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The Russian invasion of Ukraine

Ukraine to receive US air defence systems, says Trump

US President Donald Trump has said he will send weapons, including Patriot air defence systems, to Ukraine via Nato.

Trump told NBC News that in a new deal, "we're going to be sending Patriots to Nato, and then Nato will distribute that", adding that Nato would pay for the weapons.

His announcement came after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of having a "positive dialogue" with Trump about ensuring that arms arrived on time. He said he had asked for 10 Patriot systems after a surge in Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in the past week.

Patriot batteries detect and intercept oncoming missiles and are regarded as one of the world's best air defence systems.


www.bbc.com

Ukraine to receive US Patriot air defence systems, says Trump

The US president says he will sell weapons to Nato, which would then give them to Ukraine.
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Lol , Trump is toeing the Establishment line now or what.

Global politics is a mess and a joke, I hoped this idiot atleast could had stopped this war.
 
NATO needs more long-range missiles to deter Russia, US general says

NATO will need more long-range missiles in its arsenal to deter Russia from attacking Europe because Moscow is expected to increase production of long-range weapons, a U.S. Army general told Reuters.

Russia's effective use of long-range missiles in its war inUkraine has convinced Western military officials of their importance for destroying command posts, transportation hubs and missile launchers far behind enemy lines.

"The Russian army is bigger today than it was when they started the war in Ukraine," Major General John Rafferty said in an interview at a U.S. military base in Wiesbaden, Germany.

"And we know that they're going to continue to invest in long-range rockets and missiles and sophisticated air defences. So more alliance capability is really, really important."

The war in Ukraine has underscored Europe's heavy dependence on the United States to provide long-range missiles, with Kyiv seeking to strengthen its air defences.

Rafferty recently completed an assignment as commander of the U.S. Army's 56th Artillery Command in the German town of Mainz-Kastel, which is preparing for temporary deployments of long-range U.S. missiles on European soil from 2026.


 
JaDed said:
Lol , Trump is toeing the Establishment line now or what.

Global politics is a mess and a joke, I hoped this idiot atleast could had stopped this war.
Click to expand...
The war can't be stopped because Russia is making irrational demands like getting land it doesn't control and neutering of the Ukrainian army and destroying weapons they already have it. No nation would accept such terms unless they were being absolutely pumelled on the battlefield. Ukraine is at a disadvantage but it's a war of attrition with slow progress.

My guess is that Putin will drag this out till October when the weather starts to get worse and then accept freezing of the conflict on current lines in exchange for dropping many US sanctions and US recognising Crimea.
 
Trump weapons pledge marks major step forward for Ukraine

For the first time since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has pledged to make new weapons available to Ukraine.

Under a new deal, the US will sell weapons to Nato members who will then supply them to Kyiv as it battles Russia's invasion.

The president didn't give too many specifics about what he said was "billions of dollars' worth of military equipment". But when asked if the deal included Patriot air defence batteries and interceptor missiles, he replied "it's everything".

One European country has 17 Patriot systems and "a big portion" would soon be on the way to Ukraine, Trump said.

For Ukraine, a huge country that currently operates handful of batteries - perhaps as few as eight - this is a major step forward, giving Kyiv a chance to expand protection against Russian ballistic and cruise missiles.


www.bbc.com

Trump weapons pledge marks major step forward for Ukraine

For the first time since returning to the White House, Trump pledges to make new weapons available to Ukraine.
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Lavrov says Russia wants to understand Trump’s motivation behind 50-day ultimatum​


Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russia would like more clarity on Trump’s threat to impose severe tariffs on Russia unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days.

“We, of course, want to understand what is behind this statement [by Trump] – 50 days. It used to be 24 hours, it used to be 100 days, we have been through all of this, and we really want to understand what motivates the president of the United States,” Lavrov told journalists following a Shanghai Cooperation Organization Foreign Ministers meeting in the Chinese city Tianjin.

Source: Al Jazeera
 
Europe assumes financial burden of Ukraine war, angering Russia

Trump casts European purchases of US weapons for Ukraine as a victory as the UN warns civilians are being killed at a record rate.

The United States and Germany have struck a deal to provide Ukraine with weaponry to protect cities from nightly Russian attacks.

Germany was prepared to pay for the systems as part of a broader US deal to sell Europe arms destined for Ukraine.

Details began to emerge on July 10 when Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany would buy US-made air defence systems.

“We are also prepared to purchase additional Patriot systems from the US to make them available to Ukraine,” Merz was quoted as saying on the sidelines of a Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump told NBC News that the US would sell NATO US-made weapons, including the Patriots, that NATO would give to Ukraine.

Adding to the crescendo, US Senator Lindsey Graham told CBS on Sunday: “In the coming days, you will see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves.”

Meanwhile, Russia continued to capture Ukrainian villages.

On Friday, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed to have seized Zelyonaya Dolina in the eastern region of Donetsk and Sobolevka in Kharkiv in the northeast. Nikolayevka in Donetsk fell on Sunday, Malinovka in Zaporizhia on Monday and Novokhatskoye in Donetsk on Wednesday.

Yet even at this accelerated rate of 15sq km (6sq miles) a day, Russia would need 89 years to capture the rest of Ukraine, The Economist magazine estimated.

Russia continued to pound Ukraine’s cities with combinations of drones and missiles every night over the past week.

The biggest attack came early on Saturday. The Ukrainian air force said it downed or electronically suppressed 577 of 597 drones launched overnight and 25 of 26 Kh-101 cruise missiles.

June also saw the highest monthly civilian casualties in three years with 232 people killed and 1,343 injured, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said.

www.aljazeera.com

Europe assumes financial burden of Ukraine war, angering Russia

Trump casts European purchases of US weapons for Ukraine as a victory as UN warns civilians being killed at record rate.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
Ukraine appoints new government in biggest wartime overhaul

Ukraine's parliament appointed the country's first new prime minister in five years on Thursday, part of a major cabinet overhaul aimed at revitalising wartime management as prospects for peace with Russia grow dim.
Yulia Svyrydenko, 39, has been tasked by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with boosting domestic weapons production and reviving Ukraine's loan-dependent economy.

In a speech to parliament, Zelenskiy said he expected his new government to increase the share of domestic weapons on Ukraine's battlefield to 50% from 40% within six months.

He also singled out deregulation and expanding economic co-operation with allies as other key aims of the biggest government reshuffle since Russia's February 2022 invasion.

Svyrydenko, an experienced technocrat who had served as first deputy prime minister since 2021, pledged to move "swiftly and decisively".

"War leaves no room for delay," she wrote on X.

"Our priorities for the first six months are clear: reliable supply for the army, expansion of domestic weapons production, and boosting the technological strength of our defense forces."

Svyrydenko is also well known to the Trump administration, having negotiated a deal giving the U.S. preferential access to Ukraine's mineral wealth. It was considered crucial to bolstering relations between Kyiv and Washington.


 
Russia launches ‘hellish’ aerial attack on eastern Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad

Russia launched its biggest ever attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad early on Saturday, as part of a large wave of strikes across the country involving hundreds of kamikaze drones and ballistic missiles.

The six-hour bombardment was the worst in the city’s history. The head of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Sergey Lysak, said a factory was damaged, a fire station destroyed and a five-storey residential building hit.

“A hellish night and morning for Pavlohrad. The most intense attack on the city. Explosion after explosion. Russian terrorists targeted it with missiles and drones,” Lysak said.

Drones could be heard flying over Pavlohrad in the early hours of Saturday. There were cacophonous booms and orange explosions lighting up the night sky. The streets echoed with machine-gun fire as anti-aircraft units tried to shoot them down.

In the morning, thick black smoke hung above the city. There were several fires. One exhausted resident, Oleh, said it was the worst night he had known. “Nobody slept. We were all in shelters. There was a thunderstorm as well. We had explosions and rain together,” he said.

The attack came soon after Gen Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, flew back to Washington after a six-day visit to Kyiv. This week the White House announced a large-scale arms package to Ukraine, including additional Patriot anti-aircraft systems, to be paid for by European allies.

The Kremlin refrained from carrying out a large-scale bombardment while Kellogg was in the country. Social media was awash with memes depicting Kellogg as a cat protecting the capital, since Keith sounds similar to “kit”, or cat in Ukrainian.

On Friday, Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev promised Moscow would escalate its aerial attacks in response to the EU’s latest sanctions package, which was agreed after the pro-Kremlin government in Slovakia dropped its objections.

The city of Pavlohrad is a strategic hub for the Dnipropetrovsk oblast. Russian troops are close to capturing territory in the region – which borders Donetsk province – for the first time since Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion. In recent days they have captured several neighbouring villages.

Early on Saturday, Russian forces also targeted the Black Sea port of Odesa, setting fire to a nine-storey apartment building, the city’s mayor said. Five people were rescued from the top floor, and one woman subsequently died.

Odesa’s mayor, Hennady Trukhanov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said at least 20 drones had converged on the city, a frequent target of Russian strikes. “Civilian structure has been damaged as a result of the attack,” Trukhanov wrote. “A high-rise apartment block is on fire. Rescuers are taking people out from the flames.”

Ukraine’s new prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, said Moscow had launched another “brutal attack” on Odesa and other Ukrainian cities. “One person killed, several more wounded, families destroyed. This is the cost of hesitation. Without bold response, the strikes will come again,” she said.

www.theguardian.com

Russia launches ‘hellish’ aerial attack on eastern Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad

Six-hour bombardment of the strategic hub in the Dnipropetrovsk region came at the same time as airstrikes killed one person in Odesa
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Ukraine proposes new round of peace talks with Russia next week​


Kyiv has proposed to Moscow a new round of peace talks next week, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, after negotiations stalled in early June.

Two rounds of talks in Istanbul between Moscow and Kyiv failed to result in any progress towards a ceasefire, instead yielding large-scale prisoner exchanges and deals to return the bodies of killed soldiers.

“Security council secretary [Rustem] Umerov also reported that he had proposed the next meeting with the Russian side for next week,” Zelenskyy said in his evening address to the country.

“The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up,” he added.

Zelenskyy reiterated his readiness to have a face-to-face meeting with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. “A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace – lasting peace,” he said.

Umerov, a former defence minister, was appointed last week as the head of the national security and defence council and tasked with adding more momentum to the negotiations.

Russia has been pressing a grinding offensive along the eastern front in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. It has repeatedly said it is ready for a new round of talks but has not backed down from its maximalist war aims.

At talks last month, Russia outlined a list of hardline demands, including calls for Ukraine to cede more territory and to reject all forms of western military support.

Kyiv dismissed them as unacceptable and at the time questioned the point of further negotiations if Moscow was not willing to make concessions.

The Kremlin said this month it was ready to continue talks with Ukraine after Donald Trump gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal or face sanctions.

The US president also pledged to supply Kyiv with new military aid, sponsored by Nato allies, as its cities suffer ever-increasing Russian aerial attacks.

Russian strikes on Ukraine claimed another three lives on Saturday.

Source: The Guardian
 
Ukraine and Russia set for fresh peace talks, Zelensky says

Russia and Ukraine will hold a new round of peace talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

"Today, I discussed with [Ukrainian Security Council chief] Rustem Umerov the preparations for a prisoner exchange and another meeting in Turkey with the Russian side," Zelensky said in his daily address on Monday. "Umerov reported that the meeting is scheduled for Wednesday."

Zelensky proposed fresh talks at the weekend, days after US President Donald Trump threatened Russia with "severe" sanctions if there was no ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv within 50 days.

On Tuesday, Moscow said it did not expect a "miraculous breakthrough" from the talks.

"We intend to pursue our interests, we intend to ensure our interests and fulfil the tasks that we set for ourselves from the very beginning," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in his daily press briefing.

He said he hoped the talks would be held this week, without giving a date.

Two previous rounds of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in Istanbul failed to make progress towards a ceasefire. Both nations remain far apart as to how it might be achieved.

Washington has pledged new weapons for the Ukrainian military, after Russia intensified attacks.

A child was killed overnight into Tuesday, when a Russian glide bomb hit an apartment block in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, local officials said. Six areas of the capital Kyiv had earlier come under a combined drone and missile attack.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces said they had pushed back more than 50 attacks in the Pokrovsk area of eastern Ukraine, where Russia has concentrated much of its firepower in recent months. Russian sabotage groups have already tried to enter the city, according to Ukraine's military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Russia's RIA news agency, quoting a source, said the latest round of talks would take place over two days, on Thursday and Friday.

A Turkish government spokesperson said Wednesday's talks would take place in the same venue where previous negotiations in May and June failed to work towards a ceasefire, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported.

This week's talks will be yet another attempt to bring an end to the war that has been going on for more than three years, and will come after Trump expressed frustration with Vladimir Putin. The US president told the BBC he was "disappointed" but "not done" with the Russian leader.

The Istanbul talks could focus on further prisoner exchanges and a possible meeting between Zelensky and Putin, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.

Moscow, however, has downplayed the likelihood of reaching any concrete outcome anytime soon.

Commenting on the prospects for a breakthrough, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that the two sides were "diametrically opposed" and "a lot of diplomatic work lies ahead".

Russia has intensified its drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, causing record civilian casualties. It launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour in 2022.

BBC
 

Protests in Ukraine as Zelenskyy signs bill curbing anticorruption agencies​


President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a controversial bill that hands sweeping authority to Ukraine’s prosecutor general over the country’s independent anticorruption agencies.

This triggered the largest antigovernment protests on Tuesday since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022. More protests are expected Wednesday.

The new legislation, now law, gives the prosecutor general power to control and reassign investigations led by the National Anticorruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).

NABU and SAPO are two key institutions that have long symbolised Ukraine’s post-Euromaidan commitment to rooting out high-level corruption. Critics say the move strips these agencies of their independence and risks turning them into political tools.

Protests erupted in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and Odesa, with demonstrators holding signs reading “Veto the law” and “We chose Europe, not autocracy.”

Many saw the legislation as a betrayal of Ukraine’s decade-long push towards democratic governance, transparency, and European Union membership.

Just one day prior, Ukraine’s domestic security agency arrested two NABU officials on suspicion of Russian links and searched other employees.

Zelenskyy, in his Wednesday address, cited these incidents to justify the reform, arguing the agencies had been infiltrated and that cases involving billions of dollars had been stagnant.

“There is no rational explanation for why criminal proceedings worth billions have been hanging for years,” he said.

But watchdogs and international observers see a different danger.

Transparency International Ukraine warned that the law dismantles critical safeguards, while the EU’s enlargement commissioner, Marta Kos, called it “a serious step back”.

The EU, G7 ambassadors, and other Western backers emphasised that NABU and SAPO’s independence is a prerequisite for financial aid and EU accession.

Despite Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka’s assurances that “all core functions remain intact,” disillusionment is growing.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s former foreign minister, declared it “a bad day for Ukraine”, underscoring the stark choice Zelenskyy faces: Stand with the people – or risk losing their trust, along with Western support.

Source: Al Jazeera
 
Putin must agree Ukraine ceasefire in 10 or 12 days, says Trump

Donald Trump has presented a new, shorter deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire over the war in Ukraine of "ten or 12 days" from Monday.

The US president said there was "no reason" in waiting any longer as no progress towards peace had been made.

Two weeks ago, Trump said President Vladimir Putin had 50 days to end the war or Russia would face severe tariffs.

Speaking at a news conference in Scotland, Trump said he would confirm the new deadline on Monday or Tuesday, but reiterated the threat to impose sanctions and secondary tariffs on Moscow.


www.bbc.com

Donald Trump: Vladimir Putin must agree Ukraine ceasefire in days

The US president says there is "no reason" for waiting amid little sign of progress towards peace.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Russia strikes prison in Ukraine, killing 16 and wounding dozens

A Russian airstrike on a prison in a frontline region in southeastern Ukraine has killed 16 people and wounded more than 30 others, according to Ukrainian officials.

The overnight attack in Zaporizhzhia also damaged surrounding homes, regional leader Ivan Fedorov said. Russian forces launched eight strikes using high-explosive aerial glide bombs, he added.

The Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, condemned the strikes as "another war crime" committed by Russia.

Zaporizhzhia is one of four eastern regions in Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed since 2022, although the region is largely under Ukrainian control.

Ivan Fedorov said buildings at one of Zaporizhzhia's prisons were destroyed, without detailing where in the region they were.

Russian forces have frequently targeted Zaporizhzhia since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Ukraine's human rights commissioner said attacking a prison was a gross violation of humanitarian law as people in detention did not lose their right to life and protection.

US President Donald Trump issued a stark ultimatum to Moscow Monday, warning that Russia had "about 10 or 12 days" to agree a ceasefire or face sweeping sanctions. Speaking during a visit to Scotland, Trump told reporters he would "announce it probably tonight or tomorrow," adding, "there's no reason to wait, if you know what the answer is".

Earlier in July, Trump set a 50-day deadline for the Kremlin to reach a truce with Kyiv or risk economic penalties, but the warning has not halted Russia's barrage of strikes.

There were further casualties in a missile and drone attack late on Monday in the Dnipropetrovsk region of eastern Ukraine.

A strike on the industrial city of Kamyanske left two people dead and five injured, according to regional head Serhiy Lysak.

Another person was killed and several were wounded in the Synelnykivsky district, while a 75-year-old woman was killed and a 68-year-old man injured when their home was hit in a village late on Monday.

