Russia war latest: Rubio denies Zelensky’s claim that Trump wants Kyiv to give up land to Moscow

Putin says Russia will continue to fight until it captures remaining areas of Ukraine’s Donbas
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 's assertion that the Trump ad ministration is demanding Kyiv hand over its eastern Donbas region to Russia to receive American security guarantees in any ceasefire plan.

Rubio told reporters on Friday: “That’s a lie.

And I saw him say that.

And it's unfortunate he would say that because he knows that's not true and that's not what he was told.”
Russian president Vladimir Putin has said Russia will fight ⁠on until it captures the remaining areas of the Donbas region ‌not under its control, ​reported the Financial Times.

People familiar with the matter said Putin has asked oligarchs to donate ⁠to the country's budget in a bid to stabilise ⁠the ​country's ⁠finances.

It comes as Trump suggested the US could divert weapons from Ukraine to the Middle East – despite Zelensky’s urging Europe not to allow Putin to take advantage of the escalating Iranian crisis.

The US president said: “You know, we have tremendous amounts of ammunition.

We have them in other countries...

sometimes we take from one and we use for another.”
Moscow aiding Iran in Middle East war including in upgrading drones, sources say
Moscow has been providing satellite imagery to Tehran and ‌also helped ​Iran upgrade its drones ‌to emulate the equivalent versions ​used by Russia against Ukraine, two Western ‌security sources and ⁠a regional official close to Tehran told Reuters.

European foreign ministers on Friday used a G7 meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to press the case ‌that Russia was helping Iran target US ​forces in the Middle East war.

Zelensky says he discussed defence cooperation with UAE president
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said ⁠on Saturday that he had ⁠met ​United ⁠Arab Emirates President Sheikh ⁠Mohammed ​bin Zayed ⁠Al ‌Nahyan and discussed security and ‌defence cooperation.

"We ‌agreed to cooperate ⁠in the field of security and defence.

Our teams will finalise ‌the ​details," Zelensky ‌said ⁠on the Telegram ⁠app.

Watch: Kremlin says Ukraine peace talks on 'situational pause'
More than 150 Ukrainian drones repelled or destroyed overnight, Russia's defence ministry says
A ⁠total of 155 Ukrainian drones ⁠have been repelled and destroyed overnight over ‌a ​number of Russian ‌regions, including the ​Moscow region, the Russian defence ​ministry said on ‌Saturday.

Russian air defence units repelled more than 30 Ukrainian drones ‌during an attack in the Yaroslavl region, which the local governor said killed a child.

Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Yaroslavl region kills child, governor says
A Ukrainian ​drone attack in Russia's Yaroslavl region north-east of Moscow killed a child and ⁠injured three people, while causing damage to several residential buildings and "a retail object", the local governor said ⁠on Saturday.

"A child who ​was ⁠in one of the private houses in the suburban ⁠district of Yaroslavl region ​at ⁠the time of ‌the attack has died," the governor, Mikhail Evraev, said on his ‌Telegram channel.

"His parents have ‌been hospitalised in a serious condition.

A woman living in a neighbouring ⁠house was also injured.

They are receiving all necessary medical care," he added.

Kim Jong Un gifted assault rifle by Belarus president
Ukraine reaching agreement on Middle East diesel supplies
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on ​Friday that Kyiv was working on reaching an agreement with countries in the Middle East on supplies of diesel, the type ⁠of fuel most in short supply in the country.

Zelenskiy was speaking to a Ukrainian television interviewer while on a tour of Middle Eastern countries.

Earlier, ⁠he said Ukraine and Saudi ​Arabia ⁠had signed an agreement on defence cooperation that lays the foundation for future ⁠contracts, technological cooperation and investments.

Zelenskiy said he was ​discussing ⁠with his ministers and Naftogaz, ‌the national gas production and distribution company, "a potential diesel shortage".

"I understand the importance of ‌this task for Ukraine's security and ‌believe that this issue will be resolved," he said.

"First and foremost, this is about diesel.

Because about ⁠90% of the potential shortage is specifically diesel.

This is therefore the issue we are focusing on to resolve," he added.

Zelenskiy earlier said the framework agreement was signed ahead of a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The president ‌hopes during the visit to the ​Gulf to bolster support for Ukraine in ‌its four-year-old war ⁠against Russia.

Kyiv has sent more than 220 ⁠experts to advise several Middle Eastern countries on how to ‌intercept drone ​attacks that have wreaked havoc ‌on energy infrastructure across ​the region.

What is Russia’s shadow fleet and how is it helping Putin wage war in Ukraine?

British prime minister Keir Starmer has given the UK military permission to board and detain Russian ships claimed to be part of a network of vessels that allows Moscow to export oil around Western sanctions.

The prime minister said he approved more aggressive action as Russian president Vladimir Putin was likely "rubbing his hands" at the spike in oil prices driven by the US-Israel war against Iran.

“That's why we're going after his shadow fleet even harder , not just keeping Britain safe but starving Putin's war machine of the dirty profits that fund his barbaric campaign in Ukraine,” Starmer said in a statement.

Ukrainian tennis star’s mental abuse lawsuit against WTA over Russian players dismissed
A US judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Ukrainian tennis player Lesia Tsurenko , who accused the WTA Tour and its former chief executive, Steve Simon, of inflicting mental abuse.

The legal action stemmed from the organization's handling of Russian and Belarusian players following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Ms Tsurenko, once a top-25 player, alleged that the WTA failed to uphold a promise made by Mr Simon to ban Russian and Belarusian players who supported the war.

She also claimed the tour did not prohibit "conduct detrimental" to the integrity of the game.

Ukrainian star’s mental abuse lawsuit against WTA over Russian players dismissed
Russia bans Oscar-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin for promoting ‘negative attitudes’
A Russian court banned the distribution of Mr Nobody Against Putin after authorities claimed the Oscar -winning documentary promoted “negative attitudes” about the government and the war in Ukraine .

The film, directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin, won the Academy Award for best documentary feature earlier this month as well as the Bafta .

Mr Nobody Against Putin premiered in January 2025 at the Sundance Film Festival where it received a special jury award.

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