Page 2 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

Russia votes in wartime election as Putin seeks to reinforce political grip

It's a challenging time for Russia to hold a parliamentary election, even one whose outcome is all but assured. The economic and political climate has been seriously affected by 4 years of full-fledged war with Ukraine. Swarms of enemy drones have inflicted massive damage on Russian oil refineries and logistical facilities. The public, which no longer sees the fighting as something distant, is increasingly nervous. United Russia, the main Kremlin party, is poised to keep its overwhelming grip on the State Duma alongside a few other parties aligned with President Vladimir Putin. Still, authorities have tightened control over the first wartime balloting for the lower chamber of parliament since the 2022 full-scale invasion. The Kremlin stifled even the slightest signs of dissent before three days of voting that began Friday in Russia's Far East. The only party that dared to criticize the war was unceremoniously removed from the ballot, and a few anti-war politicians have been imprison

US sanctions Bill gives Ukraine leverage on Russia, but enforcement looms

Ukraine has long argued that Russia will only negotiate seriously if the cost of continuing the war becomes too high. For Kyiv, punitive sanctions that impose real economic costs on Moscow are a key part of that strategy. This week's passage of a long-sought, sweeping package of US sanctions aimed at cutting off some of the financial resources President Vladimir Putin relies on to fund the war gives Ukraine another potential source of leverage, but its impact may depend on whether and how aggressively the measures are implemented by the United States. The House on Wednesday approved the sanctions package targeting Russian officials and key sectors of the economy. On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the vote "symbolic," adding that the House passed the bill on the same night Russia launched another large-scale attack across Ukraine, capabilities the full implementation of the deal would derail. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that if the United

Russia says new US sanctions would make Ukraine peace deal harder

Moscow called the sanctions package an "unfriendly" move after the US House passed legislation aimed at increasing economic pressure on Russia over its war in Ukraine

India's Russian oil imports: From war-era discounts to Trump-era shifts

US lawmakers' push to name India in a Russia sanctions bill puts its Russian oil purchases back in focus. Here's how the trade has changed since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine

US House passes Russia sanctions bill; 100% tariff threat looms over India

The US House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorise President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Russia and steep tariffs on its trading partners in oil and gas, including India and China. The Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, passed by the US Senate last month, was approved by the House in a 262-159 vote on Wednesday evening and will now go to Trump to be signed into a law. Besides 203 Republicans, 58 Democrats and one Independent voted in favour of the legislation. Seven Republicans and 152 Democrats opposed it. Democratic opposition largely centered around the tariff authorities provided to Trump. The bill is named after Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died in July after spending more than a year building support for it. "What we're not for is giving more tariff authority to this president," Congressman Richard Neal, a Democrat, said during debate on the bill. The bill seeks to impose sanctions not only on Russi

FBI thwarts Russian plot to kill a prominent dissident in Washington

The intelligence services of the Russian Federation are plotting to carry out targeted killings in the US and in European nations supporting Ukraine, federal authorities said Tuesday in announcing they'd thwarted a plot to kill a prominent Russian dissident believed to be living in Washington, D.C. Five people assumed to be living abroad were charged in the plot, according to an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court. It said a network of the Russian intelligence services has paid and tried to pay individuals in the United States and in other countries since 2024 to surveil and then kill Russian dissidents. The associates recruited by the network also have been solicited to carry out acts of terrorism against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries that are perceived to be aligned with Ukraine, the indictment said. James C. Barnacle Jr., head of New York's FBI office, said the agency disrupted the plans "through relentless work" as members of the ...

