Ukraine hit back against Russian advances overnight with a military truck blown up as it crossed a bridge as Volodymyr Zelensky prepares for talks with Donald Trump
Dramatic footage shows the moment a Russian military truck loaded with a cannon was blown up by a Ukrainian missile strike as Volodymyr Zelensky fights back against Vladimir Putin’s advances.
Putin’s attempted advance into Sumy region was halted by Ukraine’s 47th Mechanised Brigade Magura, with the Russian military truck exploding as it crossed a partially blown up bridge. Zelensky’s forces had pushed back the Russians by one-and-a-quarter miles in the region, according to the Ukrainian general staff.
A Ukraine drone strike in Liski, Voronezh region, also caused transport chaos in Russia with the attack on the major rail hub leading to dozens of long distance train delays, including those carrying tourists to and from Black Sea resorts. In all ten explosions hit the region, with at least one rail worker wounded.
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Putin’s forces staged blistering strikes across multiple Ukrainian regions. In Dnipropetrovsk, private houses were hit with drones and Grad multiple rocket launch systems, and in Kharkiv pensioners aged 70 and 76 were among those injured in yet more Russian strikes against civilian homes and infrastructure.
Russia reportedly used missiles to target the Pavlohrad Mechanical Plant, seen as a key military factory. It comes ahead of Zelensky’s White House meeting with Donald Trump on Monday. The one-on-one in the Oval Office could pave the way for a three-way meeting alongside Putin, the US President has said.
The Russian and American leaders met on Friday at a military base in Anchorage, Alaska, for a summit to broker an end to the war in Ukraine. It’s been claimed that during the negotiations Putin demanded full control of Donetsk and Luhansk – two occupied Ukrainian regions – as a condition for ending the war. In exchange, he would give up other Ukrainian territories held by Russian troops.
Putin currently controls slightly over two-thirds of Donetsk region, but the remaining one-third is seen as critical for Ukraine’s future defence in case Putin seeks a new invasion. It’s been reported that some NATO leaders in Europe fear Trump is backing the plan, which includes formal recognition of Crimea as Russian.
If Ukraine is forced to cede the Donbas – Donetsk and Luhansk regions – the combined area is larger than Wales and Northern Ireland combined. After Friday’s Alaska summit, Putin said it was “timely” and “useful”.
Sir Keir Starmer will meet European allies on Sunday to discuss the current situation, with the Prime Minister, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hosting the video conference. Starmer commended Trump’s “pursuit of an end to the killing” following a phone call with the US President, Zelensky and NATO allies on Saturday morning. But he insisted Ukraine’s leader must not be excluded from future talks to broker a peace in Ukraine.
The Prime Minister and European leaders appeared increasingly confident that Trump will offer a “security guarantee” of air support to back up allied troops on the ground in Ukraine, should they be deployed to keep the peace. But Trump also appeared to have a change of heart on what he wants to achieve from the talks, indicating that he wants a permanent peace settlement rather than a ceasefire, echoing the sentiment of Putin.