Ukraine claims its forces have hit the Russian brigade behind a widely criticised missile strike on the city of Sumy on Sunday that killed more than 30 people. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has shed light on his meeting with Vladimir Putin on Friday.
Tuesday 15 April 2025 18:40, UK
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Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke is back tomorrow for his regular Q&A on the Ukraine war.
Submit your questions in the box at the top of the page.
We’ll be back soon with more updates from the conflict.
In the meantime, here’s a recap of the biggest news from today:
Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, has been meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy today (as we touched on in our 15.45 post).
Rutte insisted the alliance’s support for Ukraine is “unwavering”.
His visit comes just two days after the Russian strike on Sumy, which, as we’ve been reporting, killed 35 people and wounded more than 100.
“NATO stands with Ukraine,” Rutte said at a news conference standing alongside Zelenskyy in Odesa on the Ukrainian coast.
He added: “You and I know that this has been true all along.
“I also know that some have called NATO’s support into question in the last couple of months.
“But let there be no doubt: Our support is unwavering.”
Rutte said he and Zelenskyy discussed the talks that the Trump administration was holding with both Russia and Ukraine.
“These discussions are not easy – not least in the wake of this horrific violence – but we all support President Trump’s push for peace,” Rutte said.
But he also stressed there was “no doubt” Moscow had started the conflict – in contrast with comments Trump made last night (see below video).
“Russia is the aggressor, Russia started this war. There’s no doubt,” Rutte said.
Rutte has also been visiting neighbouring Moldova today to discuss regional security.
Four journalists have been convicted of extremism by a Russian court after they were accused of working for an anti-corruption group founded by the late Alexei Navalny.
Navalny was President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critic and relentlessly campaigned against official corruption in Russia.
Antonina Favorskaya, Kostantin Gabov, Sergey Karelin and Artyom Kriger were found guilty of involvement with a group that had been labelled as extremist.
All four maintained their innocence, arguing they were being prosecuted for doing their jobs as journalists.
The court in Moscow sentenced them to five-and-a-half years in prison each.
The closed-door trial was part of a crackdown on dissent that has intensified after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Who are the journalists?
Favorskaya and Kriger worked with SotaVision, an independent Russian news outlet that covers protests and political trials.
Gabov is a freelance producer who has worked for multiple organisations, including Reuters.
Karelin, a freelance video journalist, has done work for Western media outlets, including the Associated Press.
What were they accused of?
All four journalists were accused of working with Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption, which was designated as extremist and outlawed in 2021 in a move widely seen as politically motivated.
Navalny died in February 2024 in an Arctic penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence on a number of charges, including running an extremist group. He always rejected the charges as politically motivated.
The story of the deadly Russian attack on Sumy has continued to develop today, both in terms of the international outcry and the military situation on the ground.
Here’s what we know:
Ukrainian, British, French and Turkish representatives will hold a meeting on Black Sea security in Turkey next Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
The Black Sea has been a key battleground in the war in Ukraine.
Despite starting out with a vaunted naval fleet – and facing a country without a navy – Russia has sustained heavy losses in the last three years.
Ukrainian sea drones have wrought havoc on Russian vessels, leading to the Black Sea Fleet largely withdrawing to safer waters.
Want to know more about the situation in the Black Sea?
Our security and defence analyst Michael Clarke had this to say previously:
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine’s ability to protect itself from Russian missiles “depends entirely on political decisions”.
It’s the latest update in a row between him and Donald Trump over military assistance.
After Trump claimed that Ukraine keeps asking for more and more, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was ready to purchase 10 of the vaunted air defence systems for $15bn.
But Trump dismissed the request, saying he was “always looking to purchase missiles” and accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia.
In his latest remarks, Zelenskyy said “absolutely everyone sees how urgent Ukraine’s need is for air defence systems”.
“Patriot systems are defensive weapons, and we’re not just asking for Patriots — we are ready to purchase them.
“This is a purely political matter — the systems are available in the world, the missiles for the Patriots are also available, and whether we will have sufficient protection from Russian ballistic strikes depends entirely on political decisions.”
His words followed a meeting with NATO general secretary Mark Rutte in the city of Odesa on Ukraine’s coast.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says talks with the US today on the minerals deal were “positive”.
He added that more meetings were expected throughout the week.
The deal, which has been in discussion in various forms for months, would give the US access to Ukraine’s mineral resources.
More than a month ago, it seemed a deal had been reached.
But there have been ongoing stumbling blocks around what Ukraine would receive in exchange for the deal.
Zelenskyy has called for it to include security guarantees.
Recap the state of the deal then with our story from the time below.
Ukraine’s military has said it has struck the base of a Russian missile brigade behind the devastating Palm Sunday attack on Sumy.
“(A base) of the 448th missile brigade of the Russian occupiers was hit, a secondary detonation of ammunition was recorded. The results of the strike are being clarified,” the military said in a statement on Telegram.
Russia’s missile and bomb attack on Sumy over the weekend killed 35 people and injured at least 119.
The US has told allies that it will not endorse a statement condemning a Russian attack which killed more than 30 people including children, according to a report.
The missile strike – the deadliest so far this year – also injured more than 100 people in the northeastern city of Sumy over the weekend.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said one of the children injured was a baby girl born this year, saying “even newborns are targets for Russia’s crimes”.
There had been discussion among the G-7 about putting out a statement condemning the attack, but the US has said it would not endorse such a measure, Bloomberg has reported today.
This is apparently because it wants to keep negotiations with Moscow on track, the outlet said.
Donald Trump’s “visceral dislike” for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joe Biden is very clear, security and defence analyst Michael Clarke says.
Speaking on Sky News earlier, Prof Clarke spoke about the relationship between the two leaders, and how it has taken shape over time.
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