The wave of attacks came as Russia pushed deeper into Ukrainian territory in Dnipropetrovsk.

At the weekend, Moscow said its forces had captured the village of Maliyevka, weeks after capturing their first village in the region. Ukraine has rejected Russia's claims.

Meanwhile, in Russia, officials said Ukraine had launched dozens of drones overnight in the southern Rostov region, killing one person in their car in the town of Salsk and setting fire to a goods train.

Another person was reported killed in their car in the border region of Belgorod and his wife was wounded.

BBC
 
Russian strikes kill 25 in Ukraine, as Trump confirms deadline for talks

At least 25 people have been killed across Ukraine in overnight and early morning Russian air strikes that hit a prison and a hospital, local officials say.

They say the deadliest attack was on the Bilenke penitentiary in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, where 16 inmates were killed and more than 50 injured.

A separate Russian strike on people queuing for humanitarian aid killed five in the north-eastern Kharkiv region. Three people were killed in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, including a pregnant woman. Another casualty was reported elsewhere in the region.

Later on Tuesday, Donald Trump confirmed a deadline of 8 August for Russia to agree a ceasefire, or else face sweeping sanctions.


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Ukraine reports 25 killed as Russia hits prison and hospital

The deadly Russian air strikes come as US President Donald Trump toughens truce ultimatum to Russia.
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Cricket Warrior said:
Putin must agree Ukraine ceasefire in 10 or 12 days, says Trump

Donald Trump has presented a new, shorter deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire over the war in Ukraine of "ten or 12 days" from Monday.

The US president said there was "no reason" in waiting any longer as no progress towards peace had been made.

Two weeks ago, Trump said President Vladimir Putin had 50 days to end the war or Russia would face severe tariffs.

Speaking at a news conference in Scotland, Trump said he would confirm the new deadline on Monday or Tuesday, but reiterated the threat to impose sanctions and secondary tariffs on Moscow.


www.bbc.com

Donald Trump: Vladimir Putin must agree Ukraine ceasefire in days

The US president says there is "no reason" for waiting amid little sign of progress towards peace.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
Click to expand...

Trump vs Putin. This should be interesting.
 

Russian missile hits Ukrainian training unit, killing and wounding servicemen​


Ukraine's armed forces have confirmed a Russian missile strike hit a military training unit, causing a number of casualties.

Ukrainian ground forces said late on Tuesday that three service personnel were known to have been killed and 18 had been wounded.

The military did not say where the training ground was located, although one Ukrainian war reporter, Andrei Taplienko, said it was in the Chernihiv region north of Kyiv which borders both Russia and Belarus.

Russia's ministry of defence released video of what it claimed was a strike by an Iskander ballistic missile in a wooded area that involved more than 20 cluster-type explosions.

The video could not be immediately verified but the Russian MOD claimed that the number of Ukrainian casualties was far higher than Ukraine's military had said. There has been no further word from the military since late on Tuesday.

"Despite the security measures taken, unfortunately it was not possible to completely avoid losses among the personnel," Ukraine's ground forces said in a statement on social media.

It is the third Russian attack on a Ukrainian training unit in little more than two months.

An Iskander missile attack on a camp in the norther border region of Sumy killed six servicemen in May and another strike killed 12 people and wounded another 60 last month.

Protecting Ukrainian troops on exercises is particularly sensitive for the military, which said it would investigate whether the "actions or inaction of officials" had led to deaths or injuries in Tuesday evening's missile strike.

The commander of ground forces Mykhailo Drapatyi resigned after last month's deadly attack, saying that the victims had been "young guys from a training battalion" and that most of them had been in shelters at the time.

In a separate development, Russian forces targeted the regional military administration building in Sumy on Wednesday, wounding a 75-year-old woman, officials said. The same building was hit last Saturday when a drone smashed into the large office block, although nobody was hurt.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities said a sixth person died in hospital from wounds he suffered during a Russian missile strike on a humanitarian aid point in the Kharkiv region on Tuesday.

Ukrainian reports said that four men and two women were fatally wounded while queuing for water. Officials said the missile started a fire that engulfed a shop in the village of Novoplatonivka.

Source: BBC
 
Ukraine and Russia strikes hit homes and oil depot near Black Sea

A Russian missile strike has destroyed homes and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv, local officials say.

At least three civilians were reported injured in the city near the Black Sea, which has been repeatedly shelled by Russian forces. Ukraine's State Emergency Service posted photos of firefighters at the scene after the missile strike.

Early on Sunday a massive oil depot fire was raging near Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi - blamed by the Russian authorities on a Ukrainian drone attack. Sochi's airport in the same area - Adler district - suspended flights.

Krasnodar Region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram that drone debris had hit a fuel tank, and 127 firefighters were tackling the blaze.

The drone attack was one of several launched by Ukraine over the weekend, targeting installations in the southern Russian cities of Ryazan, Penza and Voronezh. The governor of Voronezh said four people were injured in one drone strike.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for stronger international sanctions on Russia this week after a deadly attack on Kyiv on Thursday killed at least 31 people.

More than 300 drones and eight cruise missiles were launched in the assault, Ukrainian officials said, making the attack one of the deadliest on the capital since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

BBC
 

Trump aide accuses India of financing Russia’s war in Ukraine​


A top United States official has accused India of financing Russia’s war in Ukraine by buying oil from Moscow, as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on New Delhi to cut off its energy imports from Russia.

“What he (Trump) said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia,” Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff at the White House and one of Trump’s most influential aides, said in an interview with Fox News.

India is the second-largest buyer of Russian oil, after China, and more than 30 percent of its fuel is sourced from Moscow, providing revenue to the Kremlin amid Western sanctions. New Delhi imported just 1 percent of its oil from Russia before the Ukraine war started in 2022.

Miller’s criticism was among the strongest yet by the Trump administration – which came after the US slapped a 25 percent tariff on Indian products on Friday as a result of its purchase of military equipment and energy from Russia. The Trump administration also threatened additional penalties if India continued its purchase of arms and oil from Russia.

“People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil. That’s an astonishing fact,” Miller also said on the show.

The US aide tempered his criticism by noting Trump’s relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which he described as “tremendous”.

Last week, Trump also underscored the “friendship” with India on the day he announced the tariffs on Asia’s second-largest economy.

While India was “our friend”, it had always bought most of its military equipment from Russia and was “Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE – ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on July 30.

“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.”

Trump has threatened 100 percent tariffs on US imports from countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine. The US president has also criticised India for being a member of BRICS, of which Russia and China are founding members.

www.aljazeera.com

India’s imports of Russian oil ‘not acceptable’, says top Trump aide

White House deputy chief Stephen Miller says it was ‘not acceptable’ for India to continue to buy Russian oil.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
FO rejects ‘unfounded allegations’ of involvement of Pakistani nationals in Russia-Ukraine conflict

The Foreign Office (FO) on Tuesday rejected claims of Pakistani nationals being involved in the Ukraine conflict after a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky claimed on Monday that his troops in northeastern Ukraine were fighting foreign “mercenaries” from various countries, including China, Pakistan and parts of Africa.

A statement by the FO today said Pakistan “categorically rejects the baseless and unfounded allegations of the involvement of Pakistani nationals in the conflict in Ukraine”.

“To date, Pakistan has not been formally approached by the Ukrainian authorities, nor has any verifiable evidence been presented to substantiate such claims.”

The statement added that the government would take up this matter with the Ukrainian authorities, “and seek clarification in this regard”.

“Pakistan reaffirms its commitment to the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter,” the statement said.

In a post on X on Monday, Zelensky said: “We spoke with commanders about the frontline situation, the defence of Vovchansk, and the dynamics of the battles.

“Our warriors in this sector are reporting the participation of mercenaries from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and African countries in the war. We will respond.”

The Russia-Ukraine war began when President Vladimir Putin ordered the latter’s invasion on Feb 24, 2022.

The government has on separate occasions rebuffed allegations that the country was providing arms to Ukraine.

During a visit to Pakistan in July 2023, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had rejected similar reports, clarifying that the two nations had no deals for the supply of arms and ammunition.

Initially taking a neutral stance on the matter and maintaining that in its diplomatic moves till last year, Pakistan has called for de-escalation and ceasefire in recent months as the war crossed the three-year mark.

Pakistan has historically maintained good relations with Ukraine, having purchased weapons systems from it in the past, but has also been strengthening ties with Russia in recent years.

www.dawn.com

FO rejects ‘unfounded allegations’ of involvement of Pakistani nationals in Russia-Ukraine conflict

Says govt to seek clarification from Ukrainian authorities, who have not "formally approached" Pakistan on the matter.
www.dawn.com
 
Key word 'mercenaries'.

Pakistani mercenaries - "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like courage, leadership and even eye color. My jeans are brown."
 
Zelenskiy says he had 'productive' call with Trump ahead of ceasefire deadline

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that he had had a "productive" conversation with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on ending the war, sanctions on Russia and the finalisation of a U.S.-Ukraine drone deal.

"President Trump is fully informed about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities," Zelenskiy wrote on X, referring to intensifying drone and missile attacks.

Trump, who has signalled frustration with Vladimir Putin in recent weeks, has given the Russian president until August 8 to make peace in Ukraine or face tougher sanctions.

A source in Washington said U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff would be meeting the Russian leadership in Moscow on Wednesday.

Speaking in his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said Trump "knows the situation along the front line," which extends for 1,000 km (620 miles) through eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukraine, he said, had long supported U.S. proposals for an immediate ceasefire and had proposed a number of formats to implement a halt to the fighting.


 
Despite Trump's peace calls, Russian attacks on Ukraine double since inauguration

Russia has more than doubled the number of drones and missiles fired towards Ukraine since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, a BBC Verify analysis has found, despite his calls for a ceasefire.

Attacks had already been rising under former President Joe Biden in 2024 but climbed sharply after Trump's election victory in November. Since he returned to office in January, recorded aerial attacks from Moscow have reached their highest levels of the war.

Throughout his campaign Trump vowed to bring an end to fighting in just one day if returned to office. He claimed during his 2024 campaign that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine could have been averted had a president who the Kremlin "respected" held office.

However, in his efforts to achieve a ceasefire he has been accused at times of favouring Russia by critics, and his administration has paused deliveries of air defence munitions and other military supplies to Ukraine on two separate occasions.

The pauses - announced in March and July and since reversed by the president - came as Russia steadily increased missile and drone production. According to Ukrainian military intelligence, ballistic missile construction in Russia grew by 66% over the past year.

The data reviewed by BBC Verify - based on daily incident reports issued by the Ukrainian Air Force - showed that Russia launched 27,158 munitions between 20 January - when Trump's presidency began - and 19 July, compared to 11,614 over the final six months of Biden's term.

"This brutal war was brought on by Joe Biden's incompetence, and it has gone on for far too long," White House deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to BBC Verify.

"President Trump wants to stop the killing, which is why he is selling American-made weapons to NATO members and threatening Putin with biting tariffs and sanctions if he does not agree to a ceasefire."

In the opening weeks of the new administration, the White House issued a series of warm statements seemingly intended to entice President Vladimir Putin towards a settlement. During this period, Russian attacks on Ukraine briefly fell when compared to the final weeks of the Biden administration.

But by February, when US diplomats led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's delegation for a summit in Riyadh, attacks had started to climb again.

The talks, which Rubio said were a starting point to bring an end to the war, have been followed by mediated discussions between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Turkey.

Attacks peaked early last month, when Moscow launched 748 drones and missiles towards Ukraine on 9 July, according to the Ukrainian Air Force data. More than a dozen people were reportedly injured by the barrage and two were killed.

While Trump has expressed anger at the escalating Russian attacks on several occasions, his mounting frustration does not appear to have had an impact on Moscow's strategy.

On 25 May, Russia launched its then-largest recorded barrage, prompting Trump to angrily ask: "What the hell happened to him [Putin]?"

Since then, Russia has exceeded that number of reported launches on 14 occasions. Trump has responded by demanding that the Kremlin reach a peace deal with Ukraine by 8 August.

The number of Russian munitions penetrating Ukrainian air defences appears to be increasing, with explosions around the capital Kyiv becoming a daily part of life for residents of the city.

"Every time you go to sleep, you don't know if you're going to wake up the next morning, and that's just not a normal way to live," Dasha Volk, a journalist living in the city, told the BBC's Ukrainecast programme in June.

"Every time you hear an explosion or a missile flying over your head, lots of thoughts are going through my mind - I'm going to die now, things like that."

Ukraine 'vulnerable' to aerial attacks

Senator Chris Coons, a senior Democrat on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told BBC Verify that Trump's decision to suspend weapons supplies on two occasions and his broader approach to Russian relations may have convinced the Kremlin that it had the freedom to increase attacks.

"It's clear Putin feels emboldened by Trump's weakness and has increased his vicious assault on the Ukrainian people, repeatedly attacking hospitals and maternity wards, the Ukrainian power grid, and other civilian sites," he said.

The growing attacks have renewed calls for the US to send fresh supplies of Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine. The Patriots are the most capable and expensive air defence systems that Ukraine has. Each Patriot battery costs around $1bn (£800m), and each missile costs nearly $4m.

Trump has overturned the previous supply pauses and agreed to sell weapons to Nato members, who will in turn supply them to Kyiv. Trump appeared to imply that the deal would include fresh supplies of Patriot batteries.

Justin Bronk, an analyst focussing on the Russian military at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said restrictions on the supply of military equipment imposed by the White House had made Ukraine "vulnerable" to missile and drone attacks.

But he also noted that Russia has ramped up the production of missiles and so-called 'kamikaze' drones such as the Geran-2 - a domestically produced version of the Iranian Shahed drone. Mr Bronk said that Russia's increased stockpiles, coupled with "significant reductions" in supply of US interceptor missiles had encouraged Moscow to escalate its air campaign.

Ukraine's Military Intelligence agency (HUR) recently told domestic media that Russia was now producing up to 85 ballistic missiles per month, up from 44 in April 2024.

Russia is reportedly producing 170 Geran drones per day, having established a massive manufacturing facility at Alabuga in the south of the country.

In a recent interview with Russian military TV, the facility's director Timur Shagivaleyev boasted that Alabuga had become "the largest combat drone production plant in the world", adding that his workers were producing nine times more units than initially expected.

Satellite images show the facility has expanded significantly since mid-2024, with a number of new warehouses built on the site.

Other structures, including what appear to be expansions to worker dormitories, remain under construction.

Senator Coons warned that the increase in production meant that Washington must make clear that it is not preparing to walk away from the conflict as some administration officials have threatened he could do, emphasising that peace can only be achieved through "surging security assistance".

He added that President Trump must make it clear to Russia that it "cannot simply try to outlast the West".

"In order to do that, he needs to maintain a consistent and sustained position on the war."

Meanwhile, Ms Volk said that every day the Russian campaign drags on and Ukrainian interceptions fall public morale is hammered.

"People are getting tired because of these attacks, they really affect our lives," she said.

"We know what we are fighting for, but it becomes more difficult every year because everyone is getting exhausted. That's the reality."

BBC
 
Trump's envoy Witkoff meets Putin as ceasefire deadline looms

A meeting between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Russia's Vladimir Putin is under way at the Kremlin, Russian media has said.

Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Wednesday as Donald Trump's deadline for Russia to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine looms.

The US president has said Russia could face hefty sanctions or see secondary sanctions imposed against all those who trade with it if it doesn't take steps to end the "horrible war" with Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, has warned that Russia would only make serious moves towards peace if it began to run out of money. He welcomed the threat of tougher US sanctions and tariffs on nations buying Russian oil.

Expectations are muted for a settlement by Friday, and Russia has continued its large-scale air attacks on Ukraine despite Trump's threats of sanctions.

Three rounds of talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul have failed to bring the war closer to and end, three and a half years after Moscow launched its full-invasion.

Moscow's military and political preconditions for peace remain unacceptable to Kyiv and to its Western partners. The Kremlin has also repeatedly turned down Kyiv's requests for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

Meanwhile, the US administration approved $200m of additional military sales to Ukraine on Tuesday following a phone call between Zelensky and Trump, in which the two leaders also discussed defence cooperation and drone production.

Ukraine has been using drones to hit Russia's refineries and energy facilities, while Moscow has focused its air attacks on Ukraine's cities.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said the toll of an attack on the city last week rose to 32 after a man died of his injuries. The strike was the deadliest on Kyiv since the start of the invasion.

Ukrainian authorities on Wednesday reported that a Russian attack on a holiday camp in the central region of Zaporizhzhia left two dead and 12 wounded.

"There's no military sense in this attack. It's just cruelty to scare people," Zelensky said.

BBC
 
Kremlin says US-Russia talks were 'constructive' as ceasefire deadline looms

The Kremlin has issued a vague statement following talks between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Russia's Vladimir Putin, days before Donald Trump's deadline to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the two sides had exchanged "signals" as part of "constructive" talks in Moscow.

He also said Russia and the US had discussed the possibility of strategic cooperation - but refused to share more until Witkoff had briefed the US president.

