Putin is making a mockery of ceasefire talks, says Kyiv

It is harder to deal with Vladimir Putin than a gangster and he cannot be trusted to uphold any ceasefire, Ukrainian officials have said. They also accused the Russian leader of making a mockery of Donald Trump's efforts for a peace deal.

- ALEX CROFT

Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of flouting a truce on energy strikes brokered by the United States last week, and conditions set by the Kremlin have cast a shadow over a planned ceasefire in the Black Sea announced on Tuesday.

Three days of talks culminated in an agreement to "eliminate the use of force" in the Black Sea and to continue working towards a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure in Russia and Ukraine. But hours after the latest agreement, Russia launched a drone attack on the Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv, which provides the country with access to the Black Sea.

The mayor of Mykolaiv said there were emergency power outages early yesterday in the city, following a report by the region's governor that seven drones were destroyed overnight.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the US told Kyiv the Black Sea deal was effective as soon as it was announced. But the Kremlin said the Black Sea deal would not enter force until a sanctioned Russian state bank was reconnected to the international payment system, a step that Europe said would not happen until Russia withdraws its troops from Ukraine.

The Kremlin also contends it has already been implementing a pause on energy attacks since 18 March, but Kyiv says eight energy facilities have been attacked with drones and missiles since then. And Ukrainian officials say they don't believe such deals can be effective - or a broader ceasefire - if Mr Putin needs to be trusted to implement them.