Ukraine: Zelensky lashes out at Putin as Moscow says UK risks 'direct confrontation'

The Ukrainian President said in Paris that the British Prime Minister and French President will represent Europe on the global stage.

“We have agreed that Europe will be represented by France and Britain - Starmer and Macron,” he told reporters.

“This is a clear position and we would like to send this signal” to the US, he added.

Asked whether he still trusts the Americans, the Ukrainian President said: "It's hard to explain to those who live in a different dimension.

"Compared to the country at war, the entire world lives at a very slow pace", he added.

Steve Witkoff, US special envoy to the Middle East, had previously rubbished the idea of Europe's "coalition of the willing" defending a peace agreement in Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky said of Mr Witkoff: "He says things and it sounds like he says it for us. They look abstract.

"This is from another world. For us, these people are from another planet."

He emphasised that "this is not an accusation of somebody".

"We just live in different realities, in different worlds," he adds.

Addressing reporters in Paris, the Ukrainian President said that the minerals deal, which he was supposed to sign in Washington in February, was still alive.

"We have a lot of these agreements about the minerals", he said. He added that the US would send a final draft later, but that at present he had no plans to return to the White House.

"But I wouldn't like to leave the United States with the feeling that Ukraine is against them in general, because we have shown constantly [that we're] sending positive signals.

"We are in favour of the cooperation with the United States of America", he added.

Emmanuel Macron has said Ukraine's European allies don’t all agree on the proposed deployment of an armed force in the country to back up an eventual peace deal and only some want to take part.

He told reporters in Paris after the summit: "It is not unanimous. We do not need unanimity to achieve it."

Mr Macron said France and Britain, which are driving the initiative, will forge ahead with the proposed contingent.

He said: "There will be a reassurance force with several European countries that will deploy."

Sir Keir Starmer has said there were three outcomes from the meeting of allies in Paris.

The Prime Minister said: "Firstly, more support for Ukraine to make sure Ukraine is in the strongest possible position, both now and in further negotiations.

"Second, complete clarity that now is not the time for lifting of sanctions. Quite the contrary, what we discussed is how we can increase sanctions to support the US initiative, to bring Russia to the table through further pressure from this group of countries.

"And of course, we discussed further the plans for reassuring the peace, the coalition of the willing and the military and operational plans, whether they're on the land, the air or the sea, but there was very strong support.

"And what came out most strongly from the meeting was so many countries standing, as they've stood for over three years now, with Ukraine, standing in this crucial moment for as long as it takes."

Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky have just come out of the talks in Paris.

The PM said: "What came out most strongly from the meeting was [that] so many countries stand against [Russia] - as they've stood for over three years now with Ukraine - standing in this crucial moment for as long as it takes for them.

"You have our support."

France and Britain are pushing for a coalition of nations willing in one way or another to support the deployment of a European armed force in Ukraine.

The aim is to secure any peace deal by dissuading Russia from attacking the country again.

Some European countries are more comfortable with a potential deployment than others — not least because a big unknown is whether Donald Trump would allow US forces and intelligence agencies to back up any European contingent with air and logistical support.

Building a force big enough to act as a credible deterrent would also be a considerable effort for nations that shrank their militaries after the Cold War but are now re-arming. British officials have talked about 10,000 to 30,000 troops.

There would also be questions over who would command the force and how it might respond to a major violation by Russia of any peace agreement.

Downing Street has said military planners from Europe and beyond have been drilling down into details of how such a force might be put together, examining "the full range of European military capabilities including aircraft, tanks, troops, intelligence and logistics".

Volodymyr Zelensky has said recent comments made by Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff are "very disturbing".

Mr Witkoff told Fox News host Tucker Carlson earlier this month that Ukrainians who live in part of Ukraine occupied by Russia want to be ruled by the Russians.

In comments cited by the Kyiv Independent newspaper, Mr Zelensky told Eurovision News: "Witkoff's statements are very disturbing to us. Because we are fighting (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and we really do not want him to have many assistants.

"This is definitely difficult for us, because we are already fighting a country that is 40 times larger in terms of territory — smaller in terms of dignity."

