US president-elect says ‘I know Vladimir [Putin] well. This is his time to act’ as Ukrainian leader says 43,000 of his troops have been killed

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Donald Trump has called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, a day after meeting the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Paris, claiming Kyiv “would like to make a deal” to end its war with Russia.

Zelenskyy described his discussions with Trump, brought together by French President Emmanuel Macron , as “constructive” but gave no further details. Zelenskyy cautioned that Ukraine needs a “just and robust peace, that Russians will not destroy within a few years.” “When we talk about an effective peace with Russia, we must talk first of all about effective peace guarantees. Ukrainians want peace more than anyone else. Russia brought war to our land,” he said Sunday in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Among Zelenskyy’s inner circle, there is an increasing awareness that, as the army struggles to hold back Russia on the frontline, some kind of negotiations will be necessary soon. But they fear that without solid security guarantees from the west, a ceasefire would be meaningless.

Zelenskyy said on Sunday that 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 370,000 injured, of whom about half had been able to return to service after treatment. He also claimed that 198,000 Russian soldiers had been killed and a further 550,000 injured.

In an interview with on NBC on Sunday, Trump said that Ukraine will “possibly” receive less military aid once he takes office. “We’re in for $350 billion, and Europe is in for $100 billion. Why isn’t Europe in for the same as us?” the US-President elect said.

Germany’s Conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz , who polls suggest will become the country'’s next chancellor, arrived in Kyiv this morning. “The purpose of my visit is to learn about the current state of defence in the country,” Merz said upon arrival. Merz – the leader of the Christian Democrats – said he wanted to assure the Ukrainian leadership of his conservative bloc’s support. Merz has struck a more hawkish tone on Russia than chancellor Olaf Scholz, saying Berlin should give Kyiv the Taurus long-range cruise missiles it has long wanted if the Kremlin continues to target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. “Only if Ukraine is strong will Putin be prepared to enter into negotiations at all,” said Merz. “If our support for Ukraine weakens, then this war will last longer. If our support for Ukraine is consistent, then this war will end more quickly.”

The Ukrainian air force said on Monday that Russia launched two Kh-59/69 cruise missiles and 37 drones to attack Ukraine overnight. Of 37 drones, the air force shot down 18 and “lost” 18, likely due to electronic warfare. The air force also downed both missiles launched in the attack, the air force said.