The US envoy boarded a flight to the US on Wednesday afternoon, according to Russian media.


www.bbc.com

Kremlin says US-Russia talks were 'constructive' as ceasefire deadline looms

Despite President Trump's threat of sweeping sanctions, expectations for a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv are muted.
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Russia eyes Ukraine’s ‘fortress belt’ after fall of Chasiv Yar​


During a difficult week in Ukraine’s ground war, Russian troops completed their conquest of Chasiv Yar, a high ground in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, and claimed to have breached the outskirts of Kupiansk, a city with a pre-war population of more than 26,000, in Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region.

Both conquests are the result of months-long efforts and have cost the Russians dearly in blood and weapons.

At the same time, Russian forces pushed into Dnipropetrovsk, a Ukrainian region whose borders they first breached over the weekend of June 7-8, capturing the village of Sichneve, which Russians call Yanvarskoye. It was the third claimed conquest in Dnipropetrovsk. Earlier, Russia captured Dachnoye and Malynivka.

Ukraine responded with deep strikes on Russian transport networks and energy hubs.

Chasiv Yar and the ‘fortress belt’​

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its paratroopers overran Chasiv Yar on July 31.

Moscow’s forces began to besiege the city in March 2024, about a month after the fall of Avdiivka, 30km (20 miles) to the south freed up offensive troops.

Russia prioritised this line of attack after conquering the city of Bakhmut in May 2023, following months of battles led by Wagner Group mercenaries.

Source: Al Jazeera
 
'Good prospect' of summit with Putin and Zelensky, Trump says

Donald Trump has said there is a "good chance" he could meet the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, following what he described as "very good talks" between his envoy and Vladimir Putin earlier in the day.

Asked at the White House whether the two leaders had agreed to such a summit, the US president said there was a "very good prospect", but did not give further details.

The Kremlin earlier issued a vague statement about the talks between Putin and Steve Witkoff, with a foreign policy aide saying the two sides had exchanged "signals" as part of "constructive" talks in Moscow.

The meeting came days before Trump's deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, or face new sanctions.

Trump's comments in the Oval Office on Wednesday come after he posted on his Truth Social platform that he had briefed some of America's European allies following the talks.

"Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come," Trump said.

The White House also told the BBC that Russia had expressed a desire to meet the US president and that he was "open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile said he had spoken to Trump about Witkoff's visit, with European leaders also on the call.

Zelensky has been warning that Russia would only make serious moves towards peace if it began to run out of money.

Trump has said Russia could face hefty sanctions or see secondary sanctions imposed against all those who trade with it if it doesn't take steps to end the war.

Wednesday's discussions between Putin and Witkoff appeared cordial despite Trump's mounting irritation with the lack of progress in negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.

Shortly after Witkoff's departure from Moscow, the White House said Trump had signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on India for buying Russian oil. The tariff would come into force on 27 August.

The US president has accused India of not caring "how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine".

Expectations are muted for a settlement by Friday, and Russia has continued its large-scale air attacks on Ukraine despite Trump's threats of sanctions.

Before taking office in January, Trump said he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in a day. The conflict has raged on, and his rhetoric towards Moscow has since hardened.

"We thought we had [the war] settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever," he said last month.

Three rounds of talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul have failed to bring the war closer to an end, three-and-a-half years after Moscow launched its full-invasion.

Moscow's military and political preconditions for peace remain unacceptable to Kyiv and to its Western partners. The Kremlin has also repeatedly turned down Kyiv's requests for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

Meanwhile, the US administration approved $200m (£150m) of additional military sales to Ukraine on Tuesday following a phone call between Zelensky and Trump, in which the two leaders also discussed defence co-operation and drone production.

Ukraine has been using drones to hit Russia's refineries and energy facilities, while Moscow has focused its air attacks on Ukraine's cities.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said the toll of an attack on the city last week rose to 32 after a man died of his injuries. The strike was one of the deadliest on Kyiv since the start of the invasion.

Ukrainian authorities on Wednesday reported that a Russian attack on a holiday camp in the central region of Zaporizhzhia left two dead and 12 wounded.

"There's no military sense in this attack. It's just cruelty to scare people," Zelensky said.

BBC
 
Trump and Putin to meet in Alaska for Ukraine talks next week

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska next Friday to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine.

Trump announced the 15 August meeting on social media and it was later confirmed by a Kremlin spokesperson, who said the location was "quite logical" given Alaska's relative proximity to Russia.

The spokesperson added that Trump had been invited to Russia for a potential second summit.

There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine.

The announcement of the meeting came just hours after Trump had signalled that Ukraine might have to cede territory in order to end the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.

"You're looking at territory that's been fought over for three and a half years, a lot of Russians have died. A lot of Ukrainians have died," Trump said at the White House on Friday.

"It's very complicated. We're going to get some back, we're going to get some switched. There will be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both."

The US president did not provide further details of what that proposal would look like.

However, the BBC's US partner CBS News, citing sources familiar with the discussions, reports that the White House is trying to sway European leaders to accept an agreement that would include Russia taking the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and keeping Crimea.

It would give up the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which it partially occupies, as part of the proposed agreement, CBS reports.

Earlier on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Putin had proposed a similar arrangement to Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff during a recent meeting in Moscow.

It remains unclear whether Ukraine and European allies would agree to such a deal, given Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin remain far apart on the conditions for peace.

Zelensky has roundly rejected any preconditions for territorial concessions.

One senior White House official told CBS that the planning for next Friday's meeting was fluid, and it was still possible that Zelensky would be involved in some capacity.

Moscow has failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough in its full-scale invasion, but occupies around 20% of Ukraine's territory. Ukrainian offensives, meanwhile, have not pushed the Russian forces back.

Three rounds of direct talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul have failed to bring the war closer to an end, and Moscow's military and political preconditions for peace are seen by Kyiv and its allies as the de facto capitulation of Ukraine.

Russian demands include Ukraine becoming a neutral state, dramatically reducing its military and abandoning its Nato aspirations, as well as the lifting of Western sanctions imposed on Russia.

Moscow also wants Kyiv to withdraw its military from the four regions which Russia partially occupies in south-east Ukraine, and to demobilise its soldiers.

Trump, however, insisted on Friday that the US had "a shot at" a trilateral peace agreement between the countries.

"European leaders want to see peace, President Putin, I believe, wants to see peace, and Zelensky wants to see peace," he told reporters.

"President Zelensky has to get all of his, everything he needs, because he's going to have to get ready to sign something and I think he's working hard to get that done," Trump said.

Last month, Trump admitted to the BBC that he had thought a deal to end the war in Ukraine was on the cards with Russia four different times: "I'm disappointed in him [Putin], but I'm not done with him."

He has hardened his stance against the Kremlin in recent weeks, imposing a deadline of Friday 8 August for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face more sweeping sanctions.

But as the deadline approached the economic threat was quickly overshadowed by plans for Trump and Putin to meet in person to discuss a potential peace deal.

There was no announcement of further sanctions on Russia from the White House on Friday.

Trump and Putin spoke by phone in February in the first direct exchange between the leaders since Russia's full-scale invasion.

The last time a US president met Putin was in 2021, when Joe Biden met him at a summit in Geneva, Switzerland.

BBC
 
Ukraine must be part of peace solution, Zelensky says ahead of Trump-Putin meeting

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has underlined he will make no territorial concessions to Russia ahead of a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on the future of the war in Ukraine next week.

Trump earlier signalled Ukraine may have to cede territory to end the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Zelensky said in a Telegram post on Saturday that "Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier", and reiterated that Ukraine must be involved in any solution for peace.

His comments came ahead of a meeting of National Security Advisors from Europe, Ukraine and the US, hosted by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US Vice President JD Vance.

The meeting is understood to be taking place at Chevening, Lammy's official country residence in Kent, where Mr Vance and his family are currently staying, and to have been called at the request of the US.

Earlier on Saturday, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer held a call with Zelensky in which he said they agreed the meeting would be a "vital forum to discuss progress towards securing a just and lasting peace".

Trump and Putin are set to meet in Alaska on 15 August to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine.

Speaking on a potential deal to end the war, Trump said on Friday that there "will be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both".

"You're looking at territory that's been fought over for three and a half years, a lot of Russians have died. A lot of Ukrainians have died," the US president said.

Sacrificing land for peace has been the Trump position all along. Zelensky has always made clear that is unacceptable under Ukraine's constitution and would only reward Russia for starting the war.

While Ukraine's president has been careful not to criticise Trump, his post on social media makes clear that he will not accept it.

Zelensky on Saturday said that Ukraine is ready for "real solutions that can bring peace" but underlined that Ukraine needed to be involved.

"Any solutions that are against us, any solutions that are without Ukraine, are simultaneously solutions against peace," he said.

"We are ready, together with President Trump, together with all partners, to work for a real, and most importantly, lasting peace - a peace that will not collapse because of Moscow's wishes."

This is what Ukraine, and many European allies, were always worried about - Trump and Putin trying to do a deal without Ukraine present.

Trump's words on Russia may have hardened in recent months, but for Ukraine they have yet to be followed by tangible actions.

The US president's deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face more sanctions has passed without any apparent consequences.

The BBC's US partner CBS News, citing a senior White House official, reported that it remains possible Zelensky, could end up being involved in the meeting between Putin and Trump some way, as planning for the Friday meeting is still fluid.

On the ground there is a resignation that any initial peace talks may not include Ukraine.

Among soldiers and civilians the BBC spoke to there is a strong desire for peace. There is exhaustion from the constant fighting and Russian drone and missile attacks.

But there is little evidence that Ukraine is willing to accept a peace at any price - much less one that will be forced on it without its voice being heard

www.bbc.com

Ukraine must be part of peace solution, Zelensky says ahead of Trump-Putin meeting

Zelensky also said Ukraine will not give up land to Russia, as European security advisors meet in the UK.
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Before Trump-Putin talks, Ukraine rules out ‘gifting land to occupier’​


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ruled out ceding land to Russia and demanded his country take part in negotiations aimed at ending the war between the neighbours, just days before planned talks between the leaders of Russia and the United States.

In a video shared on social media on Saturday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready for “real decisions” that could bring a “dignified peace” but stressed there could be no violation of the constitution on territorial issues.

“Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier,” he said, warning that “decisions without Ukraine” would not bring peace.

“They will not achieve anything. These are stillborn decisions. They are unworkable decisions. And we all need real and genuine peace. Peace that people will respect,” added Zelenskyy, whose country has been fighting off a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022.

His comments came hours after US President Donald Trump said a peace deal would involve “some swapping of territories” as he announced a meeting on Friday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the US state of Alaska to discuss the war.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, which also forced millions of people to flee their homes.

Three rounds of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine this year have failed to bear fruit, and it remains unclear whether a summit would bring peace any closer.

On Thursday, Putin said he considers a meeting with Zelenskyy possible but the conditions for such negotiations must be right. The prerequisites for such talks are still far from being met, the Russian president added, without outlining what his conditions would be.

Previously, the Kremlin has insisted that Ukraine give up the territories Russia occupies, and that Western nations stop supplying Ukraine with weapons and exclude the country from membership in the NATO military alliance.

Source: Al Jazeera
 
Europe allies say Ukraine peace talks must include Kyiv

European allies have rallied behind Ukraine in a renewed surge of support, insisting that any peace talks with Russia must include Kyiv.

It comes as Donald Trump prepares to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

"The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," said a joint statement issued by the leaders of the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission.

Concerned that Ukraine will not be invited to its own peace talks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that any agreements without Kyiv would amount to "dead decisions".

Late on Saturday, a White House official said that Trump would be willing to hold a trilateral meeting with both Putin and Zelensky - but for now, it remains just the two of them, as initially requested by the Russian leader.

Trump has previously suggested that he could start by meeting only with Putin, telling reporters he planned to "start off with Russia." But the US president also said that he believed "we have a shot at" organising a trilateral meeting with both Putin and Zelensky.

Whether Putin would agree to this is unclear - he has refused several opportunities to hold direct talks, and the two leaders have not met face-to-face since Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.

Speaking on Friday, Trump also suggested that there "will be some swapping of territories" in order for Moscow and Kyiv to reach an agreement - to which Zelensky reacted strongly.

"We will not reward Russia for what it has perpetrated," he said on Telegram. "Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace."

"The Russians... still impose the idea of 'exchanging' Ukrainian territory for Ukrainian territory, with consequences that guarantee nothing but more convenient positions for the Russians to resume the war," he added defiantly.

CBS, the BBC's US media partner, has reported that the White House is trying to sway European allies to accept an agreement that would include Russia taking the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, and keeping the Crimean Peninsula.

Ukraine and European powers, on the other hand, presented their own blueprint for ending the war to Trump and his top officials, the Wall Street Journal has reported. It includes demands that any territory can be exchanged only in a reciprocal manner - so if Ukraine pulls out of some regions, Russia must withdraw from others.

The European leaders, in their statement released late on Saturday night, stressed that "international borders must not be changed by force".

"Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny," they said, stressing that their nations would continue to support Ukraine diplomatically, militarily and financially.

The leaders also said that a "diplomatic solution" is critical, not just to protect Ukraine - but also Europe's security.

It's not just Ukraine that is struggling to be part of the Alaska meeting.

European allies are also worried about their lack of influence over the outcome of any agreement that Trump could reach with Putin.

In a post on X on Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron raised concerns about Russia and the US excluding European involvement.

"Europeans will also necessarily be part of the solution, as their own security is at stake," he wrote.

Europe has taken a tough approach to Moscow - including imposing sanctions against Russian entities and providing military aid for Ukraine.

Zelensky said he told Macron in a phone call on Saturday that the key was to make sure "the Russians do not get to deceive anyone again".

"We all need a genuine end to the war and reliable security foundations for Ukraine and other European nations," the Ukrainian leader said.

US diplomacy with Europe and Ukraine fell to Vice-President JD Vance on Saturday, when he visited the UK and held talks with Foreign Secretary David Lammy as well as two of Zelensky's top aides.

Thanking Vance for the discussions, Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelensky's office, stressed the need for Ukraine to be included.

"A reliable, lasting peace is only possible with Ukraine at the negotiating table," he said. "A ceasefire is necessary - but the frontline is not a border."

The summit in Alaska, the territory which Russia sold to the US in 1867, would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents, since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021.

Nine months later, Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.

In 2022, the Kremlin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions - Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - despite not having full control over them.

Moscow has failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough in its full-scale invasion, but occupies large swathes of Ukraine's eastern territory. Ukrainian offensives, meanwhile, have not been able to push the Russian forces back.

BBC
 

Ukraine war briefing: US ambassador to Nato says Zelenskyy could attend Alaska summit but decision is Trump’s​


The US ambassador to Nato said on Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could attend this week’s US-Russia summit in Alaska, as European leaders push for Kyiv to be part of the negotiations. Ambassador Matthew Whitaker was asked on CNN whether Zelenskyy might join US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday. “Yes, I certainly think it’s possible,” he said. “Certainly, there can’t be a deal that everybody that’s involved in it doesn’t agree to. And, I mean, obviously, it’s a high priority to get this war to end.” Whitaker said the decision would ultimately be Trump’s to make. “If he thinks that that is the best scenario to invite Zelenskyy, then he will do that,” he said, adding that “no decision has been made to this point.”

Germany warned the White House on Sunday against any deal hatched “over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians”. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he hoped and assumed that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, would also be involved. “We cannot accept in any case that territorial questions are discussed or even decided between Russia and America over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians,” he told the broadcaster ARD. “I assume that the American government sees it the same way.”

US vice-president JD Vance, speaking a day after meeting the UK foreign minister, David Lammy, said he did not think it would be productive for the Russian president to meet his Ukrainian counterpart before speaking with Trump. “We’re at a point now where we’re trying to figure out, frankly, scheduling and things like that, around when these three leaders could sit down and discuss an end to this conflict,” he told Fox News.

Zelenskyy thanked European allies for rallying around ahead of the Alaska summit after European leaders issued a coordinated statement on Saturday night that said the “path to peace” in Ukraine could not be decided without Kyiv. In a post on X he said: “The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people.”

EU foreign ministers will discuss the Alaska talks in a meeting by video link on Monday, joined by their Ukrainian counterpart. “The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security,” top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Sunday.

Three people were killed in Russia’s Tula and Nizhny Novgorod regions in overnight Ukrainian drone attacks that also targeted Moscow, Russian regional officials and the defence ministry said on Monday. Two people died and two were hospitalised after an attack before midnight on Sunday on the Tula region that borders the Moscow region to its north, Tula governor Dmitry Milyaev said on Telegram. One person was killed and two hospitalised after a Ukrainian attack on an industrial zone in the Nizhny Novgorod region in western Russia, regional governor Gleb Nikitin said. Russian air defence units destroyed 59 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 12 over the Tula region and two over the Moscow region, the ministry said. The reports could not be independently verified and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Russian shelling and drone attacks killed six people in Ukraine on Sunday, authorities said, while a Russian strike on a bus station in the city of Zaporizhzhia wounded at least 19. The six people were killed across the eastern regions of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, their respective authorities said.

Kyiv said it had hit two oil refineries deep inside Russia, one in the western Saratov region and one in the remote northern town of Ukhta in the Komi Republic, AFP reported. The governor of Saratov, Roman Busargin, only gave a vague comment about it, saying that “one of the industrial enterprises was damaged” and adding that one person had died as a result of the drone attack. The Komi governor confirmed in his Telegram channel there had been a drone attack on the region, but didn’t mention the Ukhta refinery and said there were no casualties.

