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US President Donald Trump wants to see a permanent ceasefire to bring the war in Ukraine to a complete stop, the White House said Monday in response to Russia's unilateral three-day pause. "I understand Vladimir Putin this morning offered a temporary ceasefire. The (US) president has made it clear he wants to see a permanent ceasefire, first, to stop the killing, stop the bloodshed, and while he remains optimistic he can strike a deal, he's also being realistic as well," spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters. "Both leaders need to come to the table to negotiate their way out of this....

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday thanked North Korea for sending troops to fight alongside Russia in Moscow's war against Ukraine and vowed not to forget their sacrifices. Putin's comments came just hours after North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had deployed troops to fight Ukrainian forces. -snip- In a statement, Putin praised North Korean troops who he said fought "shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters, defended our Motherland as their own." "The Russian people will never forget the heroism of the DPRK special forces," Putin said. "We will always honor the heroes who gave their lives...

North Korea officially confirmed for the first time on Monday that it has deployed troops to Russia, framing it as an extension of its strategic partnership with Moscow. -snip- The commission further said that Kim Jong-un determined that the situation on the battlefield warranted the activation of Article 4 of the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty between North Korea and Russia. Based on this analysis, Kim ordered the deployment of North Korean forces and notified the Russian side accordingly, according to the statement. North Korea also noted that Kim referred to the troops dispatched to Russia as "representatives of the nation's...

Russia's military says it has regained full control of the country's western Kursk region - a claim denied by Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have been in retreat in Kursk in recent months, facing 70,000 Russian troops and heavy drone attacks as part of Russia's drive to regain the territory. In its latest report on 25 April, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think-tank said: "Russian forces recently advanced near the international border in Kursk Oblast [region] as part of efforts to push Ukrainian forces from their limited remaining positions in the area." The ISW also reported that "fighting...

A peace proposal by the Trump administration that includes recognizing Russian authority over Crimea shocked Ukrainian officials, who say they will not accept any formal surrender of the peninsula, even though they expect to concede the territory to the Kremlin, at least temporarily. Giving up the land that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 is also politically and legally impossible, according to experts. It would require a change to the Ukrainian constitution and a nationwide vote, and it could be considered treason. Lawmakers and the public are firmly opposed to the idea. “It doesn’t mean anything,” said Oleksandr Merezkho,...

Russia on Saturday publicly acknowledged for the first time that North Korean forces are fighting on its side against Ukraine. While reporting to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation in Kursk, southern Russia, General Valery Gerasimov praised North Korean DPRK soldiers for their efforts. Gerasimov said the troops had shown “high professionalism, fortitude, courage and heroism,” fulfilling combat tasks “shoulder to shoulder” with Russian servicemen. Following this admission, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that “Russia will never forget its friends from the DPRK.”

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he doubts Russia’s Vladimir Putin wants to end his war in Ukraine, expressing new skepticism that a peace deal can be reached soon. Only a day earlier, Trump had said Ukraine and Russia were “ very close to a deal.” “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump said in a social media post as he flew back to the United States after attending Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican, where he met briefly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump...

President Trump on Saturday said he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin may be stringing him along after the latest deadly strikes on Ukraine, as the U.S. seeks to bring an end to the war in Eastern Europe. “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump posted Saturday on Truth Social. “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” His...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump have met inside St Peter's Basilica ahead of Pope Francis' funeral. The White House described the 15-minute meeting as "very productive" and Zelensky later called it "very symbolic" with the "potential to become historic". Trump and Zelensky were pictured sitting locked in deep discussion, minutes before Pope Francis' funeral was due to start. The meeting came a day after Trump said Russia and Ukraine were "very close to a deal", following talks between his envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky proclaimed that his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the funeral for Pope Francis has the “potential to become historic”. Zelensky met with President Trump in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican after joining other world leaders in paying their respects to the Pope. A photograph of the meeting showed Trump and Zelensky sitting opposite each other in chairs within the grand sixteenth-century church. The meeting came amid increasing tensions between Washington and Kyiv, which has so far baulked at the peace deal framework laid out by Trump administration negotiators, likely including...

