Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump envoys to meet Kyiv’s European allies for key peace talks in Paris

Volodymyr Zelensky announced the appointment of Canada’s former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland as Ukraine’s economic development adviser, in a bid to bolster the war-torn nation’s “internal resilience”.

He described the senior Canadian official as an expert with “significant experience in attracting investment and carrying out economic transformations”.

The Zelensky administration is looking to strengthen its war-battered economy, including through projects in partnership with the US and other countries.

Freeland, who is of Ukrainian heritage and is a strong critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, is a former journalist and Canadian lawmaker.

Besides being a former deputy prime minister, she also served as Canada’s minister of international trade, foreign minister and finance minister, and helped negotiate trade agreements with both Europe and the US.

The Harvard University graduate has served as Canada’s special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine – a position outside the Cabinet – in addition to her responsibilities as a lawmaker.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will be joined by more than 27 leaders in Paris, along with senior US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as part of broader efforts to put together a common Ukrainian, European and American position that could then be taken to Russia.

Ukraine’s allies will meet in the French capital today, seeking to finalise as much as possible their contributions to future security guarantees to reassure Kyiv in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, diplomats and officials said.

Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting diplomats said military officials, including the head of Ukraine’s general staff, were in Paris to put concrete commitments on paper so that leaders could provide political backing. Until now, military pledges have largely been vague.

According to a note sent to the 35 invited delegations and reviewed by Reuters, the meeting will focus on securing contributions to a multinational force for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, in coordination with Ukraine and with US support.

The hosts also aim to agree contributions for a wider set of security guarantees for Ukraine, including binding commitments if it is attacked again.

Efforts will be made to ensure that planning by the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” contributing countries will be coordinated with the negotiating positions of Ukraine, the US and Europe.

On Monday, Russia launched five missile attacks on Ukraine’s second-biggest city, Kharkiv, which damaged energy infrastructure, as well as an U.S. owned company in Dnipro, Ukrainian officials said.

At least one civilian was injured in the attack on Kharkiv, the city’s regional prosecutors’ office said in a statement.

Kharkiv’s Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the strikes on his city were “not just an attack on facilities. It’s an attack on heating, on water, on people’s normal lives. They are trying to break us with fear and darkness.” Although he did not specify which targets had been hit.

The Dnipro attack was on an enterprise owned by American agricultural producer producer Bunge BG.N in the southeastern city of Dnipro, according to officials.

The attack triggered a leak of 300 metric tons of sunflower oil, said Borys Filatov, the mayor.

“Public utility workers are cleaning up, spreading sand and gravel,” Filatov wrote on the Telegram messaging app, adding that the spill would close a major riverside road for two or three days.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, writing on the X social media platform, said: “This attack was not a mistake — it was deliberate, as the Russians attempted to strike this facility multiple times. Russia has been targeting American businesses in Ukraine systemically.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had “complete disregard” for U.S. led efforts to resolve the nearly four-year-old war.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has reshuffled his top officials as Ukraine nears the fourth-year mark of its war with Russia.

The head of Zelensky’s powerful security agency, Vasyl Maliuk, has been replaced on Monday.

Mr Maliuk has run the the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) since 2022 and was behind the surprise operation codenamed “Spiderweb” which oversaw a series of assassinations and destroyed Russian warplanes.

Zelensky appointed Major-General Yevhenii Khmara as the acting head of the SBU. He has been described as an experienced commander who had served in the elite Alfa combat unit since 2011 and led it since 2023, according to the agency.

Ukrainian president Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine would counter Russian aggression by improving its technological capabilities as he prepared to welcome a new defence minister focused on innovation.

“We discussed with Mykhailo Fedorov the way the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine operates. The core principle is that the technological capacity of our defense must save the lives of our warriors,” he wrote on social media.

“Russia has one significant advantage in this war – the ability to apply pressure through the scale of its strikes and assaults against Ukraine. We must respond with more active use of technology, faster development of new types of weapons, and new tactics.”

Zelensky added that while “Ukraine is fully committed to diplomacy”, “Russia is not demonstrating a similar approach”. He said the country would respond by transforming the defence sector through technology.

Mykhailo Fedorov is expected to be confirmed as Ukraine’s next defence minister.

Russia on Monday called on the US to immediately release Maduro during a meeting of the UN Security Council.

The UNSC met after the US captured the Venezuelan president in a move UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said set a “dangerous precedent”.

Russia backed Colombia in requesting the meeting of the 15-member council, diplomats said.

The UNSC had already met twice – in October and December – over the escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela.

Vladimir Putin today approved Russia’s key objectives for national development through until 2030, focusing on growth.

The Kremlin press service said that Russia’s economic focus would be on the restoration of growth rates and investment – battered by four years of war.

The goals also mentioned overcoming ‘negative demographic trends’ by encouraging ‘responsible fatherhood’ and helping men to plan families to overcome declining birth rates.

Russia also sought to increase imports of ‘priority’ goods and services into the country. Trade has been hampered by the conflict in Ukraine.

A Russian attack on the city of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine hit an enterprise owned by major U.S. agricultural producer Bunge, causing a leak of 300 tonnes of oil, Mayor Borys Filatov said on Monday.

“Public utilities workers are cleaning up, spreading sand and gravel,” Filatov wrote on the Telegram messaging app, adding that the spill would close a major riverside road to traffic for two or three days.