Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Putin for talks in Moscow as US pushes for peace deal

A Russian-flagged tanker sailing from Russia to Georgia loaded with sunflower oil reported that it was attacked off the Turkish coast, Turkey’s maritime authority has said.

The vessel, MIDVOLGA-2, reported coming under attack 130km off the Turkish coast but said its 13 crew members were unharmed.

It did not provide additional details, but broadcaster NTV said the attack involved a kamikaze drone.

Asked about the latest attack, a Turkish official said “the necessary messages were conveyed to the relevant parties, including Ukrainian authorities,” but he did not elaborate further.

Nato is considering “pre-emptive” action against Russia following a string of hybrid attacks on Europe, a senior official in the alliance has warned.

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, an Italian who serves as chair of the Nato Military Committee, said the alliance may need to adopt a more “aggressive” approach to deter Moscow from continuing its campaign of drone incursions and cyber attacks in Europe.

A recent Financial Times investigation revealed how Nato has been put on high alert after three vessels in the Baltic Sea were accused of dragging their anchors in a bid to damage energy and communication cables, with a total of 11 incidents recorded.

Other incidents include frequent cyber attacks on European countries and incursions of Russian drones into Nato airspace.

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Michael McGrath, the European commissioner for justice and democracy, told Politico on Monday that negotiators should ensure any ceasefire plan does not allow Russia to avoid prosecution, setting what appears to be a new red line for any settlement.

His remarks underline concerns across Europe over the original version of the US proposal, which proposed a “full amnesty for actions committed during the war” and steps to reintegrate Russia into the global economy.

Ukraine has secured the return of 1,859 children abducted and taken to Russian-held territory, the war-hit nation’s first lady Olena Zelenska said in Paris yesterday.

She was speaking at a high-level meeting held under president Volodymyr Zelensky’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative.

She emphasised that returning a child home is only the first step.

“After a child physically returns home, psychological and social return is still required,” Zelenska said.

She added that Ukraine is developing mental-health programs and has introduced state assistance for every returned child.

According to Ukraine’s national “Children of War” database, at least 19,546 Ukrainian children have been abducted from Russian-occupied territories and taken to Russia or Russian-controlled areas since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

Serhii Filimonov, the commander of the Da Vinci Wolves battalion, is worried that a peace deal would give Russia everything it needed to attack again.

“I think it would be nice for the Russians – to end the war, remove the sanctions, prepare for a new war and attack again,” he told the Associated Press.

“I don’t believe there can be peace before Russia is destroyed, or at least the leadership is changed.”

He is one of the thousands of exhausted Ukrainian soldiers who say their motivation is fortified by knowing they’re fighting for higher cause: the defence of their homeland.

But as negotiators try to hammer out a peace deal, the troops also believe that Russia remains determined to conquer Ukraine — either now, or with a fresh army in a few years’ time — no matter what kind of agreement is reached.

Filimonov also described how Russian troops had briefly entered the eastern town of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region, but were pushed out.

Fuel and energy facilities in central Russia’s Oryol region caught fire as result of an overnight drone attack, governor Andrei Klychkov said this morning.

Klychkov said that no one had been injured and that the emergency services were working at the scene.

Volodymyr Zelensky will be meeting Ireland’s new president in Dublin today as US efforts continue to broker a ceasefire in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Irish premier Micheal Martin said he looked forward to “reiterating Ireland’s unswerving commitment to standing with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes” as part of the visit on Tuesday.

The Taoiseach greeted Zelensky on the tarmac after his plane landed in Dublin late on Monday night.

The two leaders are to hold a bilateral meeting as part of events on Tuesday, which will mark the first state visit by a Ukrainian president to Ireland.

Zelensky and Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska are due to first make a courtesy call to Irish president Catherine Connolly at Aras an Uachtarain in Phoenix Park on Tuesday morning.

Russian military officials have told president Vladimir Putin that their forces have captured Pokrovsk, a crucial rail hub in Ukraine’s east – a claim Ukraine has not acknowledged.

Video posted on the Russian defence ministry Telegram channel showed Russian troops striding through a town identified as Pokrovsk, with shattered buildings and deserted streets. One group hoisted a Russian flag aloft in a square.

News agencies said defence minister Andrei Belousov congratulated troops on capturing the town, describing it as a step towards future successes in the area and elsewhere.

Valery Solodchuk, commander of the Centre group of forces, told Putin Russian troops were proceeding with clean-up operations against Ukrainian forces around Pokrovsk and the nearby town of Myrnohrad.

A third commander, Andrei Ivanaev, reported to Putin about Russian advances further south in Zaporizhzhia region and said forces had on Sunday entered the city of Huliaipole and were engaged in street battles.

Gerasimov said Russian forces pressing their advance had also made their way into the embattled town of Lyman, north of Pokrovsk.

US president Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will meet Russian president Vladimir Putin today for talks on a possible way to end the war in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Witkoff’s meeting with Putin would be in the second half of Tuesday, but he refused to be drawn on Russia’s red lines, saying that megaphone diplomacy was not helpful.

A White House official said Witkoff would be joined by Kushner for his trip to Russia.

Putin has repeatedly said he is ready to talk peace but that if Ukraine refuses an agreement, then Russia’s forces will advance further and take more Ukrainian territory.