Ukraine LIVE: Shameless Putin demands 'written' NATO pledge as Trump issues peace deadline

12 mins ago10:16 Emily Wright

Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, has not ruled out sending long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

When asked about the weapons on Wednesday, Mr Merz said: "Of course, that’s within the realm of possibility".

However, he warned that Ukrainian troops would require months of training before the weapons - which could be used to strike targets deep inside Russia - could be used.

On Wednesday, the chancellor said Germany will finance Ukrainian-made long-range missiles.

"We will be financing a considerable amount of Starlinks and our defence ministries will be signing a memorandum on long-range missile," he said during the join press conference with Zelensky. "No restrictions on range so Ukraine can defend itself beyond its borders."

(Image: Getty)

1 hour ago09:05 Emily Wright

Russian major Zaur Gurtsiyev, who ordered the bombing of Mariupol in 2022, was killed in a grenade explosion in Stavropol on Thursday (May 29), according to Agentstvo. News on Telegram.

The explosion was near a multi-story building and two men were killed.

“The grenade was detonated by an unknown,” the statement said.

Mr Gurtsiyev's death was confirmed by the head of the Stavropol Krai Vladimir Vladimirov. According to him, "all versions are being considered, including the organization of a terrorist attack involving Nazis from Ukraine".

Gurtsiyev was in charge of the aerial bombardment of Mariupol while Russia was capturing the city in February 2022. In May 2022, it was reported that the Russian troops killed 25,000 people in Mariupol, however, the toll could be much higher.

Gurtsiyev was given a position in the mayor's office as a result of the bombing.

1 hour ago08:59 Emily Wright

A possible trilateral meeting between the presidents of the US, Ukraine and Russia is highly unlikely and would probably yield no results, Ukrainian diplomat Oleksandr Khara has said.

Sharing his opinions on Espreso TV, Mr Khara said: "I believe such a meeting is highly unlikely, because from the perspective of Russian propaganda and Putin’s view, there is no legitimate government in Ukraine. We understand this is nonsense, but they try to stick to that line.

"Secondly, Putin wants a direct meeting with Trump, and most importantly, to decide our fate and the fate of Europe behind our backs," he added.

"I also don’t believe that such a meeting, if it takes place, could bring any results. It’s clear that we have red lines, we cannot agree to giving up our territories, especially in legal terms.

"It’s also clear that we currently lack the strength to liberate these territories by force. I’m absolutely certain that Zelenskyy and his team have no illusions about reclaiming the territories through diplomacy."

2 hours ago08:08 Emily Wright

Russia is grooming children as young as 13 through encrypted messaging apps such as Telegram to attack their own country, incentivised by payments of just £700.

“In the Kharkiv region, Russia has been offering money to young people to burn military vehicles, to put bombs next to police police departments, beside railway infrastructure and under the cars of Government officials,” said Serhii Bolvinov, 42, head of investigations for the national police in Ukraine's Kharkiv region.

Read more by the Express's Investigations Editor, Zak Garner-Purkis here.

(Image: Getty)

2 hours ago08:04 Emily Wright

Russian forces are reportedly gathering across the border from Ukraine's second-largest city, dubbed its "fortress city".

After pushing Ukrainian troops out of Kursk, the 50,000-troop-strong force is now positioned just across the border from Kharkiv, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

It is believed that Russia has a "four-month window" to break through Ukrainian forces before the bad weather hits and dwindling supplies of Soviet tanks possibly start to run low, explained Sky News.

Kharkiv earned its nickname as a "fortress" for its resistance during the opening months of the Russian invasion in 2022. It was awarded the distinction of Hero City of Ukraine.

However, Sky News military analyst Michael Clarke does not believe Russia has the resources for a big push at Kharkiv or Sumy this summer.

"I think the Russians basically used up the forces they might have otherwise used up for a strategic offensive," he said.

Mr Zelensky said Kyiv had taken steps to prevent Moscow from conducting a large-scale offensive.

