Russia 'flip-flopping' on ceasefire as it strikes Ukraine again

Britain and France angered by latest deadly raids in Kharkiv

Ukrainian rescuers working at the scene of a drone attack in Kharkiv late on Thursday. Britain and France say Russia is dragging its feet on a ceasefire. EPA

Britain and France on Friday accused Russia of dragging its feet in ceasefire talks to continue bombarding Ukraine, as four people were killed in a wave of drone strikes overnight.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Russia "owes an answer" to US President Donald Trump after Ukraine agreed three weeks ago to the idea of a 30-day ceasefire. He said Moscow shows no sign of halting its offensive after President Vladimir Putin this week called up 160,000 new conscripts.

"Over the past three weeks, Russia has been flip-flopping, continuing its strikes on energy infrastructure, continuing its war crimes," Mr Barrot said at a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels. The US had hoped a halt to strikes on energy facilities would be a first step towards ending the fighting.

Russian drone strikes killed at least four people and injured more than 30 in Kharkiv, authorities said on Friday. Ukrainian emergency services said the attack hit homes and office buildings in the eastern city, causing several fires.

"Our judgment is that Putin continues to obfuscate, continues to drag his feet," Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said. "He could accept a ceasefire now but he continues to bombard Ukraine, its civilian population, its energy supplies. We see, Vladimir Putin. We know what you're doing."

British and French military chiefs were in Kyiv on Friday to discuss a possible deployment of troops to secure any ceasefire, with the US offering little in the way of deterrence. Mr Trump has expressed frustration with Mr Putin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he promised to bring the war to a swift conclusion.

"There will at some point be a need for military capacity or reassurance, whenever peace is reached – and this is the reason why our army chiefs will be in Kyiv today in order to advance this work," Mr Barrot said.

The British and French ministers insisted that now was the time to bolster support for Ukraine and step up pressure on Russia to try to force it to negotiate in good faith. "We are pledged to continue to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, militarily, economically," Mr Lammy said.

"And we continue to bear down the sanctions on Russia, so that they are willing to come to this negotiation actually serious about making the peace that we want to see."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a crumb of comfort to shaken allies at the meeting by saying his country "is going to remain in Nato", in contrast to what he called "hysteria and hyperbole" over Mr Trump's intentions. However, he reiterated Mr Trump’s demand that member states should spend as much as 5 per cent of their national income on defence.