planet offers new opportunities for resources and shipping routes. China also has shown an increasing interest in the region, believed to hold up to one-fourth of the Earth’s undiscovered oil and gas.
“We won't allow any infringement on our country's sovereignty, reliably safeguard our national interests while supporting peace and stability in the polar region,” Mr Putin said.
But Mr Putin added: “The stronger our positions will be, the more significant the results will be and the broader opportunities we will have to launch international projects in the Arctic involving the countries that are friendly to us, and, possibly, Western countries if they show interest in joint work. I’m sure the time will come to launch such projects.”
Putin says US push for Greenland rooted in history
Vladimir Putin has said that Donald Trump’s push for control over Greenland is not surprising given longtime US interest in the mineral-rich territory.
Speaking at a policy forum in the Artic port of Murmansk, Mr Putin noted that the United States first considered plans to win control over Greenland in the 19th century, and then offered to buy it from Denmark after World War II.
“It can look surprising only at first glance and it would be wrong to believe that this is some sort of extravagant talk by the current US administration," Putin said. “It's obvious that the United States will continue to systematically advance its geostrategic, military-political and economic interests in the Arctic.”
Ukraine's European allies not unanimous on reassurance force, says Macron
Ukraine’s European allies do not all agree on the proposed deployment of an armed force in the country to back up an eventual peace deal and only some want to take part, French president Emmanuel Macron has said.
“It is not unanimous,” he said, after wrapping up the summit – attended by the leaders of nearly 30 countries, as well as EU and Nato chiefs – aimed at strengthening Kyiv’s hand and its military as it pushes for a ceasefire with Moscow.
“We do not need unanimity to achieve it,” Mr Macron added, vowing that France and the UK – who are driving the initiative – will forge ahead with the “reassurance force” with several other countries.
Russian war correspondent killed near Ukraine border
A Russian war correspondent has been killed and her cameraman seriously injured in a landmine explosion near the border with Ukraine.
Russian state TV journalist Anna Prokofieva and cameraman Dmitry Volkov had been in Russia’s Belgorod region when they ran over a landmine planted by the Ukrainian military, state-run Channel One said in a statement.
The 35-year-old reporter “died while performing her professional duty,” the news outlet said.
Two Russian journalists and their driver were among six people killed in an artillery strike earlier this week in the Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine’s Luhansk region, according to Russian authorities and media.
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