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Vice President J.D. Vance on Wednesday warned the Ukrainian president against attacking President Donald Trump, saying that 'badmouthing' him in public would only backfire. Vance spoke to DailyMail.com hours after Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky accused Trump of living in a Russian-made 'disinformation space.' The extraordinary language on both sides comes at a critical time in the war between Ukraine and Russia, as Trump pushes for a speedy resolution. 'The idea that Zelensky is going to change the president's mind by bad mouthing him in public media, everyone who knows the President will tell you that is an atrocious way to...

Vladimir Putin has said that normal diplomatic ties have been restored between Russia and the United States. "The constant expulsion of diplomats from Washington and Moscow does not lead to anything good," Putin said according to RIA Novosti, Russian state-owned media. Putin expressed interest in meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump but stressed that any such talks must be carefully planned to ensure a productive outcome.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump could meet this month, although the first face-to-face encounter between a Russian and a US leader since 2021 could take longer to prepare, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. -snip- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the meeting in Riyadh was focused mostly on Russian-US bilateral ties but that it was also a “very, very important step” toward reaching a settlement on the Ukraine war, nearing the end of its third year. “But this is the first step… Naturally, it’s impossible to fix everything in one day or a week. There is...

U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia said Wednesday the United States understands the need for security guarantees for Ukraine, as he visited the country for talks with Ukrainian officials. Gen. Keith Kellogg told reporters in Kyiv that he was in Ukraine “to listen,” hear the concerns of Ukrainian leaders and return to the United States to consult President Trump. Kellogg said the United States wants the war in Ukraine to end, saying that would be good for the region and the world. The talks come amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts focused on Russia’s war in Ukraine,...

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the United States is working toward a "fair" and "sustainable" solution to end Russia’s three-year war on Ukraine, but that both Moscow and Kyiv would have to make concessions to achieve peace. -snip- Rubio said he was "convinced" that Moscow was willing to engage in a "serious process" to end the war, which Russia started with a full-scale invasion of its neighbor three years ago next week. Lavrov had a similar upbeat view of the talks, saying, “We weren’t just listening to each other, but we heard each other. I have...

China could send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to help preserve any negotiated ceasefire in its war with Russia - as long as they are working with non-Nato countries like India - a former PLA colonel suggested. Zhou Bo, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, said that China had "sufficient troops and military strength" to contribute to an international post-war effort. "However, if peacekeeping operations are conducted along with European countries, Russia might see it as another form of Nato presence, wouldn't they?" Zhou said in an interview on the sidelines of last...

Ukraine launched an overnight drone attack on Russia, setting ablaze an oil refinery, Russian media reported on the Telegram messaging app. Videos posted by locals seem to show a large fire at the Ilsky refinery, located in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, east of the Crimean Peninsula. Residents also reported hearing explosions around 1:30 a.m. local time. According to Russia’s SHOT Telegram news channel, the fire was stoked by falling drone wreckage. Russian Governor Veniamin Kondratyev earlier on Monday said that Ukraine’s drone attack on Russia’s Krasnodar region injured one person and damaged at least 12 houses. The local official, writing on...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff are planning to head to Saudi Arabia to initiate negotiations toward peace between Russia and Ukraine, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. Witkoff told Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" that he is traveling to Saudi Arabia with Waltz on Sunday night. -snip- Two U.S. officials confirmed that Ukraine was not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia, but say the intention is for the U.S. to host a bilaterial with Russia, then a bilateral with Ukraine and then...

Zelenskyy spoke with NBC News in an hour-long interview that covered a range of topics on the war, his thoughts on President Donald Trump's role in ending the conflict, and more. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sat down with "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker to discuss potential talks to end Russia's war against Ukraine, his conversations with President Donald Trump, the future of NATO, and more.

European countries will not create one unified army in response to threats from Russia, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in an interview with state TV broadcast late on Saturday. -snip- "If you understand by it the unification of national armies, it will not happen," he said. "But I have been an advocate for Europe, for the European Union, to develop its own defence capabilities." -snip- He reiterated that having Polish troops on the ground in Ukraine was "not a consideration, because Poland's duty to NATO is to protect the eastern flank, i.e. its own territory".