Ukraine’s military said on Sunday it had taken back a village in the Sumy region from the Russian army, which has made significant recent gains. The village is on the frontline in the north of the country and about 20 kilometres (13 miles) west of the main fighting between the two armies in the northern region.

Source: The Guardian
 
Recently encountered a toxic Ukrainian in Toronto.

After dealing with him, I felt pretty good about Putin invading and annexing parts of Ukraine.

I guess Putin knows what he is doing. :inti
 
Zelensky could still attend Trump-Putin meeting, but rest of Europe is shut out

It's the bilateral summit every European leader wants to be at.

And for good reason. On Friday, Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

Territorial concessions are likely to be discussed, and Europe (not least Ukraine) doesn't want its borders to be redrawn through force.

But, as things stand, there are no invites for the country being invaded, nor the continent it sits in.

"Brace ourselves for some pretty outrageous Russian demands," warns Lord Simon McDonald, a former head of the UK Foreign Office.

"It will be theatrical," he adds. "Putin is going to ask for things that nobody else would concede - with the possible exception of Donald Trump."

President Zelensky has said he won't agree to the giving up of any land, or even freezing the conflict along the current front lines.

His argument is that it won't slow a Russian war machine that has waged a full-scale war for more than three and a half years. Concessions, he claims, would only speed it up.

"It's clear Putin wants a photo with the most influential people on Earth, which is President Trump, and he wants sanctions to be postponed, which he'll probably get," the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, tells me.

"The question is, what is success for the US in the meeting?" she asks. "If President Zelensky is there, it would be a clear success."

But if Ukraine's leader isn't at the Alaskan table, how might the Kremlin's proposals be challenged?

"He could go," said the US president on that possibility. But Kyiv and Europe want it to go from a "maybe" to a "yes".

Adding to their anxiety is the one-on-one format being a Kremlin idea the White House agreed to.

A European scramble

Brussels' European Quarter isn't its usual flurry of political activity during August, but these US-Russia talks have changed that.

On Monday, Kallas hosted a virtual meeting of foreign ministers where they called for an unconditional ceasefire before any deal. New sanctions for Moscow were announced as well.

I asked Kallas what she thought Donald Trump meant by suggesting some land could be swapped.

"We have to ask President Trump," she says. "But it is clear an aggressor can't be awarded for aggression. Otherwise, we will just see more aggression around the world because it pays off."

Europe is trying to do two things: rally around Ukraine, as well as muscle in on this American-led peace process.

Whether or not Zelensky does make the trip, the door for Europe has firmly remained shut since Trump retook office at the start of the year.

At the time his envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said the bloc wouldn't be involved in any peace talks. It's a position the Europeans have been unable to change through diplomacy.

Their relationship with the US has still improved, not least with significant increases in their defence spending. But Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland's foreign minister, believes they need a more central role.

"This is a matter of existential European security interest," he explains.

"We appreciate Trump's efforts but we'll be taking our own decision in Europe too.

"A simple ceasefire would not resolve the problem."

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has secured a remote sit down between European leaders, as well as Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump, this Wednesday.

They hope to be consulted on America's plan to end Russia's invasion, but ex-UK Foreign Office head Lord McDonald would be surprised to see a last-minute European invite for Friday.

"The end will be as protracted as the war has been long," he warned.

"The meeting is a milestone, but it doesn't actually mean it will lead anywhere."

BBC
 
Zelensky rules out ceding Donbas region as Russians make fresh advance

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine would reject any Russian proposal to give up the Donbas region in exchange for a ceasefire, warning it could be used as a springboard for future attacks.

Zelensky was speaking ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

Trump has said any peace deal would involve "some swapping of territories" and it is believed one of Putin's demands is that Kyiv surrenders the parts of the Donbas it still controls.

Meanwhile Russia's troops have continued their summer offensive, making a sudden thrust near the eastern town of Dobropillia and advancing 10km (six miles) in a short period of time.

Zelensky admitted the advance had taken place in "several spots" but said Kyiv would soon destroy the units involved in the attack.

While downplaying Russia's advance, he added it was "clear to us" that Moscow's objective was to create a "certain information space" before Putin meets Trump that "Russia is moving forward, advancing, while Ukraine is losing".

No official details have emerged on what demands Vladimir Putin could make when he meets Donald Trump in Anchorage on Friday.

The Donbas - made up of the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk - has been partly occupied by Russia since 2014.

Moscow now holds almost all of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk but speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Zelensky reaffirmed that Ukraine would reject any proposal to leave the Donbas.

"If we withdraw from the Donbas today - our fortifications, our terrain, the heights we control - we will clearly open a bridgehead for the Russians to prepare an offensive," he said.

Zelensky has previously insisted that Ukrainians would not "gift their land to the occupier", and pointed to the country's constitution, which requires a referendum before a change in its territory.

In his nightly address on Tuesday, Zelensky also said Moscow was preparing new offensives on three parts of the front - Zaporizhzhia, Pokrovsk and Novopavlov areas.

Last week Trump said there would be "some swapping of territories to the betterment of both" Russia and Ukraine - sparking concern in Kyiv and across Europe that Moscow could be allowed to redraw Ukraine's borders by force.

Russia currently controls just under 20% of Ukrainian territory.

The White House on Tuesday said the Alaska talks would be a "listening exercise" for Trump and added having him and Putin sit down in the same room would give the US president "the best indication on how to end this war".

It follows Trump describing the summit as a "feel-out meeting" on Monday, seeming to tone down expectations that Friday's meeting could bring Ukraine and Russia closer to peace.

When he announced the summit last week, Trump sounded positive that the meeting could result in concrete steps towards peace.

"I think my gut instinct really tells me that we have a shot at it," he said.

But Ukrainian President Zelensky once again expressed serious doubts that the talks could result in a positive outcome for Kyiv, which has been excluded from the summit. "I don't know what they will talk about without us," he said.

Zelensky has steered clear of criticising Trump but in recent days his frustration at being sidelined has become apparent, and on Tuesday he said the choice of Alaska as a location was a "personal victory" for Putin.

"He is coming out of isolation, because they are meeting with him on US territory," he said.

The Ukrainian leader has previously said any agreements without Kyiv's involvement would amount to "dead decisions".

On Wednesday, Zelensky is due to join a virtual meeting with Donald Trump, EU leaders, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Nato chief Mark Rutte.

All sides will try to convince Trump of the need not to be swayed by Putin when the two meet at the hastily organised summit.

BBC
 
Trump says Putin ready to make deal on Ukraine, US hopes to include Zelenskiy

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he thought Vladimir Putin was ready to make a deal on ending his war in Ukraine after the Russian president floated the prospect of a nuclear arms agreement on the eve of their summit in Alaska.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his European allies have intensified their efforts this week to prevent any deal between the U.S. and Russia emerging from Friday's summit that leaves Ukraine vulnerable to future attack.

"I think he's going to make a deal," Trump said in a Fox News radio interview, adding that if the meeting went well, he would call Zelenskiy and European leaders afterwards, and that if it went badly, he would not.

The aim of Friday's talks with Putin is to set up a second meeting including Ukraine, Trump said, adding: "I don't know that we're going to get an immediate ceasefire."

Putin earlier spoke to his most senior ministers and security officials as he prepared for a meeting with Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday that could shape the endgame to the largest war in Europe since World War Two.


www.reuters.com

Trump says Putin ready to make deal on Ukraine, US hopes to include Zelenskiy

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he thought Vladimir Putin was ready to make a deal on ending his war in Ukraine after the Russian president floated the prospect of a nuclear arms agreement on the eve of their summit in Alaska.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
 
Putin ready to make Ukraine deal, Trump says before Alaska summit

Donald Trump has said he believes Vladimir Putin is ready to make a deal on the war in Ukraine as the two leaders prepare for their summit in Alaska on Friday, but his suggestion the Russian leader and Volodymyr Zelenskyy could “divvy things up” may alarm some in Kyiv.

The US president implied there was a 75% chance of the Alaska meeting succeeding, and that the threat of economic sanctions may have made Putin more willing to seek an end to the war.

Trump insisted that he would not let Putin get the better of him in Friday’s meeting, telling reporters: “I am president, and he’s not going to mess around with me.

“I’ll know within the first two minutes, three minutes, four minutes or five minutes … whether or not we’re going to have a good meeting or a bad meeting.

“And if it’s a bad meeting, it’ll end very quickly, and if it’s a good meeting, we’re going to end up getting peace in the pretty near future,” said Trump.

He also said a second meeting – not yet confirmed – between him, Putin and Zelenskyy would be the more decisive.

“The second meeting is going to be very, very important, because that’s going to be a meeting where they make a deal. And I don’t want to use the word ‘divvy’ things up, but you know, to a certain extent, it’s not a bad term, OK?” Trump told Fox News Radio.

He was referring to the possibility that Zelenskyy will have to accept “land swaps” – in practice the handing over of Ukrainian territory to Russia, potentially including some not captured by Moscow.

Later on Thursday, Trump suggested that any second, trilateral meeting could happen quickly – and possibly take place in Alaska.

“Tomorrow, all I want to do is set the table for the next meeting, which should happen shortly,” he said. “I’d like to see it actually happen, maybe in Alaska.”

Any such meeting would be a concession by Putin since he refuses to recognise Zelenskyy as the legitimate leader of Ukraine.

Trump conceded he was unsure whether an immediate ceasefire could be achieved, but expressed interest in brokering a peace agreement. On Putin, he said: “I believe now, he’s convinced that he’s going to make a deal. I think he’s going to, and we’re going to find out.”

Zelenskyy will face a difficult choice if Putin rejects Ukraine’s call for a full 30-day ceasefire and offers only a partial break in the fighting, particularly if Trump thinks a three-way meeting should still go ahead.

The Ukrainian president spent much of Thursday in London discussing Wednesday’s video call between European leaders and Trump with the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. European leaders were largely relieved with the way the conversation went, but know Trump is unpredictable and prone to acting on instinct, rather than sticking to a script.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said changes on the battlefield could make peace harder. “To achieve a peace, I think we all recognise that there’ll have to be some conversation about security guarantees,” he said.

Trump has rejected offering such guarantees before, but it is possible European security guarantees could be agreed. Rubio said he believed Trump had spoken by phone to Putin four times and “felt it was important to now speak to him in person and look him in the eye and figure out what was possible and what isn’t”.

Starmer and Zelenskyy met in Downing Street for breakfast on Thursday and hailed “a visible chance for peace” as long as Putin proved he was serious about ending the war.

European leaders emerged from Wednesday’s meeting reassured that Trump was going into his summit focused on extracting Putin’s commitment to a durable ceasefire and was not seeking to negotiate over Ukraine’s head.

The plan for Trump and Putin to hold a joint press conference after their talks suggests the White House is optimistic the summit will bring about a breakthrough. Moscow is determined that the summit should not just focus on Ukraine but also agree steps to restart US-Russian economic cooperation.

In a brief summary of the Downing Street meeting, British officials said Zelenskyy and Starmer expressed cautious optimism about a truce “as long as Putin takes action to prove he is serious” about peace. In a separate statement, Zelenskyy said there had been discussions about the security guarantees required to make any deal “truly durable if the United States succeeds in pressing Russia to stop the killing”.

On Wednesday Starmer co-chaired a virtual meeting of the “coalition of the willing” – a European-led effort to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine to enforce any deal – where he said there was a “viable” chance of a truce.

On Thursday the prime minister gave Zelenskyy a bear hug in the street outside the door to No 10 in a symbol of continuing British solidarity with the Ukrainian cause. Similar public displays of solidarity followed the disastrous February meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, when the two leaders quarrelled in front of the cameras in the White House.

Further sanctions could be imposed on Russia should the Kremlin fail to engage, and Starmer said the UK was already working on its next package of measures targeting Moscow.

Trump has frequently said he will know if he can achieve peace in Ukraine only by meeting Putin personally. He sets great faith in his personal relationship with the Russian leader, but on Wednesday he played down expectations of what he could do to persuade Putin to relent. At the same time he warned there would be “very severe consequences” for Russia if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire, a veiled threat to increase US sanctions on Russian oil exports.

He has so far held off from imposing such economic pressure on Russia, but by the end of the month the US is due to impose additional tariffs on Indian imports into the US as a punishment for India continuing to buy Russian oil.

The UK would like to see the US consider other, more targeted sanctions, either on the so-called shadow fleet of Russian oil tankers or on refineries that use Russian oil. But Moscow briefed that the Alaska summit, far from leading to extra economic pressure on the Russian economy, would instead include discussion and agreements on new US-Russian economic cooperation, a step that would relieve the pressure on Russian state finances.

Some European leaders took heart from the detailed grasp of the issues shown on the call by the US vice-president, JD Vance, and by hints that Trump could be willing to contribute US assets to a European-led security guarantee for Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement.

The Alaska summit, due to start at 11.30am local time (2030 BST), will include a one-to-one meeting between Trump and Putin, with interpreters, then a wider meeting.

The Russian delegation will include the foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov; the defence minister, Andrei Belousov; the finance minister, Anton Siluanov; the head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev; and Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov.

www.theguardian.com

Putin ready to make Ukraine deal, Trump says before Alaska summit

US president’s comment that Russian and Ukrainian leaders may have to ‘divvy’ things up likely to raise alarm
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
Alaska Summit has started
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US President Donald Trump has arrived at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, for a summit with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

The two leaders are meeting to discuss an end to the more-than-three-year war in Ukraine in what will be their first standalone summit since 2018 in Helsinki.

www.aljazeera.com

Trump, Putin arrive in Alaska for talks on Ukraine conflict

Leaders to meet to discuss an end to the more-than-three-year Russia-Ukraine war.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
The Bald Eagle said:
Alaska Summit has started
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US President Donald Trump has arrived at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, for a summit with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

The two leaders are meeting to discuss an end to the more-than-three-year war in Ukraine in what will be their first standalone summit since 2018 in Helsinki.

www.aljazeera.com

Trump, Putin arrive in Alaska for talks on Ukraine conflict

Leaders to meet to discuss an end to the more-than-three-year Russia-Ukraine war.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
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Modi be like: :inti

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End of Ukraine war 'closer than ever' thanks to Trump, says Starmer​


US President Donald Trump's actions have brought the end of the war in Ukraine "closer than ever before", Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said.

His statement comes despite the fact that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to reach a deal on a ceasefire at a summit in Alaska on Friday.

He also said the "path to peace in Ukraine" cannot be decided without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and that the UK's "unwavering support" will continue as long as it takes.

The highly-anticipated meeting between Trump and Putin had been pitched as an important step towards peace in Ukraine, but no concrete agreements were made despite the former saying "great progress" was made.

Five key takeaways after the Alaska summit

Zelensky is due to fly to Washington DC on Monday to meet Trump, with the aim of paving the way to further talks.

In the wake of the Anchorage summit, Sir Keir spent Saturday morning speaking to Western allies.

Following the calls, he said in a statement: "I welcome the openness of the United States, alongside Europe, to provide robust security guarantees to Ukraine as part of any deal.

"President Trump's efforts have brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia's illegal war in Ukraine.

"His leadership in pursuit of an end to the killing should be commended," Sir Keir said.

Until Putin stops his "barbaric assault", allies would "keep tightening the screws on his war machine with even more sanctions", he added.

France later said Sir Keir would join French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in hosting Kyiv's allies in a video call of the "coalition of the willing" on Sunday.

A Downing Street source told the BBC that any peace deal needed security agreements and "US involvement is a key part of that".

Following a call with Trump on Saturday, Zelensky called for a lasting peace, "not just another pause between Russian invasions".

He stressed Kyiv should be included in future discussions, and said he expected Russia to "increase pressure and strikes" in the coming days to "create more favourable circumstances for talks with global actors".

Prior to the event, it was believed Trump had hoped to secure a peace deal from the talks in Alaska. Speaking to Fox News Radio on Thursday, Trump said the meeting had only a 25% chance of failure.

Despite walking away with no ceasefire and no overall deal, Trump insisted "some great progress" was made, with "many points" agreed and "very few" remaining.

Source: BBC
 
Russia complicating end to war, says Zelensky, as Trump pursues peace deal

Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia's refusal to agree to a ceasefire is complicating efforts to end the war.

"We see that Russia rebuffs numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing. This complicates the situation," the Ukrainian president said in a statement on X.

On Monday, Zelensky will travel to Washington DC, where US President Donald Trump has said he will urge the Ukrainian leader to agree to a peace deal.

Trump said he wants to bypass a ceasefire in Ukraine and move directly to a permanent peace agreement after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a major shift in position, the US president wrote on Truth Social following Friday's summit that this would be "the best way to end the horrific war", as ceasefires often "do not hold up".

Following a phone call with Trump after the summit, Zelensky called for a real, lasting peace, while adding that "the fire must cease" and killings stop.

He later outlined Ukraine's requirements for "a truly sustainable and reliable peace", including a "credible security guarantee" and the return of children he says were "abducted from occupied territories" by Moscow.

Trump had said before the summit on Friday that he wanted a ceasefire "rapidly", having threatened Russia with economic sanctions if one was not agreed.

Ukraine's main demand has been a quick ceasefire before talks on a longer-term settlement, with Trump reportedly telling European leaders beforehand that his goal for the summit was to obtain a ceasefire deal.

