Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine to coincide with the anniversary of VE Day after Donald Trump said he was “very disappointed” with Russia. Follow the latest on the Ukraine war and listen to Trump 100 as you scroll.
Monday 28 April 2025 19:00, UK
That’s all for our live Ukraine coverage today, but we’ll be back in the morning with all the latest updates.
In the meantime, here are the biggest stories from the last 24 hours:
Almost all the drones used by Ukrainian forces at the frontline are now made within the country, Kyiv’s deputy defence minister says.
“We have made a breakthrough in the unmanned systems sector. More than 95% of UAVs currently used at the front are Ukrainian-made,” Valerii Churkin said.
Both Ukraine and Russia have increasingly relied on drone warfare since the start of the 2022 invasion, using aerial, naval, and ground-based UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) for both reconnaissance and combat missions.
Kyiv was previously more reliant on countries such as China to purchase drone components like electronic chips, but, with the war now in its fourth year, Ukraine is now better equipped at keeping production in-house.
Building drones in Ukraine comes with several benefits, including being able to control all aspects of the technological process, meaning Kyiv can improve and adapt drones to its specific military needs.
It also means a faster cycle of innovation and adaptation, putting drones into the military’s hands faster.
Here are the latest images coming from Kyiv, where friends and relatives of a family killed by a Russian missile strike last week have gathered for their funeral.
Teenager Danylo Khudia died alongside his parents, Viktoria and Oleh Khudia, when a ballistic missile hit a residential neighbourhood in Kyiv last Thursday.
They are among the 13 people who died as a result of the attack, with almost 100 others injured.
As we mentioned this afternoon (see 13.41 post), there are plenty of reasons Vladimir Putin might have for announcing a three-day ceasefire next month.
But Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett says the “principal factor” driving Putin’s decision will be the potential loss of patience the White House has with the Kremlin.
As a reminder, Donald Trump said over the weekend that he was “disappointed” at Russia’s ongoing strikes in Ukraine and that he wanted Putin to “stop shooting” and work towards a ceasefire deal.
“I think this is a response to that,” Bennett says. “It’s an attempt to placate Donald Trump and show Washington that Moscow is still interested in peace.”
Another reason for the temporary truce, Bennett adds, is the propaganda and PR value it offers Putin, who will host several world leaders in Moscow for Russia’s victory celebrations marking the end of the Second World War.
“It’s an attempt to try and persuade his guests, who are mostly from the Global South, that Russia is the peacemaker,” he says.
“There would have been a pretty obvious disconnect between celebrating the end of one war whilst still pursuing and waging another in Ukraine. This improves the optics.”
Ukraine needs an unconditional ceasefire on the way to achieving peace, not a truce “for a parade”, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top aide says.
“A ceasefire is needed not for a parade, but for real and sustainable peace,” Andriy Yermak posted on Telegram.
Putin earlier declared a temporary ceasefire next month marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in the Second World War.
Moscow will host its annual Red Square victory parade as part of the celebrations, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko among those invited.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry says it’s still working with the US to secure a minerals deal between the two countries.
Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesperson for the ministry, says the deal is still “advancing” despite both countries aiming to have completed discussions by last Saturday.
“Ukraine is interested to have this deal,” Tykhyi said during a live Q&A session on X. “We think the Ukrainian and US teams working on this are in good progress.
“We are advancing. Every day, work continues. This is what I hear from our colleagues working on the deal. We’d like to see it finalised as soon as possible.”
For context: Donald Trump has pushed for a deal that would allow the US to share in the profits of Ukraine’s natural resources and critical minerals, something he casts as repayment for military aid provided by Washington to Kyiv since 2022.
The deal previously looked close but spectacularly collapsed after a disastrous meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy at the White House.
Berlin has told its European allies they can “count on” Germany after it pledged to boost its defence spending.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier pledged to make the country “the backbone” of European defence in the face of continued Russian aggression.
“Today, with Putin’s war against Ukraine raging on in full force, and with the US putting fierce pressure on its European allies, Germany is in a crucial position,” he told a NATO ceremony in Brussels.
“We got the message, you can count on us… We will strive to make Germany, both its military and its infrastructure, the backbone of conventional defence in Europe.”
Germany recently approved plans to boost its defence spending by €500bn (£424bn).
Crimea is crucial in US-led efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, has long been coveted by Moscow, who want Ukraine to officially surrender the territory as part of a peace deal.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected this on multiple occasions, saying that formally surrendering the land has always been a red line, and goes against Kyiv’s constitution.
But he faces increasing pressure from Donald Trump, who told reporters he thinks the Ukrainian leader is ready to give up the peninsula.
So why is Crimea just so important to Russia and Ukraine? Read our explainer to find out…
Ukraine’s air force says Russia launched 166 drones at the country overnight and today.
In a post on Telegram, it says the northern Sumy region and central Cherkasy region were the main targets of Russia’s aerial attacks.
Of the drones launched, Ukraine says 40 were shot down by its air defences and another 74 were lost in location, referring to the use of electronic warfare to misdirect drones.
Ukraine is a country that knows how to deal with power blackouts, having done so routinely since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and its subsequent attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.
Now, as huge blackouts hit Spain and Portugal, Ukraine’s energy minister has offered his country’s support in dealing with the crisis.
Posting on X, German Galushchenko said Ukraine was “ready to assist in restoring the stable operation of the energy networks of our partners and allies in Europe”.
“We are ready to share the knowledge and experience, including those gained during the systematic Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure. We are grateful to the EU countries for their support and we are always here to provide assistance,” he said.
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