The Ukrainian leader told the outlet that Mr Witkoff isn't a military expert and may be susceptible to Russian narratives about the war.

In a scathing comment, he said: "As far as I know, he is very good at selling and buying real estate."

He vowed to fight Russian narratives about the war, which Mr Zelensky previously told Time magazine were part of Russian propaganda efforts which he claimed were succeeding in influencing US officials.

The Trump administration has shown no enthusiasm for the coalition of the willing’s discussions about potentially sending troops into Ukraine after an eventual ceasefire to help make peace stick.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron will be hosting talks in Paris today of the so-called coalition of the willing.

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has dismissed the idea of a European deployment or even the need for it.

He previously told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson: "It’s a combination of a posture and a pose and a combination of also being simplistic."

Officials had initially reported nine people injured (see post below) but the figure has now been revised to 21.

Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the attack damaged homes, a block of flats, cars and a production facility.

A Russian drone strike on Kharkiv injured at least nine people overnight, according to reports citing Ukraine's State Emergency Service.

The attack targeted residential areas and civilian infrastructure, the Kyiv Independent reports. Four separate fires broke out in the attack, the largest of which broke out at an industrial building.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service, police, medical teams, and utility workers have been at the scene.

Governor Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram: "Today, more than a dozen drones have hit our Kharkiv, one of the largest cities in Ukraine. No country should have to go through this".

Kharkiv is about 30 miles from the Russian border.

NATO was yesterday forced to clarify comments its Secretary General Mark Rutte made when he suggested four US soldiers who went missing while training in Lithuania had died. This was despite he US Army saying their fate was not yet confirmed.

The military alliance posted on X: "The search is ongoing. We regret any confusion about remarks @SecGenNATO delivered on this today (Wednesday).

"He was referring to emerging news reports & was not confirming the fate of the missing, which is still unknown".

North Korea sent about 3,000 extra troops to Russia in January and February in continued support for Putin’s war on Ukraine, South Korea’s military said in its latest assessment today.

The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Pyongyang has also been sending more missiles, artillery equipment and ammunition to help Russia and that North Korea could increase its weapons supplies further depending on the war situation.

Military equipment North Korea sent to Russia includes a "considerable amount" of short-range ballistic missiles, 170mm self-propelled howitzers and around 220 units of 240mm multiple rocket launchers.

North Korea has sent about 11,000 military personnel to fight in the war against Ukraine in its first involvement in a large-scale conflict since the 1950-53 Korean War. The Joint Chiefs assessed that around 4,000 of them have been killed or injured.

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of "hollow promises" in ceasefire talks at the summit in Paris.

The British Prime Minister will attend the meeting of the so-called "coalition of the willing" after Emmanuel Macron suggested a European peacekeeping force could "respond" if attacked by Russia.

Sir Keir will present the outcomes of a series of defence talks in London where officials were drawing up a strategy to support Kyiv and deter future aggression from Moscow.

More than 200 military planners from countries across the world met to consider in detail the structure of any future deployment, including proposals for air, sea and land forces.

Number 10 said the Prime Minister will tell allies that "excellent progress" was made and Europe is "mobilising together in pursuit of peace, but now we must keep up the momentum".

He will also accuse the Russian president of "playing games" with an agreement for a naval ceasefire in the Black Sea after separate talks between US negotiators and their counterparts in Kyiv and Moscow.

Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of breaking the terms of a tentative US-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure, underscoring the challenges in negotiating a broader peace.

On Tuesday it was announced that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to paused hostilities in the Black Sea.

In comments made ahead of today's summit in Paris, Emmanuel Macron said the proposed European forces would not be stationed on the frontlines in Ukraine, nor be engaged "on the first day" opposite Russian forces.

He said they would "be forces that dissuade the Russians from attacking again". Adding that by holding important towns and strategic bases it would signal clear support from several European governments and allies.

Mr Macron said: "So we are not on the frontlines - we don’t go to fight - but we are there to guarantee a lasting peace. It’s a pacifist approach.

"The only ones who would, at that moment, trigger a conflict, a bellicose situation, would be the Russians if they decided again to launch an aggression."

Good morning and welcome to our live blog where we'll be bringing you the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war.