Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv faces ‘critical’ period on frontline ahead of Trump envoy’s ‘Putin talks’ in Moscow

Lithuania intends to supply an extra € 20 million to Ukraine to buy ammunition, Defense Minister Dovilė Šakaline said.

She called on allies to accelerate help to Ukraine and warned that “the summer could be very difficult”.

Šakalineė said that Lithuania describes ammunition as one of the most urgent resources for Ukraine.

The special envoy of US President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Russia, where he is expected to meet with Vladimir Putin on Friday, according to reports.

It will be their third meeting as part of the ongoing efforts of the Trump administration to find a path to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, reports Axios, referring to a source familiar with FighTradar’s travel and flight data.

A source in politics told Kyiv Post: ‘Trump wants some kind of victory [in talks with Putin on ending the war] in his first 100 days in office. Hopefully there will be a version of a ceasefire – including a humanitarian cut. ‘

According to Axios, if no ceasefire agreement is reached by the end of the month, Trump can impose additional sanctions against Russia.

Trump is becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress of the ceasefire negotiations and has recently been described as ‘p ***** off’ about Putin’s recent remarks about Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defense has announced that a ‘large’ new package of military support by British and Ukrainian suppliers will be delivered to promote the armed forces of Ukraine, while continuing to defend against the Russian attack.

The package, worth £ 450m, contains £ 350m from the UK, with further financing by Norway, via the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine.

This will include £ 160m to British funding to provide repairs and maintenance to vehicles and equipment that the UK has already provided to Ukraine – which works with British companies with the Ukrainian industry.

The package also contains a “close battle” military aid package with funding for radar systems, anti-tanking mines and hundreds of thousands of drones-star value of over £ 250 million, using the use of the UK and Norway on the work of the Drone Coalition, led by the United Kingdom and Latvia.

Defense Secretary John Healey added: “2025 is the critical year for the war in Ukraine, and that’s the critical moment.”

The Netherlands announced the € 150 million grant to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense capacity.

The Dutch Minister of Defense Ruben Brekelmans made the announcement to journalists before the meeting of Ukraine defense contact in NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Mr. Breaking men referred to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent attraction for greater air defense support, adding that the Netherlands will continue to deliver F-16 fighter aircraft as part of its continued help.

He said the new package of € 150m will “further help Ukraine to protect its air”.

At least three people were injured after the Russian sliding bombs were dropped on Cupiansk, according to the state’s emergency service of Ukraine.

One of the sliding bombs hit the garden of a private home, damaged the house and started a fire.

“Russian aviation dropped bombs on Cupiansk, caused fires and resulted in the casualties. Preliminary reports indicate that three people were injured,” their message states.

In another place, a medical facility building is damaged, with eight garage cabinets and three ambulances burning over a total area of ​​320 m².

Norway officially joined the Drone Coalition for Ukraine, which is led by the United Kingdom and Latvia.

The Norwegian Ministry of Defense announced on X: “Norway is now officially part of the international drone coalition led by Latvia and the United Kingdom. Together we build a strong alliance to support Ukraine.”

Norwegian Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik signed the various document in Brussels on Friday that joined 18 other countries, including Latvia, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Estonia, Italy, New Zealand, Canada and Lithuania.

At the meeting of the EU Ukraine Association in Brussels, discussions centered on the financing of two million artillery shells for the defense of Ukraine.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on the Ukrainian television that all parties have agreed to start implementing the project immediately.

“Europe has woken up and is actively promoting the defensive industry and security innovation programs. Ukraine plays an important role in this collaboration and participates in major initiatives such as the European defense strategy and the European defense program,” he said.

“We are already part of these processes and will continue to play an active role.”

The Prime Minister revealed that the European Commission in the coming years is assigning approximately € 800 billion for the development and innovation of the defensive industry.

The Russian Defense Ministry has accused Ukraine of attacking five times five times for the past 24 hours.

The ministry said in a statement that the Ukrainian strikes hit power facilities in the Russia’s Koursk and Bryansk regions, as well as energy targets in Russian-controlled parts of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia, who claimed Moscow as his own.

The independent could not verify the reports of the strikes.

Ukraine has made similar accusations against Russia since the US memoratory on strikes on each other’s energy facilities.

Germany will provide € 11 billion military support for Ukraine until 2029, Defense Minister Restem Umerov said on Friday.

In his post on X, Umerov said that the deliveries planned for this year will help strengthen the Ukrainian air defense and support Kyiv troops on the battlefield.