Ukraine-Russia latest: Putin ‘ready’ for Trump negotiations as Kyiv sets oil refinery ablaze with drone strike
Vladimir Putin has said he is “ready for negotiations” with new US President Donald Trump over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Guardian reported Russian President told a Russian state TV journalist: “We believe the current president’s statements about his readiness to work together. We are always open to this and ready for negotiations.”
Putin’s comments come as Russian air defences partially repelled a massive Ukrainian drone attack yesterday, intercepting and destroying 121 drones targeting 13 regions, including Moscow.
Ukraine’s military said its drones hit oil facilities in Russia’s Ryazan and a microelectronics production plant in Bryansk. It said the attacked facilities were involved in supplying Russia’s army.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said early on Friday that air defences had intercepted attacks by Ukrainian drones at four locations around the Russian capital. Sobyanin, writing on Telegram, said air defences southeast of the capital in Kolomna and Ramenskoye had repelled “enemy” drones, without specifying how many.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s military said North Korea is preparing to send more troops to join Russia’s fight against Ukraine, despite Pyongyang suffering a high rate of losses among its existing deployment of 11,000 and seeing some of its soldiers captured.
