Putin threatens to treat Ukrainian POWs as 'terrorists' as he visits warzone

An explosion reported over Kyiv just before an airstrike may have been a meteor, it has been claimed on X.

The brief clip shows a bright light in the sky over the city. There is no verification that the object did indeed come from outer space.

Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine's military commander, has hinted that some of its troops are withdrawing from Russia's Kursk region.

Posting on the Telegram messaging app, he said: "In the most difficult situation, my priority has been and remains saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.

"To this end, the units of the defence forces, if necessary, manoeuvre to more favourable positions."

In a new statement shared via X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: "We must move toward peace, toward security guarantees, and we need to free our people. We are determined to work as quickly as possible with our partners.

"The key factor is our partners’ ability to ensure Russia’s readiness not to deceive but to genuinely end the war. Because right now, Russian strikes have not stopped. Around a hundred “Shahed” drones attack Ukraine each night. Missile strikes are regular. Some of our civilian infrastructure and ports have been hit, unfortunately, including in Odesa.

"We continue our work on the diplomatic front to ensure that all necessary conditions are swiftly in place to apply pressure on Russia, to achieve real peace.

"I am awaiting a report from the Ukrainian delegation that worked in Saudi Arabia and we are preparing new tasks for our diplomacy."

The Geneva Convention mandates that captured troops, or prisoners of war (POWs), must be treated humanely at all times, with protection from violence, intimidation, and public humiliation.

They must be provided with adequate food, water, shelter, and medical care, and they cannot be forced to give information beyond their name, rank, serial number, and date of birth.

POWs must not be used as human shields or subjected to torture, medical experiments, or other degrading treatment.

Upon the end of hostilities, they must be repatriated without delay.

US arms deliveries to Ukraine resumed Wednesday, officials said, a day after the Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid for Kyiv in its fight against Russia's invasion.

Officials are awaiting the Kremlin's response to a proposed 30-day ceasefire endorsed by Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin has suggested he may treat captured Ukrainian prisoners as criminals in a move which would likely breach the Geneva Convention.

Speaking during a trip to Kursk, where Russia is on the offensive and seizing back large areas of land, the Russian President said the captured troops should be “treated as terrorists, in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation".

Talks about sending British armed forces to keep the peace in Ukraine will continue when Defence Secretary John Healey meets European allies today.

It is the start of an intensive week of diplomacy aimed at ending the war between Ukraine and Russia, which will also see G7 foreign ministers including Foreign Secretary David Lammy meeting in Canada.

Mr Healey will join counterparts from France, Germany, Italy and Poland at the Val-de-Grace chapel in Paris to discuss plans for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine if the current conflict with Russia can be brought to an end.

Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin has already met his French counterpart to further discussions about a coalition of up to 30 nations that could contribute to Ukraine’s future security, although not all are expected to provide armed forces.

The US needs air force bases in Europe in order to maintain its political and strategic interests across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the head of the US Eight Air force has said.

It comes just days after US President Donald Trump reportedly called for an end to all US military exercises with NATO amid pressure from some of his supporters to pull out of the alliance altogether.

Maj. Gen. Jason Armagost made his remarks as US Bomber Task Force 25-2 prepared to complete the ninth deployment of American bombers over Europe since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. The latest batch of four USAF B-52B and B-52H Stratofortresses, from the 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, arrived in February for a six-week deployment.

The bombers have taken part in NATO missions over the Baltic Sea and eastern Europe alongside British Rivet Joint surveillance planes and, Gen Armagost said, had experienced several "Russian interactions".

The US has told Russia “the ball is truly in their court” as Washington demands and end to the war in Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the American government would “have contact” with Moscow imminently.

However, asked about the 30-day ceasefire proposal agreed between the US and Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

The spokesman said US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin could speak directly, saying: “We also do not rule out the need for a telephone conversation at the highest level.”

Sir Keir Starmer vowed to “redouble our efforts” to end the war in Ukraine as he prepared for further talks with European leaders about a “coalition of the willing” to deter future Russian aggression. The Prime Minister will host an online summit on Saturday after Defence Secretary John Healey met counterparts from France, Germany, Italy and Poland in Paris.

Russia is pursuing an "increasingly aggressive and coordinated campaign of harassment" against British diplomats, the UK Foreign Office has warned, following the expulsion of a British diplomat and their spouse from Moscow this week.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said the move was part of a pattern of "malicious and completely baseless accusations" made by Russian authorities against British diplomatic staff.

They warned: "It is clear that the Russian state is actively seeking to drive the British Embassy in Moscow towards closure and has no regard for the dangerous escalatory impact of this."

The UK responded swiftly by summoning the Russian Ambassador to the Foreign Office for a dressing down, where a senior official made clear that Britain "will not stand for intimidation of British Embassy staff and their families."

