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A Ukrainian government delegation arrived in Washington on Tuesday to discuss military support and sanctions against Russia, a day after Kyiv and Moscow held their second round of peace talks. Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, said he arrived in Washington together with the first deputy prime minister and other government officials. "We will actively promote issues that are important for Ukraine. Our agenda is rather comprehensive," Yermak said on the Telegram app. "We plan to talk about defence support and the situation on the battlefield, strengthening sanctions against Russia..." Yermak said the officials would also discuss the...

Russia fully supports efforts aimed at the peaceful resolution of Iran's nuclear issue, said Dmitry Peskov, the Press Secretary of the President of Russia, APA’s Moscow correspondent reports. According to him, Tehran has no plans to acquire nuclear weapons.

Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has urged Washington’s chief negotiator with Moscow, Steve Witkoff, to consult European leaders before placing trust in Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Witkoff has been part of U.S. delegations leading talks with Moscow and Kyiv since February, after Trump tasked members of his administration to help negotiate an end to Russia’s three-year war in Ukraine. However, he has faced criticism from Kyiv for peddling Russian narratives, including a suggestion to hand over four partially occupied eastern Ukrainian regions to Moscow. In March, Witkoff said that Putin has no intention to “take all of...

Vladimir Putin is demanding urgent potato imports from Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, while he delays supplying the ally with promised notorious Oreshnik horror missiles. Putin has made the shameful admission that he has run out of spuds - one of his country’s leading food staples - amid economic meltdown during his war with Ukraine. It now appears Belarus will not get the lethal missiles until after Lukashenko supplies Putin with new exports of potatoes which have spiralled in prices in Russia. The Minsk tyrant has even cancelled sanctions against imports from the EU to stock up to supply Russia. -snip-...

Donald Trump issued an ominous warning to Vladimir Putin after accusing him of deliberately drawing out the fragile peace process in Ukraine. The US president was asked whether he thought it was "disrespectful" of his Russian counterpart to accuse him of being overly emotional. A reporter questioned: "Do you believe the Russians are being disrespectful when they say that your criticisms of Putin are simply an emotional response? And do you still believe that Putin actually wants to end the war? Mr Trump responded: "I can't tell you that, but I'll let you know in about two weeks. Within two...

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov claimed on Wednesday that United States President Donald Trump is "not being informed enough" about the war in Ukraine. He said Trump is unaware of Ukraine's "massive terrorist attacks against peaceful cities" in Russia and that he "does not fully understand that the Russian Federation is striking exclusively at military infrastructure facilities or the military-industrial complex" in Ukraine. Trump has been critical of Russia's strikes on Ukraine, stating that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "needlessly killing a lot of people" and attacking Ukrainian cities "for no reason whatsoever." Ushakov added that the Kremlin monitors all...

US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Keith Kellogg, on Wednesday scolded a top Russian official for stoking fears of World War Three after Trump warned President Vladimir Putin was “playing with fire” over Ukraine. -snip- US envoy Kellogg quoted Medvedev’s post and said it reckless. “Stoking fears of WW III is an unfortunate, reckless comment... and unfitting of a world power,” Kellogg said on X. “President Trump @POTUS is working to stop this war and end the killing. We await receipt of RU Memorandum (Term Sheet) that you promised a week ago. Cease fire now.”

Russian president Vladimir Putin has acknowledged crop shortages as pressure on the country’s economy continues to mount. Pressure is mounting on Russia amid labour shortages, international sanctions, record interest rates, and inflation, but Putin’s admission of shortages of key crops marks a milestone in the nation’s woes. Speaking yesterday in a televised meeting, he said: “Yesterday, I met with representatives from various business sectors, including agriculture. It turns out that we don’t have enough potatoes. “I spoke with Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko. He said, ‘We’ve already sold everything to Russia’.” Potato shortages have become a serious problem in neighbouring Belarus, with...

Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev has issued a sobering warning to Donald Trump after the US leader accused Vladimir Putin of “playing with fire”. US President Mr Trump, writing on his Truth Social platform, said: “What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!” The remark drew a sharp response from Mr Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and one of Mr Putin’s most outspoken allies. Posting on X, formerly Twitter, he said: “Regarding Trump's...

President Trump’s “Golden Dome” plan has riled the three countries whose weapons technology poses the greatest threat to American territory, with China, Russia and North Korea claiming the missile-defense project is driving a dangerous new arms race. -snip- North Korea slammed the Golden Dome on Tuesday as the “largest arms-buildup plan in history.” China and Russia in a joint statement earlier this month called the project “deeply destabilizing.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in a briefing to journalists Tuesday, said the plan “represented a direct disruption to the foundations of strategic stability.” All three countries have also denounced Trump’s...

