Ukraine war live: Mother and son killed in attack on Kyiv before Putin’s ‘ceasefire’

A poll has shown that 47 per cent of Ukrainians have a fairly positive expectation of the US critical minerals deal, as of early May.

Conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, the survey also found that 22 per cent of respondents expect the deal will have negative consequences, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

Another 19 per cent believe it will have no impact on Ukraine, while 12 per cent were undecided.

The deal was signed last week after months of intense negotiations, and will see Washington and Kyiv share profits from the future sale of Ukraine’s mineral and energy reserves.

Earlier, we reported that two people had been killed in Russia’s intense overnight drone attack on Kyiv.

It has now emerged that a mother and son were the two people who died, according to Ukrainian authorities.

At least seven people, including four children, were also injured in the attacks, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding that Russia fired four ballistic missiles and 142 drones at Kyiv and five other regions.

Residents evacuated their apartment buildings still in night dress, and waited outside the damaged as emergency workers battled blazes in their apartment blocks.

Russian drones continued to circle the Ukrainian territory at 11am (9am BST) on Wednesday, more than nine hours after the first air raid sirens sounded over the region.

Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, has claimed Kyiv is ready to accept the idea of a 30-kilometre demilitarised zone.

A ceasefire “in place” – meaning both sides retain the territory they currently hold – may be the best way out of the current situation, Mr Kellog said.

“So you tell the Ukrainians ‘Look, this is one of those things that’s going to be evolving over time. And if you do a ceasefire in place, the ground that you own, the ground that you fought for, that’s your ground right now.’”

He gave examples including the reunification of Germany, to note that political realities can then change over time.

Kyiv is ready for a temporary demilitarised zone, Mr Kellog claimed, in which Ukrainian and Russian forces could withdraw by 15 kilometres each, creating a 30-kilometre no-fire zone.

This would be controlled by the ‘coalition of the willing’, the Anglo-French-led group of European countries prepared to put boots on the ground to facilitate peacekeeping efforts in Ukraine.

Less than two days after US president Donald Trump lashed out at Vladimir Putin for “tapping me along” over a peace deal, the Russian president announced another temporary ceasefire – this one scheduled to last three days.

His grand declaration raised immediate suspicion over whether this was yet another stalling tactic from the most conniving of dictators. One designed to keep an increasingly frustrated White House happy: Mr Trump’s top diplomat has even talked this week of pulling out of the entire negotiating process.

Chief international correspondent Bel Trew writes:

Russian forces killed four civilians and wounded ten more in the Donetsk region on Tuesday, the region’s military chief said.

“The Russians killed four residents of Donetsk Oblast on 6 May – in Kramatorsk, Poltavka, Yablunivka and Sofiivka. Another 10 people were wounded during the day,” Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk military administration, said on Telegram.

Russian forces have killed at least 3,196 civilians and injured at least 7,065 in the Donetsk region since the war began more than three years ago, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Ukrainian drone attacks forced most of Moscow’s airports to close just as Chinese president Xi Jinping was due to arrive to join Russia’s VE Day celebrations.

Moscow’s key airports remained out of operation for most of the night as Russian air defence units destroyed at least 14 Ukrainian drones from 10pm on Tuesday (8pm BST) until Wednesday morning.

Twenty-nine world leaders, including Mr Xi, are expected to attend World War Two Victory Day commemorations in Moscow in the coming days, according to the Kremlin. Military units from 13 countries, including China, will take part in the parade.

Russian national carrier Aeroflot has said it will reorder the timetable to cope with the disruption.

Mr Xi is due to start a four-day visit to Russia on Wednesday, giving President Vladimir Putin an important diplomatic boost at a time when the Russian leader is keen to show his country is not isolated on the world stage.