Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump have both stressed the need for a ceasefire in Ukraine after more deadly Russian strikes in recent days. Submit your question for our next Q&A with security and defence analyst Michael Clarke below.
Monday 7 April 2025 14:39, UK
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke is back on Wednesday for his weekly Q&A.
He’ll be answering your questions on the Ukraine war, covering 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.
We’re pausing our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
We’ll be back with any breaking news, but in the meantime you can scroll down to catch up on today’s developments.
And here’s a summary of the big news of the day:
Vigils are being held in Kryvyi Rih today as the city starts three days of mourning after one of the deadliest attacks on Ukrainian civilians in months.
A Russian missile that hit the hometown of Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday killed 11 adults and nine children, according to local authorities.
Ukraine’s military said it was a cluster munitions attack, with the strike spraying shrapnel across a dense residential area.
The ages of the victims ranged from three to 79, Kryvyi Rih’s mayor said, adding that 33 people, including four children, were still being treated in hospital.
Local clergymen held a memorial service at a playground near the strike site, and separately residents bid farewell to a nine-year-old boy said to have been killed while playing on a swing.
‚A reckless disregard for civilian life‘
Russia said, without evidence, that its „high-precision strike“ targeted a military gathering of „unit commanders and Western instructors“, killing up to 85 of them, a claim rejected by Kyiv as disinformation.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk has called for a „prompt, thorough and independent“ investigation into the attack.
„The use of an explosive weapon with wide area effects by the Russian Federation in a densely populated area – and without any apparent military presence – demonstrates a reckless disregard for civilian life,“ he said.
„Even if the Russian authorities had had information that military personnel could be present, the mode and circumstances of attack may constitute an indiscriminate attack,“ the UN rights office added.
We heard in the Kremlin’s daily news briefing earlier that Vladimir Putin supposedly still supports a ceasefire in Ukraine, but only after Russia has been given the answers to some key questions (see 11am post).
Here’s what the Russian president’s spokesperson said about it in full:
President Putin does support the idea of the need for a ceasefire, but before that a number of questions must be answered. These questions are still hanging in the air; so far no one has given an answer to them.
Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman
Putin said last month that Russia supported a US proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine in principle, but that fighting couldn’t be paused until a number of crucial conditions were worked out or clarified.
So what are Putin’s questions?
Putin has said any peace agreement must address what Moscow sees as the „root cause“ of the conflict, that being the tug of war between Russia and the West over Ukraine’s future and the enlargement of NATO towards Russia’s borders.
He’s also said any ceasefire agreement would have to ensure Ukraine could not use it to regroup, and that questions about the verification of a truce would need tom be clarified.
The Kremlin has laid the blame for the lack of answers on Ukraine, which it said was unable to control a number of its „extremist and nationalist units“.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Putin’s conditions for a ceasefire are unrealistic and has accused the Russian leader of wanting to continue the war.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has paid tribute to Ukraine’s armed forces, hailing them as the „first and most effective guarantee“ for the country’s security.
„The Ukrainian army must be strong enough, and on this foundation [is built] the entire other security architecture,“ he said, referring to the rest of Ukraine’s military and intelligence.
„We must always remember how much depends on our army – on all Ukrainians who defend the life of Ukraine with their lives.“
Zeleskyy also repeated calls for Ukraine to be sufficiently armed in its war with Russia, calling on Kyiv’s allies to help contribute supplies „and all necessary defence capabilities“
Russian troops have taken control of the settlement of Katerynivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Moscow’s defence ministry has said in comments reported by the RIA state news agency.
Katerynivka is near the strategic Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, where Russian forces have focused their advance for months.
Ukraine’s military has had reported success in recent weeks in holding back Russian forces near the road and rail hub.
Sky News could not independently confirm the battlefield report.
The UK defence secretary is set to convene the next meeting of the so-called coalition of the willing on Thursday.
With 30 countries expected to contribute to the coalition, John Healey will host defence ministers in Brussels alongside his French counterpart.
He will then chair the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, a gathering of more than 50 countries supporting Ukraine militarily, with his opposite number from Germany on Friday.
„Our coalition of nations, working at pace and willing to stand with Ukraine for the long-term, is a stark contrast to Russia who stand alone with only North Korea for a friend,“ Healey said.
„As Putin prevaricates over a ceasefire, we will continue to ramp up our military planning, exploring the air, sea and land forces that could support a lasting peace in Ukraine.“
The UK and France are leading efforts by the coalition of the willing to guarantee security in Ukraine after a peace deal, with a plan for armed forces from a number of European and NATO countries to be deployed in Ukraine acting as peacekeepers.
Downing Street says it is still in the „planning phase“ of how the coalition would work in practice – and has been so far unable to answer questions on operational details.
The idea has been dismissed by the Trump administration, with US special envoy Steve Witkoff describing it as „simplistic“ and „posture and pose“.
Vladimir Putin has said he will not accept NATO troops in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin supports a ceasefire in Ukraine but still has a „number of questions“ that need to be answered, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian leader has agreed to a limited, 30-day ceasefire covering strikes on energy infrastructure, but is yet to greenlight a broader cessation of hostilities already agreed to by Ukraine.
Giving his regular morning update, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had not been given answers to its questions about a possible ceasefire – but he gave his wider backing to the continuation of peace talks between Russia and the US.
The governor of Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region has reported several Russian attacks this morning, causing one death, injuries and damage to power lines.
Oleh Syniehubov posted on Telegram at 5.30am UK time that a KAB precision-guided Russian bomb hit the village of Tokarivka, killing a 48-year-old man.
„Russia does not stop terrorising the civilian population of the Kharkiv region,“ he said.
A later update this morning reports six further attacks causing two injuries, fires and damage to a high-rise building, housing and power transmission lines.
As we’ve mentioned, Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised the US embassy in Ukraine over the weekend for its reaction to deadly Russian strikes.
After the missile attack on Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, which is now thought to have killed 20 people, America’s ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink posted on X: „Horrified that tonight a ballistic missile struck near a playground and restaurant in Kryvyi Rih.
„More than 50 people injured and 16 killed, including 6 children. This is why the war must end.“
Zelenskyy criticised the statement for failing to mention Russia by name, saying the US „must not be afraid to call a spade a spade“.
A version of Zelenskyy’s post was previously shared to X but has since been deleted. Here’s what he wrote in Ukrainian on the Telegram messaging app:
We appreciate the principled statement of the Embassies of Japan, Great Britain, Switzerland and Germany. Unfortunately, the reaction of the American Embassy is unpleasantly surprising: such a strong country, such a strong people – and such a weak reaction. They are even afraid to say the word „Russian“ when talking about the missile that killed children.
Yes, the war must end. But in order to end it, we must not be afraid to call a spade a spade. We must not be afraid to put pressure on the only one who continues this war and ignores all the world’s proposals to end it. We must put pressure on Russia, which chooses to kill children instead of a ceasefire.
Watch: Strike on Zelenskyy’s home town
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Ukraine war latest: Putin has questions over ceasefire, Kremlin says – as Macron accuses him of choosing murder over peace – Sky News
