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Pope Leo XIV urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to take a meaningful step in favor of peace during a phone call Wednesday that focused on the ongoing war in Ukraine and the worsening humanitarian situation. The conversation, described by the Vatican as “frank and focused on the urgency of dialogue,” saw the Pope appeal directly for a gesture from Moscow that could help reduce tensions and create the conditions for further diplomatic engagement. According to Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, the Pontiff underlined the “importance of dialogue to create positive contacts between the parties and seek...

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’s helicopter was forced to shoot down drones while the Russian president was aboard, a Moscow official said on Sunday. Air defence commander Maj Gen Yuri Dashkin told state television that Putin’s aircraft was involved in an “air defence battle” after finding itself in the middle of an “unprecedented Ukrainian drone assault”. The incident was said to have happened last week when the Russian leader was on a tour of the Kursk region, part of which Ukraine previously occupied. “During the period when the president was working in the Kursk region, the enemy launched an unprecedented attack with unmanned...

Drone warfare once again forced Moscow into lockdown on Wednesday as three of the capital’s four airports abruptly suspended operations. Panic rippled through Domodedovo, Zhukovsky and Sheremetyevo as incoming flights were turned away and departures stalled. Sirens blared as air defences scrambled to intercept the latest wave of Ukrainian drones breaching Russian skies. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed multiple drones were shot down on approach, with emergency crews deployed to the crash sites. Ukraine launched a large-scale drone offensive overnight, targeting multiple regions in Russia. One since-deleted clip from Oryol shared by a Kremlin-aligned Telegram channel appeared to show a flaming...

Iran is preparing to deliver in the near future launchers for short-range ballistic missiles that the U.S. said Tehran sent to Russia last year for use against Ukraine, according to two Western security officials and a regional official. The delivery of the Fath-360 launchers - if it occurs - would help support Russia's grinding assault on its neighbor and reaffirm the deepening security ties between Moscow and Tehran. With a 75-mile (120-km) range, the Fath-360 would give Moscow's forces a new weapon to fire at Ukrainian frontline troops, nearby military targets, and population centers close to the border with Russia,...

A possible meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in mid-May in Saudi Arabia is not on the schedule, US President Donald Trump told journalists. Asked at a news conference in the White House whether a meeting with Putin was possible later in the month in Saudi Arabia, Trump replied: "I don't think so, but we're having very good conversations. Very, very good," News.Az reports, citing TASS.

The Embassy in Kyiv says it has received information concerning a potentially significant air attack that may occur at any time over the next several days. Developing.

The United States and its European allies are finalising a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that if refused would see them jointly impose new sanctions on Russia, a French diplomatic source said on Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump called on Thursday for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, warning that Washington and its partners would impose further sanctions if the ceasefire was not respected. Ukraine has expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal.

President Donald Trump on Monday said he held a "productive" call with Turkish President Recep Erdogan on a range of topics, including the war between Russia and Ukraine. Trump shared details of the call in a post on his TRUTH Social platform. "I just had a very good and productive telephone conversation with the President of Turkey, Recep Erdoğan, concerning many subjects, including the War with Russia/Ukraine, all things Syria, Gaza, and more," Trump wrote. The president added that he is looking forward to working with Erdogan to end the "ridiculous, but deadly" Russia-Ukraine war.

Ukraine said it hit a drone command unit in the Kursk region, amid reports of fresh attempts to cross into Russia. Sunday's attack on the unit was located near the Russian village of Tyotkino, according to the Ukrainian general staff. Multiple Russian military bloggers also reported that Ukrainian forces had attempted to cross into the village, posting images - as yet unverified by the BBC - of vehicles breaking through tank traps on the border. The reports come after Moscow claimed in April to have regained control of the entire region, nine months after a Ukrainian forces launched a surprise...

Russia has reported that it repelled a drone attack on Moscow as the capital city prepares to host a major military parade with foreign leaders in attendance. Russia’s air defence systems intercepted “four drones flying towards Moscow”, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Monday. The attack appears intended to unsettle Moscow’s preparations for events marking the end of the Great Patriotic War, commonly known as World War II elsewhere, on May 9. -snip- The Kremlin has branded Putin’s declaration of a three-day unilateral ceasefire a humanitarian gesture. Military operations will be paused during the truce, according to Russian authorities, as world...

