Ukraine-Russia war latest: Ukraine hit by large-scale Russian drone attack on eve of third anniversary of war – BBC.com
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says he would give up his presidency in exchange for Ukraine Nato membership, in response to a question asked at a news conferenceHe adds that it is not his “dream” to be president for a decade, and he would leave his position if it led to peace for UkraineZelesnky’s comments come after Russia launched a large-scale drone attack across Ukraine, the day before the third anniversary of the war Ukraine’s foreign minister says “no one should trust Putin’s words. Look at his actions instead”Last night saw a Russian drone assault like no other, writes BBC’s Ukraine correspondent James WaterhouseThis video can not be playedZelensky says he is willing to give up presidency for peace or Nato membershipEdited by Matt Spivey and Imogen James, with James Waterhouse reporting from KyivUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, when pressed at a news conference, said he is willing to give up the role in exchange for Nato membership for his country.His comments come in the wake of the largest single drone attack of the war, as Ukrainian officials say 267 were launched into the country earlier today, causing casualties.Tomorrow, on the third anniversary of the war, leaders will gather in Ukraine for further talks on an end to the conflict – Zelensky said it would be a “turning point”.To mark the anniversary of the conflict there will be live coverage on the BBC, be sure to join us.Until then, you can read about the “record” attacks, and Zelensky’s hopes.Our live page is closing now, thank you for joining us. As we’ve been reporting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is willing to give up his presidency in exchange for Ukraine Nato membership. He has long advocated for Ukraine to become a member, so where does Ukraine stand with Nato?What is Nato?: The military alliance was formed in 1949 by 12 western countries, with an agreement that if one member is attacked, the others will help defend it. Today, Nato has 32 members across Europe and North America. Nato’s newest entrant: The most recent entrant was Finland, which broke a longstanding policy of neutrality to join the alliance following the outbreak of war between Ukraine and Russia, with which it shares a land border.Russian defiance: Russia has consistently opposed the idea of Ukraine becoming a member, citing concerns it would bring Nato forces too close to its borders. Recently, the Kremlin told Zelensky to “sober up” when he suggested Nato membership was part of his “victory plan”.’The long term’: Nato announced Ukraine could become a member back in 2008, but Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg negated this, saying Ukraine could join “in the long term” but not until after the war ended. In today’s news conference, Zelensky says upcoming conversations with Europe and the US will put the topic Ukraine joining Nato “on the table”.The UN Secretary-General has reaffirmed the “urgent need for a just, sustainable and comprehensive peace” in Ukraine ahead of the third anniversary of the conflict.Any peace deal must respect Ukraine’s “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity”, Antonio Guterres says in a statement. “Enough is enough,” he says, adding “after three years of death and destruction, I once again call for urgent de-escalation and an immediate end to the hostilities”.We’ve just heard Zelensky’s hopes for a meeting with EU leaders to be a “turning point” for Ukraine and the war. As Europe comes under pressure to boost its defence spending, and help reach a peace deal in Ukraine, leaders are discussing what they can offer. The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says she spoke to France’s President Emmanuel Macron and the UK’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. “We discussed our unflinching support to Ukraine, financially and militarily,” she says in a post on X.Earlier in the week, Macron hosted two summits on Ukraine with several leaders from across Europe.He and Starmer are both due in Washington this week for talks with US President Donald Trump.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has just been speaking at a news conference. If you’re just joining us, here’s what he said:We’ll continue to bring you the latest updates as we get them, stay with us.Continuing on what a deal at the end of the war could look like, Zelensky says Ukraine need to know “how” it will end, and “what security measures we’d get”.This needs to be agreed with other countries he says, adding: “We can’t believe Russia, we can’t count on their words”.This is his position, he says, not that of other countries. Zelensky is now asked if the US will not support Ukraine militarily, would the help given by Ukraine’s European allies be enough to continue their defence? Zelensky replies by saying that US support is “not just money” and that “sanctions are also very important”.He says there are also some types of weapons which only the US has licences for, and while Europe could give them more of those weapons, the US holds the licence.James WaterhouseUkraine correspondent in Kyiv “I wouldn’t call Donald Trump’s words a compliment,” says Zelensky on the US president labelling him a “dictator who’s doing a terrible job” on his Truth Social platform last week.