Russian and US officials are holding talks in the Saudi city of Riyadh today as efforts to end the Ukraine war continue. Follow the latest here – and submit a question for defence analyst Michael Clarke below. Listen to The World podcast as you scroll.
Monday 24 March 2025 15:37, UK
Live reporting by Mark WyattandOllie Cooper
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke returns for his weekly Q&A on the Ukraine war tomorrow afternoon – covering anything from the battlefield to the negotiating table.
He’ll tackle as many of your questions as he can – submit yours in the box above to join in.
Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine with the intent, among other things, of stealing its children, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports.
In its latest war update, the US-based thinktank states that when Russian troops rolled across the border into Ukraine, „the groundwork for the massive deportation of Ukraine’s children was already in place“.
Ukrainian human rights activists uncovered Kremlin documents dated February 2022, which laid out plans to remove Ukrainian children from orphanages in the occupied Luhansk and Donetsk regions and bring them to Russia, the thinktank says.
„In the subsequent three years, Russia has embarked on a Kremlin-directed, deeply institutionalised project to abduct Ukrainian children and forcibly turn them into the next generation of Russians,“ the ISW reports.
The thinktank says Ukraine has been able to verify Russia’s deportation of 19,456 children to date.
Meanwhile, Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab has placed the number of deported children closer to 35,000 as of 19 March.
The ISW adds: „The true number of deported children is near-impossible to verify, but the implication remains the same – Russia has stolen tens, potentially hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children with the explicit intent of eradicating their Ukrainian identities and turning them into Russians.“
We brought you reports earlier on a Russian missile strike in the northern Ukrainian Sumy region (see post at 2.21pm).
Regional head Volodymyr Artiukh said 28 people had been injured after the strike hit residential buildings and a school.
He said children were being evacuated at the time, and all were safe.
Now images are emerging of rescuers at the scene working to extinguish the fires.
The attack came ahead of ceasefire negotiations in Saudi Arabia in which Ukraine and Russia are expected to hold indirect US-mediated talks.
US and Ukrainian officials are due to hold another round of talks after discussions between Moscow and Washington end today in Riyadh, a senior Ukrainian government source has told Reuters.
A delegation from Kyiv already met with US officials yesterday to discuss the details of a potential ceasefire.
Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s defence minister, said those talks were „constructive and meaningful“.
The relationship between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been complex over the years.
Relations between the two presidents extend as far back as 2019, the year the Ukrainian leader took office.
It has since weathered the start of the war in Ukraine, Trump’s re-election and a recent heated exchange in the Oval Office, in which Zelenskyy was accused of being „disrespectful“ to his country’s most powerful ally.
Here we look back at the key moments that have helped shape the pair’s relationship and how it has changed over the years.
Vladimir Putin has spoken with his United Arab Emirates (UAE) counterpart Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today, the Kremlin says.
The Russian president thanked Sheikh Khalifa for mediation in prisoner exchanges with Ukraine. The UAE says around 3,000 prisoners of war have been swapped by Ukraine and Russia with its mediation.
The pair also discussed the ongoing Russian-US peace talks on Ukraine.
„Mohammed Al Nahyan expressed support for the efforts undertaken by Russia and the United States and, in particular, welcomed the consultations of expert groups of the two countries taking place today in Riyadh,“ a Kremlin handout says.
A Russian missile strike has injured 28 people in the northern Ukrainian Sumy region, authorities said.
Regional head Volodymyr Artiukh said the strike hit residential buildings and a school, adding that children were being evacuated at the time, and all were safe.
Acting mayor Artem Kobzar said four children were among those injured following the strike but did not specify whether the four were in the school when the attack occurred.
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
Kyiv might be furious at Steve Witkoff’s comments over the weekend, but in Moscow, they’re lapping them up.
The US envoy’s interviews with Fox News and Tucker Carlson have made front page news, prompting talk of „mutual attraction“ between the White House and the Kremlin.
