Zelensky welcomes French, British army chiefs in Kyiv, talks troop deployment

President Volodymyr Zelensky had met on April 5 with British Admiral Antony Radakin and French General Thierry Burkhard who head the Defence Staff of their respective countries.

"There is tangible progress and initial details on how the partner security contingent might be deployed," Zelensky said.

Zelensky also thanked the "U.K. and France for their leadership" in bringing together countries that would be open to deploying troops to Ukraine to monitor a potential ceasefire.

On March 27, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a summit in Paris where a number of European countries moved forward with plans to send soldiers to Ukraine as part of a "reassurance force" in case of a ceasefire with Russia.

In mid-March, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer presented plans to send 10,000 peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, which is significantly smaller than the 30,000 troops he reportedly pitched to U.S. President Donald Trump during their White House meeting on Feb. 20.

Though Starmer still publicly held out for a coalition deployment to be supported by a U.S. "backstop," Macron said that it could take place "with or without" Washington's involvement.

Russian attack on Kryvyi Rih kills 19 people, including 9 children, injures 68

Russia’s missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on April 4 killed 19 people, including nine children, according to local authorities. Sixty-eight people were reportedly injured.

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk