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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end Russia’s war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces. The proposal offered another potential compromise on control of the Donbas region, which has been a major sticking point in peace negotiations. Zelenskyy said the U.S. proposed the creation of a “free economic zone,” which he said should be demilitarized. But it was unclear what that idea would mean for governance or development of the region. A...

Stanislav Orlov, the founder of the Russian reconnaissance and sabotage brigade “Espanola”, has been killed in Russia, Militarnyi reported on December 19, citing Russian war correspondents and statements from the unit itself. According to information published by pro-Russian military bloggers, Orlov, known by the callsign “Spaniard,” died from gunshot wounds sustained during his detention. He was reportedly accused of illegally misappropriating 1.5 billion rubles (approximately $18.5 million). The pro-Kremlin outlet Mash claimed that Orlov had been in a coma for several days prior to his death, though the exact cause of the coma was not disclosed. Orlov arrived in the...

Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, will meet the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, and Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, for emergency talks on Friday as the EU races to save its sorely needed financing plan for Ukraine. The three leaders will dine in private in Brussels, a German government spokesperson said on Thursday, as Belgian officials continued to express strong opposition to the scheme, which involves the unprecedented use of frozen Russian assets. With Russia’s attacks intensifying, Washington pushing for a peace deal that favours Moscow and Kyiv fast running out of money and Europe struggling for influence...

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...

It was a clear attempt to project Russian power. Hours before meeting U.S. officials in Moscow this past week about their plan to end the war, President Vladimir V. Putin claimed that Russia’s forces had seized the strategic Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk after a monthslong fight. The reality was murkier. Slivers of the city were still contested, according to battlefield maps and the Ukrainian military. But Mr. Putin’s claim, even if premature, reflected a trend shaping his unbending approach to negotiations: Russian forces are on the march. “The Russians do have the upper hand,” said Emil Kastehelmi, a military analyst...

"...Ukrainian defensive line is collapsing and Russia is advancing at a very rapid pace now and that that advance is going to continue. There's nothing the West can do to stop it. The numbers are just against them. Uh right now according to the Russian Ministry of Defense they are inflicting a minimum of 40,000 casualties killed and wounded on Ukraine per month. In addition and you know as you know Institute for the Study of War and the Atlantic Council are not exactly what you'd call uh pro-Russian stooges. They're just the opposite. They are the most ardent cheerleaders...

Zelensky has been hit with an ugly corruption scandal in which some of his closest allies stand accused of war profiteering. His reaction was to sign a letter of intent to buy 100 French Rafale jets and 150 Swedish Gripen fighters. Kyiv doesn’t have enough to fill its $60bn budget black hole, let alone to buy billions in jets. Ukraine is going to run out of money by February unless the EU agrees to raise a €140bn loan secured against Russian assets held mostly in Belgium. It has no hope of repaying that loan unless the Kremlin is compelled to...

Former British senior army officer Lord David Richards has told UK newspaper The Independent that Ukraine cannot win its war with Russia without NATO military support and should instead negotiate peace terms with Moscow. Speaking to The Independent’s “World of Trouble” podcast, the “five star” ranked former Chief of Defence Staff who led NATO forces in Afghanistan, said: “What we have done in the case of Ukraine is encourage Ukraine to fight, but not given them the means to win.” The former commando added that even with the right resources, Ukraine “would not win” as “they haven’t got the manpower.”...

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.

Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday to make a deal with Russia, pouring cold water on Kyiv's hopes for Tomahawk missiles as the US leader renews a push to settle the war.Trump said as recently as last month that he believed Ukraine could take back all its territory -- but a day after agreeing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for a new summit the American had changed his tune.After meeting with Zelensky at the White House, Trump said on social media that their talks were "very interesting, and cordial, but I told him, as I likewise...

