Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskyy calls Putin a ‘fantasiser’ over peace talks claim and says he wanted to ‘annihilate’ Ukraine’s army – as it happened

• Answering media questions at an EU summit in Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that European security guarantees would not be enough for Ukraine, which aspires to join transatlantic military alliance Nato. He stressed the importance of US support. Zelenskyy also said also it was important that discussions about a potential foreign peacekeeping contingent were happening now (he said yesterday that he had held a new discussion with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, on the latter’s proposal to deploy troops in Ukraine as a means to help achieve a stable peace).

• Vladimir Putin held his annual press conference today in Moscow. In it, the Russian president suggested a missile “duel” with the US that would show how Russia’s new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile could defeat any American missile defence system. He also said the Russian economy may grow by 4% this year but acknowledged that inflation was a worrying signal. Putin also said that relations between Russia and China had reached a level never seen before, adding that the two countries were coordinating their actions on the international stage and would continue to do so. Putin said he is ready for talks “any time” with US president-elect Donald Trump, who has touted his ability to strike a Ukraine peace deal within hours of coming to office.

• At least 100 North Koreans deployed to support Russia’s war effort in Ukraine have been killed since entering combat in December, South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters this morning. Another 1,000 of Pyongyang’s soldiers have been injured, he said.

• Ukraine struck Russian territory with at least 13 missiles and 84 drones, triggering a fire at the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in the southern Rostov region that burned for hours, Russian officials said on Thursday. Ukraine later claimed responsibility for the strike, which the country’s military said caused a fire at the refinery which was used to supply Russian armed forces.

• Russian air defences shot down 84 drones over Russian regions, including 36 over Rostov region, according to the Russian defence ministry.

• Russian forces have taken control of the villages of Novyi Komar and Zelenivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the Interfax news agency reported.

• British troops may be sent to Ukraine to train up soldiers in its war against Russia, the UK’s defence secretary, John Healey, has suggested.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that Russia and Ukraine were on the verge of agreeing a deal to end hostilities at talks in Istanbul in April 2022, but that Ukraine backed away from it once Russian troops fell back from near Kyiv.

The deal is reported to have included clauses demanding that Ukraine adopt a geopolitically neutral status and not join Nato, limit the size of its armed forces, and grant a special status to eastern Ukraine – all things which Zelenskyy has made clear he opposes.

Referring to the talks in Istanbul, Zelenskyy said:

Ukraine did not agree to the ultimatum of Russian Federation. They tried to have follow up steps to soften their positions in this ultimatum. And you remember, these were the meetings in Belarus and in Turkey. You remember all this, and all these meetings were so-called Istanbul agreements. Ukraine has not signed anything – and these agreements don’t exist. We had just responded to the ultimatum from the Russian side, and that is it…

They wanted to annihilate our army so the army did not exist (40-50,000 only). So he was just suggesting to Ukraine to give up, to freeze the conflict, to change the direction of their future, not Nato, not Europe, but directing itself to Russia to take our independence, to deprive the future. And this person is now telling us that these are agreements. He (Putin) is an old fantasizer. He lives in a different world. He lives in his own aquarium I am afraid.

He was asked by a reporter if he talked to Nato/European leaders and officials about security guarantees last night. Zelenskyy says he thinks European guarantees will be insufficient, as “real guarantees” are from Nato, which is dependent on decisions taken by European countries and the US. When asked what security guarantee means in practical terms, the Ukrainian president said he cannot discuss any details now, but said that they are necessary as Vladimir Putin is dangerous. “For him, he needs very much to show success for his society. That is why I can’t share some details until decisions are made.”

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had held a new discussion with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, on the latter’s proposal to deploy troops in Ukraine as a means to help achieve a stable peace.

“We share a common vision: reliable guarantees are essential for a peace that can truly be achieved,” said Ukraine’s president, who was in Brussels on Wednesday for meetings with Nato’s chief and European leaders.

Now addressing the EU summit in Brussels, he said Kyiv supports Macron’s initiative but they need more details on the “military contingency”.

He said:

We say that it could be part of the security guarantees. It goes without saying that Nato is the best security guarantee for Ukraine. And of course, until Ukraine is a member of Nato, this aspect could be considered as an alternative.

But the most important is that it is not just an artificial issue blown up. We need to have concrete mechanisms… how many details, what do they will do if Russia is attacking, for example – many, many questions are being raised. We’re discussing them.