The UK has accused Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet on a Ukraine ceasefire at a meeting of allies – at which more than £18bn in aid was pledged to Kyiv. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s envoy has travelled to Russia for a reported meeting with Putin. Follow the latest on the Ukraine war.
Friday 11 April 2025 12:53, UK
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke is back next week for his regular Ukraine war Q&A.
He’ll be answering your questions on anything from the battlefield to peace talks – you decide.
Submit yours in the box above and he’ll get through as many as he can.
By Diana Magnay, international correspondent
As Steve Witkoff lands in Russia to push for what is at best a stalled effort to secure peace in Ukraine, the British, German and Ukrainian defence ministers – after talks between the Ukraine Defence Contact Group – pointed to the fact it is one month to the day that President Putin rejected ceasefire proposals.
They said instead of looking for peace, the Russian leader is instead pushing ahead with his spring offensive with an “unabated intensity”.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey also revealed a grim statistic for the annals of modern warfare – that 70-80% of all battlefield casualties in Ukraine now are the result of drones.
He outlined that the UK is pledging additional support in the form of hundreds of thousands of drones, as well as radar systems, anti-tank mines and extra funds to repair battlefield kit to keep Ukraine in the fight.
As for Pete Hegseth only attending the UDCG talks virtually?
Not a big deal, claimed the German defence minister.
There were other defence chiefs who didn’t make it in person either.
But it is one more indicator, as Boris Pistorius said, that Ukraine’s allies in Europe will have to rely on their own wits and resources.
That the US may be taking the lead on peace (wherever that goes) but both Ukraine’s defence now – and a just and lasting peace when the guns fall silent – is in the hands of its European partners.
A bit more on Steve Witkoff’s movements today (see 9.16 post for more context).
Donald Trump’s top envoy has met Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy in St Petersburg, according to Russian state media.
It’s unclear whether Witkoff will meet Putin, whose spokesperson said a meeting would be announced if it fit the Russian leader’s schedule.
“Europe is taking over on security assistance,” Rustem Umerov says following the latest meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at NATO HQ in Brussels.
The Ukrainian defence minister says the meeting was productive, and that countries like the UK, Germany and others in Europe are leading in supporting his country militarily.
“The US is continuing its security assistance,” he adds.
Umerov, Boris Pistorius and John Healey will now take questions from the assembled media.
Germany’s Boris Pistorius opens this news conference by confirming Berlin’s massive financial commitment to Ukraine (see 10.27 post).
“Peace in Ukraine appears to be out of reach,” he says, so this support is necessary.
The UK’s John Healey speaks next, reminding those gathered of the £450m commitment made by London this morning (see 7.24 post).
Healey says £18.2bn has been committed by NATO allies today in total.
He accuses Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet over peace in Ukraine, as the Russian leader continues his bombardment from the sky and attacks from the ground.
He again repeats comments made ahead of today’s meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at NATO HQ in Brussels that 2025 is “the critical year” for the conflict.
Ukraine’s defence minister is next to speak.
John Healey, the UK defence minister, is holding a joint news conference with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius after a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at NATO HQ in Brussels.
You can watch along in the stream at the top of this page, and we’ll be providing live updates here.
Russia’s top diplomat has praised recent prisoner swaps between Washington and Moscow as a sign that trust is cementing between the two countries.
Sergey Lavrov said it was “realistic and necessary” for the US and Russia to aim for the normalisation of relations – something which looked out of the questions under the Biden White House but has rapidly become a reality under Donald Trump.
A Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina – who had been sentenced to 12 years in prison in Russia for treason – was exchanged yesterday for Arthur Petrov, whom the US had accused of forming a global smuggling ring – which sought to bring sensitive electronics to Russia’s military.
If Donald Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize, he should hold off negotiating a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, the UK’s former top spy has told our partner network NBC News.
According to former aides, the president still covets the landmark award won by four of his predecessors – and which Trump himself has been nominated at least twice before.
Richard Dearlove, the ex-head of British intelligence agency MI6, said that rushing a truce – and giving too many concessions to the Kremlin – could encourage President Vladimir Putin to launch other hostile forays into Europe.
The Russians badly need a ceasefire, said Dearlove, citing waning Kremlin cash reserves and the falling price of crude oil, which Moscow exports to fund its war machine.
“Ukraine is pretty close to a tipping point,” he said.
“But the worry at the moment is that Trump will do a premature deal with the Russians” and make too many concessions.
The “highly undesirable” consequences would be to “embolden the Russians, over time, to be more aggressive and assertive in Europe”, said Dearlove.
While often less critical of Trump’s unorthodox approach than many other foreign policy experts, Dearlove said he finds Trump’s general “lack of grace… [and] decent behaviour” to be “very disconcerting” – specifically his Oval Office bust-up with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February.
“If you want to get the Nobel Peace Prize, don’t do a premature deal with Ukraine – wait,” Dearlove said.
Germany will commit €11bn (£9.5bn) of military support for Ukraine, Kyiv’s defence minister has said.
The funding will be spread out until 2029, Rustem Umerov said.
German reports suggest the bulk of new equipment for Ukraine included in that commitment is made up of IRIS-T systems and 1,100 additional ground surveillance radars.
120 MANPADS launchers, 25 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, and 14 artillery batteries are also reported to be included, although this has not been confirmed.
Germany, alongside the UK and US, are among the biggest financial backers of Ukraine.
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
The latest US-Russia prisoner swap is a further sign of the thawing relations between Moscow and Washington, but I think it’s also an indication of how slow things are moving.
Rewind two months to 11 February and you might remember there was another prisoner swap.
Out of the blue, 63-year-old American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, who had been imprisoned in Russia on drug smuggling charges, was suddenly released and on his way home to the US.
It was part of a deal that had been secured following a secret trip to Moscow by US envoy Steve Witkoff, in what marked the first sign of movement towards a peace deal in Ukraine.
Since then, there have been various face-to-face meetings between the two sides, at various levels.
There have been at least two phone calls between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. We’ve had talk of sanctions relief, business deals and the resumption of direct flights.
But despite the talk, it’s just that. Talk. There’s still nothing concrete, much to Trump’s frustration it seems.
Read Ivor’s full piece here.
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