Witkoff-Putin talk: 'Closer not only on Ukraine'. Moscow accuses Kiev of the general's murder

US President Donald Trump declared that the origin of the war in Ukraine is to be attributed to Kiev, which 'started talking about joining NATO'.

In an interview with Time, Trump confirmed that the peace agreement negotiated by his administration would include the granting of about 20% of Ukrainian territory to Russia. "Crimea will remain with Russia, he stated bluntly.

On Friday afternoon, local time, Donald Trump on the social site Truth wrote: 'Ukraine, led by Volodymyr Zelensky, has not yet signed the final documents on the very important rare earths agreement with the United States. It is at least three weeks late. It is hoped that it will be signed immediately. Work on the comprehensive peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine is proceeding smoothly. Success seems to be imminent!"

Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko backtracked from an interview with the BBC in which he had evoked the 'cession of territories' from Ukraine to Russia as 'one of the possible scenarios': an 'unfair' epilogue, but one that, 'in exchange for a temporary peace, can be a temporary solution'. Words later downplayed on Telegram, where Klitschko claimed that he "said nothing new", except to recall "an unpleasant possible scenario, which many politicians and media are talking about in the world today". Reiterating, however, that 'the Ukrainian people will not accept Russian occupation' and are ready to 'fight to the end'.

Un post tratto dal profilo X/Special Kherson Cat: il generale Moskalik, vice capo del Dipartimento per le operazioni dello Stato maggiore è stato ucciso in un attentato a Balashikha, vicino a Mosca Npk

A senior Russian military officer was killed on 25 April after a car explosion in the town of Balashikha in the Moscow region, Russian media Mash reported.

The person who died today of the car explosion in the courtyard of a residential building in Balashikha, Moscow region, is a 59-year-old lieutenant general of the Russian army, Yaroslav Moskalik . This was reported by the Telegram channel 'Baza'. The rank of lieutenant-general in many armies around the world designates, with different insignia, a general higher than a division general, equivalent in Italy to an army corps general.

According to reports, the explosion occurred around 10.40 a.m. (9.40 a.m. Italian time) when Moskalik was walking past a Volkswagen Golf parked outside his house.

Moskalik was number two in the operational directorate of the General Staff, which is responsible for planning military operations and controlling military readiness, thus a directorate heavily involved in the war in Ukraine.

Thus the official representative of the Russian Investigative Committee, Svetlana Petrenko: 'According to the available information, the explosion occurred as a result of the detonation of a homemade explosive device filled with shrapnel'.

"There are reasons to believe that the Ukrainian special services were involved in the murder, especially since" Russian general "Yaroslav Moskalik was already known to them for his work in the Minsk Contact Group and the Normandy format for the resolution of the conflict in south-eastern Ukraine": this was stated by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, quoted by Tass.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in talks in Moscow with US envoy Steve Witkoff. This was announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quoted by Russian agencies. A video released by the Kremlin press service shows Putin receiving Witkoff at the Kremlin and, after a cordial handshake, inviting him to sit at the famous white table where he receives foreign guests. "It is a pleasure to see you," says the US envoy. Also present at the talks are Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev and presidential foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov.

Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov and the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Russian president's special envoy for foreign economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, are present at the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President's special envoy Steve Witkoff. This is what emerges from a video released by the Kremlin.

Klitschko, a former world boxing champion and current leading political figure, pointed out that the final decision rests with President Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he has notoriously tense relations. "Zelensky runs it himself. It is not my function," he said, denying that he was directly involved in the negotiations.

Serhiy Leshchenko, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the words of Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko that Ukraine must be ready to give up territory if it means securing a peace deal were "counterproductive". "The other politicians should be united around the president, because he alone has this mandate from the Ukrainian people," he told the BBC, arguing that furthermore that giving up territory would have significant legal implications. "Ukraine is a democracy and politicians can make any statement," he argued, "but it is very important that they do not violate the constitution.

According to reports, yesterday in the latest in a series of attacks across Ukraine, three children were killed and six others injured in the capital Kiev. These tragic deaths add to reports of another child killed yesterday in Kostyantynivka, a boy who died in Kherson following an earlier attack, and at least 16 children injured this week in the north, east and south of the country. This was highlighted by Unicef in a note.

Victoria, 17, told Unicef that her friend was walking her dog. Now he is no more. He was a really good person. And I want people to know that he was kind, she said. His words show the tremendous impact of these relentless attacks on civilian areas.

Ivan, another teenager, waited at the scene, clinging to the hope that their friend might still be alive under the rubble. Tragically, his death was confirmed last night. ".

The mayor also criticised the climate of confrontation between the leaders, referring to the public confrontation between Trump and Zelensky at the White House in February, arguing that sensitive issues should be discussed 'without cameras'.

In the last few hours, Russia has launched 536 attacks against 10 settlements in the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia. The head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, wrote this on Telegram. Ukrinform reports.

Russian air defence systems shot down 79 Ukrainian drones overnight. This was reported by the Kiev Defence Ministry. Most of them (59) were destroyed over Crimea.

Britain may drop its plan to send thousands of soldiers to protect Ukraine because the risks are considered 'too high', writes The Times. The scaling back of the willing plan would aim to push Moscow to move its red lines to reach a peace agreement. The plan would aim to reconstitute and rearm the Kiev army, with air and sea protection. And with military trainers sent to western Ukraine that would not be near the front line.

The Russian central bank left the main ruble rate unchanged at 21%. The decision met analysts' estimates. The central bank in Moscow also provided forecasts for inflation of between 7 and 8 per cent at the end of the year, saying that monetary policy will remain restrained for a long period.