"The Victory Day parade will not be held in Sevastopol," said Governor of the city of federal importance Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev, APA’s Russia bureau reports. According to him, the decision was made due to security concerns.

DICTATOR Vladimir Putin has showed off his private chapel and his favourite drink in a bizarre tour of his Kremlin apartment. The Russian tyrant gave the public a glimpse into his home in an interview marking the 25th anniversary of his first inauguration as president. The bizarre footage shows Putin giving his favourite interviewer, Pavel Zarubin, a tour of the apartment while answering his questions. When asked about his grandchildren from daughters Maria, 39, and Katerina, 37, Putin says they occasionally visit him unexpectedly in his austere apartment. He said: “They can, they can. “But still everyone understands that I...

The extension of anti-Russian sanctions by US President Donald Trump, which were introduced by his predecessor Joe Biden, is an automatic action and no other decisions could be expected, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, APA reports, citing TASS. "A different decision could hardly be expected, especially that these are rather automatic actions," Peskov said. Moscow and Washington are only at the start of normalizing bilateral relations and Russia therefore had no exaggerated expectations as regards US actions, the Kremlin Spokesman noted. The case in point is US Executive Order 14024 of April 15, 2021, repeatedly expanded and renewed by Joe...

Ukrainian officials and military analysts have warned that Russian forces are preparing a fresh offensive in the coming weeks, aiming to intensify pressure on Ukraine and strengthen Moscow's position in potential ceasefire negotiations. The anticipated push could lead Russian President Vladimir Putin to delay peace talks in favour of pursuing further territorial gains, Ukrainian officials said. They reiterated long-standing claims that Russia has no genuine interest in meaningful negotiations to end the war. As the spring fighting season approaches, analysts and military commanders report that the Kremlin is planning a multi-front assault across the 1,000-kilometre frontline. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,...

The Russian central bank kept its key rate on hold at 21% on Friday, in line with expectations, and said more rate hikes were still possible in the future as inflationary pressures have decreased but remain high. "The Bank of Russia estimates that the achieved tightness of monetary conditions creates the necessary prerequisites for returning inflation to the target in 2026," the regulator said in a statement. "If disinflation dynamics do not ensure achieving the inflation target, the Bank of Russia will consider raising the key rate," it added. -snip- President Vladimir Putin urged his economic officials this week not...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his Thursday news conference that he has “reservations” about a 30-day ceasefire proposal in the Ukraine war, saying it’s not clear how the situation would develop in the region of Kursk and elsewhere if a ceasefire was implemented. Putin lauded the US idea as “great and correct” and said Russia supports it in theory, but there are many things that still need to be discussed before a deal is agreed to. Putin went on to raise many questions about a potential ceasefire, including how it would be verified. He also said the ceasefire must...

All eyes were on Moscow on Wednesday after American and Ukrainian officials said they would be willing to enforce a 30-day ceasefire in the country's three-year war — and made it clear the ball was in Russia’s court. Russian President Vladimir Putin is yet to respond to the proposal hashed out by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Ukrainian counterparts in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. But some Russian officials and hardline commentators have poured cold water on a plan that, in theory at least, would halt its advances on the battlefield. Russia’s position would not be determined “abroad due...

Vladimir Putin is facing a fierce backlash from some of his most war-hungry supporters after publicly cosying up to Donald Trump. Russian warmongers are furious over Putin’s plan to seek US investment for rare earth metals and aluminium, with accusations he is giving away precious Russian assets. -snip- Staunch Russian war-backer Maksim Kalashnikov is outraged about Putin’s seeming lack of success in the war, as it plots the supply of rare metals to the West. ‘On the third anniversary of the war, they explained to us what victory would look like,” he said. ‘We get what we occupied – a...

When he penned his eyewitness account of the 1917 Russian Revolution, American journalist John Reed famously titled it Ten Days That Shook The World. But 10 days is too long for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. They've shaken things up in a week. -snip- The Kremlin wants the Russian public and the international community to see that Western efforts to isolate Russia over the war in Ukraine have failed. Russian media are welcoming the prospect of warmer ties with Washington and pouring scorn on European leaders and Kyiv. "Trump knows he will have to make concessions [to Russia] because he...