Ukraine to halt Russia strikes if Kremlin spares critical infra: Zelenskyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that Ukraine is ready to halt its strikes on Russian territory if allies can secure a genuine Russian commitment not to hit Ukraine's critical infrastructure. His comments came after US President Donald Trump claimed in a social media post that Russia and Ukraine had agreed "not to hit" each other's energy infrastructure, though Trump did not offer further details on the purported agreement. Russia did not immediately comment on Trump's claim. Previous efforts to broker even a partial ceasefire have repeatedly fallen apart within hours, with both sides accusing each other of violations. Trump did not offer further details about the agreement but it comes a day after the US president called on Zelenskyy to stop targeting Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel, claiming the attacks are causing a global shortage. Diesel prices have surged in the US, and high fuel costs associated with the Iran war

At Brics summit, Modi, Xi offered to help Putin end Ukraine war: Kremlin

India and China told Russian President Vladimir Putin they were ready to help end the Ukraine conflict, with Moscow welcoming efforts to encourage Kyiv to show greater flexibility

Trump calls on Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries

US President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel, saying the attacks are causing a global shortage. He spoke after diesel prices in the US hit a record on Friday, soaring past USD 6 a gallon on average. Ukraine has for months been targeting Russia's oil and gas industry with long-range strikes, prompting fuel rationing across the country and causing Moscow to ban diesel exports in July, removing supplies from the already tight global market. But the global crunch also came after the war on Iran curtailed oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Fuel prices are weighing on Americans as they prepare to vote in mid-term elections in November. Trump was asked by a reporter if he had spoken with Zelenskyy following his recent conversation with Russia's Vladimir Putin. He responded by calling on Zelenskyy to halt strikes against Russia. "Mr ...

Russia imports record fuel from India as Ukraine strikes hit refineries

Russia imported a record 172,000 tonnes of oil products in August, including gasoline refined from Russian crude at a refinery in India that is partly owned by Russia's Rosneft, as Ukrainian drone strikes disrupted Moscow's domestic refining capacity, according to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). India supplied 70 per cent of Russia's oil product imports in August, including 120,000 tonnes of gasoline worth 78 million euros, CREA said in its monthly analysis of Russian fossil fuel exports and sanctions. The volume of Russian fuel imports was more than seven times the previous monthly record and three times the total imported during all of 2025. All of the gasoline from India was loaded at the Vadinar refinery and sold by EU-sanctioned Nayara Energy to Rosneft, CREA said. Rosneft owns 49.13 per cent of Nayara Energy, while Vadinar sourced all of its crude from Russia during the first eight months of 2026, compared with 81 per cent for all of 2025, ..

Delhi Declaration endorses Russia-backed plan for Brics Grain Exchange

The Declaration backed BRICS AGRIN, a global forum on farmers' rights in seed systems, a network of centres of excellence on regenerative agriculture and cooperation on digital agriculture

Russia faces over 30,000 sanctions: Putin condemns 'ugly' trade tactics

Speaking at the Brics Business Forum in New Delhi, the Russian president criticised economic coercion, trade restrictions and the threat of secondary sanctions

Zelenskyy's plane almost hit by drone while flying to Oslo, says Norway PM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plane "was almost hit by a drone as it was taking off from Moldova. That is the reality he is facing," Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said.

Putin wants Ukraine peace deal, but feud with Zelenskyy blocking it: Trump

Trump said Russia's president is willing to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war but argued that deep hostility between Putin and Zelenskyy remains the biggest barrier to a diplomatic breakthrough

Ukraine says it needs $27 bn more as Europe scrambles to understand why

An unexpected request from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered a stark reminder that the cost of the war will rise, challenging Europe

Trump urges Putin for swift end to Ukraine war, Russia ties reset: Kremlin

The call, which the Kremlin said lasted an hour, followed a weekend visit to Moscow and Kyiv ‌by U.S. envoys, who are trying ​to revive stalled talks designed to find a way ​to end the fighting.

Ukraine lost $1.2 billion to defence procurement fraud, waste in 2024

Secret military audits reveal a military procurement system riddled with mismanagement. In 2024 alone, Ukraine lost $1.2 billion to fraud and waste

4 things that secret audits reveal about Ukraine's military spending

The documents amount to an autopsy of the weapons-contracting process

US envoys make first Kyiv visit amid Russia-Ukraine war peace push

Kushner and Witkoff travelled from Moscow, where they held three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday but did not appear to secure a breakthrough in the conflict

Kremlin says Ukraine talks with US envoys useful but no breakthrough seen

In televised ‌remarks at the start of the talks, Putin praised Trump's efforts to end the war