Ukraine latest: Zelensky urges allies to show united front against Russia in Brussels

An unspecified number of people have been killed and injured after Ukrainian drones hit a tanker in the southern Russian port of Rostov-on-Don, the city’s mayor said.

“Emergency teams are extinguishing the fire on the tanker that was struck while docked in a drone attack,” Russian news agencies quoted Skriabin as saying.

“A leak of oil products was avoided. Unfortunately, there are dead and injured,” he said.

Regional governor Yuri Slyusar had initially reported the Ukrainian strike on the vessel in the port and the casualties among the ship’s crew.

Slyusar also said parts of a high-rise apartment block under construction were damaged in the city and two private homes burned down in a nearby town.

Below we look at what we know about the plan – and potential problems – so far.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Ukraine’s partners to take a decision on using the nearly $250 billion of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the European Union, most of it held in Belgium’s Euroclear, to support a loan for Ukraine.

In his evening address on Wednesday, he called on Ukraine’s allies to secure support for Kyiv and show Russia that continuing its war is “pointless,” ahead of a crucial European Union summit on Moscow’s frozen assets.

EU governments agreed last week to freeze the assets for as long as needed instead of voting every six months on extending this status. Some European leaders have opposed the plan as they fear it opens them up to legal risk.

“We need all our partners to have the courage to see the truth, acknowledge the truth and act accordingly,” Zelensky said. He added that Russia was showing with its actions it intended to continue fighting next year.

“Allies in the United States often say that Russia seems to want to end the war. But Russia is sending completely different rhetoric and signals, including official orders to its army.”

A British paratrooper killed serving in Ukraine said he “went out doing what I trained to do”.

The body of Lance Corporal George Hooley, 28, was repatriated to RAF Brize Norton in west Oxfordshire on Wednesday after his death in what the Ministry of Defence called a “tragic accident” last week.

An extract from a letter written by L/Cpl Hooley to be opened in the event of his death said “don’t remember me with sadness and loss” because he died “doing what I believed in”.

A private, family-only ceremony was held at Brize Norton before L/Cpl Hooley’s body was carried past Carterton Repatriation Memorial Garden.

People paid their respects along the route, some in tears, and members of the armed forces and police also turned out to honour the soldier.

Mourners gathered at the garden, designed by the Oxfordshire community as a space for people to honour fallen military personnel.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Ukraine’s allies to secure support for Kyiv and show Russia that continuing ts war is “pointless,” ahead of a crucial European Union summit on Moscow’s frozen assets.

“The outcome of these meetings, the outcome for Europe, must be such that Russia feels that its desire to continue fighting next year will be pointless, because Ukraine will have support,” Zelensky said in his evening address.

US and Russian officials are expected to hold talks in Miami, Florida, this weekend about a possible deal to end the war in Ukraine, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter.

US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to be part of the US delegation, according to Politico, which also reported that Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, will be part of the Russian delegation.

The Ukrainian president left Germany confident that proposals negotiated with the US would soon be finalised after receiving crucial security guarantees from his European allies and Washington.

Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov reiterated that Moscow would not give back land to end the war, and would not accept any Nato peacekeepers stationed in a post-war Ukraine.

Sir Keir Starmer has warned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich that the “clock is ticking” for him to hand over the £2.5bn he received from the sale of Chelsea football club.

The announcement is the first major move in transferring European based Russian assets for the rebuilding of Ukraine. It follows a mini summit between Sir Keir and Belgian PM Bart de Wever last week to discuss Russian assets with most of them based in Belgium.

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox reports:

The US treasury has denied it has come to any conclusions about future Russian sanctions after a report by Bloomberg News suggested decisions were being made in the event Moscow rejected a peace deal.

“It is explicitly false to conclude any decisions have been made regarding future sanctions against Russia,” a Treasury spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

“As we have said for months, all options remain on the table in support of President Trump’s tireless efforts to stop the senseless killing, and to achieving a lasting, durable peace.”