Putin reportedly presented Trump with a peace offer that would require Ukraine withdrawing from the Donetsk region of the Donbas, in return for Russia freezing the front lines in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

Russia claims the Donbas as Russian territory, controlling most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk. It also illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, eight years before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Trump, who has previously said any peace deal would involve "some swapping of territories", is said to have relayed the offer to Zelensky in their call following the summit.

Just days ago, Ukraine's president ruled out ceding control of the Donbas - composed of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions - saying it could be used as a springboard for future Russian attacks.

The BBC's US partner CBS has reported, citing diplomatic sources, that European officials were concerned Trump may try to pressure Zelensky into agreeing to terms that may have been discussed at Friday's summit when they meet on Monday.

CBS quotes sources as saying that Trump had told European leaders that Putin would make "some concessions", but failed to specify what they were.

In an interview with Fox News following the US-Russia summit in Alaska, Trump was asked what advice he had for the Ukrainian leader, to which he replied: "Make a deal."

He added: "Russia's a very big power and they're not."

Trump had previously threatened "very severe consequences" if Putin did not agree to end the war, last month setting a deadline for Moscow to reach a ceasefire or face tough new sanctions, including secondary tariffs on its allies.

But the two left Friday's talks with no agreement reach, despite both insisting progress had been made.

On Saturday, Putin described the summit as "very useful" and said he had been able "set out our position" to Trump.

"We had the opportunity, which we did, to talk about the genesis, about the causes of this crisis," the Russian president said. "It is the elimination of these root causes that should be the basis for settlement."

A senior Russian diplomat later told BBC Newshour that the summit had been "a very important building block for further efforts" to end the war.

Russia's first deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said that everybody who wanted peace "should be satisfied by the outcome". He wouldn't say if Putin should now meet with Zelensky.

Meanwhile, the "coalition of the willing" - a group of nations that have pledged security support for Ukraine that includes the UK, France, and Germany - will hold a call on Sunday afternoon before Zelensky visits the White House on Monday.

Sir Keir Starmer hosted Zelensky ahead of the US-Russia summit, with the pair agreeing there was "a strong resolve to achieve a just and lasting peace"

A group of European leaders - including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen - said "the next step must now be further talks including President Zelensky".

"We stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia," they said, adding: "It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force."

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer praised Trump's efforts to end the war, saying they had "brought us closer than ever before".

"While progress has been made, the next step must be further talks involving President Zelensky. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without him," he said.

In Kyiv, Ukrainians have described feeling "crushed" by the scenes from Alaska.

"I understand that for negotiations you shake hands, you can't just slap Putin in the face when he arrives," Serhii Orlyk, a 50-year-old veteran from Donetsk, said.

"But this spectacle with the red carpet and the kneeling soldiers - it's terrible, it makes no sense."

BBC
 
Zelensky met early Monday with Keith Kellogg, who is serving as the Trump administration’s special envoy for the Ukraine, ahead of a high stakes White House visit

“President Trump invited Ukraine and other European countries to Washington today – this is the first meeting in such a format, and it is very serious,” Zelensky posted on X.

“We discussed the battlefield situation and our strong diplomatic capabilities – Ukraine’s and all of Europe’s together with America,” Zelensky added. “Russia can only be forced into peace through strength, and President Trump has that strength. We have to do everything right to make peace happen.”

Kellogg also met Monday morning with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who is expected to join other European leaders at the White House for an expanded meeting with Trump.

Source: The Hill
 

Why does Russia want Ukraine’s Donbas region?​


As leaders of Russia, Ukraine, the United States and Europe met to discuss a possible Russia-Ukraine war endgame, one part of Ukraine drew increasing attention: The Donbas, an industrial region in the eastern part of the country that has been a primary battlefield in the current war.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, it has come to control a majority – but not all of – the Donbas.

After its invasion, Russia held elections that election specialists criticised as illegitimate in four Ukrainian territories. Russia then annexed the four territories. Two of the four annexed territories were Donetsk and Luhansk, which collectively form the Donbas. Russia currently controls all of Luhansk and a portion of Donetsk; Ukraine maintains control in the portions of Donetsk around the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. (The other territories Russia annexed were Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, of which Russia controls about 75 percent.)

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy reveals key details of private meeting with Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants any settlement to end the war to include giving Russia full control of the Donbas. To Ukrainians, this would be a bitter pill to swallow, effectively rewarding Russia for launching a war of conquest. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in mid-August, “We will not leave the Donbas. We cannot do that.”

www.aljazeera.com

Why does Russia want Ukraine’s Donbas region?

Russia seeks Donbas for strategic, economic, and symbolic purposes, but experts say Moscow’s claims are dubious.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 

Why Ukraine's first lady wrote Melania Trump a letter​


Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has handed Donald Trump a letter of gratitude for his wife Melania, written by Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska, after Melania advocated to protect children.

Zelensky has thanked Melania for raising awareness about at least 19,500 Ukrainian children his government says have been abducted by Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

His comments come after Melania sent Russian President Vladimir Putin her own letter imploring him to consider children, saying that "in protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone - you serve humanity".

Her letter did not reference any specific children.

Over the weekend, the White House shared on social media the letter to Putin.

In it, Melania said every child dreams "of love, possibility and safety from danger".

"Mr Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter," she wrote.

Answering a reporter's question about the letter on Monday, Trump said his wife, who felt very strongly, has a great love of children and "hates to see something like this happening", adding the same goes for other wars.

"She would love to see this end, she says it very openly, very proudly, and with great sorrow because so many people have been killed," he said.

Zelensky praised Melania "for her attention to one of the most painful and difficult issues of this war - the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia," adding "we deeply appreciate her compassion".

"This issue lies at the heart of the war's humanitarian tragedy – our children, broken families, the pain of separation."

Ukraine's president continued: "Her voice matters, and her care gives strength to this cause."

The Ukrainian government says around 19,500 children have been deported and/or forcibly removed from their homes to Russia or Russian-occupied territories, with roughly 1,500 returned.

In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for the alleged unlawful deportation of children.

Russia denies the accusation and says it has protected vulnerable children by moving them from a war zone for their own safety.

The return of children is part of Ukraine's position in peace negotiations with Russia.
After Monday's meeting of Zelensky, Trump and European leaders in the White House, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said on social media: "The human cost of this war must end."

"And that means every single Ukrainian child abducted by Russia must be returned to their families."

She thanked Trump for "his clear commitment today to ensuring these children are reunited with their loved ones".

Von der Leyen was responding to a social media post from Trump, who said missing children worldwide has been an issue of importance to Melania specifically.

www.bbc.com

Why First Lady Olena Zelenska wrote Melania Trump a letter

Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska has thanked US First Lady Melania Trump for imploring Vladimir Putin to protect children.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 

Trump says Putin may not want to make a deal on Ukraine​


U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he hoped Russia's Vladimir Putin would move forward on ending the war in Ukraine but conceded that the Kremlin leader may not want to make a deal at all, adding this would create a "rough situation" for Putin.

In an interview with the Fox News "Fox & Friends" programme, Trump said he believed Putin's course of action would become clear in the next couple of weeks. Trump again ruled out American troops on the ground in Ukraine and gave no specifics about the security guarantees he has previously said Washington could offer Kyiv under any post-war settlement.

"I don't think it's going to be a problem (reaching a peace deal), to be honest with you. I think Putin is tired of it. I think they're all tired of it, but you never know," Trump said.

"We're going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks ... It's possible that he doesn't want to make a deal," said Trump, who has previously threatened more sanctions on Russia and nations that buy its oil if Putin does not make peace.

Ukraine and its European allies have been buoyed by Trump's promise of security guarantees to help end the war during an extraordinary summit on Monday but face many unanswered questions, including how willing Russia will be to play ball.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed the talks at the White House as a "major step forward" towards ending Europe's deadliest conflict in 80 years and setting up a trilateral meeting with Putin and Trump in the coming weeks.

Zelenskiy was flanked by the leaders of allies including Germany, France and Britain at the summit. His warm rapport with Trump contrasted sharply with their disastrous Oval Office meeting in February.

But the path to peace remains deeply uncertain and Zelenskiy may be forced to make painful compromises to end the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Analysts say more than 1 million people have been killed or wounded in the conflict.

RUSSIAN ATTACKS

While the Washington talks allowed for a temporary sense of relief in Kyiv, there was no let-up in the fighting. Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles in an overnight attack on Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said, the largest this month. The energy ministry said Russia had targeted energy facilities in the central Poltava region, home to Ukraine's only oil refinery, causing big fires.

www.reuters.com

Trump says Putin may not want to make a deal on Ukraine

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he hoped Russia's Vladimir Putin would move forward on ending the war in Ukraine but conceded that the Kremlin leader may not want to make a deal at all, adding this would create a "rough situation" for Putin.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
 
Kremlin plays down Zelensky talks as Trump warns Putin may not 'want to make deal'

The Kremlin has played down talk of an imminent summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, as Donald Trump renewed his call for the two leaders to meet to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

The push for a bilateral meeting comes after the US president met Putin in Alaska last week, and welcomed seven European leaders and Zelensky to the White House on Monday.

Trump admitted the conflict was "a tough one" to solve and conceded it was possible the Russian president was not interested in ending hostilities.

"We're going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks," he said on Tuesday. "It's possible that he doesn't want to make a deal."

Putin faced a "rough situation" if that were the case, Trump added, without offering any details.

In an interview with conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin late on Tuesday night, Trump suggested "it would be better" if Putin and Zelensky met without him.

He added that he would attend a meeting with the two leaders "if necessary", but wanted to "see what happens".

The Russian president on Monday told Trump he was "open" to the idea of direct talks with Ukraine, but the next day Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov watered down that already vague commitment.

Any meeting would have to be prepared "gradually... starting with the expert level and thereafter going through all the required steps", he said, repeating a frequent Kremlin line.

Dmitry Polyanskiy, a Russian deputy representative to the UN, told the BBC "nobody [had] rejected" the opportunity for direct talks, "but it shouldn't be a meeting for the sake of a meeting".

Nato's military chiefs are expected to hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday, while Britain's military chief, Admiral Tony Radakin, is travelling to Washington for discussions on the deployment of a reassurance force in Ukraine.

On Tuesday, it was reported that Putin had suggested to Trump that Zelensky could travel to Moscow for talks, something Ukraine was never likely to accept.

The proposal may have been Russia's way of putting forward an option so far-fetched Kyiv could not possibly have agreed to it.

Talks over the last few days appear to have given Trump a renewed understanding of the complexities of the war and the gulf between Moscow's demands and Kyiv's position.

The much-vaunted ceasefire he said he could get Putin to agree to has not materialised - and now the US president has said Ukraine and Russia should move directly to a permanent peace deal instead - but some headway was made in terms of security guarantees for Ukraine.

Zelensky and European leaders seem to have convinced Trump that such commitments would be paramount to Kyiv's sovereignty in the event of a peace deal.

On Tuesday, Trump said the US was willing to help the Europeans "by air" if they provided boots on the ground in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire or peace deal, although he ruled out deploying US troops.

The US president, however, did not go into the specifics of whether such air support may entail intelligence or the use of fighter jets and war planes.

While Trump's commitments remain vague, the France and UK-led Coalition of the Willing said it had been working to firm up plans for a reassurance force that could be sent to Ukraine if the hostilities end.

After a virtual meeting of the group on Tuesday, a Downing Street spokesperson said the group would meet US counterparts in the coming days to "further strengthen plans to deliver robust security guarantees".

Following his summit with Putin and latest talks with Zelensky, Trump now appears to think direct talks between Ukraine and Russia could bring a peace deal closer - although he acknowledged there had been "tremendous bad blood" between the two leaders.

The last time they met was in 2019. Since then, Moscow's war on Kyiv has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties as well as widespread destruction and ongoing aerial attacks on civilian targets.

Putin considers Zelensky illegitimate and views him as responsible for Ukraine's growing proximity to the West. For years now, he has made baseless claims about Kyiv being ruled by a "neo-Nazi regime" and has said any ceasefire with Ukraine would need to entail a change in Kyiv's leadership.

Russia also has little interest in agreeing to talks while its troops have the upper hand on the front line.

Still, European leaders and Zelensky have spoken out in favour of the idea of a bilateral meeting. The Ukrainian president said on Monday he was open to "any format" of meeting Putin, while the Europeans have been putting forward ideas for potential summit locations.

By enthusiastically supporting direct talks, they are likely hoping to convince Trump to revert to a tougher stance against Moscow should Putin remain unwilling to take steps to end the war.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's European partners appear significantly less optimistic than Trump that a resolution of the conflict could be within reach.

On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron called Putin "a predator, and an ogre at our doorstep" and expressed "the greatest doubt" that the Russian president was willing to work towards peace.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Putin was "rarely to be trusted", adding he was sceptical about a meeting with Zelensky materialising.

More high-level talks are planned for the coming days as questions over Trump's level of support for Europe remain.

BBC
 

Kremlin plays down Zelensky talks as Trump warns Putin may not want to make deal​


The Kremlin has played down talk of an imminent summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, as Donald Trump renewed his call for the two leaders to meet to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

The push for a bilateral meeting comes after the US president met Putin in Alaska last week, and welcomed seven European leaders and Zelensky to the White House on Monday.

Trump admitted the conflict was "a tough one" to solve and conceded it was possible the Russian president was not interested in ending hostilities.

"We're going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks," he said on Tuesday. "It's possible that he doesn't want to make a deal."


Putin faced a "rough situation" if that were the case, Trump added, without offering any details.

Despite initially pushing for a three-way summit with Putin and Zelensky, Trump is now suggesting "it would be better" if the two leaders initially met without him.

He added that he would attend a meeting with the two leaders "if necessary", but wanted to "see what happens".

The Russian president told Trump on Monday that he was "open" to the idea of direct talks with Ukraine, but the next day Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov watered down that already vague commitment.

Any meeting would have to be prepared "gradually... starting with the expert level and thereafter going through all the required steps", he said, repeating a frequent noncommittal Kremlin line.

Dmitry Polyanskiy, a Russian deputy representative to the UN, told the BBC "nobody [had] rejected" the opportunity for direct talks, "but it shouldn't be a meeting for the sake of a meeting".

Nato's military chiefs are expected to hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday, while the UK's military chief, Admiral Tony Radakin, is travelling to Washington for discussions on the deployment of a reassurance force in Ukraine.

It was reported that Putin had suggested to Trump that Zelensky could travel to Moscow for talks, something Ukraine was never likely to accept.

The proposal may have been Russia's way of putting forward an option so far-fetched Kyiv could not possibly have agreed to it.

Talks over the last few days appear to have given Trump a renewed understanding of the complexities of the war and the gulf between Moscow's demands and Kyiv's position.

The much-vaunted ceasefire he said he could get Putin to agree to has not materialised, and now the US president has said Ukraine and Russia should move directly to a permanent peace deal instead - but some headway was made in terms of security guarantees for Ukraine.

Zelensky and European leaders seem to have convinced Trump that such commitments would be paramount to Kyiv's sovereignty in the event of a peace deal.

On Tuesday, Trump said the US was willing to help the Europeans "by air" if they provided boots on the ground in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire or peace deal, although he ruled out deploying US troops.

The US president, however, did not go into the specifics of whether such air support may entail intelligence or the use of fighter jets and war planes.

While Trump's commitments remain vague, the France and UK-led "coalition of the willing" said it had been working to firm up plans for a reassurance force that could be sent to Ukraine if the hostilities end.

After a virtual meeting of the group on Tuesday, a Downing Street spokesperson said the group would meet US counterparts in the coming days to "further strengthen plans to deliver robust security guarantees".

Following his summit with Putin and latest talks with Zelensky, Trump now appears to think direct talks between Ukraine and Russia could bring a peace deal closer - although he acknowledged there had been "tremendous bad blood" between the two leaders.

The last time they met was in 2019. Since then, Moscow's war on Kyiv has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties as well as widespread destruction and ongoing aerial attacks on civilian targets.

Putin considers Zelensky illegitimate and views him as responsible for Ukraine's growing proximity to the West. For years, he has made baseless claims about Kyiv being ruled by a "neo-Nazi regime" and has said any ceasefire with Ukraine would need to entail a change in Kyiv's leadership - while Russian state media routinely mocks Zelensky and calls him a "clown".

Russia also has little interest in agreeing to talks while its troops have the upper hand on the front line.

Still, European leaders and Zelensky have spoken in favour of the idea of a bilateral meeting. The Ukrainian president said on Monday he was open to "any format" of meeting Putin, while the Europeans have been putting forward ideas for potential summit locations.

French President Emmanuel Macron has mentioned the Swiss city of Geneva, while Budapest has reportedly been floated by Hugarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

However, Orban has maintained close ties with Moscow and has recently pushed the argument that Russia has won the war in Ukraine - so Kyiv may be sceptical that Budapest would offer sufficiently neutral ground.

By enthusiastically supporting direct talks, they are likely hoping to convince Trump to revert to a tougher stance against Moscow should Putin remain unwilling to take steps to end the war.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's European partners appear significantly less optimistic than Trump that a resolution of the conflict could be within reach.

On Tuesday, Macron called Putin "a predator, and an ogre at our doorstep" and expressed "the greatest doubt" that the Russian president was willing to work towards peace.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Putin was "rarely to be trusted", adding he was sceptical about a meeting with Zelensky materialising.

