Ukraine war latest: Putin 'determined to manipulate Trump' - as US president attempts to laugh off false claims about Zelenskyy

US agrees to new Russian ambassador

Russia has received approval from the US for its new ambassador to the United States, according to Reuters.

Alexander Darchiev will leave for Washington DC soon, the news agency added.

He has most recently been head of the Russian foreign ministry's North American department.

Moscow has had no ambassador in Washington since last October when the previous envoy Anatoly Antonov left his post.

Too early to discuss contributing troops to peacekeeping in Ukraine, acting president of Romania says

The acting president of Romania has suggested the country could increase defence spending in the next year or two.

Ilie Bolojan, the country's interim leader, said today that its defence spending target for 2025 is slightly higher than last year.

Military expenditure could reach 3% of GDP in one or two years, he said.

But asked about contributing to a peacekeeping force in Ukraine after any ceasefire deal, he said it was premature to discuss sending Romanian troops.

'Very unhappy' Baltic states fear being 'sold out' after Starmer summit snub

The Baltic states are "very unhappy" after the UK failed to invite their leaders to join a summit on Ukraine this weekend, a European diplomatic source has said.

The source, with knowledge of the situation, warned that Moscow would notice with interest that Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have been excluded.

"Russia and our publics will clearly assess this that we are sold out by the US, but also by UK and France," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Sir Keir Starmer, fresh back from a friendly meeting with Donald Trump in Washington, is due to host the leaders of more than a dozen European countries for a summit in the UK on Sunday to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine and wider European security.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is holding talks with the American commander in chief at the White House on Friday, is also due to attend.

The diplomatic source confirmed Starmer would have a phone call with the leaders of the Baltic states - but signalled that this was a poor substitute for not participating in the summit, which will take place in person.

"We are truly very unhappy with a refusal to invite the Baltic leaders," the source said.

The three Baltic countries - located on NATO’s eastern flank with Russia - are among the highest defence spenders in NATO as a percentage of GDP. 

They are also, relative to their small size, among the biggest supporters of Ukraine - giving weapons and funding to help the Ukrainian armed forces fight off Russia's invasion - and have been the strongest voices in Europe raising the alarm about the threat posed by Vladimir Putin for years.

The aims of Starmer's summit

The source said France was helping to organise the summit with Downing Street. 

It will be used to discuss support for Ukraine, including a plan to create an international "reassurance" force that could be deployed to the country to help secure a ceasefire if the US can negotiate a ceasefire deal between Kyiv and Moscow. 

Wider European security will also be discussed after Trump made clear that European NATO allies need to take a much greater responsibility for their own security instead of relying on the powerful US military.

The source added the leaders of Norway, Finland, Sweden and Poland were among the invitees, noting that Helsinki and Warsaw have both publicly ruled out contributing troops to an international security force in Ukraine.

'Shameful' to ignore key partners who 'have a plan'

The source said members of the Baltic states "have a plan… but not invited".

"All three Balts are among the highest supporters for Ukraine in terms of percentage of GDP and capabilities provided," the source said.

"All decisions directly impact our security. Like another pact to divide Europe or take us for granted. Shameful."

The UK regards Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia as key partners.

The three Baltic states are closely allied with Britain as members of the Joint Expeditionary Force, a grouping of like-minded European NATO member states.

Downing Street was approached with a request for comment. 

Analysis: Trump is making it up as he goes along - and none of the experts think Ukraine war will be over soon

Sky News security and defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke has been discussing the potential outcomes of Volodomyr Zelenskyy's visit to Washington.

"I think Zelenskyy is trying to test the waters now, to try and get on personal terms again with President Trump," he told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington.

"Remember, this goes back to President Trump's first term in office when Zelenskyy was a very new president, in 2019, and Trump was on to him to dig some stuff on Hunter Biden's relationships in Ukraine.

"And President Zelenskyy wouldn't do anything. He wouldn't do it. And Trump disliked him from then. And I think that's affected the relationship since.

"What he wants to do is to try to find out how much the United States is prepared to back any ceasefire that may be imposed upon Ukraine itself. I don't think President Trump knows himself what he wants to do on that. He's making this up as he goes along.

"And although President Trump is talking about this being over pretty quickly, I don't think any of the diplomatic professionals who know about peace talks or even ceasefire talks think this will be over quickly."

Clarke said Zelenskyy's earlier comments that Trump lives in a "disinformation bubble" were unwise.

"That was not a clever thing to say," he said.

"It might be true, for the rest of us, but it antagonised Trump needlessly.

"But since then, he said, 'look, we've got a deal', the minerals deal.

"My view of it is that it's pretty insubstantial, but it doesn't matter.

"It's something they can talk about and it appeals to President Trump's sense that he sees Ukraine primarily as a business opportunity."

Clarke said the US president tended to "muse out loud" about big strategic topics but could "get away with saying things".

"In a way, if the world gets used to that, they can sort of live with this," he said.

"It's not what they want, but they could sort of live with it. And I think they're getting used to it now. Zelenskyy has got to learn to read all of that."

