These are the key events on day 1,158 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Here is where things stand on Sunday, April 27:
Fighting
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Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed what he said was the complete failure of an offensive by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region after Moscow said they had been expelled from the last village they had been holding.
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Russia’s chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, has confirmed for the first time that North Korean soldiers have been fighting alongside Russian troops in Kursk, praising their “courage and heroism” in helping to drive out the Ukrainians.
Diplomacy and politics
- The FSB security service said it had detained a suspect over the killing of senior Russian military officer Yaroslav Moskalik by a car bomb. The Kremlin has blamed Ukraine for the killing. There was no official comment from Kyiv on the attack.
- United States President Donald Trump cast doubt on whether Putin wants a peace deal, shortly after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at St Peter’s Basilica before Pope Francis’s funeral in Rome.
- Zelenskyy said the meeting could prove historic if it delivers the kind of peace he is hoping for, and a White House spokesperson called it “very productive”.
- After the meeting, Trump took a tough tone on the Russian leader, writing, “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days.” He also urged Putin to stop bombing civilian areas in Ukraine, adding that secondary sanctions on Russia might be necessary in response.
- Following Trump’s remarks, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the US Senate is poised to move forward on bipartisan legislation that would impose trade sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil, gas and other products.
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French President Emmanuel Macron said after a “very positive” exchange with Zelenskyy that Ukraine was ready for an unconditional ceasefire and that the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” led by France and the United Kingdom would continue working on achieving that, as well as a lasting peace in Ukraine.
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she expects Russia to show concrete signs of its willingness to pursue peace in Ukraine, after meeting Zelenskyy in Rome following Pope Francis’s funeral.
- The British government said Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Zelenskyy discussed “positive progress” to end the war in Ukraine on the sidelines of the pope’s funeral.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has offered Zelenskyy the EU’s backing in any negotiations for ending the war with Russia, adding that the bloc “will always stand by Ukraine in the pursuit for peace”.
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