Daniel Martindale helped the Kremlin target Ukrainian troops and was then spirited out of eastern Ukraine by Russian special forces.

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not ready for compromises” to end his brutal war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Post in an exclusive interview on Wednesday — but President Trump has the power to bring him to his knees by speeding up tough sanctions that could cause a “social explosion” in Russia.

A bipartisan bill in Congress would enable President Trump to slap "bone-crushing sanctions" on Russia, says Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.

Welcome to our live blog tracking the latest news from Russia Ukraine. Get real-time updates on Russia-Ukraine war, policy decisions, legislative actions, headline-grabbing statements and various other developments happening in the both countries.

Russia attacked cities across Ukraine overnight with hundreds of drones and a missile strike, hitting energy infrastructure and wounding at least 15 people.

The change in Trump’s approach may also mean that the $US8 billion (£6 billion) of frozen Russian assets in the US (and US$223 billion in Europe) could be released to aid Ukraine, which would provide a ready means to pay for the US arms transfers.

Hundreds of Russian attack drones and more than two dozen cruise missiles targeted Ukraine overnight, killing at least two people, Ukraine said.

Sergey Lavrov sent an Independence Day message to Marco Rubio, as Vladimir Putin congratulates Donald Trump on July 4.