Ukraine war live: Putin launches mass drone attack as Trump envoy heads for EU talks

Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed “next steps” in response to possible “Russian provocations” with president of Finland Alexander Stubb.

“We discussed many issues, including preparations for our next joint steps and our response to possible Russian provocations in the near future,” Mr Zelensky said.

In a post on X, Mr Zelensky said the two leaders spoke about the battlefield situation and need for air defence systems.

“I informed about the battlefield situation and our need for air defense systems. We will achieve a just and sustainable peace when Ukraine receives strong support packages, and Russia faces strong sanctions in response to further dragging this war on,” he said.

The Kremlin has said there is not yet a clear outline of a potential US-Russia deal on Ukraine, but it has the political will to move towards on an agreement.

“There are no clear outlines of any agreement yet, but there is political will to move towards an agreement. And I repeat once again, we highly highly rate the constructive and meaningful contacts that we have had (with the US),” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov in a call with reporters on Tuesday.

He said the talks with the US had been positive and useful Moscow would not give a possible timeline for a peace settlement.

“Nevertheless, of course we would like to hope for the best, that the work will have positive results. We would not say exactly what the timeframe is here,” said Mr Peskov.

Germany is relying on British endorsements to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine, a member of Berlin’s incoming government has warned.

Roderich Kiesewetter, a senior Christian Democrats (CDU) MP, said in-fighting between his party and its coalition partner, the centre-Left Social Democrats (SPD), was preventing a final decision by Friedrich Merz, the chancellor-in-waiting.

But he suggested that “UK leadership” could give Mr Merz the support he needs to deliver the powerful missile system, The Telegraph reported.

“The Taurus delivery remains a point of contention for the time being … I do not yet see any consensus here, especially as the parties have not agreed on the key security policy issues in the coalition agreement,” Mr Kiesewetter said.

“I don’t yet see the Taurus being delivered. Any influence by UK leadership to finally convince Germany to deliver Taurus might help and is highly welcomed,” he added.

An independent Russian media outlet claims to have identified 101,833 Russian military personnel killed in the course of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The investigation conducted by Mediazona, in collaboration with the BBC Russian service, found that 4,897 Russian officers have been killed in the invasion.

More than 24,800 volunteers were among those identified, accounting for 24.3 per cent of the total Russian losses.

Mediazona has been running an ongoing investigation tracking the identities of Russians killed in the war, as well as broader estimates of casualties – including those wounded or missing.

Since its last update, it said 1,882 additional Russian military personnel have been killed.

Donald Trump has dispatched his peace envoy Steve Witkoff and secretary of state Marco Rubio to Paris for talks on Ukraine’s future with European partners.

This is the first time the US president has made an effort to reach out to European leaders after excluding them from the initial rounds of peace talks on Ukraine.

“Secretary of state Marco Rubio and ambassador Steve Witkoff will travel to Paris, France, 16-18 April for talks with European counterparts to advance President Trump’s goal to end the Russia-Ukraine war and stop the bloodshed,” the state department said.

The visit is also aimed at improving Mr Trump’s ties with the US’s EU allies.

“While in Paris, he will also discuss ways to advance shared interests in the region,” the statement added.

A Russian mass drone attack has killed two people and injured at least 16 yesterday in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the regional governor said.

A young woman and an elderly woman had been killed, said Serhiy Lysak, governor of Dnipropetrovsk region.

Mr Lysak said 16 people had been injured, including three children, aged 11, six years old, and nine months. Five people were being treated in hospital.

Dnipro mayor Borys Filatov put the number of injured at 28.

The attack triggered several fires.

Mr Filatov said one strike came within 100 metres (110 yards) of the municipal offices. He also said at least 15 dwellings had been damaged, as well as a student residence, an educational institution and a food processing plant.

Russian forces used heavy artillery and kamikaze drones to strike Dnipropetrovsk all through Wednesday.

Serhii Lysak, Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, said on Telegram: “Throughout the day, the aggressor launched nine kamikaze drone strikes at Nikopol district.

“The region was also shelled with heavy artillery. Nikopol, Marhanets, and Pokrovsk communities were hit.”

In one nine-story residential building, a fire broke out in an apartment. Other homes suffered broken windows, according to Lysak.

He also reported that municipal infrastructure and vehicles were damaged.

Russian glide bombs and artillery struck a city in southern Ukraine yesterday, killing one person and wounding nine others as Vladimir Putin’s forces continued daily attacks across the country.

The city of Kherson was struck with glide bombs in the early hours yesterday, and when rescue teams arrived at the scene, Russian forces launched an artillery barrage, said the region’s head Oleksandr Prokudin.

“This is a deliberate tactic by Russia to hinder the rescue of the injured and harm doctors, rescuers, and police,” he said.

The attack damaged a sports facility, a supermarket, residential buildings and civilian vehicles, Mr Prokudin added.