Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump ‘slashes Kyiv repayments bill’ to open up minerals deal

Russia has asked the US to let it buy Boeing aircraft once there’s a ceasefire in Ukraine.

A person in Moscow familia with the matter told Bloomberg that Russia understands that billions of dollars in frozen state assets can’t be used to buy the jets without a ceasefire in place.

A deal allowing the purchase of jets could form part of an easing of sanctions.

“The US will not discuss any economic commitments until a ceasefire has been reached,” National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said, in response to a request to comment on whether Russia was seeking to buy Boeing aircraft.

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

In a post on X he added that they also spoke about the need for air defence.

• Ukraine first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said talks on a minerals deal with the US were progressing quickly.

• Donald Trump’s most senior envoys are travelling to Paris this evening for talks with European counterparts over the future of Ukraine.

• The former governor Russia’s Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, has been detained on suspicion of fraud.

• Buildings in the Ukrainian port city Odesa were reduced to rubble in Russian overnight drone attack.

The Latvian parliament has voted in favour of withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention international treaty that bans the use of anti-personnel landmines.

It comes amid concerns over the military threat posed by neighbouring Russia.

“The withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention will give our armed forces room for manoeuvre in the event of a military threat to use all possible means to defend our citizens,” parliament foreign affairs committee chair Inara Murniece said in the statement.

Latvia is the first country to formally withdraw from the treaty but Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Finland, all of whom also border Russia, have said they plan to exit it due to the military threat from their much larger neighbour.

Russia is not a member of the treaty and has used landmines in its invasion of Ukraine.

Poland and the Baltic countries have been concerned that an end to the war in Ukraine could lead Russia to re-arm and target them instead.

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.

Although Britain already supplies Kyiv with Storm Shadows and France has also sent Scalp, these are shorter range missiles.

The outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, refused to provide the Taurus system over fears it would pull Germany into direct conflict with Russia.

Mr Merz’s Taurus announcement earlier this week was viewed as a sign that Germany will get much tougher on Russia under his leadership.

But Mr Kiesewetter warned that the political debate in his coalition on sending the missiles remained open, and that there was still resistance in the SPD party.

Family and friends mourn over the coffins of eleven-year-old Maksym Martynenko and his parents Mykola and Nataliia, who were killed by a Russian missile strike on Sunday.

Pictures show the funeral ceremony in a village of Stare Selo, outside Sumy, northeastern Ukraine.

The former governor of Russia’s Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, has been detained on suspicion of fraud, state news agency TASS reported.

Smirnov was head of the western region when Ukrainian troops smashed across the border in a large-scale incursion in August 2024.

Since then, a Russian offensive has ejected most of the Ukrainian forces.

Smirnov led the region until December 2024, when he was replaced by Alexander Khinshtein.

US secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot on Thursday during his visit to Paris and they will discuss the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and Iran nuclear talks, a French diplomatic source said.

US President Donald Trump’s administration relaunched negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme this month with talks in Oman last weekend and a second round expected in Rome this weekend. It has also started talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

French media had reported that US officials would be in Paris this week.

French government spokesperson Sophie Primas told reporters on Wednesday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff would visit France soon.

Primas added that they would broadly discuss issues in the Middle East with French officials. He said: “All subjects regarding the Middle East will be on the table.”

Volodymyr Zelensky shared images from the defense-industrial sector awards in Ukraine.