AFP, Brussels

Russian leader Vladimir Putin “has no interest in peace”, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said yesterday, after overnight strikes by Moscow’s troops killed 14 people in Ukraine.

“Russian missiles keep relentlessly falling on Ukraine, bringing more death and more destruction. Once again, Putin shows he has no interest in peace. We must step up our military support -- otherwise, even more Ukrainian civilians will pay the highest price,” Kaja Kallas said on X.

Russia yesterday said its troops had retaken three villages seized by Ukraine in its Kursk border region in a fresh setback for Kyiv as the prospect of peace negotiations appeared to be increasing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday called for more sanctions against Russia after the deadly strikes that wounded dozens more.

The war is at a critical juncture, days ahead of talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators aimed at securing a truce in the three-year-long war.

Washington has suspended crucial US military aid and access to satellite imagery and intelligence sharing after President Donald Trump and Zelensky had a public falling-out in the Oval Office last week.

Ukraine still controls some 400 square kilometres (150 square miles) in the Kursk region after launching a cross-border offensive last August and Zelensky sees this as a possible bargaining chip in peace talks.

But Ukraine’s troops in Kursk have seen their position worsen in recent weeks with Russia’s army encroaching.

Russia’s defence ministry on Saturday announced the recapture of three more villages: Viktorovka, Nikolayevka and Staraya Sorochina.

According to DeepState, an online military tracker linked to the Ukrainian army, the Russian move followed a “breach” in Ukrainian defence lines near the town of Sudzha, which is under Kyiv’s control.

Russia appears to have cut off the logistics route needed by Ukraine to supply its troops in the town.