Poland’s foreign minister says Vladimir Putin is making a mockery of Donald Trump’s efforts to make peace in Ukraine. It comes as Volodymyr Zelenskyy hit out at Russia for its “cynical” overnight attack. Watch our latest Ukraine Q&A with Michael Clarke below.
Friday 4 July 2025 14:01, UK
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Ukraine’s defence ministry has shared footage of some of its prisoners of war after they were released from Russian captivity today.
The former inmates can be seen embracing their loved ones and crying as they speak on the phone to others.
Russian shelling in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih has left six people injured, authorities there have said.
Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the defence council in Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown, said the attack began shortly after 11am local time (9am UK time).
He said emergency crews arrived at the scene of the attack only for a second strike to then hit, injuring two rescue workers. This common Russian tactic has become known as a “double-strike attack”.
Ukraine says debris from fallen drones from Russia’s overnight attack on Kyiv shows some were built in China.
Foreign minister Andrii Sybiha says there is “no better metaphor” for how Russia continues to expand its war than by using Iranian weapons and Chinese manufacturers to hit Ukrainian targets.
The irony, Sybiha adds, is that the Chinese consulate building in Odesa was one of the sites to suffer damage during recent Russian strikes.
Russian authorities have seemingly designated a 14-year-old boy from the country’s southwestern city of Orenburg as a “terrorist”.
That’s according to a Telegram channel that tracks updates to the Russian financial watchdog’s official list of “terrorists and extremists”.
“For the first time, a person born in 2011 has been added to the list. He is now its youngest member,” the channel’s authors reported. The teenager is identified as Amir Tulegenovich Shagatov, born in Orenburg.
The report notes that an asterisk appears next to Shagatov’s name, indicating that he is suspected of involvement in terrorism. The specific charges against him have not been made public.
Here are some images from the latest prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia that took place today.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said most of the Ukrainian group had been held by Russia since 2022.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be “desperately” appealing to Donald Trump to resume US weapons shipments to Kyiv when they speak today, military analyst Professor Michael Clarke says.
The pause was driven by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby over concerns that certain weapons stockpiles in the US were running low.
But Clarke says many of the weapons due to be sent to Ukraine are currently held up in Poland, where they were “ready to go” before the new US directive.
And he says Washington “obviously can’t be short” of Patriot missiles if the US is prepared to sell them to Germany (see 11.58 post).
Clarke says Colby is running an “underlying agenda” and believes that the pause could well turn permanent.
“He has been a friend of Russia as far as Ukraine goes, and I think Colby is clear that they’re not going to send anything else,” Clarke says.
“Now, we’ll see if Trump relents on that. And Zelenskyy this afternoon when he calls him desperately will be appealing to him to at least let this last bit go through.”
Germany is holding talks on procuring Patriot defence systems to pass on to Ukraine after the US ordered a pause on some weapons shipments to Kyiv this week.
A government spokesperson said Berlin is exploring the option to help fill the “Patriot gap” in Ukraine.
Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defence minister, is due to travel to Washington later this month for talks with his US counterpart, the spokesperson said, adding that the Patriot issue will be on the agenda for the discussions.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the latest group of Ukrainian soldiers held in Russian captivity have been released.
Posting on Telegram, Ukraine’s president said most of the latest group had been held by Russia since 2022.
“Exchanges must continue, and I thank everyone ensuring this,” he said, thanking those who made the latest exchange possible.
Zelenskyy didn’t confirm the numbers of Ukrainian or Russian prisoners handed over, though Moscow’s defence ministry confirmed it had received prisoners earlier (see 11.14 post).
Ukraine and Russia have exchanged prisoners several times – the latest on June 26 – as part of an agreement struck in Istanbul last month.
Russia says that achieving its goals in Ukraine by diplomatic means “does not appear possible” at the moment.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was asked about comments from Donald Trump saying he was disappointed with Vladimir Putin after the pair’s phone call yesterday.
“Naturally, we pay close attention to all President Trump’s statements,” Peskov said.
“During the conversation, President Putin reiterated that we are interested in achieving our objectives in the course of the special military operation, and preferably by political and diplomatic means.
“However, since that currently does not appear possible, we are continuing our special military operation.”
He added that Putin told Trump that Russia is still waiting “the coordination of dates” for the third round of direct talks with Ukraine.
Asked if a Trump-Putin meeting is possible this summer, Peskov said such a meeting is “needed” but must be “well-prepared”.
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged another batch of prisoners of war, Moscow says.
The Russian defence ministry did not specify how many soldiers were involved in the swap.
The warring sides have exchanged prisoners several times – the latest on June 26 – as part of an agreement struck in Istanbul last month.
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