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Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukraine will no longer abide by US President Donald Trump's demands not to strike Russian oil refineries, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks published Thursday, amid deepening tensions between the two leaders over a US-Russia diesel agreement.Relations between Kyiv and Washington have soured since last week, when Trump eased sanctions on Russia in exchange for Moscow releasing large amounts of diesel onto global markets.Zelensky described the deal as a "weak decision", saying it would encourage Russia to prolong its four-and-a-half-year war with Ukraine, while several of Ukraine's European allies criticised the agreement.Addressing the criticism on Saturday,...

As President Donald Trump and his administration have ratcheted up pressure on Ukraine to stop striking Russian refineries, citing harm to American consumers, they have remained silent on recent Russian strikes on US businesses in Ukraine. Russia has escalated its attacks on facilities tied to American corporations – and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine writ large – over the past several months. According to Andy Hunder, the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, Russian missiles and drones have damaged facilities belonging to some of America’s most notable brands, including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, McDonalds and Oreo. Although Russia has tried...

JoeLange@JoeLange·1hThe “Liddle” Ukrainian dictator is now experiencing the FO part of the equation.He thought he could just keep playing games.The GAME is over.Zelensky and the Iranian regime are the same.Both dictators who are still playing by the old rules.But the rules have completely changed.Zelensky still thinks he has “leverage.”He doesn’t know what “leverage” really is.He thought he could keep bombing Russian refineries after Trump told him to stop and he could gain leverage in the “negotiations.”But he’s completely misunderstanding what’s actually happening.There are no more “negotiations.”Trump gave Zelensky that opportunity over a year ago and he refused.It’s no longer a...

President Donald Trump has called for Ukraine to elect a new leader, raising fresh questions over current President Volodymyr Zelensky's political future and when Kyiv will hold its next vote. "I think it's time for Ukraine to get a ​new president," Trump said on Saturday, echoing his previous pushes for Kyiv to carry out elections that the country's constitution forbids during wartime. --SNIP-- Valery ZaluzhnyiZaluzhnyi, the former Ukrainian military commander-in-chief who is the current Ukrainian ambassador to the U.K., is widely considered Zelensky's top rival. According to research published by Ukrainian research institution, the Rating Group, on Thursday, Zelensky and...

Russia's rapid escalation has thrown into doubt the European Union's multiple support programmes for Ukraine. Diplomats concede it is only a matter of time before leaders address the contentious matter. The European Union is rapidly coming to terms with the limitations of its multibillion-euro support for Ukraine, as Russia's all-out escalation wrecks the country's finances, depletes its air defences and deepens its reliance on cash-strapped donors. "This war will last longer than we thought," a European diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "There's a realisation that needs will continue to present themselves, but it's not yet clear how this...

Donald Trump was on a fresh collision course with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European allies on Friday after a stunning agreement to buy Russian diesel, upending years of US and western pressure on the Kremlin to end its four-and-a-half year war against Ukraine. Zelenskyy reacted furiously to Trump’s announcement of the deal with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, calling it “absolutely terrible” and “not fair and not honest”. Zelenskyy, who told Axios that it “looks like a happy birthday present for Putin. It looks absolutely terrible.” The Russian leader turned 74 earlier this week. In a long social...

President Trump decided to make a diesel fuel deal with Russia after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ignored half a dozen U.S. requests to stop attacking Russian oil refineries, a U.S. official with direct knowledge told Axios. "Zelensky is misreading the room. By continuing to hit refineries, he is eroding the good will that he has built with Trump over the last six months," the U.S. official said. Zelensky, in an interview with Axios after the announcement, said he was blindsided by the deal, which he called "not fair and not honest" and an unwarranted gift to Putin. Ukraine's strikes on...

Sergey Ryabkov pointed out that Moscow's position on the matter had been set out in detail in a note recently handed to the British charge d'affaires in RussiaMOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/. The United Kingdom is providing the Kiev regime with "increasingly multifaceted support and assistance," thereby risking becoming a de jure party to the Ukraine conflict, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters. According to him, by providing the Kiev regime with "unrestrained and increasingly multifaceted assistance and support," London is directly violating "a number of legally and politically binding documents, both bilateral and multilateral." "The UK has thereby...

Days after President Trump asks Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries, Zelenskyy takes the attacks up a notch and brags about all of the different NATO country missile systems being used to attack Russian oil refineries.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X, “One of Russia’s key oil industry facilities and the aggressor’s logistics facility were hit. These are billions of dollars that sustain the war machine. The systems used included FP-1, RZ-100, MICH-2000, Palianytsia, Vendetta, Liutyi, Bars, Flamingo, Sichen, and Pelican.”Everyone can see this game for what it is.Everyone can see it.After weeks of various...

