Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine as the US president claims to have reached a ceasefire deal with Moscow. At least nine people were killed in an airstrike in Kiev overnight and more than 63 others were injured. The mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitali Klitschko, said six children were among the injured. The death toll is expected to rise as people are still trapped under rubble and rescue operations continue.
At the same time, US President Donald Trump said he "believes there is a deal with Russia". He said now all that remains is to convince Zelensky, which would be "more difficult". According to leaked information about the talks between Washington and Moscow, the White House will agree to recognize the annexation of Crimea - something that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly said that Kiev will not do.
Trump again accuses Zelensky
Trump once again accused Zelensky of "extending the war" with his refusal. "If he wants Crimea, why didn't they fight for it 11 years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a single bullet being fired", the American president wrote on his social network Truth Social. Statements like Zelensky's that Ukraine will not recognize Crimea as Russian, "harm negotiations with Russia", the American head of state said.
Trump later said that he would not have difficulty negotiating with Zelensky. It remains unclear whether the two leaders will meet in Rome after attending Pope Francis' funeral on Saturday. The US president said earlier this week that he expects an agreement between Kiev and Moscow within the week, but did not specify how exactly this will happen or what stage the negotiations are at.
US puts pressure on Ukraine
Donald Trump has been pushing for months for an end to the war in Ukraine as soon as possible. During his election campaign, he even claimed that he would be able to end the bloodshed within 24 hours. He later backed away from that and said it would take six months.
Despite accusations that the US administration is making the negotiations difficult, Russia has in fact rejected the US offer of an unconditional ceasefire, which was agreed upon at meetings in Saudi Arabia in late March. Recently, Washington has put even more pressure on Kiev - for example, not to expect it to take back the territories occupied by Russia. US Vice President J.D. Vance even suggested that the conflict be frozen along the current frontline borders.