3 hours ago07:54 Emily Wright

President Vladimir Putin has several conditions for ending the war in Ukraine.

This includes a demand for a written pledge from Western leaders to stop enlarging NATO eastwards and lift some sanctions on Russia.

The former is shorthand for formally ruling out NATO membership to Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, among other former Soviet republics.

Russia also wants Ukraine to be neutral, a resolution of the issue of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the West and protection for Russian speakers in Ukraine, according to three Russian sources with knowledge of the negotiations.

"Putin is ready to make peace but not at any price," said one senior Russian source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

3 hours ago07:45 Emily Wright

Russia is planning to deploy multiple Oreshnik missile systems to Belarus by the end of 2025, a top Belarusian official has said.

State Secretary of Belarus' security council Alexander Volfovich said: "The locations for its deployment have already been determined".

However, he did not specify how many will be deployed.

Earlier this year, Vladimir Putin said that Oreshnik missiles would remain under Russian control but Moscow would allow Minsk to select the targets.

Oreshnik missiles can travel at speeds exceeding Mach 10 (7,610mph), according to the Ukrainian military. The missile is equipped with six warheads, each reportedly containing submunitions and has been described as very difficult to intercept.

3 hours ago07:34 Emily Wright

On Wednesday, the funeral for Tamara, 8, Stanislav, 12, and Roman Martyniuk, 17 — all from the same family — was held in Korostyshiv in northern Ukraine.

The siblings were killed over the weekend when debris from a Russian cruise missile struck their home. The children were killed as they slept in their beds at 3am.

The children’s father, also injured, was released from the hospital to attend the funeral alongside his two surviving children.

"The three kids were incredibly bright, incredibly polite, the smartest, best students, always ready to help, always ready to support others," said 22-year-old Yuliia Skok, Roman Martyniuk's teacher.

Moscow denies targeting civilians, however abundant evidence shows otherwise.

(Image: Getty)

3 hours ago07:29 Emily Wright

Russia has proposed holding the next round of direct talks with Ukraine on June 2 in Istanbul, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Lavrov said that a Russian team "is ready to present a memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation and provide the necessary explanations during a second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Monday, 2 June".

However, on Wednesday, during a press conference in Berlin alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of dragging out the peace process.

"They will constantly look for reasons not to end the war," the Ukrainian president said.

(Image: Getty)

3 hours ago07:26 Emily Wright

The Russian Defence Ministry has said that its troops have taken control of the town of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine's Sumy region, as well as the village of Zelene Pole in the Donetsk region.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia has massed over 50,000 troops near the northeastern Sumy region. However, Kyiv has taken steps to prevent them from conducting what they anticipate to be a large-scale summer offensive.

3 hours ago07:22 Emily Wright

Ukraine's military has said it struck several Russian weapon production sites in or around Moscow during a major overnight drone attack.

Strikes include the Angstrem microchip factory, the Kronstadt plant and the Raduga plant.

The Kronstadt plant began operating in 2022 and specialises in unmanned aerial systems, such as Orion reconnaissance and combat drones.

3 hours ago07:11 Emily Wright

Donald Trump has suggested he is giving Vladimir Putin a two-week deadline to decide if the Russian president is serious about ending the war with Ukraine.

Asked if he thought Mr Putin wanted to end the war, the US President said: "I can't tell you that, but I'll let you know in about two weeks".

"Within two weeks. We're gonna find out whether or not [Putin is] tapping us along or not," he told reporters in the Oval Office. "And if he is, we'll respond a little bit differently."

(Image: Getty)

4 hours ago06:49 Alice Scarsi

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia may be preparing for a fresh assault, as he believes the Kremlin has been massing 50,000 soldiers for an offensive in Sumy, an eastern Ukrainian region.

Among the soldiers, he added, are "Russia's best troops".

4 hours ago06:45 Alice Scarsi