Russian strikes in recent days have wiped out more than half of Ukraine’s domestic natural gas production, likely forcing the war-battered country to spend 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) on fuel imports to survive the looming winter. Article content Kyiv told its allies earlier this week that a massive Russian barrage targeting the Kharkiv and Poltava regions on Oct. 3 took out roughly 60% of the country’s gas production, according to people with knowledge of the matter. They requested anonymity because the discussions are private. Article content Article content Article content Ukraine’s gas infrastructure — able to meet domestic demand...

n the past few weeks, Russian drones and jet fighters have repeatedly penetrated the airspace of Poland, Estonia, and other NATO members. Western officials have reacted harshly to those episodes, shooting down intruding drones and, in the case of President Donald Trump, issuing threats to attack even manned Russian aircraft if such incidents continue. NATO leaders and their supporters in the news media are responding to the rising tensions by reviving an idea from the earliest days of the Kremlin’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine: imposing a no-fly zone over that country. It is an especially provocative and dangerous...

The decision, affecting hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid, has alarmed NATO allies and upset U.S. lawmakers who strongly back the alliance.The Trump administration intends to halt longtime security assistance programs for Europe, including an initiative to fortify the continent’s eastern flank against a potential attack by Russia, as it endeavors to recast Washington’s role within NATO, according to six people familiar with the matter.The decision would impact hundreds of millions of dollars worth of military aid relied upon by some of the alliance’s most vulnerable members. It has alarmed U.S. allies struggling to comprehend the administration’s...

Ukraine's ambassador to the UK on Wednesday denied rumours he 'is quietly preparing a run for President' from his London HQ should peace break out. General Valerii Zaluzhnyi's team were forced to play down the claims stating that 'there is no talk of any campaign headquarters'. It followed posts by a journalist that 'his HQ is already active in London and recruitment is underway'. They claimed sources had told them his campaign had 'effectively begun' after Volodymyr Zelensky told Donald Trump that elections may be coming soon. Zaluzhnyi, known affectionately as the Iron General, would be a front-runner to defeat...

Poland’s president has vetoed a bill that would extend aid to Ukrainian refugees. Karol Nawrocki, a nationalist conservative, commented that Ukrainians “make the effort to work in Poland” and pay taxes in the country in order to be eligible for support. Nawrocki, whose own party approved of the initial aid to Ukrainians, stated that the current financial package “places us in a situation where citizens of Poland are treated worse in their own country than our guests.” Over 1.5 million Ukrainians have fled to Poland since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war. Poland has offered every single refugee a taxpayer-subsidized...

A very interesting response from President Trump against the U.S. President stepping back and awaiting Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to organize their teams and schedule a bilateral discussion. President Trump has said he expects the diplomatic teams of Zelenskyy and Putin to coordinate a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy in the next two weeks. As noted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, sometimes it just takes putting the principals into the same room to break the logjam. However, both regimes have entrenched ideologues who are positioning for maximum leverage. President Trump is asked what...

WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - The Pentagon has been quietly blocking Ukraine from using U.S.-made long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike targets inside Russia, limiting Kyiv's ability to employ these weapons in its defense against Moscow's invasion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing U.S. officials.Reuters could not immediately verify the report.The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.The news came as U.S. President Donald Trump has grown more frustrated publicly over the three-year-old war and his inability to secure a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.After...

Under the proposal, Russia is insisting on full control of the Donbas region, which includes the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. Moscow is demanding that Ukrainian forces withdraw entirely from the area. In return, Russia has indicated that it would pull back its troops from certain occupied zones in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions and agree to “freeze” the frontlines in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to travel to Washington on Monday, where he will meet with Trump to discuss the emerging framework and its implications for the...

"I'm just trying to stop people from being killed."President Donald Trump said Tuesday that there would be no American troops on the ground in Ukraine under his watch. Trump made the comments in an interview on “Fox and Friends” as he recapped his Monday meeting at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European leaders, and a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump added that European nations like France, Germany, and the U.K. might have boots on the ground in Ukraine at some point. “You have my assurance — and I’m president. I’m just trying to stop...

The traditionally Russian-speaking area is at the heart of what the Russian president calls the “root causes” of the war, and taking it over is near the top of his list of territorial and political demands.The proposal to end the war in Ukraine that emerged from the summit in Alaska between President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia centers on persuading Kyiv to give up the Donbas, the industrial region in the east.The traditionally Russian-speaking area has been at the heart of what Mr. Putin calls the “root causes” of the war, and taking it over is near...