Ukraine war latest: New NATO members 'in crosshairs of Russia's armed forces', Putin ally warns (2025)

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We'll be back before long with more updates from the war in Ukraine.

The UK's Ministry of Defence has said the three-day ceasefire announced by Russia next week is "almost certainly intended to demonstrate a constructive approach in ongoing talks".

But that is "without incurring significant costs to Russia's battlefield position", the MoD added.

It said Vladimir Putin "likely seeks to reduce the potential for Ukrainian strikes to affect Victory Day commemorations".

The MoD assessment is similar to the ISW thinktank, which we brought you earlier at 12.44.

It is the 80th anniversary of VE Day next Thursday - when the allies in the Second World War accepted Germany's unconditional surrender.

The MoD said that since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Victory Day parades have been cancelled in multiple Russian cities, primarily those in areas that border Ukraine.

These photographs show Ukrainian servicemen preparing a Vampire combat drone in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The small remote-controlled aircraft, also known as aBaba Yaga, has four, six or eight rotors.

It has a thermal imaging camera and is able to carry a rocket warhead weighing up to 15kg.

The governor of Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region has said Russian troops are trying to carve out a "buffer zone" there.

Sumy borders Russia's Kursk region, whereRussian forces have recently recaptured territory seized last year during the Ukrainian military's only major cross-border incursion ofthe war.

Oleh Hryhorov said four border villages - Zhuravka, Veselivka, Basivkaand Novenke - were in a "grey zone" because of continued fighting.

But in an update on Telegram he denied those settlements were under Russian control.

"Currently, the enemy continues to try to carve out abuffer zone on the territory of our region, but has not had anysignificant success," Hryhorov said.

Of the four villages, hesaid "there is no question of their occupation at the moment".

Russia's defence ministry said earlier this month that itsforces hadcapturedZhuravka and Basivka - something Kyiv denied.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has praised Ukraine's intelligence service for the killing of top Russian military figures since the start of the war - without referring to the car bomb that killed a senior Russian officer last week.

Last Friday, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik was killed in a car bomb outside Moscow hours before Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in the Russian capital.

The death of the deputy head of the main operational department in the general staff of the Russian armed forces marked the second such fatal attack on a top Russian military officer in four months.

The Kremlin blamed Ukraine for the car bomb and Russia's top criminal investigation agency said he was killed by an explosive device placed in his car.

'Justice inevitably is done'

Zelenskyy's comments on Telegram have made no reference to any specific instance of Russian officers.

"The head of Ukraine's foreign intelligence reported on the liquidation of persons from the top command of the Russian armed forces. Justice inevitably is done," Zelenskyy said, referring to the agency's head, Oleg Ivashchenko.

"The head reported on further measures to counter Russian agent networks in Ukraine and saboteurs. Good results. Thank you for your work."

Ukraine's SBU intelligence service said it killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, a top Russian general accused by Ukraine of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops, last December in Moscow.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has said that NATO's newer members are now potential targets for Moscow and at risk of possible revenge strikes using nuclear weapons in the event of a conflict, theTASS news agency reports.

Speaking to reporters, Medvedev said every new NATO member automatically becomes a target for the Russian army.

He said: "The non-aligned status gave them certain international perks given their geopolitical position and many other factors.

"And now they are part of a bloc hostile to us, which means they automatically became a target for our armed forces, including potential retaliatory strikes and even the nuclear component or preventive measures within the framework of our military doctrine."

He appeared to be referring to Swedenand Finland, the last two countries to join the defence alliance.

The Russian official also questioned what security was obtained by the countries that had recently joined NATO.

"They simply put themselves in the crosshairs of our armed forces. Did their life get better? No!"

"These are political games," he added.

Vladimir Putincontinues to refuse any ceasefire other than on terms that help his war effort, according to analysts from theInstitute for the Study of War.

The US-based thinktank notes that the Kremlin's plan to pause fighting next month falls at a time when it is preparing to welcome a significant number of foreign dignitaries for Russia's Victory Day celebration.

During this time, "Putin likely seeks to avoid the embarrassment of Ukrainian strikes during these celebrations", the thinktank says.

Its analysts add that "Russia benefits from weaponising the vague and unclear conditions of the ceasefires against Ukraine".

In its report, the ISW also says that "Putin appears to be opportunistically declaring ceasefires during major religious and military holidays in order to force Ukraine to accept the ceasefire or risk appearing intransigent to the West".

Unilaterally declaring ceasefires also allows Putin to distract attention from his rejection of the March 2025 US-Ukrainian 30-day ceasefire and "maintain the illusion that he is interested in peace negotiations".

"Putin likely does not view the Victory Day ceasefire as a serious step towards lasting peace in Ukraine," the ISW says.

Two people have been killed in Russia's Belgorod region after a Ukrainian drone slammed into a car on a highway, the local governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, has said.

Sky News has not been able to verify this report.

Here's what we know about Belgorod...

The region has come under frequent drone and shelling attacks from Ukraine over the course of the war.

This month, Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly acknowledged for the first time that his troops were active in the Russian region.

The acknowledgement came after Russia's military reported Ukrainian attempts to cross over into the Belgorod region.

Donald Trump has said he believes he is "saving" Ukraine and doing the country a "great service".

In an interview with the The Atlantic, which was published today, the US leader said he was helping the country.

"I think I'm saving that nation. I think that nation will be crushed very shortly. It's a big war machine. Let's face it," he told the paper's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who last month revealed that top US officials had shared war plans in a Signal chat.

He added: "The prime minister of Norway - very respected guy - says that if President Trump didn't get involved, this war would never end. I think I'm doing a great service to Ukraine. I believe that."

Asked if there was anything that Putin could do that would cause him to say he was on "Zelenskyy's side", Trump responded: "Not necessarily on Zelenskyy's side, but on Ukraine's side, yes. But not necessarily on Zelenskyy's side. I've had a hard time with Zelenskyy."

Reflecting on the now infamous Oval Office bust-up, which saw Trump and Vice President JD Vance get into a fiery argument with Zelenskyy in front of the world, Trump said: "All he [Zelenskyy] had to do is be quiet, you know? He won his point.

"But instead of saying 'okay' when I made the statement, I said, 'Well, we're working to get it solved. We're trying to help'. He said, 'No, no, we need security too.'"

Trump went on to say Zelenskyy was allowed to advocate for his country but they needed to get the "war solved first".

"We'll have to see what happens over the next period of pretty much a week. We're down to final strokes," he added.

Watch: Zelenskyy and Trump's body language during Oval Office spat - analysed

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