More high-level talks are planned for the coming days as questions over Trump's level of support for Europe remain.

www.bbc.com

Kremlin plays down Zelensky talks as Trump warns Putin may not want to make deal

The US president conceded the war in Ukraine was "tough to solve" after several days of high-level talks.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Russia launches biggest wave of strikes on Ukraine for weeks

Russia has launched 574 drones and 40 missiles on Ukraine in one of the heaviest bombardments in weeks, Ukrainian officials say.

One person was killed in a drone and missile strike on the western city of Lviv, and 15 people were reported wounded in an attack in the western Zakarpattia region.

The attacks came as US President Donald Trump spearheads diplomatic moves to halt the war, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the strikes highlighted why efforts to bring it to an end were "so critical".

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine is ready to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin "in neutral Europe" - in Switzerland or Austria - and he is not against Istanbul either.

Zelensky has stated his willingness to meet Putin in "any format", although he has poured cold water on the idea of meeting him in Budapest, which he said "is not easy today".

The prospect of direct talks emerged after Trump met Putin in Alaska, and then hosted Zelensky and European leaders at the White House on Monday.

The US president initially suggested trilateral talks involving him, Putin and Zelensky, but has since suggested he might not take part: "Now I think it would be better if they met without me... If necessary, I'll go."

Ukraine's air force counted 614 drones and other missiles fired by Russia overnight into Thursday and said it had stopped 577 of them. It is the biggest air attack since July.

While Russian strikes tend to focus on eastern regions close to the front lines, the latest attacks hit western areas as well. The foreign minister said hypersonic, ballistic and cruise missiles were among the weapons used.

The Ukrainian air force said many of the attacks came from western Russia, as well as from the Black Sea and one missile from Russian-occupied Crimea.

In Lviv, where one person was killed, three more were injured in attacks that damaged more than 20 civilian buildings including residential homes and a nursery.

Another 15 people were injured when cruise missiles hit a US electronics firm in the far south-western town of Mukachevo in Transcarpathia, not far from Ukraine's borders with Hungary and Slovakia.

"One of the missiles struck a major American electronics manufacturer in our westernmost region, leading to serious damage and casualties," Sybiha wrote on social media on Thursday. The plant produces coffee machines and other household goods, say officials.

Talking to reporters on Thursday, Zelensky said there was still no signal from Moscow that they "truly intend to engage in substantive negotiations" to end the war.

He also made clear his lack of enthusiasm for Budapest as a host for potential talks on Thursday, citing Prime Minister Viktor Orban's strong ties with Moscow: "I'm not saying that Orban's policy was against Ukraine, but it was against supporting Ukraine."

The idea of the Hungarian capital as a potential venue for peace talks has emerged in recent days and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Budapest was ready to provide "appropriately fair and safe conditions".

The Ukrainian leader also said that Russian forces were massing on the southern front line in the Zaporizhzhia region - one of four regions of Ukraine that Russia now claims as its own.

"We can see that they continue transferring part of their troops from the Kursk direction to Zaporizhzhia."

BBC
 
Russia is trying to stop meeting on peace and prolong war, Zelensky says

Ukraine's President Volodymr Zelensky has accused Russia of "doing everything it can" to prevent a meeting with Vladimir Putin to try to end the war.

US President Donald Trump has sought to bring the two leaders together, but he said on Friday "that's like oil and vinegar... they don't get along too well".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Putin was ready to meet Ukraine's leader "when the agenda is ready for a summit, and this agenda is not ready at all", accusing Zelensky of saying "no to everything".

After an intensive week of diplomacy, in which Trump first met Putin in Alaska and then Zelensky with European leaders in Washington, the US president said the war was turning out to be the most difficult he had tried to stop.

Trump said after a call with the Russian leader on Monday that he had begun arrangements for a Putin-Zelensky summit that he would join afterwards.

Ukraine's president has backed the move, but he has sought security guarantees from Western allies to prevent any future Russian attack in the event of a peace deal: "Ukraine, unlike Russia, is not afraid of any meetings between leaders."

On a visit to Kyiv, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said Trump was aiming to "break the deadlock" and the alliance was working on robust security guarantees with the US and Europe to ensure Putin "will never ever try to attack Ukraine again".

Speaking alongside Rutte, Zelensky said he wanted Ukraine's security guarantees to reflect Nato's Article 5, which considers an attack on one member of the alliance an attack against all Nato members.

"This is the beginning of a big undertaking, and it is not easy, because guarantees consist of what our partners can give Ukraine, as well as what the Ukrainian army should be like, and where we can find opportunities for the army to maintain its strength," Zelensky said.

Rutte said the alliance was working with Ukraine to define the guarantees, explaining that they would focus on making Ukraine's military as strong as possible and involve Western security commitments. It was "too early to exactly say what will be the outcome", he added.

Security guarantees have been agreed in the past, but not respected. The Nato secretary general insisted lessons had been learned from previous agreements such as the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear weapons in return for "assurances" from Russia, the US and the UK about its future security.

Asked by the BBC what he would say to Ukrainians who have little faith anything will come from these latest diplomatic efforts, Zelensky said: "Maybe I'm showboating, but Washington felt like a success.

"Why? Because yes, Ukraine needs security guarantees. But without the US, Europe will not give us everything it can.

"I don't know how this will end but this is much better than it was a week or two ago.

"We saw unity in Washington. It's still political, but it's just the first step of everyone working on security guarantees."

Russia's foreign minister appeared to dent hopes of any potential summit, telling NBC News that "there is no meeting planned".

Sergei Lavrov said Russia had agreed to show flexibility on a number of issues raised by Trump at the US-Russia summit in Alaska last week.

He went on to accuse Ukraine of not showing the same flexibility in subsequent talks in Washington, blaming Ukraine for hindering progress toward a peace deal.

Lavrov said it was "very clear to everybody that there are several principles which Washington believes must be accepted".

He said this included no Nato membership for Ukraine and discussions of territorial issues: "Zelensky said no to everything," Lavrov said.

He was speaking after EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told the BBC that Putin was seeking territorial concessions from Ukraine that were a "trap that Putin wants us to walk into".

"We are forgetting that Russia has not made one single concession and they are the ones who are the aggressor here," Kallas said.

Later on Friday, Putin said there was "light at the end of the tunnel" for Russia-US relations, referring to last week's meeting with Trump in Alaska which he referred to as "very good, meaningful and frank".

The Russian leader said Trump's "leadership qualities" would help restore relations from recent lows.

He did not mention Ukraine or a meeting with Zelensky.

Despite latest efforts to broker a peace deal, Russia launched one of its heaviest attacks on Ukraine in weeks on Thursday, launching 574 drone and 40 missiles in one night.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone blew up an oil pumping station in the Russian region of Bryansk, halting oil deliveries along the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia - the third attack on the pipeline in nine days.

Hungary and Slovakia are largely dependent on the Druzbha pipeline for their oil supplies, and Budapest says it could take at least five days before operations resume. The two EU member states have complained to the European Commission.

The European Union sought to cut Russia's energy supplies after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and aims to phase out Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote to President Trump to complain about the attack on the pipeline, and his officials posted Trump's handwritten response.

"Viktor - I do not like hearing this - I am very angry about it," he wrote.

"Tell Slovakia. You are my great friend."

BBC
 
Russia blames nuclear site attack on Ukraine as Kyiv marks independence day

A fire has been put out at a nuclear power plant in Russia's western Kursk region and air defences have shot down a Ukrainian drone, Russian officials have said.

The drone detonated when it fell and damaged a transformer, but radiation levels were normal and there were no casualties, a post from the plant's account on messaging app Telegram said.

The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly called on both Russia and Ukraine to show maximum restraint around nuclear facilities in the war.

Ukraine is celebrating its independence day on Sunday, which marks the country's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

The UK government has announced that Ukrainian flags will appear above Downing Street on Sunday in recognition of the anniversary.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey has said Britain is "ramping up" its support for Ukraine "on this special day for the freedom and democracy of the Ukrainian people".

The Ministry of Defence has announced that British military experts will continue to train Ukrainian soldiers until at least the end of 2026, with an extension to Operation Interflex.

Operation Interflex is the codename given to the UK Armed Forces' training programme, which has been created to develop and prepare Ukrainian recruits to fight their country's Russian invaders.

On Saturday, Russia said its forces in eastern Ukraine seized two villages in the Donetsk region.

Russian forces have been advancing very slowly, and at great cost, in eastern Ukraine and they now control about 20% of Ukraine's territory.

A full-scale invasion of Ukraine was launched by Russia in 2022.

The summit was billed as a vital step towards peace in Ukraine. However, despite both leaders claiming the talks were a success, Trump has since shown growing frustration publicly over the lack of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump has said he is considering either hitting Russia with further economic sanctions or walking away from peace talks.

"I'm going to make a decision as to what we do and it's going to be, it's going to be a very important decision, and that's whether or not it's massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both, or we do nothing and say it's your fight," Trump said on Friday.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called for an unconditional ceasefire and his European allies have also insisted on a halt in fighting.

Zelensky has also accused Russia of "doing everything it can" to prevent a meeting with Putin to try to end the war.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Putin was ready to meet Ukraine's leader "when the agenda is ready for a summit, and this agenda is not ready at all", accusing Zelensky of saying "no to everything".

BBC
 
Zelensky vows to continue fighting as Ukraine marks independence day

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would continue to fight for its freedom "while its calls for peace are not heard," in a defiant address to the nation on its independence day.

"We need a just peace, a peace where our future will be decided only by us," he said, adding that Ukraine was "not a victim, it is a fighter".

He continued: "Ukraine has not yet won, but it has certainly not lost."

Zelensky's remarks came after Moscow said Ukraine had attacked Russian power and energy facilities overnight, blaming drone attacks for a fire at a nuclear power plant in its western Kursk region.

There were no injuries and the fire was quickly extinguished, the plant's press service said on messaging app Telegram. It said the attack had damaged a transformer, but radiation levels were within the normal range.

The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was aware of reports regarding the fire, while its director general added that "every nuclear facility must be protected at all times".

The IAEA has repeatedly called on both Russia and Ukraine to show maximum restraint around nuclear facilities in the war.

Also on Sunday, Russia's defence ministry confirmed a prisoner swap had taken place, with 146 soldiers on each side being exchanged.

The ministry also said eight people from Russia's Kursk region, which was partially occupied by Ukraine for several months, had been handed over and would return home.

Independence Day celebrations were held in Kyiv, as the country marked its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

www.bbc.com

Zelensky vows to continue fighting as Ukraine marks independence day

Russia meanwhile said power and energy facilities had been targeted overnight by Ukraine, which has not commented.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking nuclear plant, causing a fire

Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack on a nuclear plant that has caused a fire and damage to an auxiliary transformer as Ukraine celebrates its Independence Day for the 34th time.

Sunday’s attack forced a 50 percent reduction in the operating capacity at reactor number three at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), close to the border with Ukraine, according to Russian officials, who added that several power and energy facilities were targeted in the overnight strikes.

The fire at the nuclear facility was quickly extinguished with no injuries reported, the plant’s news service said on Telegram. Two other reactors are operating without power generation, and one is undergoing scheduled repairs, it said, adding that radiation levels were normal.

Alexander Khinshtein, the Kursk region’s acting governor, said Ukrainian attacks on the plant, 60km (38 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border, “are a threat to nuclear safety and a violation of all international conventions”.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog on Sunday confirmed normal radiation levels near the nuclear plant.


www.aljazeera.com

Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking nuclear plant, causing a fire

No increase in radiation levels detected after drone strikes, Russian officials say on Ukraine’s Independence Day.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
Ukraine targets Russian logistics in Crimea, military says

Ukraine's special forces attacked Russian logistical facilities in Crimea overnight, the group said.

It said facilities "that ensure the functioning and combat supply of the military units of the Russian army" were put out of action.

The announcement follows reports from the pro-Ukraine Crimean Wind Telegram channel that said drones struck an electrical substation at a railway station in a "precise hit".

It also reported a strike against railway infrastructure in nearby Dzhankoi and a possible attack against an oil depot in the same city.

Source: Sky News
 
Ukraine admits Russia has entered key region of Dnipropetrovsk

Ukrainian forces have acknowledged that Russia's military has crossed into the eastern industrial region of Dnipropetrovsk and is trying to establish a foothold.

"This is the first attack of such a large scale in Dnipropetrovsk region," Viktor Trehubov, of the Dnipro Operational-Strategic Group of Troops told the BBC, although he made clear their advance had been stopped.

Russia has claimed throughout the summer that it has entered the area, as its forces try to push deeper into Ukrainian territory from the Donetsk region.

In early June, Russian officials said an offensive had begun in Dnipropetrovsk, although the latest Ukrainian reports suggest they have barely breached the regional border.

Any Russian advance into Dnipropetrovsk would be a blow to Ukrainian morale, as a US-led diplomatic bid to bring the war to an end appears to be flagging despite President Donald Trump meeting Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

The Ukrainian DeepState mapping project assessed on Tuesday that Russia had now occupied two villages just inside the region, Zaporizke and Novohryhorivka.

However, Ukraine's armed forces general staff denied that was the case. The military "continue to control" Zaporizke, it said in a statement, and "active hostilities are also ongoing in the area of the village of Novohryhorivka".

Moscow has not laid claim to Dnipropetrovsk, unlike Donetsk and Ukraine's four other eastern regions, but it has attacked its big cities, including the regional capital Dnipro.

Before the war Dnipropetrovsk had a population of more than three million and was Ukraine's second biggest centre of heavy industry after the Donbas, which is made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Although Russian forces have made slow progress in capturing territory and have suffered very high casualties, they have made recent gains in Donetsk.

A small infantry group made a sudden 10km (six mile) push beyond Ukraine's defensive lines near Dobropillia earlier this month, but latest indications suggest their advance has been halted.

Putin is reported to have told Trump he would be willing to end the war if Ukraine handed over the areas of Donetsk region it still controls, but many Ukrainians believe Russia's leader has other plans.

Col Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of the presidential office in Kyiv, warned reporters in the US in June that the Kremlin wanted to occupy all of Ukraine east of the Dnipro river, which cuts Ukraine in half.

The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, also warned that handing Ukrainian territory to Russia as part of a peace deal was "a trap". "We are forgetting that Russia has not made one single concession and they are the ones who are the aggressor here," she told the BBC.

After meeting Putin in Alaska and then Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington, Trump said last week he had begun arrangements for a summit between the two leaders.

By the end of last week hopes of a breakthrough had dimmed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted the "agenda [for a summit] is not ready at all" and no meeting was planned.

He also said any discussion on future security guarantees without Russian involvement was "pointless", even though that would be a non-starter for the West.

Late on Tuesday, US envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News he would meet Ukrainian officials in New York later this week and that "we talk to the Russians every day".

President Zelensky has meanwhile urged his Western allies to intensify efforts aimed at agreeing future security guarantees in the event of a deal.

He met the head of Britain's armed forces, Adm Sir Tony Radakin, in Kyiv on Tuesday and the UK prime minister's spokesman said the UK would be ready to put troops on the ground once hostilities had ended.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that security guarantees for Ukraine would first and foremost enable the Ukrainian army to defend their country in the long term.

Merz said Zelensky had made clear he was ready to sit down with Putin and now it was Moscow's turn: "If the Russian president is serious about putting an end to the killing, then he'll accept the offer."

Ukraine meanwhile has announced that men aged 18 to 22 can travel abroad, in an easing of a law that has required all up to the age of 60 to gain authorisation.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the change also included those currently in other countries - meaning they could now return to Ukraine and leave again if they wished.

A growing number of Ukrainian parents are sending teenage boys abroad before they reach 18. "We want Ukrainians to maintain their links with Ukraine as much as possible," Svyrydenko said.

Men aged 18 to 22 are not subject to military conscription, which has a minimum age of 25 after it was lowered last year.

An estimated 5.6 million Ukrainian men currently live abroad.

BBC
 
Eight killed in major Kyiv attack, Zelensky says

Eight people have been killed in Kyiv, including a child, after a heavy Russian bombardment overnight, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram that the dead included two children, while Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 38 people had been injured in the "massive" drone and missile attack.

In a statement on X, Zelensky said the Kremlin had chosen "ballistics instead of the negotiating table", and reiterated the need for "new, tough sanctions" on Russia.

The wave of missiles comes after more than 100,000 Ukrainian homes were left without power by Russian drone attacks on energy infrastructure on Wednesday.

In a post on Telegram, Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv's military administration, said one of the children who was killed was a 14-year-old girl. At least five children had been injured in the latest drone strikes.

He noted more than 20 districts had been targeted, with many buildings including a kindergarten catching on fire.

Three and a half years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, fighting on the ground shows no sign of abating.

Rescue crews outside an apartment building that was destroyed in the strike

The latest international effort to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine was launched by US President Donald Trump earlier this month. He met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska and Zelensky with European leaders in Washington.

Trump has been pushing for a Putin-Zelensky summit. Ukraine's president has backed the move, but he has sought security guarantees from Western allies to prevent any future Russian attack in the event of a peace deal.

On Tuesday, Zelensky met the head of Britain's armed forces, Adm Sir Tony Radakin, in Kyiv, where they discussed efforts to end the war.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has said he would meet Ukrainian representatives in New York this week, telling Fox News "we talk to the Russians every day".

