Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv says it killed 12 FSB officers in drone swarm attack on Russian command centre

Ukraine’s defence minister Kyrylo Budanov has said his country’s negotiating position on giving up territory in peace talks is not going to change.

“No one in the world deals with the weak, and international law does not work without strength. To succeed in negotiations, we must be strong on the battlefield and united on the home front,” he said at the Kyiv Security Forum.

“Our ‘red lines’ remain unchanged: we will not recognise any territorial losses, and we are not going to trade our land. Any compromise must, first and foremost, serve Ukraine’s interests,” he said, in a post on X.

One of the main sticking points in talks between Russia and Ukraine so far has been Moscow’s demands that Kyiv forfeit more of its territory in the east, which Ukrainian officials have said is non-negotiable and will not be sacrificed.

The ​European Union has started pushing for a 21st package of sanctions ⁠against Russia, the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said this morning, one ⁠day after the ​EU adopted ⁠the 20th sanctions package against Russia ⁠over Moscow’s war on ​Ukraine.

“We’re ⁠really pushing to ‌go on with the 21st package of sanctions,” ‌Kallas told reporters ‌ahead of an informal summit of EU leaders in ⁠Cyprus.

“It sends a very clear signal to Russia that they can’t outwait us. It also sends a clear signal to Russia ‌that Ukraine is more ​important to ‌us than it ⁠is to them, and ⁠we will keep on supporting ‌them.”

The King’s youngest son, in a rare input on global matters, clarified he was “not here as a politician” but as “a soldier who understands service” and “a humanitarian”, though he did not mention Mr Trump by name.

Responding to the speech Harry made during a surprise visit to Ukraine, the US president told reporters: “I know one thing, Prince Harry is not speaking for the UK, that’s for sure. I think I am speaking for the UK more than Prince Harry.”

“But I appreciate his advice very much,” he added.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected the idea of a partial EU membership for his war-hit nation.

Germany and France have proposed limited ”symbolic” or ”associate” EU membership for Ukraine as part of a peace deal, which would grant some benefits but exclude voting rights or full access to shared budgets.

“Ukraine does not need symbolic membership in the EU,” Zelensky said, speaking to reporters on his presidential WhatsApp chat on the way to Cyprus.

“Ukraine is defending itself and is definitely defending Europe. And it is not defending Europe symbolically – people are really dying,” he said.

Zelensky added that Ukraine is defending “shared European values” and therefore saying the country deserves full membership in the 27-strong bloc of countries.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated his administration’s stand on territorial concessions to Russia as part of any peace deal.

Zelensky said the land in question has history and shared values for millions of people.

“We never speak about Ukrainian territories just like about territories. It is not only land. It is our history, families, roots, children and houses,” he said, speaking to reporters outside the summit venue in Cyprus.

“When somebody says Ukraine should withdraw, please try to withdraw from your own house,” Zelensky added.

Ukraine’s drone wing says it has killed at least 12 officers and injured 15 others in a strike on a command post of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in the Donetsk region on Wednesday.

Unmanned Systems Forces commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi confirmed the attack yesterday and said Ukrainian forces used FP-2 drones manufactured by the Ukrainian defence company Fire Point.

The drones can carry up to 100kg payloads and are used for medium-range strikes.

The operation, during which operators carried out “eight precision strikes on the target,” was conducted by the Unmanned Systems Forces together with fighters from the 1st Corps of the Ukrainian National Guard’s Azov Brigade, the statement from Brovdi read.

He said the command post hit in the attack is responsible for sabotage operations, building intelligence networks, recruitment, carrying out terrorist attacks and arson, and coordinating Russian proxy forces.

The loan is set to cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s needs for the next two years. Economists had warned Ukraine would run out of money by June without the EU loan, necessitating deep cuts to public services.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen stated: “While Russia doubles down on its aggression, we are doubling down on our support to the brave Ukrainian nation enabling Ukraine to defend itself and putting pressure on Russia’s war economy.” The move underscores the EU’s continued commitment to Kyiv.

Prince Harry made an unannounced visit to Kyiv and called on Russia’s president Vladimir Putin to end the war – a week after a massive Russian aerial attack on the country – and on ⁠US president Donald Trump to show leadership to help resolve the conflict.

By convention, the British royal family do not speak out on political matters, although King Charles and other senior royals have regularly voiced their support for Ukraine.

But Harry, on his third visit ⁠to the country since the war ​began, ⁠used far more explicit language than any of his relatives have done previously.

“President Putin, no nation benefits from the continued loss of life we ⁠are witnessing. There is still a moment – now – to stop this war, to ​prevent ⁠further suffering for Ukrainians and Russians ‌alike, and to choose a different course,” Harry said in a speech to a Kyiv security forum.

He called on Washington to do more to ‌bring about an end to the war.

“This is a ‌moment for American leadership, a moment for America to show that it can honour its international treaty obligations,” he said.

“Europe has stood up in profound ways,” said the British Army veteran ⁠who served in Afghanistan.

“The task now is to match endurance with speed, solidarity with scale, and commitment with consistency,” he said.

Russian diplomats have denounced the latest European Union sanctions imposed on Moscow in connection with its invasion of Ukraine, saying the new measures ⁠lacked UN legitimacy and infringed the rights of third countries.

Russian news agencies quoted a statement by diplomats at Russia’s mission to the European ⁠Union as saying ​the ⁠measures were meaningless without a decision from the UN Security Council.

“We would like ⁠to remind you that only sanctions imposed ​by the ⁠decision of the ‌UN Security Council are legitimate,” state news agency TASS quoted the statement as saying.

“All ‌others are unilateral coercive measures, ‌and essentially — arbitrariness and aggression that contradict international law and the UN Charter.”

RIA news agency said the ⁠statement accused the EU of restricting exports of specific goods to a number of countries cooperating with Russia and said this was “resorting to economic blackmail and extraterritorial application of sanctions”.

The EU adopted its 20th package of ‌sanctions against Russia over its war ​in Ukraine after Slovakia and Hungary ‌dropped their opposition to ⁠the move following the resumption of ⁠flows through the Druzhba oil pipeline.

The EU had initially ‌aimed to ​adopt the package ‌to mark the fourth anniversary ​of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.