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Russian forces appear close to being pushed out of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupyansk, with only a small number of isolated troops remaining and even pro-Kremlin voices acknowledging the setback, according to a report.

Before the important meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is actively communicating with European partners. The main task is to ensure their participation in the negotiations. Volodymyr Zelensky announced this during comments to journalists. Europe on the lineThe president emphasized that EU leaders are actively interested in the progress of negotiations. He also acknowledged that gathering all leaders in one place for a single day is practically impossible.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will meet US President Donald Trump in Florida at the weekend, as talks continue on ending Russia's full-scale war. Zelensky said he expected the meeting to take place on Sunday and to focus on a US-brokered 20-point peace plan, as well as separate proposals for US security guarantees. However, in a sign of the gulf between Moscow and Kyiv, a senior Russian official said that plan was "radically different" to the one it was negotiating with Washington. Russia has spoken of "slow but steady progress" in talks but has not commented on Zelensky's offer...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is prepared to call a national referendum on a peace plan developed with U.S. President Donald Trump, should Russia agree to a 60-day ceasefire. The potential plebiscite could determine the fate of a United States-mediated framework aimed at ending Russia’s nearly four-year invasion of Ukraine. Speaking with Axios ahead of a planned Sunday meeting with Trump in Florida, Zelensky said the proposal is “about 90 percent ready” and includes codified agreements on security guarantees and economic reconstruction. But he acknowledged that key issues remain unresolved. “If the plan demands a very difficult decision on...

European Union leaders have struck a late-night deal to lend Ukraine €90bn (£79bn; $105bn) over the next two years, after failing to agree on using frozen Russian assets. Ukraine was set to run out of cash by next spring, and European Council chief António Costa said the loan would be paid back only when Russia paid reparations for its full-scale war. "We committed, we delivered," said Costa, while Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko praised the deal as "a decisive step for economic resilience". A bid to use €210bn in Russian cash frozen in the EU, mainly in Belgium, ultimately failed...

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said it has struck a Russian submarine in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk using underwater drones, calling the operation a major breakthrough in naval warfare. Ukrainian authorities released video footage showing a near-surface explosion alongside a vessel, which Kyiv claims was a modern Russian submarine valued at up to $400 million. According to the SBU, the attack was carried out using “Sea Baby” underwater drones, a Ukrainian-developed system designed for stealth operations against naval targets. The agency said the blast left the submarine critically damaged and unable to operate. “This is the first time a...

President Trump and senior US officials said Monday they’re closing in on a sweeping peace framework to end the war in Ukraine — featuring “Article Five-like” security guarantees, a multibillion-dollar rebuilding plan, progress on tough territorial disputes, and a possible 50/50 split of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant — but Kyiv has added that many key details remain unknown. The goal, officials said, is to create a package that stops Russia from pushing further into Ukraine and gives Kyiv the strongest-ever shield against future aggression — with Trump touting the negotiations as being “closer now than ever.” The proposed NATO-style guarantees...

U.S. satellites have detected suspicious activity deep inside Siberia, and analysts fear it may signal a major Russian strategic breakthrough. In this urgent breakdown, John Mearsheimer examines why this development has captured the immediate attention of Washington, NATO, and intelligence communities worldwide. Early assessments indicate unusual construction, heat signatures, and movement patterns consistent with advanced weapons testing or new strategic infrastructure. With limited visibility inside Russia’s interior, these satellite images are raising serious questions about Moscow’s next move. In this video, we cover: ✔️ What U.S. satellites spotted in Siberia ✔️ Why analysts believe this may be a breakthrough ✔️...

After weeks of peace talks and high-level meetings, Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on an issue central to bringing the war to an end: Territory. The Kremlin has made clear that it wants to absorb all of an eastern area of Ukraine known as the Donbas. That includes a 2,500-square-mile area of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that Russia has not been able to capture after nearly four years of fighting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated on Monday his longstanding opposition to ceding territory to Russia. More than 200,000 Ukrainians live in the area of Donetsk that Ukraine still...

Donald Trump may walk away from the Ukrainian war, the US president’s oldest son has said in comments to a Middle East conference. In a lengthy tirade against the purpose of continued fighting in Ukraine, Donald Trump Jr also said Ukraine’s “corrupt” rich had fled their country leaving “what they believed to be the peasant class” to fight the war. Trump Jr has no formal role inside his father’s administration, but is a key figure in the Maga movement. His intervention reflects the antipathy among some inside the Trump team towards the Ukrainian government, and comes as Trump’s negotiating team...

