Russia launched a missile attack Thursday on Kyiv, killing at least two and wounding dozens hours after US President Donald Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for refusing to accept Moscow’s occupation of Crimea as a peace deal.The Ukrainian capital was attacked “by enemy missiles” in the early hours, with flights of drones heard across the city by AFP journalists as residents hid in bomb shelters. City mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were killed and 54 others wounded so far in the attack.Of these, “38 of them, including six children, were hospitalised,” he said, adding that the rest of the wounded were treated at the scene. In Ukraine’s east, the city of Kharkiv was hit by seven missiles, said city mayor Igor Terekhov, who later warned that “a massive drone attack on the city continues”. “Stay safe!” Terekhov said on Telegram.Hours earlier, Trump had said a peace deal was “very close” — and effectively closed with Moscow — but accused Zelensky of being “harder” to negotiate with.The Ukrainian president’s refusal to accept US terms for ending the conflict — which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 — “will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field’,” he said.”I think we have a deal with Russia. We have to get a deal with Zelensky,” Trump told reporters. “I thought it might be easier to deal with Zelensky. So far it’s been harder.”Ahead of Trump’s broadside, Vice President JD Vance laid out the US vision for a peace deal where Russia would get to keep already occupied swaths of Ukraine, which include Crimea.Zelensky has rejected this as a violation of Ukraine’s constitution.That in turn prompted an outburst from Trump, in which he accused Zelensky of being “inflammatory” and taking a position “very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia.”Zelensky “can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.Trump said Crimea — a lush Black Sea peninsula with longtime major Soviet and Russian naval facilities — “was lost years ago” and “is not even a point of discussion.”Zelensky responded by posting on social media a 2018 “Crimea declaration” by Trump’s then-secretary of state Mike Pompeo, which said Washington “rejects Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea.”As Kyiv was bombarded with a Russian missile attack, Zelensky’s top aide took to Telegram, saying “Russia is attacking Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities with missiles and drones right now”. “Putin shows only a desire to kill,” said Andriy Yermak. “The fire must stop. The attacks on civilians must stop.”- ‘Freeze’ Russia’s gains -Weeks into a US-initiated process, Trump’s patience was “running very thin,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said.Intense US pressure on Ukraine to accept a deal comes after Trump regularly boasted on the campaign trail that he would resolve the conflict in 24 hours.He has put no equivalent visible pressure on Russia, while dangling a lifting of massive US economic sanctions against Moscow if the fighting stops.Meanwhile, on a trip to India, his deputy Vance gave the fullest public explanation of the US plan so far, saying the deal would “freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today.””The Ukrainians and the Russians are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own,” Vance said.Freezing the frontlines would mean Ukraine losing large areas to Russia.The vice president did not explain what territory Russia — which seized Crimea in 2014 — would have to give up.It was time for Moscow and Kyiv “to either say ‘yes,’ or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Vance said.Growing speculation over Washington being ready to recognise Russian rule over Crimea has alarmed European capitals.French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said “Ukraine’s territorial integrity and European aspirations are very strong requirements for Europeans.”A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters “it has to be up to Ukraine to decide its future.”Top Ukrainian officials wrapped up a round of talks in London on Wednesday with representatives from Britain, France, Germany and the United States.US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff is to visit Moscow this week and Trump said he would likely meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly after his trip to the Middle East in mid-May.The diplomatic wrangling and strikes on Kyiv came after a fresh wave of Russian air attacks that shattered a brief Easter truce, killing nine and wounding at least 30 more in the southeastern city of Marganets.In light of the attacks, Zelensky has called for an “immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire.”burs-sms/dhc/hmn

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday played up prospects of a “fair deal” on trade with China, but his top officials offered few details of how Washington might de-escalate its damaging tariff war with Beijing.Trump told reporters his country would have a “fair deal with China,” adding that “everything’s active” when asked if Washington was talking to Beijing.But how soon the tariffs can be lowered “depends on them,” Trump said, referring to Beijing, even as he maintained that he gets along “very well” with Chinese President Xi Jinping and hopes they can reach an agreement.Trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies have soared as Trump ramped up levies on imports from China this year, imposing an additional 145 percent tariff on many products over practices Washington has deemed unfair, and other issues.Beijing in turn has countered with new 125 percent tariffs on US goods.Despite signals that Washington is looking towards a fair agreement, the state of discussions remains murky.Asked if there is direct US contact with China on trade, Trump said: “Every day.”But earlier Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that the two countries are “not yet” talking when it comes to lowering tariffs.”I think both sides are waiting to speak to the other,” he said at an event on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s spring meetings in Washington.He added that there is no unilateral offer from Trump to slash duties on Chinese goods.- ‘An embargo’ -Bessent said the staggeringly high tariffs both countries have imposed on each other’s goods have to come down before negotiations can occur.”I don’t think either side believes that the current tariff levels are sustainable, so I would not be surprised if they went down in a mutual way,” he added on the sidelines of an Institute of International Finance forum.”This is the equivalent of an embargo, and a break between the two countries in trade does not suit anyone’s interest,” Bessent said, stressing that “de-escalation by both sides is possible.”But he had no timeframe on how soon bilateral talks could take place.”It’s both a blessing and a curse that the strongest relationship is at the very top,” Bessent said, referring to Trump’s ties with Chinese counterpart Xi. But with “any de-escalation, the talks would not begin at the very top.”Joseph Grieco, professor of political science at Duke University, told AFP that Trump may continue to chase China for a deal “to keep the financial markets off his back.””I worry Trump will eventually offer President Xi a favorable deal, one that doesn’t address the serious economic problems the US actually has with China,” he said.While Trump has swiftly rolled out sharp tariffs on different countries and sectors, he has also been quick to introduce certain exemptions — most recently some temporary reprieve for tech products like smartphones and chipmaking tools.And he could widen the carveouts, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, saying Trump could exempt car parts from some tariffs on Chinese imports — alongside those on steel and aluminum.On Wednesday afternoon, Trump said he was not considering changes to US auto tariffs but noted that levies on Canada could rise in terms of cars.Separately, Bessent said he did not have a stance on whether the president had the authority to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he wanted to.He suggested Trump’s previous comment that the “termination” of Powell could not come fast enough might also refer to the end of the Fed chief’s term.Earlier Wednesday, Bessent said in a speech that Beijing’s export-reliant economic model is “unsustainable” and “not only harming China but the entire world.”He stressed US concerns around trade imbalances that the Trump administration says it hopes to address through sweeping tariffs.But Bessent maintained that “America first does not mean America alone.”He insisted the administration’s moves are broadly a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trading partners, while taking aim at policy choices by other countries that he said have hollowed out US manufacturing and put its security at risk.