Ukraine war latest: Russia reacts to Western weapons rule change – and accuses Europe of ‘sabotaging’ Trump’s peace efforts | World News

It’s a new week, and – as always – we start it off by taking a step back, taking stock of the key developments over the past seven days.

Biggest aerial attack of war so far

While Moscow talks about peace, and Washington remains optimistic of a breakthrough (more on that below), Ukraine’s residents are seeing no sign of a respite.

Fighting continues right across the frontline, with Russia claiming more settlements in the east.

But over the weekend, Russian attacks were felt particularly keenly in Kyiv.

At least 13 people were injured in the early hours of Saturday, when Ukrainian authorities reported Moscow launched 250 drones and 14 missiles across the country.

This was already one of the largest aerial attacks since the war began, but even this was dwarfed heading into Sunday morning.

Ukraine said 298 drones and 69 missiles formed that offensive, making it the largest aerial bombardment of the war so far. 

At least 12 people were killed, including three children of the same family.

And overnight, Ukraine said Russia launched 60 drones against the country, while Moscow said it downed 99 Ukrainian drones.

Defending against such attacks has become all the more difficult, according to the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuriy Ihnat, who said Russia has upgraded its missiles with radar decoys and evasive manoeuvres.

Troop build-up to ‘give Ukrainians something to worry about’

North of Ukraine, Russian troops are said to be amassing across the border from the regions of Kharkiv and Sumy.

Our military analyst Michael Clarke said this is partly to “fix Ukrainian forces in place”.

“They want to give the Ukrainians something to worry about, but they’re also displaying that to the rest of the world,” he said.

But that’s not to say they’re about to take cities across Kharkiv, Clarke added.

“They failed in the past, but they’ve certainly got troops on their side of the border, they’ve got 60-70,000 troops there,” he said.

What this force is capable of doing is creating a buffer zone of sorts, with Vladimir Putin talking about the need for a 15 or 20-kilometre area to stop the Ukrainians getting over the border, Clarke explained.

In fact, Putin himself recently made another visit to the Kursk region – across the border from Sumy – where Ukraine launched a stunning incursion last summer and held territory for months.

Is a Sumy offensive coming?

Michael Clarke does not think a Russian attack is coming, describing the build-up of troops as a “distraction technique”.

He added: “It’s a way of getting into more territory and distracting the Ukrainians, and it may become part of the overall strategy.”

But could the Russians actually take Sumy?

“I doubt it,” Clarke added. “Can they take Kharkiv? Almost certainly not. But can they take territories around it? Yes, they probably can, if they push.

“And if they push, they’ve got about four months to do it until the weather turns against them.”

Trump and Putin – from ‘good’ call to ‘crazy’ comment

Last week, which ended so ominously, actually began with a note of optimism, at least it did from Donald Trump.

After a two-hour phone call with Putin last Monday, the US president announced Russia-Ukraine discussions would begin “immediately”, and he felt there was a “good” chance of a deal to end the war.

But Putin was quoted by Russian news agencies as again tying the chances of any ceasefire to “appropriate agreements”, which have typically involved huge concessions for Ukraine.

And while Trump spoke of a red line – without saying what it is – European countries re-upped sanctions on Russia – including 100 new measures announced by the UK.

By the end of the week – and following back-to-back aerial onslaughts on Kyiv – Trump said Putin had “gone absolutely crazy” by unleashing aerial attacks on Ukraine, and said he was weighing up new sanctions on Moscow.

But the Kremlin accused the US president of an “emotional overload” and said whatever decisions the Russian leader makes are “necessary for the security of Russia”.