The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) continues to greatly exaggerate the extent of Russian advances across the frontline to construct a false narrative of Russian battlefield progress for domestic and international audiences... The Russian MoD claimed on September 19 that Russian forces have seized over 5,300 square kilometers and more than 220 settlements in Ukraine since the start of 2026, including over 670 square kilometers and 27 settlements so far in September 2026. ISW has observed evidence to assess that Russian forces have seized only 147.7 square kilometers and 40 settlements, but have lost a net of 20 settlements in...

EXCLUSIVE: A nonpublic Russian government document obtained and reviewed by Fox News Digital reveals how Moscow sought to deepen its relationship with Iran far beyond conventional trade — laying out plans for alternative financial channels, nuclear cooperation, Iranian production of Russian aircraft components, major energy projects and new transportation routes stretching toward the Persian Gulf. The 44-page Russian-language document, titled "Plan for Cooperation Between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran for 2024-2026," is marked "For official use" and was approved on the Russian side on Sept. 2, 2024. It assigns ministries, agencies and state companies responsibility for...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that events in Europe, including the far-right victory in a German state election, were the ​result of "system errors" committed by globalists in the West. Putin, speaking to reporters ‌in a pool report on the first day of a visit to India, also said the conflict in Ukraine was the fault of the West for constantly putting pressure on Moscow and seeking ​to "drag" Ukraine into the NATO alliance. The Russian president said he would offer no ​comment on Sunday's top result for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ⁠in the German state...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that holding elections during wartime would pose a threat to the country, following a controversial call by his former defense minister to pave the way for an election. According to the latest opinion poll by the Kyiv Institute of Sociology carried out this summer, only 15 per cent of those surveyed want an election to be held at this time. Details by Eliza Herbert.

Ukraine on Sunday launched one of its largest aerial attacks on Russia since the start of the war, firing hundreds of drones and killing at least six people. A separate attack sparked a fire at a warehouse owned by the Russian online retail giant Wildberries in the town of Podolsk.

Andrei Klepach, the chief economist at Russian state development corporation VEB.RF, was reportedly fired on Aug. 16, a day after Russian media widely circulated his warnings that Russia was losing its economic and technological competition with the West. Russian independent media outlet The Bell reported Klepach’s dismissal on Aug. 16, citing two people familiar with the matter. The report came two days after The Moscow Times published excerpts from Klepach’s May remarks, which were subsequently picked up by other Russian media. Speaking at an event organized by the Moscow Exchange’s Nikitsky Club, Klepach reportedly said Russia would be unable to...

State-owned VEB.RF (Vnesheconombank) has stated that Russia cannot win the economic confrontation with the West as long as Western countries continue to support Ukraine. According to him, the Russian economy is facing rising costs, falling investment, and technological lag, reports The Moscow Times. The bank's chief economist, Andrei Klepach, said during a session of the Nikitsky Club that sanctions and the Western blockade are increasing the costs of the Russian economy, and that Ukrainian strikes on ports, infrastructure, chemical plants, and oil refineries are causing ever-greater damage to Russia. Klepach stated that Russia is losing the technological and economic competition...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine has just a tenth of interceptor missiles it needs from the US to defend itself from Russia’s increased ballistic missile attacks. CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh reports from Kyiv.

Russia’s Supreme Court on Monday barred the liberal Yabloko party from contesting September’s parliamentary elections, sidelining the only officially registered party that opposes Moscow’s war in Ukraine. More than four years after Russia launched its full-scale war, the decision highlights the authorities’ intolerance of anti-war views and further narrows the already limited space for dissent in Russian politics. “Excluding Yabloko from the election means refusing dialogue with people who ask questions that are uncomfortable for the authorities,” Nikolai Rybakov, the party’s leader, said, vowing to appeal the decision.

Summary Russian officials say at least seven people, including three children, have been killed by a Ukrainian drone on a beach in south-west Russia - BBC Verify examines footage It's not clear if the drone was intercepted before landing on the beach. It has been reported it may have been targeting a Russian naval base about 25 miles (40 km) away - Ukraine has not commented The area has long been a favourite of Russian holidaymakers, says our Europe reporter Earlier, an apparent Ukrainian drone strike hit a warehouse belonging to Russia's largest online retailer Wildberries, around 112 miles east...

Ukraine has said it carried out overnight strikes deep inside Russia, hitting a major oil refinery and an airfield that houses Russian strategic aviation. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Engels airfield and the refinery, both in the Saratov region some 600km (373miles) from Ukraine's border, were hit. An oil depot was also struck in Kaluga region and a drone launch site in Bryansk. Russia said eight people were killed in the Ukrainian strikes, and 635 drones shot down or intercepted. It also reported yet another strike on a warehouse of Russia's biggest online retailer Wildberries. Meanwhile, Moscow said its forces...