The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has warned that handing over Ukrainian territory to Russia as part of a peace deal was a "trap".

BBC
 
From Hungary’s Foreign Minister


In response to the latest Ukrainian strike against the Druzhba oil pipeline, the Hungarian government has decided to ban the commander of the military unit responsible from entering Hungary and the entire Schengen Area.

This was an attack on Hungary’s sovereignty, endangering our energy security and nearly forcing the use of our strategic reserves.

Ukraine knows very well that the Druzhba pipeline is vital for Hungary’s and Slovakia’s energy supply, and that such strikes harm us far more than Russia.

Anyone who attacks our energy security and sovereignty must expect consequences.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1960965261739040946


https://twitter.com/x/status/1961096066310263027
 

European leaders outraged after Russian strikes kill 21 and damage EU's HQ​


The head of the European Union's executive Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has spoken of her outrage at Russia's deadliest onslaught on Kyiv since July - which also damaged the EU's delegation office in the Ukrainian capital.

At least 21 people, including four children, were killed and dozens more wounded in the bombardment, Ukrainian officials said.

A five-storey residential building was destroyed, and the EU mission and nearby British Council were damaged.

In a strongly worded statement, von der Leyen said that Russian missiles struck in close proximity to the diplomatic mission: "Two missiles hit in a distance of 50m (165ft) of the delegation within 20 seconds."

Ukrainian forces said Russia had fired almost 600 drones and more than 30 ballistic and cruise missiles - the biggest attack on the capital this month.

Many of those killed were in the five-storey residential building in the south-eastern Darnytskyi district on Kyiv's left bank.

A missile tore through the block of flats at about 03:00, causing it to collapse.

Diggers removed rubble, and rescue workers clambered on top of smouldering parts of the building looking for survivors.

Officials said three of the children killed were aged two, 14 and 17. Several other youngsters were wounded.

From the scene: Lives torn apart in Russian bombardment

The overnight attacks followed a US-led diplomatic offensive aimed at bringing an end to the war and infuriated the UK as well as the EU.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer accused Russia's Vladimir Putin of "sabotaging hopes of peace", while EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said they showed "a deliberate choice to escalate and mock peace efforts".

Moscow had chosen "ballistics instead of the negotiating table", said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who reiterated the need for "new, tough sanctions" on Russia.

Although the Kremlin said Russia was "still interested" in negotiations, von der Leyen said the strikes were "another grim reminder" that Russia would "stop at nothing to terrorise Ukraine", killing men, women and children and even targeting the EU.

The US special envoy on Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Russia's "egregious attacks" on residential areas threatened the peace that President Donald Trump was pursuing.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Russia had "shown its true face again", and the fact that the EU delegation had come under fire was an indication of the Kremlin's increasing brazenness.

Source: BBC
 
Russian missiles pound Ukraine, damage EU and British offices

Russia pounded Ukraine with deadly missiles and drone strikes early on Thursday in a sweeping attack that the U.S. special envoy on Ukraine said undermined President Donald Trump's peace efforts.

At least 21 people were killed in the capital, city officials said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump "was not happy about this news, but he was also not surprised," given that the two countries had been at war for a long time.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the strike, the second-largest attack since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022, was Moscow's answer to diplomatic efforts to end its war.

U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg commented on X: "The targets? Not soldiers and weapons but residential areas in Kyiv - blasting civilian trains, the EU & British mission council offices, and innocent civilians."

The European Union and Britain summoned Russian envoys to protest. There were no reports of casualties at either site.

Zelenskiy said the strikes also damaged a Turkish enterprise and the Azerbaijan embassy.


www.reuters.com

Russian missiles pound Ukraine, damage EU and British offices

Russia pounded Ukraine with deadly missiles and drone strikes early on Thursday in a sweeping attack that the U.S. special envoy on Ukraine said undermined President Donald Trump's peace efforts.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
 
European leaders outraged after Russian strikes kill 23 and damage EU's HQ

The head of the European Union's executive Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has spoken of her outrage at Russia's deadliest onslaught on Kyiv since July - which also damaged the EU's delegation office in the Ukrainian capital.

At least 23 people, including four children, were killed and dozens more wounded in the bombardment, Ukrainian officials said.

A five-storey residential building was destroyed, and the EU mission and nearby British Council were damaged.

In a strongly worded statement, von der Leyen said that Russian missiles struck in close proximity to the diplomatic mission: "Two missiles hit in a distance of 50m (165ft) of the delegation within 20 seconds."

Ukrainian forces said Russia had fired almost 600 drones and more than 30 ballistic and cruise missiles - the biggest attack on the capital this month.

Many of those killed were in the five-storey residential building in the south-eastern Darnytskyi district on Kyiv's left bank.

A missile tore through the block of flats at about 03:00, causing it to collapse.

Diggers removed rubble, and rescue workers clambered on top of smouldering parts of the building looking for survivors.

Officials said three of the children killed were aged two, 14 and 17. Several other youngsters were wounded.

The overnight attacks followed a US-led diplomatic offensive aimed at bringing an end to the war and infuriated the UK as well as the EU.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer accused Russia's Vladimir Putin of "sabotaging hopes of peace", while EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said they showed "a deliberate choice to escalate and mock peace efforts".

Moscow had chosen "ballistics instead of the negotiating table", said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who reiterated the need for "new, tough sanctions" on Russia.

Although the Kremlin said Russia was "still interested" in negotiations, von der Leyen said the strikes were "another grim reminder" that Russia would "stop at nothing to terrorise Ukraine", killing men, women and children and even targeting the EU.

The US special envoy on Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Russia's "egregious attacks" on residential areas threatened the peace that President Donald Trump was pursuing.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Russia had "shown its true face again", and the fact that the EU delegation had come under fire was an indication of the Kremlin's increasing brazenness.

An EU spokeswoman said no diplomatic mission should ever be targeted and the Russian charge d'affaires in Brussels was being summoned in response to the attack.

Russia's ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, was summoned to the foreign office.

Zelensky said the attack on Ukraine's cities and communities was a clear response from the Kremlin to everyone who had called for weeks and months "for a ceasefire and for real diplomacy".

The wave of missiles came after more than 100,000 Ukrainian homes were left without power by Russian drone attacks on energy infrastructure on Wednesday. Another 60,000 consumers were left without power in the central Vinnytsia region in the latest attacks, officials said.

Russian forces also struck a Ukrainian naval vessel, killing one member of the crew and wounding several others. The Russian defence ministry claimed it had used an unmanned speedboat to target the reconnaissance ship Simferopol in the mouth of the River Danube, although Ukraine's military gave no details of where the attack took place.

The British Council, which fosters cultural relations with other countries and is housed in the same block as the EU's mission, said its office was severely damaged and would be closed to visitors until further notice.

Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was preparing a 19th package of sanctions on Russia and announced she would visit seven EU member states who shared a border with Russia and its ally Belarus over the next few days.

The Commission said she would travel to Latvia and Finland on Friday before going on to Estonia, Poland, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Romania.

President Trump had hoped to organise a summit involving Zelensky and Russia's Vladimir Putin to bring an end to the war, but those efforts have since stalled.

He first met Putin in Alaska before holding talks with Zelensky and European leaders in Washington.

Ukraine's president has backed the move, but the Kremlin has played down any chance of a Putin-Zelensky summit.

Despite the latest setback, US officials will hold talks with a Ukrainian delegation in New York on Friday. Zelensky said they would discuss "military, political and economic components of security guarantees" for Ukraine.

Ukraine is working with its European allies on guarantees aimed at preventing any future Russian attack in the event of a peace deal. Zelensky had talks in Kyiv this week with the head of Britain's armed forces, Adm Sir Tony Radakin.

Russia says it will not accept European troops on the ground and says discussing them without Moscow's involvement is a "road to nowhere".

BBC
 
Zelensky rejects proposals for buffer zone to end Ukraine war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected proposals for a buffer zone between Ukrainian and Russian forces as part of a peace deal, arguing it does not reflect the realities of modern warfare.

"Only those who do not understand the technological state of today's war propose a buffer zone," he told reporters on Friday.

His comments followed a report suggesting European leaders were considering a 40km (25-mile) buffer zone as part of either a ceasefire or longer-term agreement.

The war in Ukraine has evolved into a conflict driven by drone technology, and Zelensky suggested a buffer zone of sorts already existed because of the threat of drone strikes close to the front line.


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Ukraine war: Volodymyr Zelensky rejects proposals for buffer zone to end fighting

Ukraine's president says those suggesting a buffer zone do not understand the realities of modern warfare.
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Russia launches massive attack on Ukraine, as Kyiv hits oil refineries

Russia has carried out a massive overnight attack on 14 regions of Ukraine, authorities have said, as Kyiv struck Russian oil refineries.

One woman was killed in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and 30 people were injured - including children - according to local officials.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched nearly 540 drones and 45 missiles, urging tough new sanctions on Moscow.

Following the attack, Russia's defence ministry said all "targets of the strike have been achieved" and "designated objects have been hit" - a claim that has not been independently verified.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The latest barrage comes amid ongoing international efforts to secure a peace deal between the two warring nations - and days after the Ukrainian capital Kyiv faced the second largest aerial attack of the war so far, with at least 25 killed.

In the south-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, top official Serhiy Lysak reported a number of strikes on infrastructure facilities and after a "massive" drone and missile overnight attack.

In the regional capital Dnipro, a residential house was completely destroyed and a shopping centre was damaged, Lysak said.

No casualties were reported in the overnight strikes, but Lysak later said four people were injured in a Russian drone attack on Saturday afternoon.

It is the second successive night Dnipropetrovsk has been targeted. Earlier this week, Kyiv acknowledged that Russia's military had entered the region and was trying to establish a foothold.

Railway infrastructure was damaged near the capital, Kyiv, but it was central and south-eastern Ukraine that bore the brunt of the latest strikes.

Emergency services were seen putting out fires in Zaporizhzhia, while explosions were heard in the central eastern regions.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's military said its drones hit oil refineries in Krasnodar and Syzran in Russia overnight. Both refineries have been targeted before.

The Ukrainian military said there had been "numerous" explosions and fires recorded at the facility in Krasnodar, which Kyiv said produces three million tons of petroleum products per year.

The military also reported a fire at the Syzran facility, which it said produced eight-and-a-half million tons of petroleum products annually.

Russian authorities in Krasnodar acknowledged the drone strikes had hit its oil refinery. They said one of the process units was damaged and a fire occurred in the area, adding that there had been no casualties.

The Russian defence ministry said it had shot down 20 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 18 over the Crimean Peninsula in southern Ukraine, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

The Russian military also said it captured Komyshevakha, a rural settlement in the eastern Donetsk region, on Saturday morning. Ukraine has not confirmed this.

In recent months, Russian troops have continued their slow advance in eastern Ukraine, despite heavy combat casualties being reported.

The chief of Russia's general staff, Valery Gerasimov, said on Saturday that his forces were continuing "their non-stop offensive along almost the entire line of contact".

Friday night's aerial exchange follows US-led diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war, which so far remain at a standstill.

Zelensky said the latest attacks showed Russia's "disregard for words", adding that the only way to deal with Russia was to impose sanctions.

"We expect action from the US, Europe and the entire world," he said.

European foreign affairs ministers are in Denmark this weekend to discuss international developments - including the war in Ukraine.

One of the key issues on the table is the possibility of freezing approximately €210bn (£182bn; $245bn) worth of Russian assets.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is at the gathering, said it was clear "Russia does not want peace" despite diplomatic efforts.

France would use the gathering to table new proposals for sanctions against Russia, with the aim of depleting "the resources that Russia is investing in this war" - Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot was quoted by Russia's state-owned news agency Tass as saying.

BBC
 
Putin blames West for Ukraine war at China-led SCO summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the West for igniting the war in Ukraine, insisting Moscow’s assault was provoked by years of Western provocations.

Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the Chinese city of Tianjin on Monday, Putin accused NATO of destabilising the region and dismissed claims that Russia triggered the war.

“This crisis was not triggered by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but was a result of a coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the West,” Putin told the gathering of regional leaders. He was referring to the 2013-14 pro-European uprising that toppled Ukraine’s then-President Viktor Yanukovych.

Russia responded to the revolution by annexing Crimea and backing separatists in eastern Ukraine, leading to a conflict that has left tens of thousands dead and devastated large parts of the country.

Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 escalated the fighting, prompting sweeping sanctions from the United States and the European Union and deepening Russia’s isolation from the West, though not from the rest of the international community.


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Putin blames West for Ukraine war at China-led SCO summit

Russia’s president defends the military campaign in Ukraine, blaming NATO and Western policies for the conflict.
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Putin says Trump administration is listening to Russia’s arguments on Ukraine war​


Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that U.S President Donald Trump’s administration is listening to the Kremlin’s justifications for its invasion of neighboring Ukraine and claimed that Moscow and Washington have come to a “mutual understanding” about the conflict.

Putin said during a visit to China that “the (Trump) administration is listening to us,” as he complained that former President Joe Biden paid Moscow’s arguments no heed.

“Now we see this mutual understanding, it’s noticeable,” Putin said at a bilateral meeting with Slovakian President Robert Fico after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. “We are very happy about this and hope this constructive dialogue will continue.”

But Russia faces possible punitive actions by Trump, who has expressed frustration at Putin’s lack of engagement in U.S.-led peace efforts and threatened unspecified “severe consequences.” The American president has made ending the three-year war one of his diplomatic priorities and hosted Putin at a summit in Alaska last month.

Putin attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in the Chinese city of Tianjin with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who are also facing pressure from Trump. The SCO started out as a security forum viewed as a foil to U.S. influence in Central Asia but it has grown in influence over the years.

After the summit, the Russian leader held talks with Xi in Beijing, and on Wednesday he was to attend a massive military parade there commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.


In Beijing, Putin struck an apparently amenable tone about possible progress in some aspects of the discussions to stop the fighting, although his comments reflected no substantial change in Russia’s position. Western leaders have accused Putin of marking time in peace efforts while Russia’s bigger army seeks to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses.

On the key issue of possible postwar security guarantees for Ukraine to deter another Russian invasion, Putin said “it seems to me that there is an opportunity to find consensus.” He didn’t elaborate.

While Putin reiterated that Moscow will not accept NATO membership for Ukraine, he also noted that he had never objected to Ukraine joining the European Union.

He also said Russia “can work with our American partners” at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest and one of the 10 biggest atomic power plants in the world. Its fate has been a central concern of the war due to fears of a nuclear accident.

Putin said Russia could also work with Ukraine on the Zaporizhzhia question — “if favorable conditions arise.”

Source: AP News
 

Putin says he is ready to meet Zelenskiy if he comes to Moscow​


Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that he was ready to hold talks with Volodymyr Zelenskiy if the Ukrainian president came to Moscow, but said it remained to be seen whether such a meeting was worthwhile.

Zelenskiy has been pressing to meet Putin to discuss the terms of a possible deal and U.S. President Donald Trump - who has been trying to broker a peace settlement - has said he wants the two leaders to meet.

Speaking in China at the end of a visit there, Putin said he had always been open to meeting Zelenskiy but reiterated the Kremlin's oft-repeated stance that such a meeting had to be well prepared in advance and lead to tangible results.
"As for a meeting with Zelenskiy I have never ruled out the possibility of such a meeting. But is there any point? Let's see," said Putin.

The Russian leader said that in his view Ukraine needed to cancel martial law, hold elections, and hold a referendum about territorial questions if progress was to be made.

Russia claimed to have annexed four Ukrainian regions in 2022, a claim Kyiv and most Western countries rejected as an attempted illegal land grab backed by a colonial-style war of conquest.

www.reuters.com

Putin says he is ready to meet Zelenskiy if he comes to Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that he was ready to hold talks with Volodymyr Zelenskiy if the Ukrainian president came to Moscow, but said it remained to be seen whether such a meeting was worthwhile.
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Putin says Russia will achieve all aims militarily if Ukraine does not agree deal

President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is willing to fight to achieve all its objectives if Ukraine does not agree to a deal.

He made the remarks in China after attending a huge military parade seen as a challenge to Donald Trump and the US-dominated world order.

The US president has tried to persuade Putin to end the war, but the Russian leader, while praising Trump's "sincere desire", has so far not done so.

Visiting Kyiv, UK Defence Secretary John Healey told the BBC Trump had brought Putin to the table, but had not ruled out putting more pressure on him.


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Putin says Russia will achieve all aims militarily if Ukraine does not agree deal

The Russian leader has rejected calls for a ceasefire as his troops advance.
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Cricket Warrior said:
Putin says Russia will achieve all aims militarily if Ukraine does not agree deal

President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is willing to fight to achieve all its objectives if Ukraine does not agree to a deal.

He made the remarks in China after attending a huge military parade seen as a challenge to Donald Trump and the US-dominated world order.

The US president has tried to persuade Putin to end the war, but the Russian leader, while praising Trump's "sincere desire", has so far not done so.

Visiting Kyiv, UK Defence Secretary John Healey told the BBC Trump had brought Putin to the table, but had not ruled out putting more pressure on him.


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Putin says Russia will achieve all aims militarily if Ukraine does not agree deal

The Russian leader has rejected calls for a ceasefire as his troops advance.
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Click to expand...

Russia lost thousands of soldiers and so did Ukraine.

They should get a deal done because people are dying unnecessarily. Ukraine may have to concede some land.
 

