to halt strikes in the Black Sea in separate deals, the Kremlin said it would only take place once sanctions on a number of Russian banks were lifted.

The demands include revoking sanctions on the state agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank and restoring the firms' access to the Swift international payment system. Overnight, Moscow launched a drone attack on the port city of Mykolaiv, Ukrainian officials said, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying the strikes were "a clear signal" Russia did not want peace.

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU and its allies suspended access to Swift for a number of Russian financial institutions. The aim was for Russian companies to lose access to the normal smooth and instant transactions provided by Swift, disrupting payments for its valuable energy and agricultural exports.

Reversing that decision would need EU approval, a step that would appear uncertain in light of recent European statements of support for Kyiv. A European Commission spokesperson said the withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukraine would be one of the main conditions to lift or amend any sanctions.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said that Russia could be trying to delay ending the war. "I think that Russia wants to see an end to it, but it could be they're dragging their feet. I've done it over the years," he said in an interview with Newsmax. (BBC)