Ukraine denies plot to assassinate senior Russian priest

Ukraine has denied involvement in an alleged assassination attempt on a senior priest in Russia's Orthodox Church.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had foiled an attempt by Ukraine's military intelligence service to kill Tikhon Shevkunov, who has been described in Russian media reports as Vladimir Putin's personal "confessor". 

But a spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence denied Kyiv was behind such a plot and dismissed the accusations as "absurd" and "lies".

"We are fighting according to the rules - the rules of war and international rules," said Andriy Yusov of the Ukrainian defence ministry's main directorate of intelligence.

Ukraine says it hit Russian oil refinery and weapons warehouse in overnight attack

Ukraine's military says it struck a Russian oil refinery and a weapons warehouse overnight.

The general staff said on Telegram that the refinery, located in the Krasnodar region close to Crimea, is supplying fuel to the Russian military. 

The weapons warehouse was located in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Ukraine's military said it contained thermobaric weapons - also known as vacuum bombs or aerosol bombs - which create high temperature explosions.

It said three other "important facilities of the Russian invaders" were also hit. 

Russia lauds 'substantive' talks with US in Istanbul

Russia's foreign ministry has just provided some details over what was discussed during yesterday's meeting with US officials in Istanbul.

The meeting, which Russian state news said lasted for six hours, had been framed as a chance for the two countries to discuss the operation of their respective embassies in Moscow and Washington.

The Russian foreign ministry says talks were "substantive and businesslike" and both sides agreed to take steps to ensure the "uninterrupted financing and conditions for diplomatic work" for their respective embassies.

It also said the delegations had discussed issues related to what it said was the illegal confiscation of Russia's diplomatic property in the US and that they had asked the Americans to consider restoring direct air links. 

Minerals deal will help deter Russian aggression in Ukraine, says Streeting

Wes Streeting has supported Donald Trump's suggestion that US workers stationed in Ukraine as a result of a minerals deal would deter further attacks from Russia.

The health secretary told Sky News presenter Anna Jones the US president "is right about the US's interests and presence in Ukraine acting as a deterrent".

Trump is yet to offer any specific security guarantees for Ukraine, such as a commitment of US military support following any potential peace deal with Russia.

Asked whether more than the minerals deal was needed for security in Ukraine, Streeting added: "This is a fast-moving situation and we've been clear throughout we will back Ukraine to the hilt, and there can be no decision about Ukraine without Ukraine.

"That's why President Zelenskyy’s visit today is going to be particularly important, but I think we've seen real signs of progress in recent weeks."

Two men 'plotted to kill' top Russian bishop known as Putin's personal confessor

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has foiled an attempt by Ukraine's military intelligence service to assassinate a senior priest in Russia's Orthodox Church. 

Tikhon Shevkunov is a famous figure in Russia and has maintained a public acquaintance with Vladimir Putin since the late 1990s.

He has regularly been described in Russian media reports as Putin's personal "confessor". 

In 2023, he was appointed metropolitan of Crimea, becoming one of the top Russian Orthodox Church officials on the peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. 

The FSB said in a statement it had detained one Russian and one Ukrainian man in connection with the plot and had confiscated an improvised explosive device. 

It said the two suspects, whom it did not name, had confessed and planned to kill Shevkunov in Moscow. 

There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv to the allegation.

 Putin 'determined to manipulate Trump'

The Kremlin's guidelines to Russian state media about coverage of recent US-Russian meetings indicate Vladimir Putin's "determination to manipulate" Donald Trump, according to a leading US-based thinktank.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) cites reports from Russian opposition outlet Verstka that says outlets had received instructions from the Kremlin to create an image of Trump as a man who "had the wisdom" to respond to the Kremlin's "outstretched" hand.

A source who regularly participates in Kremlin meetings with major media editors reportedly stated that the Kremlin told outlets to demonstrate that Trump is "a man who was oppressed in every way both at home and in Europe." 

At the same time as this, Putin has claimed "some Western elites" are trying to "maintain instability" in the world and will try to "disrupt or compromise" the US–Russian dialogue that has begun. 

The ISW says this claim is likely an attempt to drive wedges between Trump and other US actors and European leaders, manipulating the US president in the process.

Putin praised the Trump administration again yesterday, claiming Russia's first contacts with the administration "inspire certain hopes" and that the Trump team is displaying a "reciprocal determination" to restore US-Russian relations.

What have Trump and Zelenskyy said about minerals deal?

Today's meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump is centred around an agreement that would give the US access to Ukraine's deposits of rare earth minerals.

The prospect of a minerals deal was first raised by Zelenskyy last year as a way to offer America a tangible reason to continue supporting Ukraine.

Kyiv estimates that about 5% of the world's "critical raw materials" are in Ukraine. Before Russia's invasion in February 2022, minerals made up 6.1% of the country's GDP and 30% of its exports.

It is home to minerals including lithium, used in batteries, and uranium for nuclear power, medical equipment and weapons.

-SKY NEWS