That’s because Witkoff repeated many of the lines we normally hear coming from Moscow: that Vladimir Putin „wants peace“; that European fears of further Russian invasions are „preposterous“; that the „root cause“ of the war is not Russian aggression, but issues of Ukrainian nationhood.
Moscow can barely believe its luck. American and Russian officials are now speaking „the same language“, according to daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta, which says Witkoff’s comments show that Russia’s interests are „justified“ and will be taken into account by the US.
Another newspaper, Kommersant, talks excitedly of Witkoff’s „enthusiastic assessments“ of President Putin.
But it’s Witkoff’s remarks about Russia’s territorial claims that are receiving the most attention.
The former property mogul said that most people in the Russian-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine wanted to live under Russian rule, citing Moscow-organised referenda that were condemned as shams by the UN.
The comments were pounced on by Margarita Simonyan, the head of state broadcaster RT, who described them as the „main message“ of Trump’s Ukraine policy. Writing on Telegram, she suggested the ground was being prepared for recognition of Russia’s territorial claims.
It would seem that Steve Witkoff’s dismissal of Keir Starmer’s „coalition of the willing“ proposal wasn’t up for discussion during the prime minister’s call with Donald Trump last night.
His envoy Witkoff, who is leading US efforts to secure peace in Ukraine, labelled the UK’s plans for a peacekeeping mission in the war-torn country as a „combination of a posture and a pose“.
He also accused Starmer of adopting the „simplistic“ notion that leaders „have all got to be like Winston Churchill“.
Asked if those comments came up during a Trump-Starmer call last night, a No 10 spokesperson said the focus of the conversation „was on the economic deal“.
„We are engaging with the US at all levels on Ukraine,“ the spokesperson added.
Ukraine has lost most of its foothold in the Kursk region of Russia – something we’ve covered here in detail, and that Vladimir Putin has been happy to shout about of late.
But despite fears Russia would carry on into Ukraine from Kursk, Kyiv’s forces are now on the attack in another region of Russia.
Could Ukraine be after another bargaining chip in the negotiations seeking to end the war?
Here, junior OSINT producer Freya Gibson explains the emerging evidence of the new attacks.
The Ukrainian military has pushed into Belgorod (which borders Russia’s Kursk region) in an attempt to capture Russian territory there.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy characterised the operation as a defensive measure to pre-empt a potential Russian offensive in Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast.
Expensive helicopters damaged
This morning, the Special Operation Forces of Ukraine posted a video that it says showed four Russian helicopters (two Kamov Ka-52 and two Mil Mi-8 helicopters) destroyed by missile strikes.
Sky News has geolocated the footage.
The Ka-52, also known as ‚Alligator‘, is an attack helicopter capable of hitting targets 10km away – beyond the range of Ukraine’s portable air defence systems.
The Mi-8 can hold anti-tank missiles, rocket pods and drop bombs.
Online reports say that the Ka-52 helicopter costs up to $16m (£12.3m), with the Mi-8 costing in the region of $10m-$15m (£7.7m-£11.5m).
Transport routes cut
As well as military damage, videos online show Ukrainian attempts to cut transport routes in Grafovka, a village in the Belgorod region.
The images below are taken from a video showing a destroyed bridge which is just under 5km away from Demidovka, a town situated near the Sumy-Belgorod border.
What could Ukraine’s plan be?
Russian military bloggers claim Ukraine has attempted to capture Demidovka over the last few days.
Experts suggest that Ukraine is trying to create a buffer zone near the border, indicating the intention of a long-term invasion in Belgorod.
The image below is taken from a video shared on Telegram showing troops in Demidovka posted online today. It’s not yet confirmed if they are Ukrainian or Russian.
It’s just gone 1pm in London, 3pm in Kyiv and 4pm in Moscow and Riyadh.
If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know:
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Ukraine war latest: Putin's gift to Trump revealed as ceasefire talks focus on Black Sea; Ukraine on attack in Russia – Sky News