Russia criticized the U.S. for its Golden Dome anti-missile system, announced recently by President Donald Trump, saying it undermines strategic stability. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Washington to abandon the deployment of weapons in space. Her comments came at a press briefing on Tuesday morning and were reported by TASS, a Russian state news agency. -snip- Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a press briefing: "This highly offensive system violates the principle of peaceful use of outer space. It will exacerbate the risk of turning outer space into a battlefield and...

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia and the United States "cannot agree on everything" after US President Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin "absolutely crazy" and criticized strikes on Ukrainian cities. "But the political will to implement the agreements that are reached is there, and the work continues," Peskov added.

Russia has accused Donald Trump of falling victim to 'emotional overload' at a 'crucial moment' after the US President labelled Vladimir Putin 'absolutely crazy' for his brutal missile attacks on Ukraine. When asked about Trump's explosive remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hit back but also thanked the President for helping to enable ceasefire talks. 'We are really grateful to the Americans and to President Trump personally for their assistance in organising and launching this negotiation process,' he said. 'Of course, at the same time, this is a very crucial moment, which is associated, of course, with the emotional overload of...

NATO scrambled its war planes today in self defence amid Vladimir Putin’s heaviest strikes on Ukraine in months, leading to multiple civilian deaths including three children. Russia was also hit hard with Ukrainian strikes, leading to the Kremlin’s air defences firing in panic - but missing - an Airbus A320-251N packed with its own tourists from Turkish resort Bodrum, according to reports. At least 10 Russian government aircraft used for high-ranking state and military officials fled Moscow flying east. It was not immediately clear if the exodus was a drill for an emergency evacuation or the real thing amid an...

A monument to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin erected in Moscow's metro is stirring debate, with some Russians welcoming it as a historical tribute, but others saying it's a mistake to commemorate someone who presided over so much suffering. -snip- Nearly 700,000 people were executed in Stalin's 1937-38 Great Terror amid show trials and purges of his real and perceived enemies. Many other Soviet citizens were sent to the Gulag, a grim network of prison camps, spread across the world's largest country. The Moscow metro said in a statement that the new version of the monument, which was presented to the...

ISTANBUL—Diplomatic brinkmanship over U.S.-brokered efforts to efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine reached dizzying levels on Wednesday, with each side seeking to call the other’s bluff by demonstrating a desire for peace and casting the other as the obstacle to it. Ukraine’s president said he would be waiting in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Thursday for Vladimir Putin, but the Russian president is sending a team of negotiators to Istanbul, and the Kremlin won’t say if he will be there. President Trump hasn’t ruled out the possibility of joining any talks in Turkey, and senior U.S. officials are headed...

United States President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he expects some "pretty good news" on the war in Ukraine soon. During a meeting with Qatar's Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Trump thanked the Arab country for its peace efforts, noting Doha was "very much involved in helping us in other regions," like Ukraine. "I think we're having some pretty good news coming out of there today, and maybe tomorrow, and maybe Friday, frankly," the US president stated. The comments come ahead of expected talks in Istanbul on Thursday between Moscow and Kiev. It is still unclear if the...

United States President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he is unsure whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in the proposed Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, suggesting the leader may decline if Trump himself does not attend. When asked about Putin's possible participation, Trump admitted to reporters on Air Force One that he does not know if the Russian head of state will travel to Istanbul. "I don't know if he's showing up [at peace negotiations]. I know he would like me to be there ... and that's a possibility," Trump replied. "I don't know that he would be there...

President Trump said Tuesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will represent him at Russia-Ukraine peace talks expected to take place Thursday in Istanbul — after suggesting he might go himself to try to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II. -snip- “Talks are being held in Turkey later this week — probably on Thursday, and they could produce some pretty good results. Our people are going to be going there, Marco is going to be going there, others are going to be going, and we’ll see if we can get it done,” Trump said.

Important events are developing on the international political scene - according to Keith Kellogg, the US special representative for Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin may personally participate in the Russia-Ukraine talks scheduled for May 15 in Istanbul. If this happens, it is possible that US President Donald Trump will also attend the meeting. Kellogg explained this proposal as follows: "We hope that President Putin will also go to the talks. If so, then President Trump may also come to Istanbul. This will be a completely unexpected, historic meeting," he told reporters. Hope and pressure from Trump's visit According to a...