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Despite the warning, Trump expressed cautious optimism about securing a deal
President Donald Trump on Friday said negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are coming to a head and insisted that neither side is playing him in his push to end the grinding war. The comments from Trump came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned earlier Friday that the US may move on from trying to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress in the coming days, after months of efforts have failed to bring an end to the fighting. If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're going to say you're fools, you're foolish, and we're just going to take a pass, Trump told reporters at the White House. Asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin was dragging his feet on negotiations, Trump replied, I hope not.
The Trump administration has spent weeks trying to mediate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, but so far those efforts have not ended the ongoing conflict
Ukrainian Embassy in India stated, Any attempt to justify terror is legally untenable, cynical in essence, and pathetic in terms of competence
Zelenskyy said Ukraine's intelligence services had information that Beijing had supplied gunpowder and artillery ammunition to Moscow
The Russian Embassy in India suggested that it was likely one of Ukraine's own air defence missiles that hit the facility operated by Kusum Healthcare
The Trump administration is pressing Kyiv for a deal to share profits from future Ukrainian investment projects, including in minerals and infrastructure
United States President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg to discuss the conflict in Ukraine
Russia on Monday claimed its deadly missile attack on Ukraine's Sumy that killed and wounded scores including children had targeted a gathering of Ukrainian troops, while European leaders condemned the attack as a war crime. Ukrainian officials have said two ballistic missiles on Palm Sunday morning hit the heart of Sumy, a city about 30 kilometres from Ukraine's border with Russia, killing at least 34, including two children, and wounding 119. It was the second large-scale attack to claim civilian lives in Ukraine in just over a week. Asked about the attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia's military only strikes military targets. Russia's Defense Ministry said the strike targeted a gathering of senior military officers and accused Kyiv of using civilians as shields by holding military meetings in the city's centre. The ministry claimed to kill over 60 troops. Russia gave no evidence to back its claims. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a global ..
Earlier in March, Trump had also criticised Biden's handling of the Russia-Ukraine war, suggesting that under Biden, Russia attempted to take control of all of Ukraine
Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly said he wants to end the bloodbath of the three-year war in Ukraine
At least 32 people have been killed in a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday, officials said. Two ballistic missiles struck the heart of the city at around 10:15 a.m. as people gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday, according to officials. Images posted from the scene on official channels showed lines of black body bags lying on the side of the road, while more bodies were seen wrapped in foil blankets among the debris. Video footage also showed fire crews as they fought to extinguish the shells of burnt-out cars among the rubble from damaged buildings. On this bright Palm Sunday, our community has suffered a terrible tragedy, acting Mayor Artem Kobzar said in a statement on social media. Unfortunately, we already know of more than 20 deaths. At least 32 people were killed as a result of the attack, including two children, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said in a statement. A further 84 people were injured, including 10 children, it said. Ukraine's
Trump has shown signs of losing patience and has spoken of imposing secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil if he feels Moscow is dragging its feet on a deal
In a post on Truth Social, the former US president said Russia must 'get moving' from the war, as US envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin for ceasefire talks
Britain on Friday announced a surge of military support to Ukraine, as the war-ravaged country's Western backers gathered at NATO headquarters to drum up more weapons and ammunition to help fight off the Russian invasion. Britain said that in a joint effort with Norway just over $580 million would be spent to provide hundreds of thousands of military drones, radar systems and anti-tank mines, as well as repair and maintenance contracts to keep Ukrainian armoured vehicles on the battlefield. On the eve of the meeting in Brussels, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said a key issue was strengthening his country's air defences. Ukraine needs a sufficient number of modern systems like Patriot missile systems, he said in a post on social media. A political decision is needed to supply these systems to protect our cities, towns, and the lives of our people especially from the threat of Russian ballistic weapons. Our partners have such available systems, Umerov said. Russian forces
The US ambassador to Ukraine is stepping down from her post after nearly three years in Kyiv amid uncertainty over the Trump administration's attempts to broker a peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war. The State Department said Thursday that Bridget Brink will be leaving her post in the near future, although it was not immediately clear exactly when she would depart. Brink assumed the post under former President Joe Biden's administration and has been a staunch advocate for US military assistance to Ukraine. Her resignation had been expected for some time, especially considering the Trump administration's premium on rapprochement with Russia and ending the war. Ambassador Brink is stepping down, the department said. She's been the ambassador in Kyiv for three years that's a long time in a war zone. And frankly, the war has gone on for far too long. The real issue is whether the Russians and Ukrainians are ready to do what's necessary to end this war, it said.
Britain and France are convening a meeting of defence ministers from around 30 countries on Thursday to press ahead with plans to deploy troops to Ukraine to police any future peace agreement with Russia. The meeting at NATO headquarters the first between defence ministers representing the so-called coalition of the willing comes after a visit to Kyiv last week by senior British and French military officers. It's expected to work on fleshing out an agreement reached at an earlier meeting between leaders. As usual with coalition gatherings, the United States will not take part, but the success of the coalition's operation hinges on US backup with airpower or other military assistance. However, the Trump administration has made no public commitment that it will do so. Amid that uncertainty and US warnings that Europe must take care of its own security and that of Ukraine in future, the force is seen as a first test of the continent's willingness to defend itself and its interests.
Ukraine's claim that significant numbers of Chinese nationals are fighting alongside Russia's invading army is totally unfounded, a Beijing official said on Wednesday. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Tuesday that the Ukrainian military had captured two Chinese men fighting alongside the Russian army in the eastern Donetsk region and had information that significantly more are with Russian forces. It was the first time that Ukraine had made such a claim about Chinese fighters on its soil amid Russia's almost three-year invasion. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in Beijing that China has played a constructive role in politically resolving the Ukraine crisis. Lin told a daily news briefing Wednesday that the Chinese government always asks Chinese citizens to stay away from conflict zones, avoid getting involved in any form of armed conflict, and especially refrain from participating in any party's military operations. His comments appeared to indi
Trump has argued that the agreement, which would grant the US preferential access to valuable resources, is essential for Ukraine's post-war security and reconstruction
One person was killed Sunday as Russian air strikes hit the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, while the death toll from Friday's deadly attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih continued to rise. The Kyiv victim was found close to the strike's epicentre of the attack in the city's Darnytskyi district, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. A further three people were injured in the strike, which sparked fires in several nonresidential areas, damaging cars and buildings. In a statement on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the intensifying Russian attacks showed that there is still insufficient international pressure on Moscow. He said Russia has launched more than 1,460 guided aerial bombs, nearly 670 attack drones and more than 30 missiles at Ukraine in the past week alone. These attacks are (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's response to all international diplomatic efforts. Each of our partners the United States, all of Europe, the entire world has seen that ..