European nations will come "ever closer" in the coming weeks, John Healey has said.

Saying that European defence ministers had would be "accelerating" work on creating a "coalition of the willing" to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, Mr Healey said: "In the coming weeks, you will see European allies coming ever closer together because our security is shared and our strength relies on that unwavering commitment to each other.

"Peace and security in Europe will only be achieved through strengthening Nato and standing with Ukraine."

Asked by reporters earlier whether he had spoken to Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump said: "I won't comment on that, but we had a great success yesterday."

He added, cryptically: "We haven't spoken to him yet with substance."

Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's Special Envoy to the Middle East, will head to Moscow this week for peace talks, the White House has confirmed.

Two people were killed and eight injured after an apartment building damaged in Donetsk Oblast was targeted with 11 guided bombs during a Russian airstrike, Governor Vadym Filashkin has said.

US Senator Lindsey Graham has said he is "extremely sceptical" that Russia wants to end the war with Ukraine.

Speaking about the Ukrainian President, Mr Graham said: "Zelensky has passed the test of wanting peace. It is now up to Putin to show his card."

He said he would push for "bone-breaking sanctions and tariffs against Russia before the end of the week" in order to move towards peace.

He added: "If they do not pursue the ceasefire with the same vigour as Ukraine, there will be hell to pay."

Donald Trump has issued his most explicit threat to Vladimir Putin so far, telling the Russian President he can do "very bad things" to Russia financially if he does not accept a US-brokered ceasefire.

Mr Trump told reporters in Washington: "There are things that wouldn't be pleasant in a financial sense.

"I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. I don't want to do it that because I want to get peace."

The UK must consider introducing conscription - and prepare for war with Russia, according to retired top British Army officer.

General Sir Richard Shirreff, a former NATO commander, joined growing calls for the UK to look at re-introducing conscription which would mean all young people are required to spend a period in military service.

He said: “Where is the mobilising of the defence industries, the mobilising of the national economy to fight a war? This is big stuff. This is really serious."

He spoke out after it emerged the UK is set to take in a peacekeeping force in Ukraine involving around 30,000 European troops. Downing Street has not confirmed the reports but Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK is “ready to play a full part ” in whatever “security guarantees” were needed to ensure a peace agreement lasts.

Pro-Putin propagandists are floating a wild conspiracy theory, accusing Britain of being behind the North Sea ship collision. The captain of the Solong container ship - now in custody - is Russian, it was revealed today.

The Portuguese-flagged vessel rammed the 50,000-ton Stena Immaculate – a US oil tanker – off the English coast, triggering a fire on both ships.

The Russian captain has not been named by Humberside police but was arrested “on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision”.

Floating the conspiracy theory, Kremlin propagandist pro-war pundit Sergey Mardan claimed: “There are many interesting coincidences and details in this case.

“Pentagon fuel, a tanker flying an exotic American flag for the merchant fleet, and now a Russian captain. The location of the emergency should also be taken into account - the territorial waters of Great Britain.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it’s important not to “get ahead” of the question of responding to the ceasefire, which was proposed by Washington.

He told reporters that Moscow is awaiting “detailed information” from the US and suggested that Russia must get that before it can take a position.

The Kremlin has previously opposed anything short of a permanent end to the conflict and has not accepted any concessions.

The US-Ukraine discussions were "very positive" and covered "all the important, sensitive topics," Volodymyr Zelensky said.

At a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday, the Ukrainian president said: "Frankly speaking, I do support the meeting and the results we had yesterday with our teams... I think this is the first big, constructive discussion between our teams.

"I'd like to thank the American side, the Ukrainian team, for this to happen. This multi-hour meeting, it was a rather detailed one.

"It is very important for us to be heard so that everyone has the right to express, to share some very important priority matters, and I think that yesterday we had a... very positive meeting."

He added: "All the important, sensitive topics were discussed."

Russia launched a blitz of lethal missile and drone strikes across Ukraine hours after Kyiv signalled its willingness to implement a 30-day ceasefire.

The brutal bombardments cast doubt on whether Vladimir Putin is truly interested in suing for peace after just over three years of fighting that have left hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians dead or injured.

In another blow for Kyiv, Ukrainian troops appeared to be on the retreat in Kursk following a major Russian breakthrough in Sudzha.

Russia's army targeted Volodymyr Zelensky's home town of Kryvyi Rih with a double missile strike that left a 47-year-old woman dead.

Russia launched a ballistic missile strike on Odesa on Tuesday just as a joint US-Ukraine statement about a proposed ceasefire was released, former Ukrainian government adviser Anton Geraschenko has claimed.

