𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Five people have been killed and 61 injured after Russia launched a mass drone and missile strike overnight, Ukrainian officials have said.

In the region that suffered the worst casualties, two children were among the 51 wounded in Kharkiv late on Friday, the regional prosecutor’s office said, while one person was killed, according to the regional state administration head.

Then four people were killed and eight others were injured in Donetsk Oblast, the regional governor said on Saturday.

And two more people were also injured in Sumy Oblast, according to the regional military administration.

Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with 183 drones and two ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian air force said early on Saturday, with 77 shot down and another 73 falling without causing any damage.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said on Saturday that President Donald Trump’s assertion that the US had done more than any other country to win World War Two was “pretentious nonsense”.

Mr Trump posted on social network Truth Social late on Thursday that “nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery, or military brilliance” in both world wars, and that “we did more than any other country, by far, in producing a victorious result in World War II”.

Mr Medvedev, a former Russian president who has emerged as one of Moscow’s most outspoken anti-Western hawks since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, made his own statement at a time when Washington and Moscow are trying to reset their troubled ties while discussing a possible way to end the conflict.

“Trump recently announced that the US made the biggest contribution to victory in World War Two and that he will introduce a special holiday on 8 May. A holiday is not a bad thing, but his first statement is pretentious nonsense,” Medvedev said in a post on the VK social network.

“Our people sacrificed 27 million lives of their sons and daughters in the name of destroying accursed fascism. Therefore, Victory Day is ours and it is May 9! So it was, so it is, so it will always be!” wrote Mr Medvedev.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his brief meeting with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican a week ago was the best that the two men have had together.

In comments released by his presidential administration, Mr Zelensky said that he and Mr Trump agreed that a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow was the correct first step towards peace in the war in Ukraine.

He said he raised the topic of sanctions with Trump at the meeting, and that the response of the US president on this question was “very strong” but did not give specifics on this.

Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted that Ukraine’s minerals deal with the US is beneficial to both sides.

The Ukrainian president said the agreement “gives Ukraine the opportunity to defend future US investments”.

He added that Ukraine and the US have an even 3-3 split of members of the minerals fund board.

The mayor of the Russian port city of Novorossiysk declared a state of emergency on Saturday after he said a Ukrainian drone attack had damaged residential buildings and injured at least five people, including two children.

Andrei Kravchenko, the mayor, announced his decision on his official Telegram account which showed him inspecting the damage to apartment buildings and giving orders to officials.

Kravchenko said one of the injured people, a woman, was in hospital in a serious situation.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, whose air force said Russia had attacked Ukraine overnight with 183 drones and two ballistic missiles.

The US state department has approved a proposed $310m sale to Ukraine for F-16 training, sustainment, and related equipment, the Pentagon announced on Friday.

The announcement came just days after Ukraine signed a separate deal with the United States, widely promoted by Donald Trump, granting US firms preferential access to Ukrainian mineral rights and funding for reconstruction efforts.

Ukraine had previously received F-16 fighter jets from US allies, under a transfer program authorised by the Biden administration.

Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway are among countries that have supplied F-16 fighter jets and training support to strengthen Ukraine’s defence capabilities.

Ukrainian armed forces will take part in a British military procession on Monday celebrating the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, which marks the end of fighting on the continent during World War Two.

Ukrainian personnel will join around 1,000 UK armed forces members, including soldiers on horseback and military bands, to symbolise “the global support for their continued fight for freedom” against Russia, the government said in a statement on Saturday.

8 May is observed in many countries including Britain, France and the United States as the date when the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany took effect in 1945.

Russia fought alongside the Western allies as the Soviet Union – which then included Ukraine. It marks the occasion on 9 May.

Britain plans various events in the run-up to the anniversary, including a military parade and a flypast, culminating in a service of thanksgiving on Thursday at Westminster Abbey in London that is due to be attended by the royal family.

Britain has staunchly supported Kyiv since the war in Ukraine began, providing billions of pounds in military aid and placing wide-ranging sanctions on Russian entities and individuals to punish Moscow for the conflict.

“In the midst of the first full-scale war in Europe since the Second World War, it is fitting that the Ukrainian Armed Forces currently fighting on the frontline of freedom are represented in Monday’s event,” defence minister John Healey said in the statement.

Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with 183 drones and two ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian air force said early on Saturday.

Of the 183 drones, it said it had shot down 77 and that another 73 had fallen without causing any damage.

Too many column inches have been wasted on inaccurate descriptions of the so-called minerals deal between the US and Ukraine. Much of the commentary was almost Trumpian in its hyperbole: “historic”, “momentous”, and a 180-degree change in America’s stances toward Ukraine… and therefore toward Russia as well.

Not so fast. Many have cheered that there was mention – an admission – of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from the American side, and an apparent commitment to a future Ukraine that is, at least by implication, sovereign and independent, writes James Nixey

UK foreign secretary David Lammy has criticised Russian president Vladimir Putin for obstructing meaningful peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

“Putin has stalled and hampered discussions for long enough. The world is losing patience,” Lammy posted on X, adding that the US and UK remain committed to helping bring the conflict to an end.