-snip- “Putin's aims are extraordinarily ambitious, way beyond the capacity of his country, which he is ruining,” he added. Sikorski called the full-scale invasion a “civilizational struggle.” “We [Europe] represent the world of rules, of peace, of prosperity. And Putin has gone back to the world of Genghis Khan.”

The United States’ negotiating tactics for bringing an end to the war in Ukraine, which were shared with allies at the Munich Security Conference by US envoy Keith Kellogg, are unorthodox but give hope, Poland’s foreign minister said on Sunday. “General Kellogg has presented to me personally and to the circle of European allies the United States’ negotiating tactics,” Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters. “I will not reveal them here. They raise some hopes. They are unorthodox, but we wish them luck.”

U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg said Saturday that a peace plan for the two warring nations could come within days or weeks. “I’m on Trump time,” Kellogg told delegates at a fringe event at the Munich Security Conference, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s famed fast-moving decision making. “He’ll ask you to do this job today and he’ll want to know tomorrow why isn’t it solved,” said Kellogg, a key negotiator for Ukraine and allied nations in the recently tabled peace talks. “You got to give us a bit of breathing space and time, but...

The Kremlin on Friday called for clarification on recent remarks by US Vice President JD Vance regarding the possible deployment of American troops to Ukraine and new anti-Russian sanctions, saying these statements introduce “new elements” in Washington’s position. Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia expects further explanation during upcoming contacts with US officials. "We have not heard such formulations before, they have not been expressed previously," Peskov said. "Naturally, during the very contacts we discussed, we hope to receive further clarification." In an interview with the US media, Vance said the option of...

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday reportedly warned that the U.S. wouldn’t rule out tough sanctions or even potential military action against Russia if President Vladimir Putin didn’t come to the negotiating table on a deal that would guarantee peace for Ukraine. In speaking with The Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report on Vance’s comments, the vice president said sending U.S. troops to Ukraine was "on the table" if Russia failed to negotiate in good faith. Vance said there are "economic tools of leverage [and] there are, of course, military tools of leverage" that the U.S. could...

Ukraine finished work on a draft minerals agreement and handed it back to the United States for review, two sources in the Ukrainian delegation at the Munich Security Conference told Reuters on Friday. The sources said the U.S. side asked for until 5 p.m. (1600 GMT) to review the agreement, which is at the heart of Kyiv's push to win the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump as he strives to bring about a rapid end to the war with Russia. "The Ukrainian side passed its vision and the U.S. side took a pause until 1700 to assess," one of...

Chernobyl nuclear power plant was hit by a Russian attack overnight, striking a protective shield over its destroyed fourth reactor, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The structure, known as the New Safe Confinement, was built through international cooperation to contain the remnants of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. It was designed to prevent radiation leaks and safeguard the site and the broader area from environmental hazards. According to Ukraine’s president, the strike by a Russian attack drone carrying a high-explosive warhead damaged the dome, but the fire was extinguished, and radiation levels remained stable. The situation is being monitored to assess...

Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the U.S. would hit Moscow with sanctions and potentially military action if Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t agree to a peace deal with Ukraine that guarantees Kyiv’s long-term independence. Vance said the option of sending U.S. troops to Ukraine if Moscow failed to negotiate in good faith remained “on the table,” striking a far tougher tone than did Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who on Wednesday suggested the U.S. wouldn’t commit forces. “There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage” the U.S. could use against Putin, Vance said....

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky told President Trump during a phone call on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is only pretending to want to negotiate a peace deal because he is "afraid of you," a Ukrainian official and three other sources with knowledge of the call tell Axios. -snip- Behind the scenes: Three sources said the call between Trump and Zelensky was positive and went on for about an hour, longer than the call Trump had with Putin immediately before. Trump told Zelensky that he understands his concerns about him talking to Putin, but stressed there is no way around...

The Russian rouble and stocks surged on Thursday after a telephone conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in which the two leaders discussed ways to end the Ukraine war. Hit by Western sanctions, Russian assets plummeted after the start of the war almost three years ago. Once a favourite play in emerging markets globally, most of them are now off-limits for Western investors. The rouble closed up 3.7% at 90.50 against the dollar, the highest level for the Russian currency since September 2024, according to data from the over-the-counter market. The rouble briefly touched the...