Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump’s team set to hold peace talks in Kyiv and Moscow, says Zelensky

The armed confrontation broke out between Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), and State Security Service (SBU), over the detention of Stepan Kaplunov — the deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC). Three officers were reported to have been injured.

The RVC is a paramilitary unit composed of anti-Kremlin dissidents fighting for Kyiv, and operates directly under Ukraine’s military intelligence services.

Russia’s defence ministry said Russian forces struck another cargo vessel at Ukraine’s Chornomorsk port, according to Interfax.

The ministry did not immediately provide further details on the vessel or the extent of any damage.

Norwegian authorities seized a Russian cruise ship in the Arctic on behalf of Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, which is seeking to enforce a $4.22bn compensation award against Russia over assets seized when Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.

The 71-metre Professor Molchanov was seized late on Wednesday in Barentsburg, a Russian-operated coal-mining settlement on Norway’s Svalbard archipelago.

Russia condemned the seizure as an act of piracy and said it had summoned Norway’s ambassador to deliver a strong protest. Moscow said it would work to secure the vessel’s release.

“Russia cannot evade responsibility simply by refusing to comply with an international arbitral award,” said Naftogaz acting CEO Sergii Fedorenko.

Naftogaz has been pursuing compensation from Russia since 2016. An arbitration court in The Hague ordered Moscow in April 2023 to pay the company $4.22bn, plus interest and legal costs. Russia does not recognise the court’s jurisdiction and has refused to pay.

Norway said the seizure was a matter between Naftogaz and Russia and did not involve the Norwegian government.

The Professor Molchanov, built in Finland in 1982, is used for scientific expeditions and commercial cruises. It arrived in Barentsburg on Tuesday carrying a group of Russian scientists but was prevented from leaving the port after the seizure.

Naftogaz’s lawyers said they had been tracking the vessel for months and described the seizure as a significant victory in their efforts to recover the money.

“So we need to win another legal battle to be able to auction the vessel and get the money for our clients, which is the ultimate goal,” said Clovis Trevino, a partner at Covington, which represents Naftogaz.

Naftogaz said it would continue pursuing Russian assets in other countries until the compensation is paid. The company says the award, including interest and costs, now totals about $6bn.

Eighteen years before Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, the then German chancellor Gerhard Schröder was asked for his opinion on President Vladimir Putin.

“I am thoroughly convinced that the Russian president wants to transform Russia into a democracy and that he is doing so out of a deeply held conviction,” he said in 2004. That same year, Putin was re-elected by a landslide in an election widely regarded as a sham.

His comments underlined a spirit of cooperation and friendship that had grown between the two countries since the end of World War Two. Germany’s economy hugely benefited from imports of cheap Russian gas, culminating in the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea.

That relationship has now hit an all-time low. On Wednesday, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, threatened Germany with direct military strikes in response to Berlin’s claim that Russia was behind a failed explosive drone attack at Leipzig Airport last month. The drone, which was laden with explosives, failed to detonate near a Ukrainian cargo plane.

Donald Trump said on Thursday that European countries should repay the US for military aid and ammunition previously sent to Ukraine.

He also appeared to signal a temporary halt to some US weapons sales to allies.

Trump said the US was building up its own stockpiles of munitions amid concerns over depleted supplies, particularly as the war with Iran continues.

“We are taking them for ourselves, the USA, rather than selling them to others, but the sales to Allies will soon again begin,” Trump said in a social media post.

He also said Europe should have paid for weapons provided to Ukraine and Nato, blaming the administration of his predecessor Joe Biden.

“Hundreds of Billions of Dollars was given to Ukraine and Nato, free of charge, that Europe would have paid for – If they were only asked, but we will be asking for that money, though somewhat belatedly!” Trump wrote.

The US and Nato last year established the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List initiative, under which European countries pay for US-made weapons supplied to Ukraine.

Trump’s comments came after Reuters reported last month that the US Army had used much of its stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles during the Iran war, raising concerns over US military readiness.

The wars in Ukraine and Iran are also creating economic and political pressure on the Trump administration, with rising energy prices a growing concern.

Ukraine and Poland are considering a joint bid to host the men’s Fifa World Cup in the 2040s, according to Politico.

Ukraine’s sports minister Matvii Bidnyi told Politico that Kyiv would like to explore a joint bid with Poland for the next available World Cup hosting slot.

“The nearest open date for the World Cup is somewhere in the 2040s … so we need to plan for this perspective right now,” Bidnyi said.

Poland is also discussing the prospect, according to an official briefed by the Warsaw government.

Ukraine already has experience co-hosting a major football tournament with Poland, Bidnyi said, referring to the 2012 men’s European Championship.

“It would be very logical to repeat this successful case,” he said, adding that a joint World Cup bid could also “invite investors’ attention.”

Spain, Portugal and Morocco will jointly host the 2030 World Cup, while Saudi Arabia is set to host the tournament in 2034.

Russian drones struck ​and damaged a Coca-Cola plant outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

Officials ⁠said there were no injuries in the strike near the town of Brovary, east of the capital.

“Today, ⁠the Russians have ​hit ⁠a Coca-Cola plant with their drone. Coca-Cola is such ⁠an enemy that they set ​it ⁠on fire with their ‌Shaheds,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address, referring to Iranian-designed ‌drones.

“It’s a clear Russian ‌signal to America. The Russians cannot be unaware that this is an American ⁠facility.”

Footage showed firefighting crews arriving at the scene and smoke rising above the plant and over nearby fields.

Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, said the plant’s ​staff were uninjured.

“The company ‌is working with ⁠the relevant authorities to assess ⁠the situation,” Hunder told Reuters. “Ensuring the safety and ‌well-being ​of people remains ‌top priority.”

Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address that US negotiators will ⁠soon visit Moscow and ⁠Kyiv to resume efforts to end the Russian invasion and preliminary dates have been set.

“We expect to see representatives of ​the ⁠US president here in Kyiv,” Zelensky said.

“There will be a meeting with them in Moscow and in Kyiv. We are expecting a meeting with them in the coming days. It is very important. It is important that America continues ⁠to be active.”

In Washington, Donald Trump said he wanted to see an end to the war and losses sustained ​by both ⁠sides.

“I just want to see that end. I ‌think we’ll get it,” Trump told GB News in an interview that aired on Thursday, a day after telling reporters he wanted a summit with Putin when the Kremlin leader is ready for a peace deal.

Vladimir Putin said on Thursday there was a chance of reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.

Putin, speaking ⁠at an economic forum in Russia’s far east, said a number of countries, including the US and China, were ready to support a peace settlement.

“Ultimately, however, the problem must be resolved by the countries involved in the conflict – Russia and Ukraine,” he said.

“We are grateful to everyone attempting to contribute to a settlement. Is there a chance? In my view, yes, there is.”