Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin sees Trump as ‘weak’ report claims as Zelensky rebukes Kremlin ‘manipulation’

Following two days of meetings in the remote Canadian hills, G7 diplomats have reached a deal on a joint statement aiming to show a united front after weeks of a turbulent relationship between the Trump administration and its Western allies.

The statement will be an all-encompassing document covering geopolitical issues around the world – but still needs to ge the green light from foreign ministers before talks can be wrapped up on Friday morning.

Ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the EU convened in a remote town in the Quebec hills on Thursday and Friday.

Meetings have been in the past consensual, but Donald Trump’s recently upending of US foreign policy provided a very different backdrop for this summit.

After a rapid advance in its western Kursk region, the Russia says it has recaptured 28 settlements in the past week.

They have also invaded Ukraine’s territory, taking control of the Ukrainian village of Novenke in Ukraine’s neighbouring Sumy region, it added.

Russia’s lightning offensive has seen a critical collapse of Ukrainian control in Kursk, which had been a crucial bargaining chip for Kyiv in future peace negotiations.

In November, President Trump announced retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, 80, as one of the key players in ending the war.

Moscow sees Donald Trump as weak, a report has revealed before the pair hold talks in a phone call.

The US president has long touted his strong relationship with Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin – but the apparent respect may not flow both ways.

Citing intelligence from the past month, a European intelligence official said that Moscow believe Trump is weak, the Washington Post reported.

The stinging report doesn’t stop there.

The intelligence official also said Moscow believes Mr Trump may be open to manipulation by the Kremlin – and that he lacks a core set of principles.

This poses concerns for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who said Putin is attempting to manipulate the US with his purported support for a ceasefire – which Mr Zelensky says is false.

According to flight-tracking data, US envoy Steve Witkoff has left Moscow, Russian media is reporting.

Mr Witkoff, who is officially Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy but has been heavily involved in Ukraine talks, met Vladimir Putin in Moscow late last night.

The EU has agreed to renew sanctions on thousands of Russian individuals and entities – and have kept Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman on the list despite pressure from Hungary.

Sanctions imposed by the EU must be renewed every six months in a unanimous vote by the Brussels ambassadors of the 27 member states. The sanctions list has been extended until September 15.

Hungary had threatened to block the renewal unless nine names were removed from the list – but envoys managed to reduce the number to three.

The EU has more than 2,400 individuals and entities on its Russia sanctions list.

The Russian president made a series of demands for concessions from Ukraine’s President Zelensky, which some experts said would amount to a “surrender” by Ukraine.

Mr Putin said: “We agree with the proposals for the ceasefire, but our position is based on the assumption the ceasefire will lead to a long-term peace.”

Any such agreement had to address the “root causes” of the conflict, he said at a press conference.

Jane Dalton with the full report:

Ukrainian drones have struck gas compressor stations in Russia, a source in Kyiv’s security service said on Friday.

Video from the site shows the drones striking the industrial equipment causing powerful explosions, the SBU source told Reuters.

The Ukrainian drones also struck a field depot for S-300/S-400 missiles in Russia’s Belgorod region, detonating ammunition, the source added.

Vladimir Putin conveyed Moscow’s position on a ceasefire in Ukraine during direct talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday, the Kremlin confirmed on Friday morning.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there are grounds for “cautious optimism” and that Putin is in “overall solidarity” with Trump on Ukraine.

But the Russian autocrat added that there is much work to do before a ceasefire can become reality.

Once Mr Witkoff has relayed Putin’s position to Mr Trump, a timescale will be set for a phone call between the Russian and American presidents, Peskov added.

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Putin of a “Russian manipulation”, saying he is deliberately delaying the possibility of a ceasefire without explicitly rejecting it.