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Vladimir Putin has suffered a fresh wave of war humiliation amid warnings that his unaffordable conflict with Ukraine is pushing his economy to the brink of collapse. Russia's Finance Ministry and its central bank has projected the government's budget deficit widening to a dangerous level if the Kremlin continues at the current rate of defence expenditure, according to Bloomberg. The stark warning came as Putin suffered further setbacks on the frontline, where the tide of the war is increasingly turning in Ukraine's favour. And authorities in Crimea are urging citizens not to panic amid ongoing petrol shortages with pictures showing...

Lavrov spoke with Rubio over the phone and, according to a readout, drew Rubio’s attention to the Russian Foreign Ministry statement advising the United States and other countries with representative offices in Kyiv to “ensure the evacuation of their diplomatic personnel and other citizens from the capital of Ukraine.”

The Democrats have already taken a hit in the polls even two years before the 2028 presidential election. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has gained significant support compared to the previous poll and is now virtually tied with presumptive GOP nominee JD Vance at 35%, according to the Emerson College poll. While the vice president maintains a one-point lead, with 36% of voters likely to support him as the Republican nominee, he appears to have lost more than 15 points in support after polling at 52% in February of this year. Rubio, who has become the face of President Donald...

Russia is stuck on the Ukrainian battlefield and lashing out with massive strikes on Kyiv. The growing fear in European capitals is that President Vladimir Putin will try next to reshuffle the cards by expanding the conflict to Europe. In recent weeks, Russia has made increasingly bellicose statements against the Baltic states. It has threatened to bomb “decision-making centers” in Latvia after accusing the country of hosting Ukrainian drone operators, an allegation denied by the Latvian authorities. Air-raid alarms were sounded in Lithuania last week, forcing the government into a bunker, after suspected Russian drones approached its airspace from Belarus....

Russia tells foreign nationals, including diplomatic missions and staff, to leave Kyiv ASAP

Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded that Ukraine be granted full membership of the European Union. Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, had called for the country to be given a special half-in, half-out relationship, which would mean it could participate in European summits and ministerial meetings – but not cast a vote. Mr Zelensky criticised the “associate membership” concept, branding it an “unfair” move that would leave Ukraine “voiceless”. The Ukrainian president urged the EU to commit to his country’s full entry in a letter addressed to Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of...

Riding a wave of political momentum in 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky, a showman turned wartime leader, could have hardly imagined the path his presidency would take. Some argue that Zelensky's 2019 election was less of an endorsement of his political platform, a populist one, rather a rejection of the old entrenched elite seen as ineffective and corrupt. Years later, Zelensky still faces the domestic challenges that confronted his predecessors — issues he once promised to resolve. On the international stage, however, he has amassed significant support for Ukraine, actively working to maintain global backing as his country defends itself against a...

The House will have to take up a major security package for war-torn Ukraine after enough Republicans joined Democrats to give the needed 218 signatures to force a vote. A vote is likely to come in the next few weeks on the package that would marshal $1.3 billion in security aid to Ukraine and allow the war-torn country to get up to $8 billion in additional loan support. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced the bill in the House last year, where it sat for months. It would also slap tighter sanctions...

Russia pummeled Ukraine’s capital with hundreds of drones and missiles early Thursday, the latest in a string of deadly Russian strikes this week. The attacks suggested that President Vladimir V. Putin had little intention of de-escalating his war, after he declared recently that he believed it was “coming to a close.” Explosions shook Kyiv, the capital, over several hours Thursday morning as Ukrainian forces tried to intercept and shoot down the drones and missiles, some of which evaded overwhelmed air-defense systems. The attack included cruise and ballistic missiles that Moscow often stockpiles for mass bombardments. As the sun rose, rescue...

The Ardal ground robot had a specific mission: cross open ground, reach the Novoselivka village bridge in Donetsk, and lay an anti-tank mine before Russian forces could use it. It was a basic operation for Ukraine’s elite K-2 Brigade, based four miles away. But when they saw three Russian soldiers on their screen, they did not hesitate to change the objective, detonating the mine and taking the enemy – and the robot – with it. The loss of hardware was not a difficult call. Ukraine is on course to make 25,000 unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) in the first half of...

