President Trump says he wants to make a deal for minerals from Ukraine in exchange for aid. That followed a long effort by Ukrainian officials to appeal to Mr. Trump’s transactional nature.

The mayor, Vitali Klitschko, who has had a tense relationship with President Volodymyr Zelensky, accused him of trying to usurp the powers of elected officials in the capital.

Ukraine’s defense minister fired the head of a state agency that procured over $7 billion in armaments last year, citing “unsatisfactory” results. She says the move is illegal and vows to stay in her post.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the soldiers were captured in the western Kursk region, where Ukraine has been fighting to hold on to territory it seized last summer.