Page 6 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

Russia unleashes massive drone, missile attack on Ukraine as talks continue

Russia unleashed a major missile and drone barrage on Ukraine overnight into Saturday, after US and Ukrainian officials said they'll meet on Saturday for a third day of talks aimed at ending the nearly 4-year-old war. Russia used 653 drones and 51 missiles in the wide-reaching attack, which triggered air raid alerts across the country and came as Ukraine marked Armed Forces Day, the country's air force said Saturday morning. Ukrainian forces shot down and neutralised 585 drones and 30 missiles, the air force said, adding that 29 locations were struck. At least eight people were wounded in the attacks, Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko said. Among these, at least three people were wounded in the Kyiv region, according to local officials. Drone sightings were reported as far west as Ukraine's Lviv region. Russia carried out a massive missile-drone attack on power stations and other energy infrastructure in several Ukrainian regions, Ukraine's national energy opera

US, Ukraine officials report progress on creating postwar security plan

President Donald Trump's advisers and Ukrainian officials said Friday they'll meet for a third day of talks after making progress on creating a security framework for postwar Ukraine and are urging Russia to commit to peace. The officials, who met for a second day in Florida on Friday, issued a joint statement that offered broad brushstrokes about the progress they say that's been made as Trump pushes Kyiv and Moscow to agree to a US-mediated proposal to end nearly four years of war. "Both parties agreed that real progress toward any agreement depends on Russia's readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace, including steps toward de-escalation and cessation of killings," the statement said. "Parties also separately reviewed the future prosperity agenda which aims to support Ukraine's post-war reconstruction, joint USUkraine economic initiatives, and long-term recovery projects." US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's talks in Florida with

World food prices drop for third month in November, says UN's FAO

Global food prices fell for a third straight month in November, driven by declines in sugar, dairy and oil - though cereals bucked the trend with a modest rise

India not neutral, but on side of peace: PM Modi to Putin on Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is visiting India for the first time in four years, responded that Moscow remains engaged in efforts to find a 'peaceful resolution' to the situation in Ukraine

'Druzhba Dosti' flag flutters as PM Modi greets President Putin on tarmac

Putin arrived in New Delhi to a rare tarmac welcome from PM Modi as the two leaders prepare for a high-stakes summit on defence, trade, technology and future cooperation

German, French leaders wary of US push for Russia-Ukraine peace: Report

In the call that took place on Monday, Germany's Friedrich Merz warned Zelenskiy that U.S. negotiators are "playing games" and that he should be "very careful" over the next few days, Spiegel said

Putin calls US talks on Ukraine war 'useful' but also 'difficult work'

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his five-hour talks with US envoys on ending the war in Ukraine were necessary and useful but also difficult work, with some of the proposals unacceptable to the Kremlin. Putin's remarks to a private news channel came ahead of his visit to New Delhi on Thursday. The Russian leader's comments come as US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are set to meet with Ukraine's lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, on Thursday in Miami for further talks, according to a senior Trump administration official who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The high-stakes talks are part of Trump's renewed push to end the nearly four-year war. The peace effort has recently gathered steam, even though reconciling Russia's and Ukraine's red lines still appears to be an uphill battle. Trump said Wednesday that Witkoff and Kushner came away from their marathon session with Putin in the ..

US talks with Putin on Ukraine plan gave impression war may end: Trump

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law held five-hour-long talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow

Ukraine's Nato membership 'key question' in talks with US: Kremlin aide

Moscow insists that Ukraine must never be permitted to enter the Western military alliance, calling it a core security concern

Kremlin says Putin accepts some US peace ideas as talks on Ukraine continue

Peskov said that Russia was grateful to Trump for his efforts but that the Kremlin would not be giving a running commentary on discussions with the US as publicity was unlikely to be constructive

Kremlin says Russia's battlefield gains in Ukraine aided recent US talks

In video footage released on the talks' eve, President Vladimir Putin hailed what his commanders said was Russia's capture of the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine

Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit tests India's US-Russia balancing act

The Russian leader is eager to show that Moscow still has strong relationships that matter beyond the West - and large markets it can trade with

US-Russia talks on Ukraine were productive but work remains: Putin adviser

Talks between Russia and the US on ending the nearly four-year war in Ukraine were productive, but much work remains, Yuri Ushakov, a senior adviser to President Vladimir Putin, told reporters on Wednesday. Putin met US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin in talks that began late Tuesday as part of a renewed push by the Trump administration to broker a peace deal. Both sides agreed not to disclose the substance of the talks. Ushakov called the five-hour conversation rather useful, constructive, rather substantive, but added that the framework of the US peace proposal was discussed rather than specific wording. Putin's aide also said that so far, a compromise hasn't been found on the issue of territories, without which, he said, the Kremlin sees no resolution to the crisis. Some of the American proposals seem more or less acceptable, but they need to be discussed. Some of the wording that was proposed to us doesn't suit us. So, th

