Ukrainian forces have stalled Russian attacks around the besieged eastern front line city of Pokrovsk, Ukraine’s military chief said.
“We’ve been able to stabilise the situation in this zone of operations,” Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Tuesday on a visit to the front, calling it “one of the most difficult sections” of the war.
“And in some places have seized back the tactical initiative,” he added.
Pokrovsk is a key logistics hub and a major obstacle to Vladimir Putin’s plan to capture the whole region of Donetsk.
It is surrounded on three sides by Russian forces but is still held by Ukraine, despite months of intensive Russian attacks that have only led to incremental advances.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed on Tuesday to have captured the village of Lysivka, just seven miles south of Pokrovsk. Ukraine’s military has not yet commented.
The battlefield claims come as Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow for the second night in a row, forcing the temporary closure of all its airports.
Mike Pence blasts Trump over handling of Ukraine war
Mike Pence, the former vice-president, has returned from political hibernation to blast Donald Trump over his actions in Ukraine.
Mr Pence, who served during Mr Trump’s first administration, said the US president’s declining support for Ukraine has “only emboldened Russia”.
“If the last three years teaches us anything, it’s that Vladimir Putin doesn’t want peace; he wants Ukraine,” Mr Pence told CNN.
“The wavering support the administration has shown over the last few months, I believe, has only emboldened Russia.”
Mr Pence, who feuded with Trump after he certified the 2020 election in favour of Joe Biden, went on to warn that if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, he expects Russia to invade a Nato country.
“This is not just about Ukraine for me. I really do believe that if Vladimir Putin overruns Ukraine, it’s just a matter of time before he crosses a border where our men and women in uniform are going to have to go fight him,” he said.
Putin wants to settle war after oil price slump, says Trump
Donald Trump has claimed that Vladimir Putin is more inclined towards peace after the recent fall in the price of oil.
“I think Russia with the price of oil right now, oil has gone down, we are in a good position to settle, they want to settle. Ukraine wants to settle,” The US president told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday.
The price of oil – which drives the Russian economy – has fallen around $15 a barrel since the start of the year.
“We’ve come a long way, and, it could be something will happen, but hopefully it will,” Mr Trump added.
The president noted that Putin had proposed a three-day ceasefire to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union and its allies’ victory over Nazi Germany. “[It] doesn’t sound like much but its a lot if you knew where we started from,” Mr Trump said.
Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed the 72-hour truce proposal as a “theatrical performance” designed to protect Moscow during its Victory Day celebrations and placate Washington.
Kremlin: Oil prices crucial for Russia, but national interests come first
Oil prices play a crucial role in Russia’s budget and the Russian economy overall, but Russian national interests take precedence above all else, the Kremlin said.
It was responding to Donald Trump’s comments on Monday that Vladimir Putin may be more inclined to “settle” the conflict in Ukraine following the recent drop in oil prices (see 7.20am post).
“Oil prices cannot be a factor that can influence Russia’s attitude towards its national interests,” Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said. “Russia’s national interests are above all else, above any oil prices.”
Russia is closely monitoring the global oil market and has long collaborated within the OPEC+ framework “to maintain prices at an optimal level,” Peskov added.
Moscow and Kyiv each release 205 POWs
Russia and Ukraine each released 205 captured soldiers in the fifth prisoner-of-war exchange since the beginning of the year.
“Today, Ukraine has returned 205 soldiers. Young boys and men from almost all types and branches of the armed forces,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.
He said they included troops who defended Mariupol, which fell at the start of Moscow’s invasion in 2022 in one of the most brutal battles of the war.
“As a result of negotiations, 205 Russian servicemen were returned,” the Russian army said in a statement. “In exchange, 205 prisoners of war of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were handed over,” it added.
The exchange was brokered by the United Arab Emirates, Moscow said.
“Mike Pence, the former vice-president, has returned from political hibernation to blast Donald Trump over his actions in Ukraine.
Mr Pence, who served during Mr Trump’s first administration, said the US president’s declining support for Ukraine has “only emboldened Russia”.
“If the last three years teaches us anything, it’s that Vladimir Putin doesn’t want peace; he wants Ukraine,” Mr Pence told CNN.
“The wavering support the administration has shown over the last few months, I believe, has only emboldened Russia.”
And that is why Pence; an actual Republican, cannot serve in the Krasnov regime.
Senior positions are reserved exclusively for conspiracy-pushing trolls, halfwits and putler-rimming bastards.
That’s right, Pence is a real Republican. Trump is a pathetic criminal with a big mouth and no spine.