Mr Geraschenko shared a series of pictures on X, commenting: "A Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile damaged the Barbados-flagged MJ PINAR, which was loading grain for export to Algeria. Another ship and warehouses with grain were damaged.

"Four Syrian citizens were killed. The youngest victim was 18, the oldest was 24. Another Syrian and a Ukrainian were injured."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky detailed his "most important red line" when it comes to ending the war with Russia. Mr Zelensky said: "We are fighting for our independence. And therefore we will not recognise any territories occupied by Russia. This is a fact.

"Our people fought for this, our heroes died. How many were wounded, how much has happened. Therefore, no one will forget about this. When I say that no one will forget, this is the most important red line. We will not let anyone forget about this crime against Ukraine."

This comes as Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire deal during a meeting among Washington and Kyiv officials in Saudi Arabia. But the Kremlin has already said it will respond to the proposal only after it speaks to the White House.

"We're going to say that Ukraine is prepared to stop all battlefield activity and begin the immediate process of negotiating an enduring end of the war, and we'll see what their response is."

He added: "If their response is yes, then we know we've made real progress and there's a real chance of peace.

"If their response is no, it would be highly unfortunate and it would make their intentions clear.

"They're probably processing the news, the same as the rest of the world is so we hope to have a positive answer from them, the ball is truly in their court."

The US will "have contact" with Russia on Wednesday after holding talks with Ukraine over a possible peace, the country's secretary of state has said.

Marco Rubio said Washington will put the proposals to Moscow directly, adding that "the ball is truly in their court" and rejection of the plan would "make their intentions clear".

Kyiv says it is ready to accept plans for a 30-day immediate ceasefire after US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia which were hailed by many as a breakthrough following Donald Trump's Oval Office spat with Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaking to reporters in Ireland ahead of flying back to the US on Wednesday, Mr Rubio said: "That's what we want to know, whether they're prepared to do it unconditionally. We'll have contact with them today.

"There's already been contacts at different levels with counterparts, different members of the administration, and that'll continue... We're going to bring it to them directly.

The US and Ukraine have agreed to present a 30-day ceasefire agreement to Moscow - but the Express is asking do you think Vladimir Putin will accept it? After the US and Ukraine agreed to propose a 30-day ceasefire to the Kremlin, Sir Keir Starmer said "ball is now in the Russian court".

Despite reports that US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will soon meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters he was "not going to make any announcements about specific dates, times, or even confirm such a trip". However, he added: "Suffice it to say there’s going to be multiple points of contact with the Russians to gauge, are they willing to do this or not."

VOTE HERE

Russia can "collapse NATO" and inflict "humiliation" on the UK by making one strategic move, a leading member of the Defence Select Committee has warned.

Mike Martin MP, who is also on the National Security Strategy Joint Committee, said American "ambivalence" to European security has opened the door for Russia to "test Article 5" - a NATO clause that says an attack on one member is an attack on all members.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

The average Russian state pension has reportedly dropped to its lowest level in eight years in another major blow for the country's under pressure economy.

At the end of last year, it stood at an average of 25,000 rubles - the average salary being 86,000 rubles.

The National Association of Non-Governmental Pension Funds (NAPF) has calculated that this means people receive from the state 29% of what they earned while working.

Read more on the Russian economy here.

In case you missed it last night, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer lauded the 30-day ceasefire agreement as a "remarkable breakthrough".

"As both American and Ukrainian delegations have said, the ball is now in the Russian court. Russia must now agree to a ceasefire and an end to the fighting too," Sir Keir added.

Russian state news agency TASS has reported claims made by Putin's 'Battlegroup West' that in the last 24 hours it has killed 225 Ukrainian soldiers, downed 28 Ukrainian drones and a rocket from a HIMARS rocket launcher, and "destroyed" other military hardware.

Spokesman Ivan Bigma reportedly told TASS: "Air defenses destroyed a HIMARS rocket, as well as 28 enemy fixed-wing drones.

"The enemy lost up to 225 servicemen, two T-72 and T-64 tanks, two armored fighting vehicles, six pickup trucks, three field artillery guns. Two Ukrainian servicemen surrendered as prisoners of war. In addition, 28 drone control posts and four Starlink satellite communication stations were destroyed."

Following the agreement in Jeddah between the US and Ukraine for a 30-day ceasefire, the spokesperson of Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, Maria Zakharova, said this morning that  Russia will not be swayed by talks taking place beyond its borders.

"The shaping of the position of the Russian Federation does not take place abroad due to some agreements or efforts of some parties," she said.

"The formation of the position of the Russian Federation takes place inside the Russian Federation."

Good morning from London and welcome to our live coverage of  the war in Ukraine.

Stay tuned for updates as they happen, as we bring you the latest from Kyiv, Washington, and Moscow.