Donald Trump has claimed the US has “an idea for peace” as he sends his special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv for talks aimed at ending the war. Speaking to press on Friday, the president suggested the US had a fresh concrete proposal aimed at ending the war, which is now in its fifth year. He did not, however, elaborate on what that proposal would be.
Trump’s envoys are expected to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday before travelling to Kyiv on Sunday to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, according to US officials cited by Axios. The trip comes as Russia continues its attacks despite Zelensky’s offer of a temporary air truce. There will be no airstrikes from our side, and Russia must reciprocally ensure a period of calm, with no airstrikes on its part for as long as necessary to hold these talks,” Zelensky said in his Friday evening address.
Russia nevertheless launched overnight strikes on Ukraine, killing four people and injuring five in Kamianske in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, while Russian drones also struck Kyiv and the surrounding region. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine has decided where it will retaliate after a Russian drone struck the headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in central Kyiv. The timing will be chosen to ensure results,” Zelensky said in a post on Telegram on Friday after meeting acting SBU head Oleksandr Poklad, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
Zelensky had earlier instructed Poklad to prepare an “appropriate, tangible response” and, where possible, one that “mirrors this strike”. The SBU said the damaged headquarters would be repaired and warned that Russia would receive a “painful response”, including more special operations and attacks on Russian targets. The Russian drone hit Poklad’s office in the SBU headquarters on Friday, although the acting SBU chief was not there at the time.
At least 12 people were injured in the attack, according to Kyiv authorities. Ukraine war disrupts Black Sea grain trade, pushing up prices Attacks on ships and port infrastructure in the Black Sea are disrupting grain exports from Russia and Ukraine, with the impact now being felt in global food markets. Asian wheat buyers have recently purchased at least 500,000 tonnes from Australia and Argentina to replace delayed Russian and Ukrainian shipments.
Some are paying more than $300 (£221) a tonne for alternative supplies, compared with roughly $260-$280 (£191-£206) for Black Sea wheat. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday that global food prices reached their highest level since November 2022 in August. Its cereals index rose 2.2 per cent month-on-month, with the FAO citing “continued uncertainty surrounding Black Sea export flows” among the factors behind the increase.
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