Page 7 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

Putin claims Russian forces have surrounded 2 Ukrainian cities, Kyiv denies

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Wednesday that Russian troops have surrounded Ukrainian forces in two key eastern cities of Ukraine and offered to negotiate a deal for their surrender. Ukrainian military officials vigorously denied the claim. Putin, speaking at a meeting with wounded soldiers at a Moscow military hospital, suggested that the Russian military was ready to open safe corridors for Ukrainian and Western journalists to let them see with their own eyes what's going on. He claimed Ukrainian troops are encircled in Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian stronghold in the eastern Donetsk region, and in Kupiansk, an important rail junction in the northeastern Kharkiv region. Russia has recently been pushing its significant advantage in troops and weapons at key points along the around 1,000-km front line, almost four years after it invaded its neighbour. But the Ukrainian armed forces said claims of Kupiansk being surrounded are fabrications and fantasies while the spokesman

Trump asks Pentagon to speed up nuclear weapons' trials after Russia tests

The development came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow had successfully tested a nuclear-powered submersible drone with unlimited range

Putin's envoy Dmitriev says there will be peace in Ukraine within a year

Dmitriev was speaking after meeting officials from US President Donald Trump's administration in the United States last weekend

Ukrainian film agency turned drone maker now has contracts worth $1 billion

Once a casting agency for film and television, Fire Point pivoted to building drones after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out and now has defence contracts worth $1 billion

Putin hails successful test of nuclear-powered Burevestnik missile

Moscow's latest trial of the long-range, nuclear-capable cruise missile underscores Russia's defiance of Western pressure amid the Ukraine war and renewed US scrutiny

4 killed in missile attack on Ukraine as Zelenskyy pleads for air defense

Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine overnight into Saturday killed at least four people and wounded 20, officials said, and prompted fresh pleas from Ukraine's president for Western air defense systems. In the capital, Kyiv, two people were killed and 13 were wounded in a ballistic missile attack in the early hours of Saturday, Kyiv's police said. A fire broke out in a non-residential building in one location, while debris from intercepted missiles fell in an open area at another site, damaging windows in nearby buildings, Ukraine's State Emergency Service wrote on the message app Telegram. Explosions in the capital. The city is under ballistic attack, Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram during the onslaught. Two killed in Dnipropetrovsk region In the Dnipropetrovsk region, two people were killed and seven wounded, acting regional Gov. Vladyslav Haivanenko said, adding that apartment buildings and private homes were damaged in the strikes. Ukraine's air force said R

At least 3 killed, 17 injured after Russia's overnight strikes on Ukraine

Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine overnight into Saturday killed at least three people and wounded 17 others, local officials said. In the capital, Kyiv, one person was killed and ten wounded in a ballistic missile attack in the early hours of Saturday, Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's city military administration, said. Three of the wounded were hospitalized, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service. A fire broke out in a non-residential building in one location, while debris from intercepted missiles fell in an open area at another site, damaging windows in nearby buildings, the emergency service wrote on Telegram. Explosions in the capital. The city is under ballistic attack, Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram during the onslaught. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, two people were killed and seven wounded, acting regional Gov Vladyslav Haivanenko said, adding that apartment buildings, private homes, an outbuilding, a shop and at least one vehicle were damaged i

Europe struggles to avoid being sidelined by Trump's world-shaping plans

When President Donald Trump took the stage in Egypt to hail the US-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, a row of world leaders stood behind him like extras in a political drama. It was a telling image. European governments have struggled to play a significant role in diplomacy over the Gaza war, while the America First leader has played a central one, pushing longtime allies in Europe toward the sidelines. Closer to home, they have labored with mixed results to shape Trump's response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's obstinate pursuit of the Ukraine war, a conflict with profound consequences for the continent's future. Is Europe able to influence Trump? I think the short answer... is no, said Lindsay Newman, a geopolitical risk expert and columnist for GZERO Media. The policy and positioning of the US government on Ukraine, on Israel, on its relationship with Europe is defined by the president and those around him. Largely the president. Newman said Trump's ...

