Russia Ukraine war latest: Zelensky welcomes diplomatic end to Putin’s war and hints at role for foreign troops

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK Government has “long hoped” to see Bashar Assad gone, telling MPs: “We welcome the opportunity this brings the people of Syria.

“Assad’s demise is not just a humiliation to him and his henchman, it is a humiliation for Russia and Iran. Iran’s so-called axis of resistance is crumbling before our eyes.”

Mr Lammy said Russian president Vladimir Putin has attempted to “prop up Assad for more than a decade”, adding: “All that he’s got for this is a fallen dictator, filing for asylum in Moscow.

“He says he wants to return to Russia to its imperial glory, but after more than 1,000 days he has not subjugated Ukraine. Putin’s fake empire stops short just a few miles out of Donetsk.”

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the fall of the Assad regime in Syria was also a “humiliation for Russia and Iran.

Volodymyr Zelensky said he had discussed a “freezing” of the lines in the war when he met Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump over the weekend.

The Ukrainian president has made the case for a diplomatic settlement to Russia’s war in Ukraine and raised the idea of foreign troops being deployed in his country until it could join the Nato military alliance.

Russia controls nearly a fifth of Ukrainian territory after launching the 2022 invasion that unleashed the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two.

Mr Zelensky said he told the two leaders that he did not believe Putin actually wanted to end the war and that the Russian president had to be forced to make peace.

“You can only exert force if Ukraine is strong. A strong Ukraine before any diplomacy means a strong (Ukraine) on the battlefield,” he said, implying Kyiv needed help to become stronger.

Volodymyr Zelensky has issued orders to increase funding for equipping the country’s brigades with new drones.

The Ukrainian president said he had received a report from Pavlo Palisa, a former military commander and the president’s newly-appointed deputy chief of staff, to provide additional funding for drones.

“We recently approved a decision about the amount of such direct funds. But now I see that the amount is insufficient,” Mr Zelensky said.

“I instructed the prime minister to increase financing for brigades in the coming days, to increase several times over.”

The Ukrainian leader has increasingly focused on the deployment of drones in the war, which has extended over 33 months since Russia invaded in February 2022.

At least five Ukrainian children sent away or placed in care since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion returned to their homeland.

Daria Zarivna, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, said those brought home yesterday included three young people who in the course of their movements had reached the age of 18.

One girl had long sought to come home despite being subjected to Russian narratives of the war, Ms Zarivna said. Another boy who fled to Russia with his mother at the start of the war was reunited with his entire family.

A third sought help to find his way out of Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine while another family with two children endured searches and interrogations in their home before being taken to a safe area.

“These stories are not just facts, but real tales of fate and rescue thanks to the efforts of the state, volunteers and our international partners,” Ms Zarivna wrote.

Ukraine has brought at least 1,029 children home since the outbreak of war, according to Ukraine’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky floated the idea on Monday of foreign troops being deployed to war-stricken Ukraine until the country joins the NATO military alliance.

He made the remark during a joint press conference in Kyiv with German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, as Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House intensifies talk of a possible deal to end the war.

“A troop contingent from one country or another could be present in Ukraine for as long as it isn’t part of NATO. But for that we need to have a clear understanding of when Ukraine becomes an EU member and when a NATO member,” Zelensky said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he is open to the potential deployment of Western troops in Ukraine to guarantee the country’s security as part of an effort to end the almost three-year war with Russia.

“A troop contingent from one country or another could be present in Ukraine for as long as it isn’t part of Nato. But for that we need to have a clear understanding of when Ukraine becomes an EU member and when a Nato member,” Mr Zelensky said speaking alongside German opposition leader Friedrich Merz in Kyiv.

Mr Zelensky stressed that even with an invitation to the Nato military alliance, long-term protection would still be uncertain in the face of future Russian aggression.

Almost 800,000 Russian troops are currently deployed in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday, reported the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

He claimed that the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad has fallen as “there are no real Russian fighters left there”.

“This means that the entire army of a great pseudo-empire is fighting against the Ukrainian people. The same thing is happening in Africa. We know that there were ‘Wagners’ there,” Mr Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian leader said that if Ukraine falls, “Putin will return to Syria, Africa and many other countries.” His remarks came before a meeting with Estonian prime minister Kristen Michal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been speaking at a joint press conference with German opposition leader Friedrich Merz in Kyiv.

The Guardian reports he said: “Ukraine wants this war to end more than anyone else. No doubt, a diplomatic resolution would save more lives. We do seek it. You can only exert force if Ukraine is strong. A strong Ukraine before any diplomacy means a strong (Ukraine) on the battlefield.”

There is growing recognition among Zelensky’s inner circle that, as Russia continues to achieve combat victories, some form of negotiation will be required shortly.

But the Ukrainian leader wants more armaments from friends, as well as security guarantees, to negotiate with Moscow from a position of strength if necessary.

Japan’s atomic bomb survivors’ group, Nihon Hidankyo, said Monday that it did not believe Russian president Vladimir Putin comprehended the threat posed by nuclear weapons after the warmonger modified Russia’s nuclear doctrine.

“President Putin, I don’t think he truly understands what nuclear weapons are for human beings,” Terumi Tanaka, 92, the secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo and a survivor of Nagasaki’s 1945 atomic blast, said.

Tanaka remarked at a press conference in Oslo, published by the news agency AFP, and a day before receiving the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize at a formal ceremony in Oslo: “Nuclear weapons are things which must never be used.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that he is willing to consider the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine to ensure the country’s security as part of a larger effort to end the nearly three-year conflict with Russia.

Zelensky claimed in a message on his Telegram channel that the deployment would be a step towards Ukraine joining NATO.

“But before that, we must have a clear understanding of when Ukraine will be in the European Union and when Ukraine will be in NATO,” he said.

His suggestions take a tricky diplomatic path amidst international efforts to find a way to end Europe’s largest conflict since World War II, at a time when Russia has gained an advantage in the combat.