Ukraine

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

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 ...

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 .

US, Ukraine talks on Russia productive, but much work yet to be done: Rubio

US and Ukrainian officials completed roughly four hours of talks Sunday aimed at finding an endgame to the war between Russia and Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters afterward that the session was productive but work remains in the search for a peace deal. It's not just about the terms that ends fighting, Rubio said. It's about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity. ... I think we built on that today, but there's more work to be done." The high-level negotiations in Florida came days before President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will be in Moscow to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Rubio, Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, represented the American side in the talks, held at a sensitive time as Ukraine continues to push back against Russian forces that invaded in 2022 while dealing with a domestic corruption scandal. Diplomats have focused on revisions to a proposed US-authored plan that was developed in

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

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 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

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

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