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| Zelenskyy meets US vice-president ahead of call with Trump to discuss ending war | Zelenskyy meets US vice-president ahead of call with Trump to discuss ending war |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Encounter between Ukrainian president and JD Vance comes after Russia launches largest attack since start of war | Encounter between Ukrainian president and JD Vance comes after Russia launches largest attack since start of war |
| Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy met US vice-president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio to prepare for a planned call on Monday with Donald Trump over a way to end three years of war in Ukraine. | Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy met US vice-president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio to prepare for a planned call on Monday with Donald Trump over a way to end three years of war in Ukraine. |
| The encounter took place on the sidelines of Pope Leo’s inauguration on Sunday. | The encounter took place on the sidelines of Pope Leo’s inauguration on Sunday. |
| Trump is also scheduled to speak with Russian president Vladimir Putin. | Trump is also scheduled to speak with Russian president Vladimir Putin. |
| However, underlining the huge challenges facing efforts to end the war, the meeting came just hours after Russia launched its largest drone strike of the war in Ukraine. | However, underlining the huge challenges facing efforts to end the war, the meeting came just hours after Russia launched its largest drone strike of the war in Ukraine. |
| It also comes amid Ukrainian intelligence warning that Moscow may be imminently planning to test-fire a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile “to intimidate” Kyiv and its western backers. | |
| Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said it believed the test would involve an RS-24 Yars missile with a claimed range of more than 10,000km equipped with a training warhead. | Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said it believed the test would involve an RS-24 Yars missile with a claimed range of more than 10,000km equipped with a training warhead. |
| There was no immediate response from Moscow to the accusation. | There was no immediate response from Moscow to the accusation. |
| The meeting between Zelenskyy and Vance was the first since the two clashed during talks at the White House in February and lasted about 40 minutes. | The meeting between Zelenskyy and Vance was the first since the two clashed during talks at the White House in February and lasted about 40 minutes. |
| Zelenskyy described the meeting as “good” and released pictures of Ukrainian and US officials sitting outside at a round table and smiling. | Zelenskyy described the meeting as “good” and released pictures of Ukrainian and US officials sitting outside at a round table and smiling. |
| “I reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible,” Zelenskyy added. | “I reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible,” Zelenskyy added. |
| A senior Ukrainian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that Zelenskyy and Vance discussed “the situation on the front, preparations for [Trump’s phone conversations on Monday], the possibility of sanctions against Russia if there are no results, a ceasefire.” | |
| The escalating diplomatic efforts come after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years – held in Istanbul on Friday – failed to yield a ceasefire, and as European leaders, threatening new sanctions against Moscow, are uniting around efforts to persuade an erratic US president that Putin is not serious about peace. | |
| The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland planned to speak to Trump before the US and Russian presidents speak on Monday, German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday. | The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland planned to speak to Trump before the US and Russian presidents speak on Monday, German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday. |
| “I spoke with Marco Rubio, including about the call tomorrow. We agreed that we will speak again with the four state leaders and the US president in preparation for this conversation [with Putin],” Merz told reporters in Rome. | |
| EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said that next week would be “crucial” for Ukraine’s future, ahead of the phone call between Trump and Putin. | EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said that next week would be “crucial” for Ukraine’s future, ahead of the phone call between Trump and Putin. |
| “What is important now is certainly that we push, that things are moving forward, and I think the next week will be crucial on that,” she said. | “What is important now is certainly that we push, that things are moving forward, and I think the next week will be crucial on that,” she said. |
| Trump on Saturday said that he would speak by phone with Putin to end the “bloodbath” in Ukraine, a day after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in more than three years did not yield a ceasefire. | Trump on Saturday said that he would speak by phone with Putin to end the “bloodbath” in Ukraine, a day after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in more than three years did not yield a ceasefire. |
| The largest known Russian drone attack since full-scale war began in 2022 killed a woman in the Kyiv region and wounded at least three people, Ukrainian authorities said early on Sunday. | The largest known Russian drone attack since full-scale war began in 2022 killed a woman in the Kyiv region and wounded at least three people, Ukrainian authorities said early on Sunday. |
| The attack came two days after Ukraine and Russia held their first direct talks since 2022 and a day before the planned phone call between Trump and Putin. | The attack came two days after Ukraine and Russia held their first direct talks since 2022 and a day before the planned phone call between Trump and Putin. |
| Russia launched the 273 drones before 8am local time, targeting chiefly the Kyiv region and the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions in the east of the country, Ukraine’s air force said. | |
| The attack killed a 28-year-old woman in the capital region and wounded at least three people, including a four-year-old child. | The attack killed a 28-year-old woman in the capital region and wounded at least three people, including a four-year-old child. |
| Data provided by the air force showed this to be Russia’s largest drone attack on Ukraine of the war. On the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 23 February, Moscow launched a then-record 267 drones. | Data provided by the air force showed this to be Russia’s largest drone attack on Ukraine of the war. On the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 23 February, Moscow launched a then-record 267 drones. |
| According to the air force, 128 of the drones disappeared from radar during the attack, either crashing from software failures or fuel exhaustion, or because they were decoys without explosives. Another 88 were shot down. | According to the air force, 128 of the drones disappeared from radar during the attack, either crashing from software failures or fuel exhaustion, or because they were decoys without explosives. Another 88 were shot down. |
| Russia and Ukraine have both made increasing use of decoy drones in swarms to try to overwhelm air defences. Other decoys are designed to appear larger than they are on radar systems. | Russia and Ukraine have both made increasing use of decoy drones in swarms to try to overwhelm air defences. Other decoys are designed to appear larger than they are on radar systems. |
| The large scale of the attack, despite its relatively low impact, is far more significant in terms of the message it sends before Monday’s planned phone call between Putin and Trump, who has demanded an “end to the bloodshed” in Ukraine. | The large scale of the attack, despite its relatively low impact, is far more significant in terms of the message it sends before Monday’s planned phone call between Putin and Trump, who has demanded an “end to the bloodshed” in Ukraine. |