By NATASHA ANDERSON

Published: 18:30 BST, 21 April 2025 | Updated: 18:30 BST, 21 April 2025

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Donald Trump has optimistically claimed that Russia and Ukraine could reach a peace deal 'this week', which he suggests would directly impact American businesses and the global economy. Trump, 78, struck a hopeful note on his social media platform Truth Social last night, saying that 'hopefully Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week'. 'Both will then start to do big business with the United States of America, which is thriving, and make a fortune!' he added.

Donald Trump has optimistically claimed that Russia and Ukraine could reach a peace deal ‘this week’, which he suggests would directly impact American businesses and the global economy. Trump, 78, struck a hopeful note on his social media platform Truth Social last night, saying that ‘hopefully Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week’. ‘Both will then start to do big business with the United States of America, which is thriving, and make a fortune!’ he added.

Trump has routinely made his desire for peace clear but Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be dragging his feet, possibly in a bid to win more concessions. Russia launched missiles and drones targeting Ukraine early this morning, waking up Kyiv and the eastern half of the country, hours after the one-day Easter ceasefire declared by Putin came to an end. There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damages from the attacks, regional Ukrainian officials said on social media. The scale of the attack was not immediately clear.

Trump has routinely made his desire for peace clear but Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be dragging his feet, possibly in a bid to win more concessions. Russia launched missiles and drones targeting Ukraine early this morning, waking up Kyiv and the eastern half of the country, hours after the one-day Easter ceasefire declared by Putin came to an end. There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damages from the attacks, regional Ukrainian officials said on social media. The scale of the attack was not immediately clear.

Both Kyiv and Moscow had accused each other of thousands of attacks that violated the truce that the Kremlin indicated on Sunday would not be extended. Washington said it would welcome an extension of the truce, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated several times Ukraine's willingness to pause strikes for 30 days in the war. Trump and his Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that the US would walk away from peace efforts unless there are clear signs of progress soon.

Both Kyiv and Moscow had accused each other of thousands of attacks that violated the truce that the Kremlin indicated on Sunday would not be extended. Washington said it would welcome an extension of the truce, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated several times Ukraine’s willingness to pause strikes for 30 days in the war. Trump and his Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that the US would walk away from peace efforts unless there are clear signs of progress soon.

Trump continues to tout the possibility of a peace deal, with his plan reportedly making clear that the US would recognise Kremlin-occupied Crimea as Russian territory. The US would not recognise the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions as Russian, The Wall Street Journal reports. These occupied regions, however, would not be returned to Ukraine, but would instead remain under the control of the Kremlin military. Trump previously revealed that discussions included talks about 'dividing up certain assets' between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump continues to tout the possibility of a peace deal, with his plan reportedly making clear that the US would recognise Kremlin-occupied Crimea as Russian territory. The US would not recognise the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions as Russian, The Wall Street Journal reports. These occupied regions, however, would not be returned to Ukraine, but would instead remain under the control of the Kremlin military. Trump previously revealed that discussions included talks about ‘dividing up certain assets’ between Russia and Ukraine.

It is understood that under his proposal, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant - which is the largest in Europe - would be a neutral zone under US control. Russia is also seeking guarantees that Ukraine would be barred from joining NATO. Trump's proposal does not ban Western military support for Ukraine or the deployment of European forces in the region. Despite Trump's optimism of an imminent peace deal, Putin - who launched Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and who ordered on Saturday the halt in all military activity along the front line until midnight Moscow time on Sunday - did not give orders to extend the 30-hour Easter ceasefire.

It is understood that under his proposal, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant – which is the largest in Europe – would be a neutral zone under US control. Russia is also seeking guarantees that Ukraine would be barred from joining NATO. Trump’s proposal does not ban Western military support for Ukraine or the deployment of European forces in the region. Despite Trump’s optimism of an imminent peace deal, Putin – who launched Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and who ordered on Saturday the halt in all military activity along the front line until midnight Moscow time on Sunday – did not give orders to extend the 30-hour Easter ceasefire.

'There were no other commands,' Russia's TASS state news agency cited Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying when asked whether the ceasefire could be prolonged. Ukraine's air force reported this morning that Russia launched 96 drones and three missiles in overnight attacks targeting Ukraine, causing damage in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy regions. Air defence units shot down 42 Russian drones, and another 47 drones were redirected by electronic warfare, the Ukrainian air force said in a post on Telegram. It gave no details on the missiles.

‘There were no other commands,’ Russia’s TASS state news agency cited Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying when asked whether the ceasefire could be prolonged. Ukraine’s air force reported this morning that Russia launched 96 drones and three missiles in overnight attacks targeting Ukraine, causing damage in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy regions. Air defence units shot down 42 Russian drones, and another 47 drones were redirected by electronic warfare, the Ukrainian air force said in a post on Telegram. It gave no details on the missiles.

