US army secretary briefs ambassadors at ‘nightmare meeting’ in Kyiv on Friday after talks with Ukrainian leader

US officials have told Nato allies they expect to push president Volodymyr Zelenskyy into agreeing to a peace deal in the coming days, under the threat that if Kyiv does not sign, it will face a much worse deal in future.

The US army secretary, Dan Driscoll, briefed ambassadors from Nato nations at a meeting in Kyiv late on Friday, after talks with Zelenskyy and taking a phone call from the White House. “No deal is perfect, but it must be done sooner rather than later,” he told them, according to one person who was present.

President to overhaul state energy firms after $100m kickback scheme alleged by anti-corruption investigators

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced a plan to clean up Ukraine’s energy sector after an $100m (£76bn) kickback scheme was alleged by anti-corruption investigators, in the worst scandal of his presidency.

Over the weekend, the Ukrainian president announced an overhaul of key state energy companies including a complete change of management at Energoatom, the nuclear power operator at the centre of the alleged criminal scheme.