German chancellor Friedrich Merz yesterday cast doubt on the possibility of Ukraine joining the European Union by 2034, saying accession was unlikely to come at a point affecting the bloc's medium-term finance plans, which run to 2034.

"For us, the absolute top priority is, first and foremost, to do everything possible to end this war," Merz said after a meeting with Romanian president Nicușor Dan in Berlin.

"Then we'll talk about the reconstruction of Ukraine... but that's going to take a number of years ... It will probably not even affect the EU's current medium-term financial outlook," the chancellor said.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in Kyiv in February that Ukraine could join the EU before 2030 if the country continues reforms at the current speed and quality.

EU leaders have also said accession to the EU would be the most important security guarantee for the future of Ukraine.

Condoleezza Rice, the former US secretary of state, said she believed last week was a "turning point" in the US and European stance towards Ukraine and Russia, which could potentially end the war.

Ms Rice said US president Donald Trump "is angry with Putin because he has, in effect, made the president look bad".

Speaking at the annual Aspen Security Forum, Ms Rice added: “I think the best news that we could possibly give to the Ukrainian people is that the United States and Europe have finally aligned around the idea that Vladimir Putin will not be stopped with words. He will only be stopped if he believes that he can go no further, he can win no further."

The UK has announced it would join the price cap move on Russian crude, saying it would deal a blow to Moscow's oil revenues used to finance the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

"The UK and its EU allies are turning the screw on the Kremlin's war chest by stemming the most valuable funding stream of its illegal war in Ukraine even further," British finance minister Rachel Reeves said at a G20 meeting in South Africa.

The EU yesterday agreed an 18th package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, including measures aimed at dealing further blows to the Russian oil and energy industry.

The EU will set a moving price cap on Russian crude at 15 per cent below its average market price, EU diplomats said, aiming to improve on a largely ineffective $60 cap that the Group of Seven major economies have tried to impose since December 2022.

"The EU just approved one of its strongest sanctions packages against Russia to date," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on X.

"We will keep raising the costs, so stopping the aggression becomes the only path forward for Moscow."

Russian air defences intercepted drones heading for Moscow in a series of attacks, mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Mr Sobyanin said 13 drones had been downed or destroyed after midnight, but made no mention of casualties or damages. He said specialists were examining fragments where they had landed.

A tally of his posts showed 10 more drones were intercepted or destroyed in the previous 11 hours.

Russia's defence ministry on Telegram said its air defence units had downed 87 Ukrainian drones in different areas across central, western and southern Russia in a period of nearly five hours. Forty-eight of the drones were downed in Bryansk region, on the Ukrainian border.

The acting governor of Rostov region, on Ukraine's eastern border, said Ukrainian drones had triggered fires or knocked down power lines in a number of districts.

The Australian government this morning said it delivered M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine as part of a A$245m ($160m) package to help the country defend itself against Russia in their ongoing war.

Australia, one of the largest non-Nato contributors to Ukraine, has been supplying aid, ammunition and defence equipment since Moscow invaded its neighbour in February 2022.

Ukraine has taken possession of most of the 49 tanks given by Australia, and the rest will be delivered in coming months, said defence minister Richard Marles.

The "M1A1 Abrams tanks will make a significant contribution to Ukraine's ongoing fight against Russia's illegal and immoral invasion," Mr Marles said in a statement.

The tanks formed part of the A$1.5bn ($980m) that Canberra has provided Ukraine in the conflict, the government said.

Australia has also banned exports of alumina and aluminium ores, including bauxite, to Russia, and has sanctioned about 1,000 Russian individuals and entities.

At least one person has been killed in a Russian drone attack on Odesa, the governor said.

"The enemy launched a massive attack on Odesa with strike drones. Despite the active work of our air defense forces, there is damage to civilian infrastructure," Odesa Oblast governor Oleh Kiper said early this morning on Telegram.

"All authorized services have started working on eliminating the consequences of the attack. Information regarding casualties is being clarified," Mr Kiper said.

EU’s 18th sanctions package against Moscow explained:

Britain on Friday said it had sanctioned more than 20 Russian spies, hackers and agencies over what it called a “sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity” to destabilise Europe.

The foreign ministry said it was sanctioning three units of the Russian military intelligence GRU agency and 18 of its officers, including those it said were involved in targeting strikes against Mariupol during the war in Ukraine, and spying on former agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia before they were targeted in a Novichok poisoning in 2018.