Emmanuel Macron has reportedly warned Volodymyr Zelenskyy that “there is a chance that the US will betray Ukraine on territory, without clarity on security guarantees”, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported, quoting a leaked note from a recent call with several European leaders. Der Spiegel said it had obtained an English summary of Monday’s call, featuring what it said were direct quotations from European heads of government in which they expressed fundamental doubts about Washington’s approach to the talks. The French president described the current tense phase of the negotiations as harbouring “a big danger” for Ukraine’s embattled president, according...

Donald Trump’s drive to secure peace in Ukraine must not let Vladimir Putin off the hook for war crimes committed by Russian forces, a top EU official has warned, effectively setting a new red line for a deal. In an interview with POLITICO, Michael McGrath, the European commissioner for justice and democracy, said negotiators must ensure the push for a ceasefire does not result in Russia escaping prosecution. His comments reflect concerns widely held in European capitals that the original American blueprint for a deal included the promise of a “full amnesty for actions committed during the war,” alongside plans...

Putin gambled on Western hesitation, and now a war born of miscalculation grinds on because neither Moscow nor NATO is willing—or able—to force a decisive end. Why did the war in Ukraine start in 2021?As in 2008 and 2012, but unlike 2017 to 2021, Vladimir Putin sensed an American president would not or could not deter him, so he invaded a former Soviet republic. Under past presidents, Putin saw no downside to grabbing Ossetia, the Donbas, and Crimea. Putin was also led to believe the West or Joe Biden would not challenge him following the recent humiliating U.S. withdrawal from...

Last week’s surprise release of a draft Ukraine war peace plan has raised hopes that the nearly three-year bloody conflict may finally come to an end. Ukraine has suffered horrible losses that may change the demographics of that country for decades to come. If this peace plan can be negotiated in a way that satisfies all sides and the guns finally go silent, I will be the first to cheer. However, the continued failure to understand the nature and origin of the current conflict leaves me skeptical that a real peace can be reached this way. From the Orange Revolution...

GOP Senators trying to destroy Trump’s peace deal between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine who have stock portfolios heavily invested into the defense contracting industry is a prime example of why insider-trading cannot continue in Congress and yes, it’s happening even though it’s super illegal.

Russia’s Central Bank has for the first time begun selling physical gold from its reserves as part of Finance Ministry operations to fund the state budget, the Bank said on Wednesday. The move mirrors previous transactions involving gold from the National Wealth Fund (NWF), which until now were largely virtual. In those operations, the government sold gold to the Central Bank, keeping bullion in the country’s reserves. Russia’s gold holdings exceed 2,300 tons, the fifth-largest reserves in the world. “With domestic gold market liquidity having increased in recent years, the Bank of Russia now conducts equivalent operations on the domestic...

The head of the French armed forces said his country must be prepared to send its children to die in a war with Russia. “Russia is convinced that the Europeans are weak. However, we are strong, fundamentally stronger than Russia,” Chief of the French Defense Staff General Fabien Mandon said. “We have all the knowledge, all the economic and demographic strength to dissuade Moscow’s regime. What we are lacking, and that is where you have a major role, is the strength of soul to accept pain to protect what we are.” He added, “If our country is weak because it...

Let’s put the events of the last 72 hours into context.On Monday and Tuesday, Russian oil refineries in NATO countries Hungary and Romania suddenly, and simultaneously, have mysterious explosions and catastrophic fires {citation}}. On Wednesday, NATO head Mark Rutte comes to visit President Trump in the White House, and at the end of the day, the same Russian company, Lukoil, whose refinery exploded in Romania, suddenly becomes sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury. These events are not disconnected.President Trump then disputes a Wall Street Journal report, further saying he did not give approval, nor does he know where NATO long-range missiles...

Trump urged Zelenskyy to accept Russia’s terms to end the war, warning that Putin would “destroy” Ukraine if he refused

President Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a tense meeting on Friday that he doesn't intend to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles, at least for now, two sources briefed on the meeting tell Axios. Behind the scenes: One of the sources said the meeting "was not easy," while the other simply said "it was bad." "Nobody shouted, but Trump was tough," according to the first source. "Trump gave several strong statements during meeting and at some points it got a bit emotional," the second source said.