Vladimir Putin accuses Europe of sabotaging US-led Ukraine peace efforts

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kyiv's European allies Tuesday of sabotaging US-led efforts to end the nearly 4-year-old war in Ukraine. They don't have a peace agenda, they're on the side of the war, Putin said after speaking to an investment forum and before he met in the Kremlin with a US delegation led by envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. Putin's accusations appeared to be his latest attempt to sow dissension between Trump and European countries and set the stage for exempting Moscow from blame for any lack of progress. They don't have a peace agenda, they're on the side of the war, Putin said of the Europeans in comments to reporters. He accused Europe of amending peace proposals with demands that are absolutely unacceptable to Russia, thus blocking the entire peace process, only to blame Russia for it. That's their goal, Putin said. He reiterated his long-held position that Russia has no plans to attack Europe -- a concern .

US envoy to meets Putin in Moscow as Zelenskyy tours Europe for support

US special envoy Steve Witkoff was due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, taking to the Kremlin an embryonic peace plan that Washington hopes can bring about an end to the nearly four-year war in Ukraine. Coinciding with Witkoff's trip, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went to Ireland, continuing his visits to European countries that have helped sustain his country's fight against Russia's invasion. After months of frustration in his efforts to stop the fighting, US President Donald Trump is deploying officials to get traction for his peace proposals. So far, the talks have followed parallel lines, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sitting down with Ukrainian officials, and now Witkoff heading to Moscow. Though this week's consultations could move the process forward, few details have become public. It remains unclear how envoys are going to bridge the gap between the two sides on such basic differences as who keeps what territory. Europe

Ukrainian troops near the front doubt Russia pact will bring lasting peace

Moving between damp basements and muddy dugouts to fend off constant Russian attacks in the nearly 4-year-old war, exhausted Ukrainian soldiers say their motivation is fortified by knowing they're fighting for higher cause: the defense of their homeland. But as negotiators try to hammer out a peace deal, the troops also believe that Russia remains determined to conquer Ukraine either now, or with a fresh army in a few years' time no matter what kind of agreement is reached. And they also say Kyiv must maintain a sizable military to protect the now-800-mile (nearly 1,300-kilometer) front line. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are now the main barrier between peaceful civilian life of Ukrainians and our bad neighbour, said a 40-year-old artillery gunner who spoke to The Associated Press near the border between the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions. He identified himself only by his call sign of Kelt," in keeping with military protocol, and on condition his exact location is not ...

US peace plan 'looks better' with revisions but work continues: Zelenskyy

Ukraine's president spoke optimistically about the progress of revising the Trump administration's peace plan, saying "it looks better" and the work will continue during talks on how to end Russia's nearly four-year war. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke after meeting with France's president on Monday, the latest in discussions aimed at brokering the terms for a potential ceasefire in the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday. Witkoff's role came under scrutiny last week following a report that he coached Putin's foreign affairs adviser on how Russia's leader should pitch to Trump on the Ukraine peace plan. Zelenskyy's visit to Paris followed Sunday's meeting between Ukrainian and US officials, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as productive. The two sides have worked to revise the proposed US-authored .

Europeans rally round Ukraine as Donald Trump envoy heads to Moscow

Macron told reporters that only Ukraine could decide on its territories in peace negotiations with Russia

What to know about this week's diplomatic efforts to end Russia-Ukraine war

Diplomats face an uphill battle to reconcile Russian and Ukrainian red lines as a renewed US-led push to end the war gathers steam, with Ukrainian officials attending talks in the US over the weekend and Washington officials expected in Moscow early this week. US President Donald Trump's peace plan became public last month, sparking alarm that it was too favourable to Moscow. It was revised some following talks in Geneva between the US and Ukraine a week ago. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the revised plan could be workable. Russian President Vladimir Putin called it a possible basis for a future peace agreement. Trump said Sunday there's a good chance we can make a deal. Still, officials on both sides indicated a long road ahead as key sticking points over whether Kyiv should cede land to Moscow and how to ensure Ukraine's future security appear unresolved. A look at where things stand and what to expect this week: US holds talks with Kyiv then Moscow Trump .

Global arms producers' revenue up 5.9% to record level in 2024: Report

The world's biggest weapons-producing companies saw a 5.9% increase in revenue from sales of arms and military services last year as demand was fed by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza as well as countries' rising military spending, according to a report released Monday. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI, said the revenues of the 100 largest arms makers grew to USD 679 billion in 2024, the highest figure it has recorded. The bulk of the increase was down to companies based in Europe and the United States, but there were increases around the world except in Asia and Oceania, where problems in the Chinese arms industry led to a slight fall. Thirty of the 39 US companies in the top 100 including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics posted increases. Their combined revenue was up 3.8% at USD 334 billion. But SIPRI noted that widespread delays and budget overruns continue to plague development and production in major US-led programmes, includi