Ukraine could be partitioned like Berlin after the second world war, Donald Trump’s envoy to Kyiv has suggested, as Russia continues to hold out on accepting a truce. Gen Keith Kellogg appeared to suggest the country could be split into zones of control, with British and French troops as part of a “reassurance force” in the west and Moscow’s forces in the east. Between them would be Ukrainian forces and a demilitarised zone but the US would not provide any ground forces, he claimed. “You could almost make it look like what happened with Berlin after world war two, when you had a Russian zone, a French zone and a British zone,” he told the Times newspaper. Kyiv is yet to comment on the remarks.

Donald Trump issued a rare warning to Vladimir Putin ahead of talks between the US president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russian president, saying on the Truth Social platform: “Russia has to get moving. Too many people ere [sic] DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war – A war that should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened, if I were President!!!” Putin was shown on state TV greeting Witkoff in St Petersburg’s presidential library at the start of the negotiations and state news agencies later said the talks lasted more than four hours. “The theme of the meeting: aspects of a Ukrainian settlement,” the Kremlin said after the meeting. Putin’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, who was seen in news footage accompanying Witkoff leaving a hotel in the city, called the talks productive, according to Russia’s state news agency Tass.

Ukraine’s allies promised a record €21bn ($24bn) in additional military support for Kyiv and accused Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet and delaying US-led negotiations over a ceasefire deal, reports Luke Harding. Speaking at a meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group in Brussels, the British defence secretary, John Healey, said: “Putin said he wanted peace but he rejected a full ceasefire. His forces continue to fire on Ukraine, military and civilian targets alike.” The UK and Germany jointly convened Friday’s meeting in Ramstein, which was attended by more than 40 countries but not the US, with Trump’s defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, joining by video instead.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukraine’s military allies to focus on air defence, asking them to provide 10 additional Patriot systems. The Ukrainian president told the Ramstein meeting via video that Russian attacks showed Moscow was not ready to implement any realistic and effective peace proposals. Separately, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to purchase additional air defence systems, adding that he discussed it with Donald Trump. “Ukraine is not just asking – we are ready to buy appropriate additional systems,” he said in his nightly address on Friday. The government would also strengthen air defences with additional funds for electronic warfare, he said.

US and Ukrainian officials met on Friday on the US proposal to gain access to Ukraine’s mineral wealth but prospects for a breakthrough were scant given the meeting’s “antagonistic” atmosphere, a source with knowledge of the matter said. The Reuters report quoted the source as saying the strains in the Washington talks stemmed from the Trump administration’s “maximalist” latest draft proposal, which is more expansive than the original version. “The negotiating environment is very antagonistic.” A Treasury Department spokesperson confirmed the discussions, calling them “technical in nature”.

Russia’s air defences destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones in the space of 30 minutes late on Friday, its defence ministry said. Between 10pm and 10.30pm nine drones were destroyed in Rostov region on Ukraine’s eastern border and four in Kursk region, on Ukraine’s north border, it said on Telegram. The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 24 drones and another 13 did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures. It said Russia had launched 39 drones and one ballistic missile in attacks over the past day.

More than a hundred Chinese citizens fighting for the Russian military against Ukraine are mercenaries who do not appear to have a direct link to China’s government, two US officials familiar with American intelligence and a former western intelligence official said. Chinese military officers had, however, been in the war behind Russia’s lines with Beijing’s approval to draw tactical lessons from the conflict, the former official said in the Reuters report. The US confirmed on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had captured two men of Chinese origin in eastern Ukraine after Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country had information about 155 Chinese citizens fighting there on Russia’s behalf.

Ukrainian legislators are almost certain to extend martial law again before it expires on 9 May, the parliamentary speaker has said, even as the US and Russia pressure Kyiv to hold a new vote. Ruslan Stefanchuk underlined the legal and practical implausibility of holding free and fair elections in a country that is part-occupied and still under constant attack, while stressing Ukraine’s commitment to democratic elections.