Russia rains missiles on Ukraine as US mulls ending truce efforts

Russia rains missiles on Ukraine as US mulls ending truce efforts
By Sergey BOBOK
Kharkiv, Ukraine (AFP) April 18, 2025

Russia fired a fresh volley of missiles and drones at Ukraine overnight, wounding dozens of people, Kyiv said Friday, as the United States warned it could end efforts to broker a ceasefire if it did not see progress soon.

US President Donald Trump has been pressing Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a truce, but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin, despite repeated negotiations between his administration and Russia on the three-year war.

After meeting European officials in Paris to discuss Ukraine, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington needed to figure out soon whether a ceasefire was "doable in the short term".

"Because if it's not, then I think we're just going to move on," he told reporters at Le Bourget airport before leaving the French capital.

Russia fired at least six missiles and dozens of drones at Ukraine overnight, killing two people in the eastern regions of Kharkiv and Sumy and wounding 70 others, officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed the attack, which came just days before Easter.

"This is how Russia started Good Friday -- with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, shahed drones. A mockery of our people and cities," he said on Telegram.

An AFP photographer in the city of Kharkiv witnessed the aftermath of one strike, which left rubble and debris scattered across a street.

An elderly resident could be seen bandaged, her face smeared with blood, while residents assessed the damage.

- 'Memorandum' on mineral deal -

Since taking office Trump has embarked on a quest to warm ties with the Kremlin that has alarmed Kyiv and driven a wedge between the US and its European allies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last month rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for a full and unconditional pause in the conflict, while the Kremlin has made a truce in the Black Sea conditional on the West lifting certain sanctions.

Trump has also repeatedly expressed anger and frustration at Zelensky in a marked break from policy under his predecessor, Joe Biden.

The US is pushing Ukraine into a deal that would give Washington sweeping access to its mineral resources.

Ukraine's prime minister will visit Washington next week for talks with top US officials aimed at clinching the minerals and resources deal by April 26, according to a US-Ukraine signed "memorandum of intent" published Friday.

Trump wants the deal -- designed to give the United States royalty payments on profits from Ukrainian mining of resources and rare minerals -- as compensation for aid given to Ukraine under Biden.

- Witkoff on 'Russian side' -

France hosted meetings between US and European officials in Paris on Thursday, saying the talks had launched a "positive process".

The meetings included French President Emmanuel Macron, Rubio and US envoy Steve Witkoff.

European officials had expressed dismay at being shut out from the peace process, while Ukraine has expressed concern that Witkoff -- one of Trump's closest allies -- is biased towards Russia.

Zelensky accused Witkoff on Thursday of having adopted the "strategy of the Russian side", after the US envoy suggested a peace deal with Moscow hinged on the status of Ukraine's occupied territories.

"He is consciously or unconsciously, I don't know, spreading Russian narratives," Zelensky told journalists.

Witkoff told Fox News on Monday that a peace settlement depended on "so-called five territories" -- the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Crimea, that Russia claims to have annexed.

The Kremlin wants its claims over the regions to be recognised as part of any peace deal, a proposal that Ukraine has balked at. Moscow does not fully control any of them except for Crimea, which it seized in 2014.

Zelensky also said Thursday he had "information" China was supplying weapons to Russia, amid an escalating row between Kyiv and Beijing over China's support for Moscow.

China, which has portrayed itself as a neutral party in the three-year war, has hit back at Kyiv's criticism and called on all parties in the conflict to refrain from "irresponsible remarks".

France hails 'positive process' as Europe, US discuss Ukraine ceasefire
Paris (AFP) April 18, 2025 - France hailed talks on the Ukraine war between top US and European officials on Thursday during which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio again pressed a US peace plan.

President Emmanuel Macron's office said the talks launched a "positive process" as Europe seeks to be included in efforts to end the three-year-old war.

The meetings included Macron, Rubio, US envoy Steve Witkoff, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, German officials and Ukrainian ministers.

They took place as US President Donald Trump's push to end the war stumbles, with Russia's President Vladimir Putin rebuffing a complete truce.

"Today in Paris, we launched a positive process in which the Europeans are involved," the French presidency said.

A new meeting of envoys from the United States, France, Britain, Germany and Ukraine will take place next week in London, it added.

Rubio called Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss the Paris meeting.

"President Trump and the United States want this war to end, and have now presented to all parties the outlines of a durable and lasting peace," Rubio told his Russian counterpart, according to the US State Department.

"The encouraging reception in Paris to the US framework shows that peace is possible if all parties commit to reaching an agreement," he added.

In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry said Lavrov "reaffirmed Moscow's readiness to continue collaborative efforts with American counterparts to comprehensively address the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis".

Lavrov and Rubio agreed on the need to maintain "prompt communication channels", in light of the London meeting next week, the statement said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has clashed with Trump, also praised the talks.

"It is important that we hear each other, refine and clarify our positions, and work for the sake of real security of Ukraine and all our Europe," Zelensky said in a post on X.

- 'Europeans at the table' -

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov however dismissed the Paris meeting, saying earlier that Europeans seemed to have "a focus on continuing the war".

France and Britain have sought a coordinated European response to defending Ukraine, during the conflict and in any ceasefire, after Trump shocked them by opening talks with Russia.

Macron said the Paris talks were "a very important occasion for convergence," as everybody wanted "a robust and sustainable peace".

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters the talks had been a breakthrough because the United States, Ukraine, and European ministers had "gathered around the same table" when Europe had previously feared it would be excluded from decision-making.

The United States "has understood that a just and sustainable peace ... can only be achieved with the consent and contribution of Europeans," he added later on LCI television.

Russia's strikes, which have recently killed dozens of people including children in Ukrainian cities, have increased pressure for new diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

Zelensky earlier accused Witkoff of "spreading Russian narratives" after the US envoy suggested a peace deal with Russia hinged on the status of Ukraine's occupied territories.

"I believe that Mr Witkoff has taken on the strategy of the Russian side," Zelensky told reporters.

"It is very dangerous, because he is consciously or unconsciously, I don't know, spreading Russian narratives."

Witkoff said this week that Putin was open to "permanent peace" after talks with the Kremlin chief in Saint Petersburg, their third meeting since Trump returned to the White House in January.

- 'Good progress' -

Despite the diplomatic efforts, Russia has continued to strike Ukraine.

Russian drone strikes and shelling in Ukraine killed at least 12 people on Thursday, Ukrainian authorities said, just days after a Russian attack killed at least 35 people in the northeastern city of Sumy.

Zelensky said Wednesday that negotiators were making "good progress" with the United States in fraught talks over a minerals deal intended to secure desperately-needed US support. Trump said a deal could be signed next week.

Putin last month rejected a US proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire, after Kyiv gave its backing to the idea.

He also suggested Zelensky be removed from office, sparking an angry response from Trump who said he was "very angry" with the Russian leader.

France's Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu held talks in Washington on Thursday with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who called on France to boost military spending, a Pentagon spokesman said.

"The secretary urged France to increase defence spending and, alongside other NATO allies, take primary responsibility for Europe's conventional defence," the spokesman said.