US secretary of state Marco Rubio said some progress had been made on what the “security infrastructure” of Ukraine and Europe could look like after the war with Russia, adding that talks this week could lead to further advances. Rubio’s comments on Sunday, ahead of his travel to Paris for talks with G7 foreign ministers, come as Russia-Ukraine negotiations under US mediation have been set for Tuesday and Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, will represent the US in Abu Dhabi.
In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” broadcast on Sunday, Trump said he believed the war would end soon and suggested Ukraine could emerge from a settlement with altered borders. “I think we’re gonna have it done, and I think it’s gonna happen and they’re gonna end up with a little bit different shape Ukraine,” Trump said. Asked whether Russian president Vladimir Putin was stringing him along, Trump replied: “Oh, I don’t think so.”
On Sunday, Rubio said the whole time the US had been talking about Russia and Ukraine, “the one thing that’s repeatedly come up is the need for security guarantees” and what they would look like in Ukraine, and on the European continent. “I think that’s what the president’s alluding to – is that there’s been some advances made in what that architecture could look like post-conflict.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Europe would be well represented at the talks. “France will be in Abu Dhabi to take part in these discussions,” Barrot told French radio station RTL. “I can’t tell you yet who will be representing France on this occasion, but France will certainly be there,” he added.
A Russian drone has struck emergency workers on rescue missions in southern Ukraine. Authorities say the attack on Sunday hit a former school and nearby shelter in the village of Komyshuvakha, previously targeted by Russian bombs. Ukraine said last Monday’s attack killed at least 55 people. No injuries were reported in Sunday’s strike but rescue equipment was damaged. About 50 people remain missing.
Power has been restored to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, hours after the plant lost its external electricity supply and had to use backup generators for reactor cooling, the UN’s nuclear watchdog said on Sunday. Zaporizhzhia, which does not produce electricity but needs power supplied by two external links to keep nuclear fuel cool, lost its off-site electricity supply earlier on Sunday after the Ferosplavna power line disconnected. The International Atomic Energy Agency said the cause and location of the disconnection were unknown. The loss of power was the plant’s 27th such incident since the beginning of the conflict.
Russia said on Sunday overnight strikes by its forces had hit three cargo vessels that were carrying military goods for Ukraine and two electricity substations , which it said supplied power to the Ukrainian defence industry, Reuters reports. Russia’s defence ministry said Russian forces had struck a container ship delivering weapons and military equipment to the Black Sea port of Odesa, and another in the port of Chornomorsk, which is in the same southwestern region of Ukraine. According to the ministry, the second container ship had delivered dual-use cargo to Ukraine. It said a third vessel, a dry cargo ship hit south-west of Odesa, was carrying weapons and military equipment for Ukraine’s armed forces.
Moldova on Sunday launched a new power line connecting the country to neighbouring Romania and the European grid, to reduce its reliance on Russian energy . “For decades, Moscow used energy to blackmail us,” President Maia Sandu wrote on X. “No more. Moldova buys zero Russian gas.” Achieving energy security is a priority for the former Soviet republic of 2.6 million people, which has faced difficulties since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
