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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lamented during a Wednesday press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that his country’s war with Russia is no longer top of mind for U.S. officials. “Iran is the No. 1 issue for the United States, and only after that comes Ukraine,” Zelensky said in Kyiv. “Unfortunately, we are in the queue of these wars.” Rutte arrived in Ukraine on an unannounced visit one day after a Russian drone and missile attack killed at least 13 people and injured more than 100. In the United States, members of the House of Representatives are forcing a...

Ukrainian drones on Wednesday attacked St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, on the opening day of an annual economic conference that President Vladimir V. Putin has tried to cultivate into a showcase of a modern and prosperous country. It was the second time in a month that Ukraine had struck a major Russian city before an event important to Mr. Putin, as Kyiv expands a campaign of long-range strikes aimed at inflicting economic damage on Russia and demonstrating its vulnerability to attacks. In early May, Ukrainian forces hit sites in Moscow, including a high-rise apartment building near the city center, days...

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...

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CBS News in an exclusive interview that his government has evidence that Russia is abducting Ukrainian children and training them to fight against fellow Ukrainians. It is an allegation that may constitute a war crime, according to the International Criminal Court. This is the first time that Zelenskyy has publicly made this accusation, which goes beyond the documented evidence that Russia has a state-sponsored program of taking Ukrainian children to camps for reeducation or "Russification." "When these children grow up and they push these boys to the battlefield," Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy said "yes have evidence...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said he hopes White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will come to Kyiv, Ukraine, for talks in the coming weeks. CBS News’s “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan asked the president whether he had heard from the envoys and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and whether they will ever travel to Kyiv. “Yes, we count on [them] coming to Kyiv,” Zelensky said. “I hope that they will find a possibility to come here in two weeks. But at least I’ve got such message from my negotiation group, they...

Russia's war on Ukraine is devouring its finances. War spending now totals 16.8 trillion roubles ($238 billion) — nearly 40% of the entire 2026 budget — and Putin's own finance minister, Anton Siluanov, has privately warned of a possible economic collapse, urging deep cuts to avert it. -The deficit is the largest since the 2022 invasion, growth has flatlined at 0.4%, and analysts say Moscow is faking its books. According to a 30 May report in the Financial Times, Russian government spending on the war in Ukraine is on track to exceed budget allocations by about 2 trillion Russian roubles...

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.”

Ukraine is short of soldiers. It is the main weakness of its army, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov acknowledged in January, and its commanders have been lamenting since 2024. The shortage of troops forces thousands of men in the Armed Forces of Ukraine to spend months in combat positions without relief, without rest. Could recruiting women be a solution? Two debates resurface intermittently in wartime Ukraine: should the age of men subject to compulsory conscription be lowered? The current minimum age is 25. Should mandatory enlistment for women begin? Both options provoke a strong backlash and broad social rejection. On the...

"Russia is considering limiting exports of diesel and jet fuel," Bloomberg and other sources reported Tuesday, "as refinery run rates fall to multi-year lows amid Ukraine’s escalating attacks." An Interfax source claimed that the decision to ban exports is at "an advanced stage," but no date has been set. If it comes to pass, that would be bad for diesel prices and inflation right here at home, but worse for Moscow's finances. Just the fact that the Kremlin is considering an export ban is more evidence that Kyiv's drone campaign is increasingly effective — against Russia's energy production at home,...

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....

It has been more than four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And although polls show that a majority of Americans support Ukraine, military and financial assistance to bolster its defensive and offensive capabilities have fallen dramatically. This is in no small part due to President Trump’s and Vice President JD Vance’s open antipathy toward President Volodymyr Zelensky, which has led to the blatant slow walking of implementing support already appropriated by Congress. As co-founder of a humanitarian organization, I have traveled frequently to Ukraine and seen the devastation caused by Russia’s relentless attacks on non-combatant civilians, including children....

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...

Britain and France have scuppered a proposal for Nato allies to spend 0.25 per cent of GDP on military aid for Ukraine. Mark Rutte, the alliance’s secretary-general, this week conceded his plan wouldn’t be taken forward because it didn’t have sufficient support. “I don’t think this one will be proposed,” he told reporters, without naming the opponents. But now The Telegraph can reveal that the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Canada blocked the idea when it was floated in discussions for how to boost support for Kyiv.

Ukraine Just LOCKED The Door — 85,000 Russian Troops Are Now TRAPPED Forever Ukraine has sealed off a critical escape route, leaving 85,000 Russian troops with nowhere to go. In this video, we break down exactly how Ukrainian forces executed this strategic move, what it means for the front lines, and whether Putin's army can survive what's coming next. 🗺️ What We Cover: ✅ How Ukraine closed the last exit for Russian forces ✅ The military significance of trapping 85,000 troops ✅ Russia's desperate options — and why none of them work ✅ What happens next on the eastern front...

The Prime Minister sought to reassure the Ukrainian leader as questions remain about UK sanctions on Russian oil, which critics say have been watered down. Downing Street said the Prime Minister had “reaffirmed the UK’s steadfast support for Ukraine” in his call with Mr Zelensky and “set out our ongoing commitment to do everything possible to debilitate and degrade Putin’s war machine”. Sir Keir told Mr Zelensky that the UK’s efforts meant there would be “less Russian oil on the market, with Russia weaker as a result”, a spokesperson added. The call followed criticism of a “short-term” trade licence issued...

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...

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that Russia was seeking to draw Belarus deeper into its war in Ukraine and was weighing plans to attack Ukraine's north or a NATO country from Belarusian territory. "We continue to document Russia's attempts to draw Belarus deeper into the war against Ukraine," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app after meeting military and intelligence officials. He said Ukraine knew of additional contacts between Russia and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to persuade him to join "new Russian aggressive operations". "Russia is considering plans for operations to the south and north of Belarusian territory –...

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 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...