Zelenskyy urges US to widen sanctions on Russia, seeks long-range missiles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday urged the United States to expand sanctions on Russian oil from two companies to the whole sector, and appealed for long-range missiles to hit back at Russia. Zelenskyy was in London for talks with two dozen European leaders who have pledged military help to shield his country from future Russian aggression if a ceasefire stops the more than three-year war. The meeting hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer aimed to step up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding momentum to recent measures that have included a new round of sanctions from the United States and European countries on Russia's vital oil and gas export earnings. The talks also addressed ways of helping protect Ukraine's power grid from Russia's almost daily drone and missiles attacks as winter approaches, enhancing Ukrainian air defenses, and supplying Kyiv with longer-range missiles that can strike deep inside Russia. Zelenskyy has urged the U.S. to

Croatia reinstates military conscription as Europe worries over Ukraine war

Croatia's parliament on Friday voted to reintroduce compulsory military service in the European Union and NATO member country. The move comes amid heightened tensions in Europe following the Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as an apparent arms race and military buildup in the Balkans, which went through a bloody war in the 1990s. Lawmakers approved legal changes in a 84-11 vote and with 30 abstentions in the 151-member parliament. The army service will last two months and provide basic military training, public broadcaster HRT said. This decision marks a return to conscription, which was suspended in 2008 when the country shifted to a volunteer system. Croatia's Defence Ministry said the aim is to teach young people basic skills and knowledge that are needed in crisis situations, so they would contribute to national security. Authorities will start calling conscripts born in 2007 for medical checkups by the end of the year. Conscripts will receive a salary, and ...

EU backs Ukraine's funding needs, delays plan to use frozen Russian assets

EU leaders agree to support Ukraine's financial needs but delay €140 billion loan using frozen Russian assets, as Belgium seeks legal guarantees before backing the plan

Oil disruption widens as China halts some Russia buys after US sanctions

The majors have begun to assess the curbs, as well as similar moves by the EU, according to people with knowledge of the situation, asking not to be identified discussing sensitive issues

White House calls new US sanctions on Russian oil 'appropriate, necessary'

Criticising the lack of "interest or action" from the Russian side to move towards peace, Leavitt said that while a potential meeting between Putin and Trump is "not completely off the table"

EU sanctions 45 entities, including 3 India-based firms, over Russia links

Three India-based companies were among 45 entities sanctioned by the European Union on Thursday for their alleged links with Russian military. The EU slapped the punitive actions against the firms as part of its 19th package of sanctions which are part of efforts to put economic pressure on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. There was no immediate reaction from Indian officials to the EU action. An EU readout said the European Council has identified 45 new entities "directly supporting" Russia's military and industrial complex by "enabling the circumvention of export restrictions on computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools, microelectronics, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other advanced technology items". "These entities will be subject to tighter export restrictions with regard to dual-use goods, as well as items which might generally contribute to the technological enhancement of Russia's defence sector," it said. "Seventeen of these entities are located in third ...

Trump's turnaround sanctions target Russian oil firms that fund Ukraine war

The US and the European Union are hitting Russia with another round of sanctions, aiming to cut into oil and gas export earnings that fund Moscow's war against Ukraine. More than 3 1/2 years into the war, the effort remains a cat-and-mouse game, with Russia finding new ways to get around sanctions, and Washington and Brussels adding new ones and looking for ways to plug enforcement gaps. The chief target of the latest round: Russia's biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. New US Treasury sanctions threaten their customers in India and China with retaliation that could include being sanctioned themselves. Meanwhile, the EU is phasing out by the end of next year those shipments of Russian liquefied natural gas that come by ship, and is going after cryptocurrency issuers, platforms and exchanges that Russia has used to skirt restrictions on its financial dealings with the outside world. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move aimed to push Russian President Vladimir Puti

EU imposes new sanctions on Russian energy, joins US in pressure campaign

The EU will also tighten a transaction ban on two major Russian oil companies and sanction 117 additional so-called shadow fleet vessels

Belgium urges EU partners to share risk of using frozen Russian assets

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever insisted on Thursday that his European partners must share the risk of using billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets that are held in his country to help keep Ukraine's economy and war effort afloat in the coming years. Ukraine's budget and military needs for 2026 and 2027 are estimated to total around USD 153 billion, and the European Union's executive branch has been developing a plan to use Russia's frozen assets as collateral to drum up funds. The biggest tranche of those assets some USD 225 billion worth is held in Belgium, and the Belgian government is wary of using the money without firm guarantees from other EU countries. If we want to give them to Ukraine, we have to do it all together, De Wever told reporters as he arrived for a summit with his EU counterparts in Brussels. If not, Russian retaliation might only hit Belgium. That's not very reasonable. We are a small country, and retaliation can be very hard. They might confiscat

Recalibrating Russian oil imports, will fully comply with guidelines: RIL

Reliance, which operates the world's largest refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat, has a long-term deal to buy nearly 500,000 bpd of crude oil from Russian major Rosneft

India to cut Russian oil imports by year-end: Trump after new sanctions

US President Donald Trump said India will sharply reduce Russian oil imports by the end of the year, following new US sanctions on Moscow's major oil firms