Ukraine-Russia war latest: Suspect detained following ‘assassination attempt’ on Putin general

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia’s energy infrastructure is a legitimate target for strikes by Ukraine, in a statement on Sunday.

He argued that the sector contributes to sourcing funds for the production of weapons.

“We do not have to choose – whether we strike a military target or energy. He (Russian President Vladimir Putin) sells this energy. He sells oil. So is it energy, or is it a military target? Honestly, it’s the same thing,” he wrote on X.

“We either build weapons and strike their weapons. Or we strike the source where their money is generated and multiplied. And that source is their energy sector…All of this is a legitimate target for us.”

The news comes weeks after the UK supported a US operation to seize a Russian-flagged tanker in the North Atlantic.

British armed forces supported the capture of the Marinera, a vessel initially linked to Venezuela and previously known as Bella-1, as it travelled north and eastwards through the waters between Iceland and Scotland.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has said that Ukrainian, Russian and American leaders must meet to discuss a deal for peace and only President Donald Trump can broker such an agreement.

“Only Trump can stop the war,” Sybiha told Reuters.

From a 20-point peace plan that has formed the basis of recent trilateral negotiations, only “a few” items remain outstanding, Sybiha said.

“The most sensitive and most difficult, to be dealt with at the leaders’ level.”

He added: “My assessment is we have momentum, that’s true. We need consolidation or mobilisation of these peace efforts, and we’re ready to speed up.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russian strikes are becoming “more frequent and increasingly brutal” even as peace talks remain ongoing.

“Russia launched more than 2,000 attack drones, 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and 116 missiles of various types at our cities and villages in just this past week,” he wrote in a post on X/Twitter on Sunday.

“Almost every day, they strike energy facilities, logistics infrastructure, and residential buildings. And this is happening even as diplomatic efforts for peace are ongoing.”

He added: “The world must not turn a blind eye to Russian attacks. When there is no global response, the strikes become more frequent and increasingly brutal.”

President Vladimir Putin has thanked his UAE counterpart Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his help with the detention of a man suspected of shooting a Russian military intelligence officer.

The conversation took place during a phone call on Saturday evening, Russian agencies reported, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

A Ukrainian-born Russian citizen has been extradited to Moscow from Dubai on suspicion of the “assassination attempt” of Vladimir Alexeyev, deputy head of Russia’s vast GRU military intelligence service.

Four people have been killed and 31 injured in Russian attacks over the past day, Ukraine’s Air Force said on Sunday.

It said Russia had launched 101 drones from Kursk, Orel, Bryansk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and Shatalovo overnight.

Of those, 69 were intercepted while another 32 drones struck 13 locations, according to the reports.

Debris from a downed drone was reported at one location.

A suspect accused of being involved in the alleged assassination attempt of a top Russian general has been detained in Dubai and is being extradited to Russia, according to the country’s security agency.

Russian investigators said the man in his 60s was tasked by Ukrainian intelligence to carry out the shooting but Kyiv has denied involvement.

Masked FSB officers were seen escorting a blindfolded man from a small jet in Russia in the dark on Russian state media.

The FSB said it had identified two accomplices, also Russian citizens. One was detained in Moscow while another escaped to Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed that intelligence ha suggested that Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev proposed US-Russian co-operation deals worth as much as $12 trillion (£9tn) during negotiations.

He said that such agreements between Moscow and Washington must not violate Ukraine’s constitution, on Saturday.

“Intelligence showed me the so-called ‘Dmitriev package’ that he presented in the US – it amounts to around $12tn (£9tn),” Mr Zelensky said.

It is pre-dawn in the historic Podil district of the Ukraine capital, Kyiv, and warm light from the Spelta bakery-bistro’s window pierces the darkness outside. On a wooden surface dusted with flour, the baker Oleksandr Kutsenko skilfully divides and shapes soft, damp pieces of dough. As he shoves the first loaves into the oven, a sweet, delicate aroma of fresh bread fills the space.

Seconds later the lights go out, the ovens switch off and darkness envelops the room. Kutsenko, 31, steps outside into the freezing night, switches on a large rectangular generator and the power kicks back in. It’s a pattern that will be repeated many times as the business struggles to keep working through the power outages caused by Russia’s bombing campaign on Ukraine’s energy grid.

“It’s now more than impossible to imagine a Ukrainian business operating without a generator,” said Olha Hrynchuk, the co-founder and head baker of Spelta.

Russian forces have captured two settlements in eastern Ukraine, its defence ministry reported on Sunday.

The settlements of Hlushkivka in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region and Sydorivka in Sumy region are reported to have been seized, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, citing the ministry.