Russia staged blistering strikes across Ukraine last night just hours after Kyiv signalled it was ready for a ceasefire following talks with the United States.
The massive missile and drone attacks cast doubt on Vladimir Putin’s willingness to accept Donald Trump’s demands for peace in the three year war.
Last night the US President said he would talk directly to Putin, telling reporters: ‘It takes two to tango. I hope he will agree.’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Kyiv’s agreement to a 30-day ceasefire, which came after significant pressure from Washington, meant that the ball was now in Moscow’s court.
‘Now it’ll be up to them to say yes or no. If they say no, then we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here,’ Rubio said, adding that the peace plan would be put to the Kremlin this week.
Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in Saudi Arabia but not directly involved in the negotiations, said his country was ready to accept the American plan and stop the fighting immediately.
‘We see it as a positive step and are ready to take it,’ the Ukrainian President said. ‘Now, it is up to the United States to convince Russia to do the same.’
But shortly after the announcement, with no official response from the Kremlin, Putin’s forces launched deadly strikes across the Ukrainian capital and vast swathes of the country.
Russia escalates overnight attacks on Ukraine, killing and wounding crew and port workers in Odesa grain ship strike, destroying homes in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy and hitting Krivyi Rih
Firefighters work at the scene of a Russian strike in Ukraine after Putin intensified his bombardment of the country overnight
A fire erupts in a building in Odesa after a Russian strike last night
Explosions are seen in the sky over Kyiv during a Russian drone strike last night
Barbados flagged bulk carrier MJ Pinar, which was hit by a Russian missile strike while it was loading wheat for export to Algeria
The fierce overnight bombardment saw a double missile strike hit Kryvyi Rih – the city where Volodmyr Zelensky was born – led to a woman, 47, in a trolleybus being killed. Smoke was seen rising from the site of the strike.
In Odesa, Vladimir Putin’s forces hit and damaged a Barbados-flagged 587ft-long dry cargo ship carrying grain bound for Africa, killing four, with several injured.
In a strike on Dnipro, the Kremlin dictator’s forces hit ten private houses, blasting out windows in a school and kindergarten, after which one man was hospitalised.
Russia unleashed Iranian-designed Shahed drones on Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv, while footage showed a blazing fire at a warehouse in Sumy after a Russian strike.
A strike on the Greek-managed MJ Pinar cargo vessel in Odesa appeared designed to hit both Ukraine’s exports of grain and desperately-needed supplies via Algeria to Africa.
The vessel was loading 30,000 tons of wheat when the strike hit, igniting a fire. Among the dead sailors were three Syrians and one Ukrainian, with a fifth crew member and a port employee injured.
One missile is reported to have struck the seawall causing extensive damage to the pier, the terminal’s grain store, and other infrastructure.
As Putin’s missiles continued to rain down on Ukraine, Kyiv’s allies tentatively welcomed a new shot at peace with Washington’s 30-day ceasefire proposal.
Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘This is an important moment for peace in Ukraine and we now all need to redouble our efforts to get to a lasting and secure peace as soon as possible.
‘As both American and Ukrainian delegations have said, the ball is now in the Russian court.’
Shortly after the announcement by Ukraine and the US, Vladimir Putin’s forces launched deadly strikes across the Ukrainian capital and vast swathes of the country
Footage showed a blazing fire at a warehouse in Sumy after a Russian strike
A destroyed wall after the massive Russian drone strike on Ukraine last night
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X: ‘I welcome the progress made during the discussions between the United States of America and Ukraine held today in Jeddah, particularly regarding the idea of a possible 30-day ceasefire.
‘The ball is now clearly in Russia’s court. France and its partners remain committed to a solid and lasting peace, supported by robust security guarantees for Ukraine.’
Diplomatic sources said President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff could soon travel to Moscow to lay the groundwork for an agreement with Putin.
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz hinted Trump will pile pressure on Putin, saying the US President would ‘take tough decisions on all sides’.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday that Moscow ‘does not rule out’ contact with the US over the next few days.
But hardliners in Moscow have called for the Kremlin to reject the proposal.
Russian State Duma Deputy and former armed forces commander Viktor Sobolev said that Russia should not agree to the ‘unacceptable’ 30-day ceasefire, arguing that it would allow Ukraine to rearm and regroup.
Meanwhile Russia continued to press home its advantage in its Kursk region, where massive assault operations were underway around border town Sudzha which was under intense fire.
Unconfirmed reports this morning highlighted footage of Putin’s paratroopers raising the white, blue and red tricolour in the central square of Sudzha in the Kursk region
A burning car is seen in front of an apartment building damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih
Ukrainian troops were on the retreat in Kursk, parts of which they have held since August, with footage appearing to show Putin’s troops triumphantly in Sudzha’s main square.
Unconfirmed Moscow reports this morning highlighted footage appearing to show Putin’s paratroopers raising the white, blue and red tricolour in the central square of Sudzha, the main town that had been in Ukrainian control in the Russian region.
‘Our fighters, having cleared the square, marked another success of the assault operation, waved to the camera, and then returned to carrying out combat missions,’ reported pro-Kremlin Readovka media outlet.
Another loyalist outlet Mash reported: ‘Our fighters with flags on Sovetskaya Square Sudzha, near the administration building in the town centre.
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‘The [Ukrainian] soldiers have almost completely abandoned it, retreating towards Sumy Oblast.
‘According to our data, the city has been cleared by 80-90%.
‘The Ukrainian Armed Forces have only [kept their hold on] the suburbs of Goncharovka and Zaoleshenka.’
If true, the development is a severe blow to Kyiv but not unexpected.
Yet Russian Telegram source Archangel Spetsnaz also stated: ‘The enemy is still fighting back, the flags were for designation.’
Thousands of Ukrainian troops had been reported as being encircled by Russian and North Korean forces.
Today reports stated that many had successfully retreated to Ukraine’s Sumy region.
The troops carrying the Russian flag were paratroopers of the 11th Guards Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces, it was reported.
Military analyst Yan Matveyev stated: ‘It looks like the Ukrainian Armed Forces have completely left the city.
‘This means that today they will finally leave the Kursk region.’