While eastern Ukraine was placed under air raid alerts starting minutes after midnight on Monday that are yet to be called off, according to data from the Ukrainian air force, Kyiv and the central regions were placed on alert for about an hour. There were no reports of strikes on the Ukrainian capital, but officials in the port city of Mykolaiv said that it had been hit by Russian missiles. There were no immediate reports of damages. Russia's Voronezh region that borders Ukraine was also under air raid alerts for two hours overnight, and the borders regions of Kursk and parts of Belgorod were briefly under missile threat as well, regional officials said. While there were no air raid alerts in Ukraine on Sunday, Ukrainian forces reported nearly 3,000 violations of Russia's own ceasefire with the heaviest attacks and shelling seen along the Pokrovsk part of the frontline, Zelenskiy said earlier on Monday.

While eastern Ukraine was placed under air raid alerts starting minutes after midnight on Monday that are yet to be called off, according to data from the Ukrainian air force, Kyiv and the central regions were placed on alert for about an hour. There were no reports of strikes on the Ukrainian capital, but officials in the port city of Mykolaiv said that it had been hit by Russian missiles. There were no immediate reports of damages. Russia’s Voronezh region that borders Ukraine was also under air raid alerts for two hours overnight, and the borders regions of Kursk and parts of Belgorod were briefly under missile threat as well, regional officials said. While there were no air raid alerts in Ukraine on Sunday, Ukrainian forces reported nearly 3,000 violations of Russia’s own ceasefire with the heaviest attacks and shelling seen along the Pokrovsk part of the frontline, Zelenskiy said earlier on Monday.

Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had shot at Russian positions 444 times and said it had counted more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks, saying also that there were deaths and injuries among the civilian population. Just hours after announcing the ceasefire, Putin attended an Easter service late Saturday at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour led by Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a vocal supporter of Putin and the war in Ukraine. Putin offered no details on how the ceasefire would be monitored or whether it would cover airstrikes or ongoing ground battles that rage around the clock.

Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had shot at Russian positions 444 times and said it had counted more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks, saying also that there were deaths and injuries among the civilian population. Just hours after announcing the ceasefire, Putin attended an Easter service late Saturday at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour led by Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a vocal supporter of Putin and the war in Ukraine. Putin offered no details on how the ceasefire would be monitored or whether it would cover airstrikes or ongoing ground battles that rage around the clock.

His announcement came after Trump said Friday that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are 'coming to a head' and insisted that neither side is 'playing' him in his push to end the grinding three-year war. The State Department said Sunday that the US is committed to 'a full and comprehensive ceasefire.' It noted encouraging discussions this past week in Paris about peace prospects in Ukraine, which Rubio conveyed in a call to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Zelensky accused Russia on Sunday of creating a false appearance of honouring the Easter ceasefire , saying Moscow continued to launch attacks after Putin announced the unilateral temporary truce. 'The Russian army is trying to create a general impression of a ceasefire, but in some places, it does not abandon individual attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine,' Zelensky said in a post on X early Sunday.

His announcement came after Trump said Friday that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are ‘coming to a head’ and insisted that neither side is ‘playing’ him in his push to end the grinding three-year war. The State Department said Sunday that the US is committed to ‘a full and comprehensive ceasefire.’ It noted encouraging discussions this past week in Paris about peace prospects in Ukraine, which Rubio conveyed in a call to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Zelensky accused Russia on Sunday of creating a false appearance of honouring the Easter ceasefire , saying Moscow continued to launch attacks after Putin announced the unilateral temporary truce. ‘The Russian army is trying to create a general impression of a ceasefire, but in some places, it does not abandon individual attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine,’ Zelensky said in a post on X early Sunday.

In later updates, Zelensky alleged that despite Ukraine declaring a symmetrical approach to Russian actions, 'the trend of increasing the use of heavy weaponry by Russian forces continues.' He noted that some Ukrainian troops were killed in a Russian 'ambush' on Sunday in the Donetsk region, and said the Russian soldiers responsible would be 'eliminated.' Last month, Putin vowed to 'finish off' Ukraine while standing aboard a brand new Russian nuclear submarine during a visit to an Arctic naval base. Speaking to submariners, Putin smugly declared: 'Not long ago I said we'd grind [Ukraine] down - now it looks like we'll finish them off.'

In later updates, Zelensky alleged that despite Ukraine declaring a symmetrical approach to Russian actions, ‘the trend of increasing the use of heavy weaponry by Russian forces continues.’ He noted that some Ukrainian troops were killed in a Russian ‘ambush’ on Sunday in the Donetsk region, and said the Russian soldiers responsible would be ‘eliminated.’ Last month, Putin vowed to ‘finish off’ Ukraine while standing aboard a brand new Russian nuclear submarine during a visit to an Arctic naval base. Speaking to submariners, Putin smugly declared: ‘Not long ago I said we’d grind [Ukraine] down – now it looks like we’ll finish them off.’

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Trump foresees potential Russia-Ukraine agreement within days



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