Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump welcomes Putin’s offer of Victory Day ceasefire in ‘very good’ phone call
Trump mixes up Ukraine and Iran wars when asked which will end firstPresident Donald Trump couldn’t say whether the war he launched against Iran in February would end before the four-year-old Russian war against Ukraine – and even confused the two countries.The president immediately began a question-and-answer session that veered from UFOs to a recent conversation with Russian president Vladimir Putin that had focused on the Ukraine and Iran wars.“I talked about Ukraine, and I talked a little bit about Iran. I talked about few different subjects, mostly about Ukraine, and we had a very good conversation. I think we're going to come up with a solution relatively quickly,” he said yesterday.Trump said Putin would “like to be involved” with resolving Iran’s possession of enriched uranium – something the United States opposes – and remarked that he’d told Putin in turn that he’d prefer he be “involved with ending the war with Ukraine”.Arpan Rai30 April 2026 08:25Ukraine says it shot down record 33,000 Russian drones last monthUkraine’s defence minister says the country’s forces shot down a record 33,000 Russian drones of various types in March, marking the highest monthly figure since Moscow’s full-scale invasion began over four years ago.It comes as Ukraine’s domestically developed long-range attack drones struck a Russian oil refinery and terminal on the Black Sea for the third time in less than two weeks, prompting local evacuations as a precautionary measure.Kyiv has developed advanced, battle-tested drone technology, which has proven crucial in resisting Russia’s larger military and has attracted international military interest. Ukrainian officials report that interceptor drones, as part of a comprehensive air defence system, are now being sought by Middle Eastern and Gulf countries for protection amid the war in Iran.Arpan Rai30 April 2026 08:00Ukraine's army chief announces time limit for frontline soldiersUkrainian frontline soldiers should serve at forward positions for up to two months and then need to be rotated out within a month, Ukraine's army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said this morning."Commanders must ensure that conditions are in place for service personnel to remain at their posts for up to two months, followed by a mandatory rotation, which must take place within one month," he said on Telegram.Russia Ukraine War Crucial Week (Local Library)Arpan Rai30 April 2026 07:49Trump says he discussed a Ukraine ceasefire with PutinUS president Donald Trump said he discussed a possible ceasefire in the four-year war in Ukraine in a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin.He spoke after the Kremlin reported the two leaders discussed a temporary Ukraine ceasefire to mark the anniversary of the end of the Second World War next month."We had a good talk, I've known him a long time," said Trump. The two leaders had their last publicly reported phone call on 9 March, although Trump has indicated they speak regularly.Trump, speaking to reporters as he met with astronauts from the Artemis II mission in the Oval Office, said he suggested "a little bit of a ceasefire" in the war in Ukraine in his phone call with the Russian leader."And I think he might do that," Trump said, then asked reporters whether Putin had already announced a ceasefire.Putin announced a similar truce last year that lasted three days but was not agreed with Kyiv.Trump has a history of making positive comments about Putin and sharply criticising Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky for not agreeing to make a deal with Russia to end the war.Trump makes baseless claim Kyiv is ‘militarily defeated’ after phone call with PutinArpan Rai30 April 2026 07:40At least 18 injured in Russian drones strikes on Ukraine's Odesa overnightRussian drones attacked Ukraine's southern city of Odesa overnight, for the second time this week, wounding at least 18 people and damaging residential buildings, officials said this morning.The strikes caused the worst damage in the central Prymorskyi district, where high-rise and five-storey residential buildings were damaged, said Serhiy Lysak, the head of the local military administration. The attacks triggered large fires in upper floors and on a roof, which have since been contained, Lysak said on Telegram.Emergency services said the number of injured could still change.Odesa, a major Black Sea port and a focal point for Ukrainian exports, has been a repeated target of Russian attacks during more than four years of Russia's war.Ukraine's air force said Russia had launched one ballistic missile and 206 drones at the country since 6pm (1500 GMT) yesterday, of which 172 drones were downed or neutralised. One missile and 32 drones hit at 22 locations, it added.Lysak said a 17-year-old boy was among the injured and two of the wounded were in intensive care in a serious condition.He added that a kindergarten building was substantially damaged, and reported damage to a shopping centre, a hotel and administrative premises.He posted photos of a fire raging in a building with its upper floor damaged, and flames and heavy smoke billowing from a high-rise building.Dozens of buses and cars have been destroyed or damaged at several parking areas, he added.In another district, strikes were recorded at infrastructure facilities, warehouse buildings and a garage cooperative, he said.