Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s UK envoy admits war has ‘cost a lot’ as drone strike overshadows ‘Russian Davos’

Russian diplomat says ‘we cannot lose this war’ as he admits Ukrainian forces have caused major damage to Russian oil infrastructure

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• Trump’s ballroom chief, conspiracy theorists and Steven Seagal: The surprise US guests attending Putin’s own ‘Davos’
• Baltic states on edge as stray Ukrainian drones cause airspace chaos and political turmoil
• Vladimir Putin warned by his own officials that mounting cost of Ukraine war is ‘unsustainable’
• Marta Kostyuk blasts Russian players for Ukraine war silence ahead of French Open clash with Mirra Andreeva

Key Points

• Russian envoy to the UK admits war has 'cost us a lot' and claims Moscow cannot afford to lose
• Ukraine embarrasses Putin with strikes across St Petersburg at start of 'Russian Davos'
• Nato chief tells Russian men ‘very high chance you’ll die’ if they fight Ukraine war as Moscow loses more than 30,000 troops every month
• US secretary of state Rubio promises news on Ukraine aid funds soon as $400m held with Hegseth's department
• Germany, France and UK draw up plan to engage Putin in Ukraine talks as Europe seeks to end war
• EU members greenlight first step in accession talks for Ukraine and Moldova

Ukraine war cost us a lot, says Russian envoy to the UK

The Russian ambassador to the UK has said the war in Ukraine is taking a toll on Moscow and the stakes are now too high for Russian forces to “lose this war”.

“We cannot lose this war,” Andrey Kelin told Sky News. “We simply have to win it. That is the way we still continue to do it,” he said.

"I cannot deny that the war cost a lot. And this year we have a certain very low percentage of growth. Yes, Ukraine has struck our refineries quite a lot, [including] on our exportation facilities in St Petersburg. But we learned how to re-establish it,” he said, discussing the toll the war has taken on Russia’s economy.

Kelin did admit Ukraine’s gain of “some square kilometres” on the battlefield but claimed that the threat from Ukrainian forces is now being repelled back.

Recap: Rubio promises news on Ukraine aid soon

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a Senate subcommittee on Wednesday there will be news "pretty soon" on $400 million Congress approved for its war in Ukraine but delayed at the Department of Defense.

He added that the current risk of escalation in the conflict is “real” - more so than it was two years ago.

Rubio also revealed that president Trump will attend the Nato meeting of heads of state in Turkey in July.

"I think the next meeting of NATO and Turkey in July is probably the most important meeting in NATO's history, because there are some things here that need to be cleared up and fixed," Rubio told lawmakers adding that "The president himself will be attending."

Preview: 'Russian Davos' carries on despite Ukrainian attacks

Ukraine kicked off Russia’s largest economic forum with a bang on Wednesday, claiming attacks on an oil terminal in St Petersburg and a naval base nearby.

The glitzy annual economic forum is designed to attract foreign investment, with growth in focus amid reports of disarray in Moscow’s budgeting as the four-year war starts to pinch.

On Thursday, speakers including Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Aleksandr Pankin, and former Italian deputy minister of economic development, Michele Geraci, will ask whether there is “any room for diplomacy in contemporary international relations”.

Saudi Arabia’s industry and mineral resource minister, Russia’s minister of natural resources and the environment, and first deputy prime minister of Russia Denis Manturov will discuss international cooperation on rare earth elements and critical minerals.

Steven Seagal is expected to join a talk on Russo-American ties, discussing the value of cross-cultural ties in a “shifting international landscape and ever-changing format of cooperation”, including opportunities for “joint humanitarian initiatives” and “new areas of common interest”.

There are separate talks to come on Russia and India, Russia and the UAE, ‘how to avoid losing billions in a cyberattack’ and dealing with fake news and information attacks in the modern age.

Russia continues attacks on Ukraine's logistics, deputy PM says

Russia is continuing its “systemic” attacks on Ukrainian logistics infrastructure and carried out more than 500 drone attacks in April alone, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said on Thursday.

Writing on Telegram, Kuleba said that Ukrainian ports came under the attacks practically every other day.

“Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 935 port infrastructure facilities have been damaged or partially destroyed, 191 civilian vessels have been damaged, and 255 people have been injured,” he said.

Despite the attacks, Ukrainian maritime export corridor continued working and Ukrainian sea ports handled close to 35 million tons of cargo so far in 2026, he said.

One killed, three injured in Ukrainian drone strike on Crimea train, governor says

One person was killed and three injured when a Ukrainian drone struck a commuter train in Crimea, the peninsula's Russian-installed governor Sergei Aksyonov said on Thursday.

Zelensky thanks Starmer for work on holding negotiations to end war

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke with prime minister Keir Starmer yesterday to discuss the negotiations to end the war.

“I spoke with @Keir_Starmer, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. We are preparing for negotiations and meetings, and this includes both weapons for our defence and our diplomacy – our joint diplomacy with Europe – to bring the war closer to an end,” he said on X.

“Europe definitely needs its own voice, its own position, and its own contribution to all diplomatic efforts that can help end the war. We coordinated on how to get there,” Zelensky said.

He also thanked Sir Keir for the latest UK sanctions on Russian cryptocurrency schemes.

“It is absolutely essential that all forms of pressure on the aggressor be further strengthened. I am grateful to the United Kingdom for its support!,” he said.

Ukraine strikes kill three in Russia-annexed Crimea

At least three people have been killed in drone attacks after Ukraine launched strikes on the two main centres in the Russia-annexed Crimea peninsula, Kremlin-installed officials in the region said early on Thursday.

Sergei Aksyonov, the Russia-appointed head of Crimea, said Ukrainian forces had hit a non-residential part of Simferopol, the peninsula's main administrative town.

The strike killed three people and injured seven, he said.

In the Crimean port of Sevastopol, the local Russia-installed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said air defence units had intercepted more than 20 Ukrainian drones.

Razvozhayev made no mention of casualties, but said drone debris had damaged some buildings. The air raid alert remained in effect in the city for nearly five hours.

One killed, three injured in Ukrainian drone strike on Crimea train

At least one person ⁠was killed ⁠and three ​injured ⁠when ⁠a ​Ukrainian drone ⁠struck ‌a commuter train ‌in Crimea, ‌the ⁠peninsula's Russian-installed governor Sergei Aksyonov said this morning.

Just hours earlier, Ukraine launched drone attacks on the two main centres in the Russia-annexed Crimea peninsula, killing three people and injuring seven.

UK summons Russian ambassador after drone strike hit Nato ally Romania

Britain's foreign ministry summoned ⁠Russia's ambassador yesterday after a Russian drone last week struck a residential building in Nato member ⁠Romania.

Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has condemned the incident, which occurred during a Russian attack on Ukraine and injured two people in the Romanian city of Galati, and said Britain stood united with allies to defend Nato territory.

“Russia’s later brutal bombardment of civilians in ⁠Ukraine comes afters its violation of Nato airspace last week, hitting a residential building in Romania," Britain's foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Injuring innocent civilians on Nato territory is unacceptable and a stark reminder of the threat that Ukrainian civilians are having to endure on a daily basis,” it added.

Watch: Putin’s UK envoy admits war has ‘cost a lot’

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