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump have met inside St Peter's Basilica ahead of Pope Francis' funeral. The White House described the 15-minute meeting as "very productive" and a Ukrainian spokesman said the pair will meet for a second time later on Saturday. Trump and Zelensky are attending the service in Vatican City alongside other heads of state and royals including Prince William, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. Their meeting comes one day after Trump said Russia and Ukraine were "very close to a deal", following talks between his envoy Steve...

-snip- "Vladimir, STOP! Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Thursday. He said in a post Friday that after a "good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine" they "are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to 'finish it off.'" "Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW," Trump added. Driving the news: Putin's advisers Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev also attended the meeting. Ushakov said in a briefing with reporters that the meeting was "constructive and...

Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine are "very close to a deal" with "most of the major points agreed" - as he called for the two sides to meet. Shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis's funeral, the US president said high-level officials should now meet to "finish [the deal] off". "A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine," Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to 'finish it off'. "Most of the major points are...

“I think it was terrible and I was told they made a mistake, but I think it’s a horrible thing,” Trump told reporters on-board Air Force One on Sunday evening. “I think the whole war’s a horrible thing.”Moscow’s recent missile strikes in Ukraine that killed dozens of civilians show Russian President Vladimir Putin is “mocking” President Donald Trump, Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has said. WHY IT MATTERS Ukrainian authorities said that Russia launched two ballistic missiles at the Ukrainian city of Sumy as residents attended church services marking Palm Sunday. Ukraine’s state emergency service said late Sunday that 34...

The situation in the global oil market is extremely unstable, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov during a briefing today, APA's Moscow correspondent reports. According to him, this instability is related to the decision of the United States to impose tariffs on most countries in the world. Peskov mentioned that the Russian government is closely monitoring the situation. "This is an indicator that is very important for filling our budget. We are currently closely monitoring the situation, which is characterized by extreme instability, tension, and emotional strain. This is due to the decision of the United States to impose tariffs on...

Saudi Arabia has made the biggest drop in oil prices in two years — it has reduced the price of its main oil grade, Arab Light, to $2.30 per barrel for Asian customers. According to Bloomberg, this decision came just a few days after OPEC+ decided to increase oil production by 400,000 barrels per day more sharply than expected. In addition, “Trump’s tariffs” have also dealt a serious blow to world oil prices — oil prices have fallen by $10 in one day: from $75 to $65 per barrel. This is the lowest level in three years. For Russia, whose...

Russian air strikes hit the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Sunday, killing one person and injuring three others, while the death toll from Friday’s devastating attack on Kryvyi Rih rose to 19, including nine children. The Kyiv victim was found near the epicentre of the strike in the Darnytskyi district, where fires broke out in multiple non-residential areas, causing severe damage to buildings and cars. In a statement on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested the intensifying Russian attacks showed there is still insufficient international pressure on Moscow. He said Russia has launched more than 1,460 guided aerial bombs, nearly...

Russia launched an overnight air strike on Kyiv, with the city's air defence forces trying to repel the attack, the military administration and the mayor of the Ukrainian capital said on Sunday. "Explosions in the capital. Air defences are working. Stay in shelters!" Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Russian state media reported that the 17-year-old was named curator of Chechnya's internal affairs ministry on Monday, meaning he'll oversee police and local security forces. The ministry also handles counterterrorism and riot control. A state broadcast showed the teen receiving the appointment at a ceremonial meeting as uniformed officers applauded. Soon after, he was filmed performing his duties by naming a new head of Chechnya's operational search division and handing out medals to police officers. The 17-year-old was already appointed overseer of Chechnya's Russian Special Forces University last April. The university says it teaches civilians and soldiers skills such as...

The Russo-Ukrainian War is now three years old, and the third Z-Day, on February 24, 2025, was marked by a substantively different tone than prior iterations. On the battlefield, Russian forces stand significantly closer to victory than they have at any point since the opening weeks of the war. After reversals early in the war as Ukraine took advantage of Russian miscalculations and insufficient force generation, the Russian army surged in 2024, collapsing Ukraine’s front in southern Donetsk and pushing the front forward towards the remaining citadels of the Donbas. At the same time, 2025’s Z-Day was the first under...