(Local Library)Arpan Rai30 April 2026 07:10Trump says he asked Putin to end Ukraine warDonald Trump said Vladimir Putin offered to help on the issue of Iran's enriched uranium, a key obstacle to a deal to end the Iran war, but "I said I'd much rather have you be involved with ending the war with Ukraine.""I said, before you help me, I want to end your war," said Trump.Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov did not say what proposals Putin had made on Iran. Moscow has previously offered to take enriched uranium out of the country.Ushakov added that Trump, in a friendly and businesslike conversation lasting over one to one-and-a-half hours, had said he believed a deal to end the Ukraine war was close.Arpan Rai30 April 2026 07:07Watch: Robot rescues elderly woman fleeing attacks in UkraineRobot rescues elderly woman fleeing attacks in UkraineArpan Rai30 April 2026 07:05Ukraine asks Israel to seize vessel it says is carrying grain stolen by RussiaUkraine has asked Israel to seize a vessel carrying grain it says was stolen from areas occupied by Russia, its top prosecutor said amid a diplomatic tussle between the two countries over the shipment.Ukraine and Israel traded accusations on Tuesday, with Ukraine saying it had repeatedly urged Israel via diplomatic channels to take measures regarding the vessel. Israel accused Kyiv of "Twitter diplomacy."Ukraine's prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, said on the Telegram app that the vessel, Panormitis, was headed to the Israeli port of Haifa with grain "some of which was shipped" from Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine. The grain had earlier been loaded from another vessel, he said."The Ukrainian side is asking its Israeli partners to seize the vessel and its cargo, conduct a search, seize the vessel's and cargo documentation, take grain samples, and question the crew members," Kravchenko said.Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, writing on X, vowed that Kyiv would "go after Russia’s shadow grain fleet and its enablers across all geographies."Sybiha quoted data showing that between January and April, 25 vessels made some 50 voyages from ports in Russian-occupied Ukraine to ports in third countries. He said that during that period more than 850,000 metric tons of grain were exported from occupied areas.An official at Royal Maritime Inc, the vessel's Greece-based management company, denied the Panormitis was carrying any grain from occupied Ukraine."All of the legal documents we have, including the cargo's certificate of origin, show that the cargo is Russian," the official told Reuters.(Reuters)Arpan Rai30 April 2026 06:30Trump makes baseless claim Ukraine is 'military defeated'Donald Trump made the baseless claim that Ukraine is “militarily defeated” on Wednesday after a phone call with Vladimir Putin.Speaking to reporters as he met with astronauts from the Artemis II mission in the Oval Office, the US president said he discussed a temporary Ukraine ceasefire to mark the anniversary of the end of World War Two next month.He went on to claim that Kyiv had been “militarily defeated”, with no evidence. Ukraine is continuing to resist the Russian aggression across the frontline, with no significant gains made by Moscow in recent months."We had a good talk, I've known him a long time," said Trump. The two leaders had their last publicly reported phone call on March 9, although Trump has indicated they speak regularly.Arpan Rai30 April 2026 05:58Kremlin open to temporary ceasefire with Ukraine to mark Victory DayDuring a phone call with Donald Trump last night it was Vladimir Putin who proposed a temporary ceasefire to mark 9 May and the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War, the Kremlin said.Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the telephone call lasted more than an hour and a half and was "conducted in a friendly manner, candid and business-like"."Trump actively supported this initiative, noting that the holiday marks our common victory over Nazism in World War Two," he said.He added: "Donald Trump believes that a deal to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine is already close."He said Putin told the US president that Russian forces in Ukraine "hold the strategic initiative and are pressing on enemy positions".Putin, Ushakov said, "clearly said that Kyiv was resorting to openly terrorist methods by attacking civilian sites on Russian territory," a reference to frequent Ukrainian strikes on key infrastructure, particularly in Russia's oil sector.(AFP/Getty)Arpan Rai30 April 2026 05:31
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