“I wasn’t offended, but a dictator would be,” he adds with a smile.The discussion now turns to the need for talks with EU leaders, and Zelensky says if there are disagreements, it “looks like an unhappy family”.”It’s not a toy, it’s a war,” he says. “We need partnership, we need help but we can’t lose our independence, we can’t lose our dignity”.Zelensky also says that he hopes tomorrow’s meeting in Ukraine with European leaders will be a “turning point”.This video can not be playedZelensky is now speaking about US demands for a share of its rare earth minerals – a “deal” Trump said would reflect the amount of aid the US had provided to Ukraine during its war with Russia.Zelensky previously rejected the demands, but now says “we are ready to speak about minerals” to America. “We are ready to share,” but adds that the US needs to make Putin “end this war”. He reiterates that Ukraine needs security guarantees, and the draft deals they have been offered so far are not what they want.But Zelensky says talks are moving forward. Zelensky says he is “grateful” for the support of both the Biden and Trump administrations.He says he wants understanding and security guarantees from President Trump to help Ukraine.He adds that he has invited Trump to Ukraine and he wants him to be there “very much”, but says “unfortunately we haven’t achieved this yet”.Zelensky says “maybe he will come or maybe I will go to Washington and it will be very useful”.On negotiations to end the war, Zelensky says topic of joining Nato will be “on the table”, but he doesn’t know how these discussions “will finish”.”But it is important for all of us to understand that it is not a table where Ukraine is invited,” he adds. It is Ukraine who is “inviting European leaders because we are part of Europe”, he says.He adds that it is important US leaders are there as well, “because they are our main help in this war”.For context: Russia has consistently opposed the idea of Ukraine becoming a member of Nato, fearing it would bring Nato forces too close to its borders. However, in 2008, the alliance said that Ukraine could eventually join. Zelensky wants his country to become a member. Zelensky is asked what assurances he needs from US President Donald Trump and whether he is happy to “give up” being president of Ukraine in exchange for peace.He answers: “Yes, I am happy, if it is for the peace of Ukraine.””If you need me to leave this chair, I am ready to do that, and I also can exchange it for Nato membership for Ukraine.”Zelensky says he is focused on Ukraine’s security now, not in 20 years’ time, adding that it is not his “dream” to remain president for decades.Zelensky is now asked by a journalist about the expectations of the European leaders at the meeting in Ukraine tomorrow. There are some “strong decisions” to be made, Zelensky says, and there will be a separate meeting with European Union parliament leaders on packages of support and sanctions against Russia. Beginning his address, Zelensky discusses a meeting between European leaders taking place in Ukraine on Monday.He says the leaders will speak about their strategy “not for the coming years, but for the coming weeks”, and discuss Ukrainian security guarantees. Ukraine needs support from Europe and the US, Zelensky adds. He says that in a week or two, the leaders will meet in a capital city of the European Union to “understand what security guarantees Ukraine might have”.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is about to speak to reporters at a news conference. The speech will conclude the Ukraine: Year 2025 forum, where we’ve been hearing from various Ukrainian officials. We’ll be bringing you the key lines from Zelensky here, and you can click the watch live button at the top of the page for a translated stream.Ukrainian service personnel using searchlights to look for drones in the sky over Kyiv last nightIf you’re just joining us, we’re bringing you the latest on Russia’s largest single drone attack on Ukraine since the war began in February 2022:Stay with us as we’ll be bringing you lines from Zelensky’s news conference and continuing our coverage in the aftermath of the strikes.Ukraine’s first lady says that overnight, “hundreds of drones brought death and destruction” across Ukraine. In a post on X, Olena Zelenska says “it was another night of explosions, burning houses and cars, and destroyed infrastructure. Another night when people prayed for their loved ones to survive”.She says the world needs to respond to Russia “correctly. With more support, more responsibility from those who truly want peace”.The most important thing for them is to “stay together” and support each other, Zelenska adds. The Kremlin says US President Donald Trump’s recent comments about Volodymyr Zelensky – such as calling the Ukrainian leader a “dictator” – are “understandable” after Zelensky made “inappropriate remarks” about Trump.”Zelensky makes inappropriate remarks addressed to the head of state. He does it repeatedly,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Russian state TV. Earlier this week, Zelensky said Trump was “living in a disinformation space” created by Russia in response to the president’s claim that Ukraine started the war, and that Zelensky’s approval ratings had fallen to 4% – but a survey conducted this month found that 57% of Ukrainians, external said they trusted Zelensky.”No president would tolerate that kind of treatment,” Peskov says, so Trump’s reaction is “completely quite understandable”.Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
