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But what are these minerals exactly and why are they so sought after?

Ukraine is often recognised for its vast agricultural lands and industrial heritage, but beneath its surface lies one of the world’s most remarkable geological formations, the “Ukrainian Shield”.

This massive, exposed crystalline rock formed over 2.5 billion years ago, stretches across much of Ukraine. It represents one of Earth’s oldest and most stable continental blocks.

Foreign secretary David Lammy is expected to join Donald Trump’s peace envoys for talks in Paris today on ending the war in Ukraine.

Mr Lammy will travel to Paris for meetings with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and the US secretary of state Marco Rubio, reported The Telegraph citing sources.

The two US officials are expected to hear European concerns about Russia amid US attempts to arrange an elusive ceasefire in Ukraine three years after Russia invaded its neighbour.

The smoke billowed from wreckage as rescuers doused a building hit in the attack.

The strike on the Black Sea port city also damaged residential buildings and warehouses, Ukrainian officials from the region said.

Three people were injured and several fires broke out in the city as a result of the attack, Ukraine’s emergency service.

Russia did not immediately comment on the attack.

Donald Trump’s top national security aides and peace envoy plan to hold talks in Paris with French president Emmanuel Macron today as the US and Europe search for common ground on ending the Ukraine war.

The two advisers, secretary of state Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff, are expected to hear European concerns about Russia amid US attempts to arrange an elusive ceasefire in Ukraine.

Besides Mr Macron, the French foreign ministry said Mr Rubio will also meet his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot to discuss Ukraine, prospects for a new Iran nuclear deal and the Middle East.

Mr Witkoff plans to fly on to Rome for a second round of discussions on Saturday with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi about Iran’s nuclear program. They met for 45 minutes last Saturday in Oman.

Both sides described last weekend’s talks as positive while acknowledging that any potential deal remains distant.

Russian air defence systems destroyed or intercepted 71 Ukrainian drones over six Russian regions overnight, Russia’s defence ministry said this morning.

Of these, around 49 drones were downed in Kursk region, while others were downed in Oryol, Ryazan, Bryansk, Vladimir and Tula regions.

Vladimir Putin has drawn a parallel between Elon Musk and a key figure in the Soviet space race, Sergei Korolev, praising the SpaceX founder as a visionary.

Mr Putin reportedly invoked the legacy of Korolev, the engineer behind Yuri Gagarin’s historic 1961 spaceflight, to highlight the rarity of people like Musk.

TASS quoted Mr Putin as saying: “Such people rarely appear in the human population, charged with a certain idea.”

Ukraine and the US have made “substantial progress” in their talks on a minerals deal and will sign a memorandum in the near future, a senior Ukrainian official said.

“Our technical teams have worked very thoroughly together on the agreement, and there is significant progress. Our legal staff has adjusted several items within the draft agreement,” first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in a social media post on X.

Donald Trump is seeking a bilateral minerals deal as part of his push to end Ukraine’s war against the Russian invasion. Mr Trump also sees it as a way to recover billions of dollars the US has spent on military assistance to Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine would not recognise past US military aid as loans.

Ms Svyrydenko said the work on the deal would continue and that both sides agreed to sign a memorandum in the near term as the first stage to record the progress.

The talks are advancing and it was likely a provisional document, or memorandum, could be signed very soon, deputy Ukrainian economy minister Taras Kachka told national television.

“A final document won’t be signed this week. There is a lot of work to be done because the ideas included in the agreement by the US side need to be developed further,” Mr Kachka said.

Just days ago, Putin’s forces targeted the city centre in back-to-back missile strikes, killing 35 people and injuring over 100. It marked the deadliest attack on Ukrainian civilians this year.

Neighbours chatted in their apartment blocks, watching children play games in the courtyards. Pausing to look up, they would see the buzzing of attack drones and the familiar sounds of Ukrainian air defences before going back to their strange routine which is quickly becoming usual.

Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed “next steps” in response to possible “Russian provocations” with president of Finland Alexander Stubb.

“We discussed many issues, including preparations for our next joint steps and our response to possible Russian provocations in the near future,” Mr Zelensky said.

In a post on X, Mr Zelensky said the two leaders spoke about the battlefield situation and need for air defence systems.

“I informed about the battlefield situation and our need for air defense systems. We will achieve a just and sustainable peace when Ukraine receives strong support packages, and Russia faces strong sanctions in response to further dragging this war on,” he said.

The Kremlin has said there is not yet a clear outline of a potential US-Russia deal on Ukraine, but it has the political will to move towards on an agreement.

“There are no clear outlines of any agreement yet, but there is political will to move towards an agreement. And I repeat once again, we highly highly rate the constructive and meaningful contacts that we have had (with the US),” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov in a call with reporters on Tuesday.

He said the talks with the US had been positive and useful Moscow would not give a possible timeline for a peace settlement.

“Nevertheless, of course we would like to hope for the best, that the work will have positive results. We would not say exactly what the timeframe is here,” said Mr Peskov.