Page 4 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

Rubio, Witkoff to meet Ukrainian negotiators as Trump pushes to broker deal

Top Trump administration officials are meeting Ukrainian negotiators in Florida this weekend, pushing to broker an end to Russia's war in Ukraine and setting the stage for key talks planned this week in Moscow with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, were expected to sit down with a Ukrainian delegation to further hash out the details of a proposed peace framework talks that come at a sensitive moment for Ukraine as it continues to push back against Russian forces that invaded the country in 2022. On Friday, just before the Florida sit-down, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the resignation of his powerful chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who up until that point had been the country's lead negotiator in talks with the US. The announcement came after Yermak's home was searched by anti-corruption investigators. Zelenskyy's government has been roiled by ...

Ukrainian delegation to meet Rubio, Witkoff for talks on US peace plan

Presidential advisor Jaresh Kushner will also be present to hold talks with the Ukrainian officials in Florida, emphasising Washington's diplomatic push

Two killed in major Russia night strike on Ukraine; 600K left without power

Ukraine has been negotiating with the United States on the terms of a peace agreement that Washington is seeking to broker between Kyiv and Moscow to end Russia's nearly four-year-long war

Zelenskyy exposed after top aide resigns amid US and Russia pressures

Andriy Yermak's departure, amid a spiraling corruption scandal, comes just as Donald Trump is pushing Ukraine to make concessions to Russia in order to end almost four years of fighting

Hungary's Viktor Orbn to meet Russia's Putin in Moscow for energy talks

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn is visiting Moscow for energy talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a rare step from a European leader while Russia's war grinds on in Ukraine. The trip to Moscow is the second since last year for Orbn, who is widely considered Putin's closest partner among all European Union leaders. In comments to state media before departing for Moscow early Friday, Orbn said the focus of his talks with Putin would be Hungary's continued access to "cheap Russian oil and gas, resources that have come under sanctions by the US government. Hungary remains among the only EU countries to continue importing large quantities of Russian fossil fuels, and has strongly opposed efforts by the bloc to wean its member nations off Russian energy supplies. Earlier this month, Orbn travelled to Washington for a meeting with US President Donald Trump where he succeeded in securing an exemption to sanctions the Trump administration placed on Russian energy companies Luko

Russian drones target civilians, turn Ukrainian city into 'human safari'

When Olena Horlova leaves home or drives through town outside the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, she fears that she's a target. She believes that Russian drones could be waiting on a rooftop, along the road or aiming for her car. To protect herself and her two daughters, the girls stay indoors, and she stays alert sometimes returning home at night along dark roads without headlights so as not to be seen. After living through the occupation, refusing to cooperate with Russian forces and hiding from them, Horlova, like so many other residents, found that even after her town was liberated in 2022, the ordeal didn't end. Kherson was among the first places where Russian forces began using short-range, first-person view, or FPV, drones against civilians. The drones are equipped with livestreaming cameras that let operators see and select their targets in real time. The tactic later spread more than 300 kilometres (185 miles) along the right bank of the Dnipro River, across the ...

US-Ukraine draft plan could form basis for future peace deal, says Putin

US and Ukrainian negotiators held talks on the latest US-backed peace plan in Geneva on Sunday

Russia's frozen assets at the centre of Ukraine peace deal negotiations

Money is as central to Europe's vital support of Ukraine as ammunition and intelligence. Yet, the bloc's most viable funding mechanism involves seizing billions of dollars worth of Russian assets that US President Donald Trump has proposed taking over. The first draft of Trump's 28-point peace plan called for an investment scheme for Ukraine's reconstruction controlled by the US but financed by USD 100 billion in frozen Russian assets matched by another USD 100 billion from the European Union with 50 per cent of profits sent back to Washington. The plan surprised Europeans, who have spent years fiercely debating the fate of Russia's frozen fortune. Those funds are central to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's plan to both maintain pressure on Russia and increase support for Ukraine as mysterious drone incursions and sabotage operations rattle European capitals. "I cannot see any scenario in which the European taxpayers alone will pay the bill," she said Wednesday

Russia denies big concessions to Ukraine after leaked US envoy call: Report

Trump said on Tuesday Witkoff would meet Putin and that Jared Kushner, who helped negotiate the deal that brought about an uneasy ceasefire in the Gaza war between Israel and the Palestinian

US peace plan for Ukraine drew from Russian document, says report

Speaking to reporters in Geneva this week, Rubio acknowledged receiving "numerous written non-papers and things of this nature," without elaborating.