Trump hints at fresh Russia sanctions over Ukraine war​

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested he could impose new sanctions on Russia if it refuses to end the war in Ukraine, warning that “you’ll see things happen” if he is not satisfied with President Vladimir Putin’s response.

Trump will also speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today, a White House official told AFP, after the Zelensky and European leaders said earlier that they expected a call.

"I have no message to President Putin, he knows where I stand, and he'll make a decision one way or the other," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office as he met Polish President Karol Nawrocki.

"Whatever his decision is, we'll either be happy about it or unhappy. And if we're unhappy about it, you'll see things happen."

Trump's comments came as Putin — who attended a huge military parade in Beijing with Xi Jinping of China and Kim Jong Un of North Korea — vowed to carry on fighting in Ukraine if a peace deal cannot be reached.

The US president's diplomatic efforts to secure a peace deal appear to have stalled.

Putin has shown little inclination to agree to a two-way meeting that Trump said he was arranging between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. Trump meanwhile has remained vague on what he will do if Putin fails to play ball.

But Trump rejected suggestions that he was soft on Moscow — citing recent secondary sanctions on India for buying Russian oil, and indicating that more could be on the table.

"You call that no action? And I haven't done phase two and phase three yet," added Trump, without elaborating.

Trump is now set to speak to Zelensky and European leaders today.

"I'm having a conversation with him very shortly and I'll know pretty much what we're going to be doing," Trump said in response to a question from an AFP reporter.

A White House official later told AFP: "President Trump was referring to Zelensky. They will be speaking tomorrow."

The Paris gathering will be held in a mixed format, some leaders attending in person and others via video link. The summit will be followed by phone talks with Trump, to begin at 1200 GMT, and a 1300 GMT press conference, the French presidency said.

Zelensky said earlier Wednesday that he hoped to push Trump for new sanctions.

Source: AFP
 
Putin open to meet Zelenskyy in Moscow, Kyiv says ‘unacceptable’

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he had “never ruled out” the possibility of meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end the three and half year long war, but added that if no peace deal was reached, Moscow would achieve its aims militarily.

“Donald [Trump] asked me for such a meeting, I said: ‘Yes, it’s possible, let Zelenskyy come to Moscow’,” Putin said on Wednesday at the end of his visit to China, adding that if such a meeting was worthwhile.

“Is there any point? Let’s see,” said Putin in Beijing, as he called for elections, questioning the legitimacy of Zelenskyy.

US President Donald Trump, who has been trying to broker a peace settlement, called for a one-on-one meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy in efforts to end the war after holding talks with the Russian leader in Alaska in mid-August.

But so far, no progress has been made on this, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday suggesting Geneva as a possible venue.

Putin has also demanded an end to martial law in Ukraine and a referendum on the territorial question, which have been rejected by Kyiv. Russia has reiterated that any peace deal with Ukraine would have to result in its retention of the four regions it annexed in 2022. In contrast, Kyiv has said there would be no deal that included giving up its land.


www.aljazeera.com

Putin open to meet Zelenskyy in Moscow, Kyiv says ‘unacceptable’

Putin says if such a meeting is worthwhile, adding that Moscow will achieve its goals military if no deal reached.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
UK and allies ready to back Ukraine before and after peace deal

The UK and its allies stand ready to support Ukraine before negotiations to end the war as well as to secure an eventual peace deal, the UK defence secretary says.

On the eve of a top-level meeting in Paris, John Healey told the BBC in Kyiv that Ukraine's allies would "help make the skies safe, to make the seas safe, and to secure the land", once a peace deal had been struck.

But moments earlier, Russia's President Vladimir Putin had conveyed a defiant message from China, vowing that his full-scale invasion could continue.

Healey suggested there was bluster in Putin's words, insisting that Russia was under pressure. He also praised US President Donald Trump who he said had "brought Putin into talks" and "not closed off any options", despite widespread criticism of the warm welcome Trump gave the Russian leader last month in Alaska.

As late as Tuesday, Trump said he was "disappointed" in Putin, but he has said that before. He has also threatened to punish the Russian leader for the apparent refusal to end the war - or even meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky for peace talks.

When asked on Wednesday whether the war in Ukraine could end soon, Putin said "there is a certain light at the end of the tunnel".

"It seems to me that if common sense prevails, it will be possible to agree on an acceptable solution to end this conflict," he said, before threatening: "If not, then we will have to resolve all our tasks militarily."

He went on to list Russia's maximalist demands as usual - including for the authorities in Kyiv to end what he called discrimination against ethnic Russians - one of the allegations mentioned as a pretext for the full-scale invasion of the neighbour he launched in February 2022.

As for meeting Zelensky, Putin seemed to mock the very idea – which Trump had said he was ready for.

"I have never ruled out the possibility of such a meeting. But is there any point? Let's see," Putin said in Beijing.

Zelensky could always go to Moscow to see him, he said – a "knowingly unacceptable" idea, Ukraine's foreign minister was quick to point out.

Last week, France's President Emmanuel Macron suggested Putin was "playing" Trump.

But John Healey stressed that the US president "has not ruled out any further action, including economic measures, to put more pressure on Putin".

"We in the Coalition of the Willing, nations like the UK are willing to put extra economic pressure on Putin. We're willing to give extra aid to Ukraine so they can keep in the fight.

"It's why we've passed today £1bn ($1.24bn) of seized Russian assets, recycled into military aid and kit to Ukraine. If you like, Putin's dirty money returned with interest."

On Thursday, Macron will host a meeting of that so-called Coalition of the Willing - a grouping of allies of Ukraine, committed to enforcing any peace deal.

A source at the Élysée, Macron's office, has said the group are now ready to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, only waiting for US confirmation that it will act as the ultimate backstop.

The proposed deal includes continuing to train and supply Ukraine's own army.

It also envisages European troops being deployed to Ukraine - in unspecified numbers - to deter any future to Russian aggression - a signal that Ukraine can count on its allies "full solidarity and... commitment", the Élysée source said.

Such a deployment would need a ceasefire, the responsibility for which "falls to the Americans who are negotiating with the Russians".

John Healey refused to give details, despite being pressed, "because that will only make Putin wiser."

The German government is also playing down expectations of any big announcement at Thursday's meeting.

For the time being, like Italy and other coalition members, Berlin has ruled out sending soldiers to Ukraine to police any future peace on the ground.

A German government spokesman told the BBC that the priority for now was getting Russia to agree to a ceasefire - which Putin has consistently rejected.

President Trump pressed Putin for that during their summit in Alaska last month, then emerged to cite Putin's argument that finding a final deal would be a better way out of the the conflict.

In the meantime, Russia's aerial attacks have intensified in both frequency and scale. On Wednesday night more than Russian 500 drones and 24 cruise missiles were launched at Ukraine.

Across the country, as civilians sheltered in basements or on the metro, the air defence guns went to work.

As usual, the government did not say whether any military targets were hit, but the impact for civilians is often devastating.

Last week, a Russian missile hit a block of flats in Kyiv killing 22 people, including four children, in one of the deadliest strikes since Russia's full-scale invasion.

There is now a heap of stuffed toys in the ruins, and photographs.

From shattered stairways, residents emerge with potted plants and bags of clothes covered in dust that somehow survived the strike. A few steps away, others stand and stare at the wreckage.

A teenage girl said she had left the bomb shelter that morning because it filled with smoke after the first missile hit. Then a second landed across the road and her sister was killed.

Ihor Maharynsky only survived because he was out of town that night. His wife, Natalia, was in their fifth-floor flat and didn't make it to the shelter. He had to identify her body in the mortuary.

"What kind of strategic target is there here?" he demanded, looking around at a car park and a technical college nearby. "There's nothing."

Right now, Ihor sees no prospect at all of peace with Russia.

And like many Ukrainians, he is furious at Donald Trump for rolling out the red carpet in Alaska last month for Vladimir Putin.

"Peace talks with Putin? With this ****?" Ihor wanted to know, with a string of expletives. "It is peaceful people who are dying."

BBC
 
Macron says 26 countries ready to send troops for Ukraine ceasefire

Twenty-six Western allies have formally committed to deploying troops "by land, sea or air" to Ukraine the day after a ceasefire deal is agreed, Emmanuel Macron has said.

After a summit of 35 countries dubbed the "Coalition of the Willing", the French president said US support for their "reassurance force" would be finalised in the coming days.

President Donald Trump recently indicated that US backing could "probably" come in the form of air support, and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky said he had spoken to the US president about "maximum protection for Ukraine's skies".

However, hopes of a deal to end the fighting have dimmed since Russia's Vladimir Putin met Trump in Alaska last month.



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Macron says 26 countries ready to send troops for Ukraine ceasefire

The French president also says US support for the "Coalition of the Willing" would be finalised in the coming days.
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Moscow rejects Western security guarantees for Ukraine

The Kremlin has rejected any situation where foreign troops would be stationed in Ukraine to provide security guarantees, according to Russian state media.

It follows a pledge by Emmanuel Macron that 26 Western allies had formally committed to deploying troops "by land, sea or air" to Ukraine the day after a ceasefire is agreed.

After a summit of 35 countries dubbed the "Coalition of the Willing", the French president said US support would be finalised in the coming days.

President Donald Trump recently indicated that US backing could "probably" come in the form of air support, and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky said he had spoken to the US leader about "maximum protection for Ukraine's skies".

However, hopes of a deal to end the fighting have dimmed since Russia's Vladimir Putin met Trump in Alaska last month.

Trump also said the EU should work with the US to halt imports of Russian oil and gas, to halt Russia's "war machine by economic means", according to an account of the phone-call from Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

The 27-member European Union has set a target of ending all gas and oil imports by the end of 2027. A White House official pointed out that Russia had received €1.1bn (£954m; $1.3bn) in fuel sales from the EU in one year, although the true figure is far higher.

Moscow has made clear that no Western forces should be deployed to Ukraine and has insisted that it should be one of the countries acting as "guarantors" - an idea rejected by Kyiv and its allies.

In remarks published by Russian state media, the Kremlin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said: "Can Ukraine's security guarantees be ensured and provided by foreign, especially European and American, military contingents? Definitely not, they cannot."

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said Western allies now had an "unbreakable pledge" to Ukraine, backed by the US, and had to press Russia to end the war, according to a Downing Street spokeswoman.

Few countries have openly promised to deploy troops on the ground in Ukraine in the event of a deal, and the US has already ruled out such a move. European diplomats have suggested that committing troops at this point would probably help Putin's narrative against the West.

Meanwhile, Russia was continuing to send troops into Ukraine despite the latest attempts to set ceasefire talks, Macron complained.

In the latest violence, two people clearing mines were killed in a Russian attack in northern Ukraine on Thursday.

Ukraine and its allies believe a ceasefire should be agreed before any attempt at securing a broader peace deal, although Russia disagrees.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said following the meeting that the first priority was to secure a ceasefire at a summit involving Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, and then provide "strong security guarantees".

Zelensky's top officials held talks in Paris with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday.

More than three-and-a-half years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin said this week there was "a certain light at the end of the tunnel" and that "there are options for ensuring Ukraine's security in the event the conflict ends".

The prospect of a direct meeting involving Putin and Zelensky has become increasingly unlikely since it was suggested last month by President Trump.

Putin suggested this week Zelensky could come to Moscow for talks, an idea branded "unacceptable" by Kyiv. The Ukrainian leader said it was indication Russia did not really want the meeting to take place.

Nato chief Mark Rutte said on Thursday that Russia had no veto on Western troops being deployed to Ukraine: "Why are we interested in what Russia thinks about troops in Ukraine? It's a sovereign country. It's not for them to decide."

Trump told CBS News on Wednesday that he remained committed to reaching a deal to end the war and said he continued to have a good relationship with both Putin and Zelensky.

"I think we're going to get it all straightened out," he said.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey has praised Trump, who he says "brought Putin into talks" and "not closed off any options".

The Russian leader, who spent Wednesday with China's Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, claims that his country's military is pushing forward on all fronts in Ukraine.

He warned that without a deal Moscow was prepared to "resolve all our tasks militarily".

Russia has rejected the idea of an initial ceasefire, insisting its campaign will not end before a full peace deal.

A source at the Élysée Palace suggested ahead of Thursday's talks that there were several historical examples of ceasefires that had lasted without a full peace agreement.

The source pointed to the demarcation line between North and South Korea, where a ceasefire had lasted for years with a powerfully armed, allied American deployment serving as a signal to North Korea. That concept was extremely important for the Ukrainians, the source added.

BBC
 

Putin rejects Western security in Ukraine, warning troops would be target​

Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected Western proposals for a "reassurance force" in Ukraine the day after any ceasefire comes into place, following a Paris summit aimed at finalising plans for security guarantees.

French President Emmanuel Macron said 26 of Ukraine's allies had formally committed to deploying troops "by land, sea or air" to help provide security the moment fighting was brought to a halt.

He did not detail any of the countries involved.

Putin sought to quash the allies' initiative, with a warning that any troops deployed to Ukraine would be "legitimate targets", especially if they appeared now, even though there are no plans for an immediate deployment.

There seems little hope of a ceasefire for now, after last month's summit in Alaska between Putin and US President Donald Trump briefly raised hopes of a meeting with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and a potential peace deal.

Putin said on Friday he was ready for contact with the Ukrainian leader "but I do not see much point. Why? Because it is nearly impossible to reach agreement with the Ukrainian side on key issues".

Trump then posted on social media that it "looks like we've lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China", above an image of the three countries' leaders at a summit in Tianjin on Tuesday.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, praised Trump's "very constructive efforts" in finding a solution, but attacked "the outrageous efforts of European countries to provoke continuation of the war".

Since the Alaska meeting, the "Coalition of the Willing" - led by the UK and France - has been working intensively on providing Kyiv with guarantees if an agreement is reached. These would involve strengthening Ukraine's military as well as providing a "reassurance force" to patrol any deal.

Macron stressed any troops would be deployed to prevent "any new major aggression" and not at the front line. The force "does not have the will or the objective of waging war against Russia", he said.

Zelensky described the decisions taken at Thursday's Paris meeting as the first concrete step and said on Friday that thousands of foreign troops would be deployed, although it was premature to talk about it.

The US has not given details of its involvement. The French president said that would be finalised in the coming days.

Trump recently indicated that US backing could "probably" come in the form of air support, and although he made no comment after the Paris summit, Zelensky said he had spoken to the US leader about "maximum protection for Ukraine's skies".

Trump said he was "having a very good dialogue" with Putin and planned to speak to him in the near future. Putin confirmed on Friday that he had "an open dialogue" with the American president.

Source: BBC
 
Putin says foreign troops in Ukraine would be legitimate targets

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday thousands of foreign troops could be deployed to his country under post-war security guarantees, but Russian leader Vladimir Putin said Moscow would regard them as legitimate targets to attack.

Their comments underlined the gulf between Kyiv and Moscow as Western pessimism mounts over prospects for ending Russia's war in Ukraine quickly, with U.S. President Donald Trump expressing growing frustration with Moscow by saying Russia appeared "lost" to "deepest, darkest China."

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that 26 countries had pledged to provide post-war security guarantees to Ukraine, including an international force on land and sea and in the air.

Macron initially said those countries would deploy to Ukraine, but later said some of them would provide guarantees while remaining outside Ukraine, for example by helping to train and equip Kyiv's forces.

"It is important that we are discussing all this (security guarantees) ... it will definitely be in the thousands (of troops), not just a few," Zelenskiy said after meeting Antonio Costa, a senior European Union official, in western Ukraine.


www.reuters.com

Putin says foreign troops in Ukraine would be legitimate targets

Their comments underlined the gulf between Kyiv and Moscow as Western pessimism mounts over prospects for ending Russia's war in Ukraine quickly.
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More than 20 dead in Russian attack on Ukrainian village, Zelensky says​

At least 21 have been killed in a Russian air strike on a village in eastern Ukraine, say local Ukrainian officials.

The victims were ordinary people collecting their pensions in the Donetsk settlement of Yarova, said President Volodymr Zelensky. Donetsk regional leader Vadym Filkashkin said emergency services were at the scene, and that as many people were wounded as killed.

Yarova is to the north of Sloviansk, one of the big cities in the region, and not far from the front line as Russian forces advance slowly in the east.

If confirmed, the death toll would be among the heaviest attacks on Ukrainian civilians in recent weeks, 42 months into Russia's full-scale invasion.

At least 23 people were killed in overnight air strikes on Ukraine's capital Kyiv at the end of August.

At the weekend Russia launched its biggest air assault of the war on Kyiv so far, hitting the main government building in the capital, in what Zelensky said was a "ruthless" attack aimed at prolonging the war.

Posting graphic footage of the attack on Yarova online, Zelensky said there were "no words" to describe the latest Russian strikes. There was no immediate response from Russia's military.

Vadym Filashkin said the attack took place at 12:30 on Tuesday as pensions were being handed out.

Yarova sites on a key railway line in Donetsk, between Lyman and Izium. It is also only 6km (3.6 miles) away from the next village of Novoselivka, where Russian forces are closing in on the outskirts.

Ukraine's state emergency service said another three people had died in earlier Russian shelling of settlements in Donetsk.

"The world must not remain silent," Zelensky said, calling for a response from both the US, Europe and the G20 group of nations.

Source: BBC
 
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