US President Donald Trump’s swift Ukraine peace plan has been dealt two major body blows, with a massive overnight attack on and the Kremlin saying a ceasefire will take more time. Ukraine’s President added to the peace setbacks , issuing a grim warning that may be planning to make a dangerous move on NATO in the near future.
Last night’s Russian onslaught of 16 strikes on civilians killed at least one and injured 45, mostly in the second city of , where 77 non-military homes were hit with drones. In Dnipro. Putin's barrage left one person dead, two injured, and destroyed five homes, as Trump marked 100 days in office and hoped for a swift peace plan in Ukraine. And in another death blow to Trump’s plans the Kremlin has indicated peace will not come easy and almost certainly not as fast as his administration had hoped.
President is open to peace negotiations with the US, but complexities of war mean rapid progress which Washington wants is difficult to achieve, the Kremlin said. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned on Wednesday that "a whole series of nuances" needs to be addressed before Russia will agree to any U.S.-brokered peace deal.
READ MORE:
READ MORE:
appeared to downplay hopes of a quick peace agreement -- which Trump said this weekend he wants to secure within two weeks. He said: "We understand that Washington is willing to achieve a quick success in this process but at the same time we hope for understanding that the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis is too complicated to do overnight. There are lots of details and lots of small things that need to be tackled before the settlement.'
Peskov said that : "said that he supports this initiative -- the establishment of a ceasefire, he supports it, but before going for it, a whole series of questions need to be answered and a whole series of nuances need to be resolved.” He was quoted by the state-run TASS news agency.
And Ukraine’s warned of new Russian military drills masking its true intent of possibly assaulting a NATO country. He said: "This summer Russia is preparing something there, under cover of military exercises.” Of the Zapad-2025 Russian drills in scheduled for September and involving at least 13,000 Putin fighters, Zelensky said: "Where will it go? I don't know. Ukraine? Lithuania?”
“Poland? God forbid! But we all need to be ready. All our institutions are open for cooperation.We need to stand together not just politically, but in a purely practical sense to defend against real challenges." Volodymyr Zelensky has said overnight attacks on and Kharkiv shows the need to impose pressure on Russia.
The Ukrainian president said 375 Russian drones had been fired at Ukraine since the beginning of the week. He added: “Russian drones continue flying in the skies over Ukraine all morning. And so it goes every day. That is why pressure on Russia is needed – strong additional sanctions that will actually work.”
Russia has lost more than 900,000 troops to death or injury in the war in Ukraine and has been forced to recruit thousands of North Korean soldiers on loan from Kim Jong-Un, who have also suffered enormous casualties.
It has in the past even been forced to recruit mercenaries, many of them murderers and rapists in Russia's tough jails, promising them a clean record if they survive a year on the frontline.
And grieving widows and parents of soldiers killed on the frontline have begun to question the war with Putin no longer able to hide the rising number of casualties his military is suffering.
You may also like
Government approves caste census: What is it and why it matters - Explained
'We have shown we can pressure govt': Rahul Gandhi on Centre's caste census decision
Makers of Vijay Deverakonda's 'Kingdom' drop promo for first single 'Hridayam Lopala'
Dyson makes its smartest vacuums more affordable and the timing couldn't be better
Ananya Pandey soaks up the tranquil beauty of Lake Como