Ukraine war live: Zelensky says US discussions ‘constructive but not easy’

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has provided an update following a phone call with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

“The American representatives know the basic Ukrainian positions,” the leader said on Sunday.

“The conversation was constructive, although not easy.”

Zelensky is due to meet French president Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer as well as German leaders in London on Monday.

The commander of sea-drone operations for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency says more complex strikes against Russian forces are expected next year, after Kyiv’s uncrewed fleet succeeded in curbing the movements of Russia’s once-dominant Black Sea navy.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the head of the specialised maritime drone unit, Group 13, said Ukraine’s attacks have forced Russia to adapt, limiting opportunities for major Black Sea strikes seen earlier in the war.

“Today, we’ve likely reached a plateau,” said the officer, who is identified only by the call sign ‘13th’ under Ukrainian military protocol.

“We are effectively limiting the enemy’s movements, but those dramatic, high-profile strikes we saw earlier haven’t happened for quite some time. That’s because the enemy has adapted.”

Last month, Ukrainian officials said sea-attack drones were used in strikes against vessels in Russia’s sanctions-evading “shadow fleet” of oil tankers.

The commander declined to comment on those operations.

The officer said Russian naval vessels “barely operate,” often venturing only up to 25 miles (40 kilometers) from port to fire missiles before retreating.

“They constantly hide. And in a way, that’s also a result of our unit — because you can imagine the cost of maintaining a fleet that cannot operate at sea.”

The officer spoke in uniform, his face covered and eyes obscured by tinted glasses. For security reasons, the intelligence agency asked that the location and other details of the interview not be disclosed.

Drone technology has become vital to Ukraine’s military, offering inexpensive tools for reconnaissance and strikes in countering Russia’s invasion. Its two sea-drone programs are run separately by its military and domestic intelligence services.

The UK will “turn the tide” on illicit finance at a landmark anti-corruption summit in London next year, the Foreign Secretary has said.

Yvette Cooper confirmed on Sunday that Britain would host the summit at Lancaster House on June 23-24 2026.

The summit, first promised by her predecessor David Lammy, will bring together governments, businesses and campaigners to agree “tough international action” to combat corrupt practices.

Ms Cooper said the summit would target illicit gold used to fund the war in Ukraine; property used by criminals to hide their cash; and cryptocurrency, which she said was “increasingly exploited by people smugglers”.

Arguing that “dirty money fuels crime on the streets of the UK and drives conflict and instability overseas”, she said the government was “committed to turning the tide” on corruption.

It’s been a busy week in the politics of European defence. But every major news point from the week has confirmed how much danger Europe is in, and how little some of its key allies are willing to do about it, writes Keir Giles.

The findings of the UK’s inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess, released this week, demonstrate not only Russia’s ruthlessness but also the severe impact that even a limited Russian attack can have on unprepared societies like Britain.

But in the same week, the latest iteration of the so-called “peace process“ over Ukraine demonstrated once again how Europe as a whole is still paralysed by denial and magical thinking over the nature of the threat from Russia and what is needed to withstand it.

In part, this results from a degree of necessary play-acting on the part of European leaders. They know that in public, they have to engage with the United States on its terms, and pretend that US negotiations with Moscow over the heads of Ukraine and Europe are a meaningful step towards eventual peace.

We have to hope that is what lies behind NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s nonsensical declaration that Donald Trump is the only man in the world that can bring peace to Ukraine – and that he hasn’t genuinely forgotten that Vladimir Putin can end his war at any moment.

President Donald Trump could walk away from the Ukraine-Russia war, his eldest son has told a Middle East conference according to reports.

Speaking at the Doha Forum 2025, Donald Trump Jr said his father “may” walk away from Ukraine. The Guardian and Sky News reported Mr Trump Jr as saying: “What’s good about my father and what’s unique about my father is you don’t know what he’s going to do. He’s unpredictable”.

Mr Trump Jr’s comments come after US and Ukrainian negotiators spent three days in talks in Florida over the future of a post-war Ukraine.

He also said that Ukraine was a “far more corrupt country than Russia” and said that the “American public doesn’t have the appetite [for further funding of Ukraine’s military efforts]”.

The Ukrainian president will meet Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street on Monday along with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Their meeting comes amid continued talks between Ukrainian and US officials on a Washington-backed plan to end the war.

On Sunday, Cabinet minister Pat McFadden said Ukraine’s security and self-determination would be “at the heart” of the leaders’ discussions.

He told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “The principle behind the talks will be for Ukraine to be able to decide its own future.

“This is a really pivotal moment now. Everybody wants the war to come to an end, but they want it to come to an end in a way that gives Ukraine that freedom of choice in the future.

“So, that means not just an end to the war but also security guarantees for Ukraine in the future, and not a completely toothless organisation which is unable to decide its future.”

The UK has consistently pushed for any peace deal to include security guarantees for Ukraine, both from the US and in the form of the British and French-led “coalition of the willing”.

Russian missile, drone and shelling attacks overnight and Sunday killed at least three people in Ukraine, after US and Ukrainian officials wrapped up a third day of talks aimed at ending the war.

A man was killed in a drone attack on Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region Saturday night, local officials said, while a combined missile and drone attack on infrastructure in the central city of Kremenchuk caused power and water outages. Kremenchuk is home to one of Ukraine’s biggest oil refineries and is an industrial hub.

Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water for a fourth consecutive winter, in what Ukrainian officials call “weaponizing” the cold.

Two people were killed and seven others wounded Sunday in shelling by Russian troops in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, according to the regional police.

Sir Keir Starmer has spoken to the Dutch prime minister ahead of his meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday.

The Prime Minister held a call with Dick Schoof on Sunday morning, in which he briefed his Dutch counterpart on the meeting with Mr Zelensky and French and German leaders.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the pair “agreed the need for sustained international support for Ukraine’s defence” and “reiterated that Ukraine’s security is vital for Europe’s security”.

They both also committed to “always stand with Ukraine”, including through the “coalition of the willing” led by the UK and France.

The Kremlin welcomed a move by US President Donald Trump’s administration to revise its national security strategy and stop calling Russia a “direct threat,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday.

Mr Peskov told the state-run TASS news agency the updated document dropped language describing Russia as a direct threat and instead urged cooperation with Moscow on strategic stability issues. “We considered this a positive step,” he said.

The strategy, signed by Trump, also warned that Europe faces “civilizational erasure”, that it was a “core” US interest to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, and that Washington wanted to reestablish strategic stability with Russia.

“The adjustments that we see correspond in many ways to our vision,” Mr Peskov told state television reporter Pavel Zarubin when asked about the new US strategy.

Thousands of allied troops could be sent to cities across Ukraine to help the army recover its strength and stand as an independent deterrent to Russian aggression – if both sides can agree to terms.

The Independent’s James C. Reynolds has more below: