CloseDonald Trump’s senior negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Kyiv's European allies in Paris today in the latest push for a peace deal.
More than 27 leaders will converge on the French capital to finalise a proposal on security guarantees that can be taken to Russia.
The key issues to be discussed by the Coalition of the Willing-led talks include which countries are prepared to deploy peacekeeping troops and what the remit of any force overseeing a ceasefire might be. Russia has said it won't accept troops from Nato countries on Ukrainian soil.
Zelensky says the allies need to ensure that Russia doesn't repeat its invasion if a peace agreement is signed, and has signalled that Ukraine is ready to fight on if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire.
Ahead of the talks, Zelensky carried out a top-level reshuffle of his administration and replaced the head of Ukraine’s security service, Lt Gen Vasyl Maliuk.
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Ukrainian drone attack kills one in Russia's Tver region
At least one person was killed and two were injured as a result of a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s Tver region, the regional governor’s office said this morning.
Drone debris hit a ninth-floor apartment in Tver and sparked a fire that was later extinguished, while residents of neighbouring flats were evacuated, the office said, citing the region's acting governor Vitaly Korolev.
Russia has been targeting US businesses in Ukraine, says minister
Russian forces are targeting US businesses in Ukraine, the country’s foreign minister said after a strike on major US agricultural producer Bunge in the southeastern city of Dnipro.
“This attack was not a mistake, it was deliberate, as the Russians attempted to strike this facility multiple times," Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.
“Russia has been targeting American businesses in Ukraine systemically,” he said.
Sybiha said the attack demonstrated Russian president Vladimir Putin's "complete disregard for US-led peace efforts in Ukraine.
Watch: Zelensky claims Russia lost 35,000 military personnel in December
Watch: Russia calls on US to 'immediately release' Venezuela’s Maduro at UN Security Council
Russia has called on the US to immediately release Maduro during a meeting of the UN Security Council.
The UNSC met after the US captured the Venezuelan president in a move UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said set a “dangerous precedent”.
Russia backed Colombia in requesting the meeting of the 15-member council, diplomats said.
Kim Jong Un inspects memorial for soldiers who died in Russia mission
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Ju Ae inspected the construction of a memorial for North Korean troops who died fighting overseas, state media KCNA reported today.
Under a mutual defence pact with Moscow, Pyongyang sent around 14,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine.
At least 6,000 North Korean of those soldiers died, according to estimates from South Korean, Western and Ukrainian sources.
Kim described the dead soldiers as "heroes… who sacrificed themselves without hesitation", saying "no one in the world can overcome such an army that is absolutely loyal to the orders of the party".
He took part in tree-planting for the memorial with Ju Ae, who wore a red muffler while shoveling earth with her father, KCNA photos showed.
North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia's Kursk region represents the first and only significant involvement of ground troops sent by a foreign state to the Russia-Ukraine frontline to date.
Ukrainian drone debris sparks fire at industrial facility in Russia's Lipetsk
Russian officials said Ukrainian drone debris sparked a fire at an industrial facility in the early hours today in Russia's Lipetsk region, with no casualties reported.
Regional governor Igor Artamonov said the fire broke out in the Usmansky district and that emergency services were working at the scene.
Watch: Firefighters evacuate Kyiv hospital hit in Russian strike
Zelensky hires Canada's ex-finance minister as economic adviser
Volodymyr Zelensky announced the appointment of Canada's former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland as Ukraine's economic development adviser, in a bid to bolster the war-torn nation’s “internal resilience”.
He described the senior Canadian official as an expert with "significant experience in attracting investment and carrying out economic transformations”.
The Zelensky administration is looking to strengthen its war-battered economy, including through projects in partnership with the US and other countries.
Freeland, who is of Ukrainian heritage and is a strong critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, is a former journalist and Canadian lawmaker.
Besides being a former deputy prime minister, she also served as Canada's minister of international trade, foreign minister and finance minister, and helped negotiate trade agreements with both Europe and the US.
The Harvard University graduate has served as Canada's special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine – a position outside the Cabinet – in addition to her responsibilities as a lawmaker.
Ukraine's allies meet today with aim to make security pledges concrete
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will be joined by more than 27 leaders in Paris, along with senior US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as part of broader efforts to put together a common Ukrainian, European and American position that could then be taken to Russia.
Ukraine's allies will meet in the French capital today, seeking to finalise as much as possible their contributions to future security guarantees to reassure Kyiv in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, diplomats and officials said.
Ahead of Tuesday's meeting diplomats said military officials, including the head of Ukraine's general staff, were in Paris to put concrete commitments on paper so that leaders could provide political backing. Until now, military pledges have largely been vague.
According to a note sent to the 35 invited delegations and reviewed by Reuters, the meeting will focus on securing contributions to a multinational force for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, in coordination with Ukraine and with US support.
The hosts also aim to agree contributions for a wider set of security guarantees for Ukraine, including binding commitments if it is attacked again.
Efforts will be made to ensure that planning by the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" contributing countries will be coordinated with the negotiating positions of Ukraine, the US and Europe.
Pictured: New images show devastation at Kyiv hospital following Russian drone strike