I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE (May 9th, 10th, and 11th) in the War between Russia and Ukraine. The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day but, likewise, in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor of World War II. This Ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prison swap of 1,000 prisoners from each Country. This request was made directly by me, and I very much appreciate its agreement by President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Hopefully, it is the beginning of the...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday accused Israel of accepting Russian shipments filled with stolen Ukrainian grain. Mr. Zelenskyy has for years accused Russia of harvesting grain from agricultural centers it occupies in eastern Ukraine, aiming to make a steady profit during the war. Russia has denied Ukraine’s allegations. “Another vessel carrying such grain has arrived at a port in Israel and is preparing to unload,” Mr. Zelensky posted on X. “The Israeli authorities cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country’s ports and what cargo they are carrying.” Mr. Zelenskyy was referring to the vessel Panormitis,...

The U.S. military, which has been responding to Iran’s loitering drone attacks, has finally adopted Ukraine’s air defense technology. As low-cost drones continued to damage high-value military assets, it is interpreted that the U.S. has deployed Ukraine’s combat-proven response system at key Middle Eastern bases. On the 22nd, Reuters reported, citing multiple sources, that the U.S. has deployed Ukraine’s command and control platform at Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia, a key military asset in the Middle East, to defend against Iranian drones.… Ukrainian military officers are reported to have visited the base over recent weeks to train U.S. forces...

Russia has offered to help China with any potential energy shortfall, as the war in the Middle East heightens geopolitical divisions and threatens global commodity supplies. “Russia can certainly fill the resource gap that has arisen in China and other countries interested in working with us on an equal and mutually beneficial basis,” Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday, according to comments reported by Russian news agency Interfax. Russia’s top diplomat also commented on China and Russia’s ability to withstand the economic impact of “aggressive” U.S military operations against Iran, which have sent global oil and gas prices soaring.

Four years after the liberation of Bucha, the town remains a central reference point for understanding the nature of the war in Ukraine and the limits of current diplomatic efforts. The events that followed the withdrawal of Russian forces in March 2022, when hundreds of civilians were found dead across the Kyiv suburb and the wider region, continue to shape how Ukraine defines both security and peace. Bucha has become more than a historical episode. It functions as a political and moral benchmark in discussions about any future settlement. Ukrainian authorities report over 400 civilian deaths in the town itself...

Ukraine should not hold elections this year, officials from the country’s electoral commission have concluded, setting Kyiv on a collision course with the United States. Members of the official working group on elections were due to present draft legislation to parliament late last month, but told The Times they had yet to resolve key questions on how to secure fair elections free from Russian attacks or interference. They plan to continue deliberating on the issue until at least the end of May. The group has agreed, however, that Ukraine should only enter a campaign period at least six months after...

For decades, Western military doctrine has rested on a comforting assumption: technological superiority would guarantee dominance on the battlefield. Advanced missile defenses, integrated sensor networks, and sophisticated command systems were supposed to create something close to an impenetrable shield over the world’s most developed nations. The ongoing confrontation between Israel and Iran is beginning to challenge that assumption. Israel fields one of the most advanced missile defense architectures ever constructed. Its layered system — including Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the Arrow interceptors — was designed to counter a wide spectrum of threats, from short-range rockets to long-range ballistic missiles....

Volodymyr Zelensky today appeared to tacitly attack Donald Trump for easing sanctions on Russian oil to cut prices hammered by his attack on Iran. The Ukrainian president used a speech in Parliament to thank the UK for keeping up pressure on 'wealthy madman' Vladimir Putin despite fresh fighting in the Middle East. Last week Trump signed a one-month sanction waiver allowing countries to buy Russian oil currently floating around in tankers unable to dock anywhere. It was designed to ease prices that spiked when Iran put a block on shipping transiting the Straits of Hormuz off its south coast. In...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office reached out to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to request a phone call, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel. The official does not say what Netanyahu wishes to discuss. According to Ynet, Netanyahu wants to discuss cooperating on countering Iranian drones, which Ukraine has been facing for years.

A Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa in southern Ukraine killed eight people and wounded 27, Ukraine’s emergency service said Saturday, as a a Kremlin envoy was set to travel to Florida for talks on a U.S.-proposed plan to end the nearly four-year war, The discussions are part of the Trump administration's monthslong push for peace that also included meetings with Ukrainian and European officials in Berlin earlier this week. Ukraine's chief negotiator said late Friday that his delegation had completed separate meetings in the U.S. with American and European partners. Meanwhile, European Union leaders agreed on Friday...