As Russia pummels Ukraine's energy systems, Kyiv hopes US gas will fill gap

The soil surrounding the gas facility in Ukraine was once pitch-black before it was burned to a rusty red by a massive Russian drone and missile assault. Scattered remnants of Shahed drones littered the reservoir designated for storing tanks of liquefied propane gas. Nearly a month after the October 30 attack, several tanks lay empty and in ruins. It hurts to look at all this (damage) because I saw firsthand (the facility's) establishment, construction and development, said Victor, who has worked there for 28 years and who cannot be named in full for security reasons. But we have, what we have and we must continue to work. The Associated Press gained exclusive access to Naftogaz's gas extraction fields in central Ukraine last week. The AP is the first and only news outlet to be allowed to film and photograph war damage at the facilities. Due to strict security protocols, the AP cannot name the facility or its exact location. Russia has targeted Ukrainian gas extraction this year in

Crude oil slips as Russia-Ukraine peace talks advance; WTI seen below $52

WTI plunged 2.5 per cent over the past five trading sessions to $58.05/bbl, shedding 5.5 per cent in the last month and more than 20 per cent since mid-June highs near $73/bbl

Inside Ukraine peace deal: What US, Russia and Kyiv agree on, and reject

Ukraine, the US and Russia are closer to a peace framework, but key issues like territory, security guarantees and military limits remain unresolved

Trump sending his envoys to see Putin, Ukrainians after fine-tuning plan

President Donald Trump said Tuesday his plan to end the war in Ukraine has been "fine-tuned" and he's sending envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to meet with Ukrainian officials. He suggested he could eventually meet with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but not until further progress has been made in negotiations. "I will be briefed on all progress made, along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles," Trump added in the social media posting. "I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages." Trump spoke after US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held talks late Monday and throughout Tuesday with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to discuss the emerging proposal. "The talks are going w

Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine peace plan to Trump

In an Oct 14 phone call that lasted a little over five minutes, Witkoff advised Yuri Ushakov, Putin's top foreign policy aide, on how the Russian leader should broach the issue with Trump

Ukraine backs 'essence' of peace deal, but sensitive issues linger

Zelenskiy could visit the United States in the next few days to finalise a deal with Trump, Kyiv's national security chief Rustem Umerov said, though no such trip was confirmed from the US side

Russia strikes homes and energy sites in Kyiv despite US peace push

Russia launched a wave of attacks on Ukraine's capital Kyiv early Tuesday, striking residential buildings and energy infrastructure, according to video footage and local authorities. A residential building in the central Pechersk district and another in Kyiv's eastern district of Dniprovskyi were badly damaged, Mayor Vitalii Kitschko said. Video footage posted to Telegram showed a large fire spread through multiple floors of the nine-story building in Dniprovskyi. At least four people were injured, the head of Kyiv city administration, Tymor Tkachenko, said. Ukraine's energy ministry said that energy infrastructure had been hit, without specifying what type or the extent of the damage. The Russian attack followed talks between US and Ukraine representatives in Geneva on Sunday about a US-Russia brokered peace plan. Oleksandr Bevz, a delegate from the Ukrainian side, told The Associated Press on Monday that the talks had been "very constructive" and the two sides were able to discu

US-Ukraine talks make headway as Trump's peace plan sees key revisions

Rubio said the discussions were "probably the most productive and meaningful" so far, noting that the 28-point peace plan proposed by President Donald Trump is still being refined

US State Secy Rubio sees Ukraine deadline easing after 'productive' talks

Rubio's note of caution followed US-Ukrainian talks Sunday in Geneva that both sides described as making progress toward a deal

Ukraine holds talks with Western allies on peace plan proposed by US

Talks between Ukraine and its Western allies on a US-proposed peace plan to end Russia's invasion are underway in Geneva, Ukrainian officials said Sunday. The head of the Ukrainian delegation, presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak, wrote on social media that they held their first meeting with the national security advisers from the UK, France and Germany. The next meeting is with the US delegation. We are in a very constructive mood, Yermak said. We continue working together to achieve a lasting and just peace for Ukraine. The 28-point blueprint drawn up by the US to end the nearly four-year war has sparked alarm in Kyiv and European capitals. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country could face a stark choice between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs.