Ukraine-Russia war latest: ‘US considers recognising Crimea as Russian’ as Trump and Putin set for crucial call

The burning remains of a Russian drone were found in the courtyard of a school in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, the emergency services have reported.

Ukraine’s air forces said Russia launched 137 drones across the country overnight. They shot down 63 of them.

The courtyard was examined by sappers and explosives technicians.

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on Tuesday that Kyiv was not the obstacle for a peace deal with Russia and believes it can achieve just and lasting peace under the leadership of US president Donald Trump.

Ukraine was waiting for clarity to emerge on the peace process after the conversation between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, expected later on Tuesday, Sybiha said during an annual geopolitical conference in New Delhi

Trump has been trying to get Putin to agree to a 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine accepted last week but Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has also consistently said Ukraine's sovereignty is not negotiable and that Russia must surrender the territory it has seized.

“We are not the obstacle to achieving peace ... we really expect from Russian side unconditional yes for ceasefire,” Sybiha said during a panel discussion.

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will hold a phone call between 1300 and 1500 GMT on Tuesday to talk about settling the Ukraine conflict and normalising relations between Russia and the United States, the Kremlin said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was already a "certain understanding" between the two leaders, based on a phone call they held on February 12 and on subsequent high-level contacts between the two countries.

"But there are also a large number of questions regarding the further normalisation of our bilateral relations, and a settlement on Ukraine. All of this will have to be discussed by the two presidents," Peskov told reporters.

"The leaders will speak for as long as they deem necessary," he said.

US president Donald Trump is considering recognising the occupied peninsula of Crimea as Russian, aligning with Mr Putin, it has been claimed.

Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian land in 2014 after the pro-Russian president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted following pro-Europe protests. It has since been used as a staging post to support Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine.

Two sources familiar with the discussions told the news site Semafor that the Trump administration is considering recognising this illegal annexation, though it is one of many options being discussed.

Administration officials have also discussed the possibility of the US encouraging the United Nations to do the same.

National security council spokesperson Brian Hughes told the site that the administration has “made no such commitments”.