TRUMP TO MEET ZELENSKYY AT NATO SUMMIT TO DISCUSS ENDING UKRAINE WAR

Donald Trump will meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a NATO summit in Turkey this week to pursue efforts to end the war in Ukraine, according to a senior US official. The official stated that "the battlefield has clearly frozen over the last couple of months and neither side is making a lot of progress" and that Trump feels "a real sense of urgency to try to bring this to a stop." Trump also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a lengthy telephone call on Sunday, during which the US leader offered assistance in finding a solution to the conflict, according to a Kremlin aide. Zelenskyy confirmed he had also spoken with Trump, describing the conversation as "very good" and noting it included discussion of the war's 1,200-kilometre frontline.

Trump intends to urge NATO allies to increase defence spending during the summit, the official said. Zelenskyy stated on Sunday that intelligence indicated Russia was preparing a large new military strike, days after at least 27 people were killed and dozens injured in a Russian attack on Kyiv that Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko described as the worst during the war. Early Monday, Russian missiles struck Kyiv's historic Podil district, damaging a residential building with residents trapped on upper floors, according to officials. Drone debris fell in other districts of the capital.

Ukrainian attacks also struck Russian-occupied areas. Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula lost electricity after a Ukrainian attack on energy infrastructure, according to Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-appointed city governor. Moscow-installed officials reported one person killed in a Ukrainian attack on Crimea on Sunday, with two others injured in northern Crimea, one seriously, according to regional governor Sergei Aksyonov.