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President Donald Trump is pushing Ukraine to cede territory to Russia to end the war, threatening to walk away if a deal becomes too difficult and causing alarm bells in Europe about how to fill the gap. Ukraine's European allies view the war as fundamental to the continent's security, and pressure is now mounting to find ways to support Kyiv militarily regardless of whether Trump pulls out. Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accusing him of prolonging the killing field by pushing back on his demand that Ukraine hand over occupied Crimea to Moscow. Trump's land-for-peace plan would mark a significant shift in the post-World War II order, ripping up conventions that have long held that borders should not be redrawn by force. It took a World War to roll back de jure annexations and 60 million people died, said Franois Heisbourg, special adviser at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris, referring to the pre-war annexation of Austria
 "If Donald Trump abandons Ukraine, can Europe help Kyiv fight Russia?")
Ahead of his second go-around in the White House, President Donald Trump spoke with certainty about ending Russia's war in Ukraine in the first 24 hours of his new administration and finding lasting peace from the devastating 18-month conflict in Gaza. But as the Republican president nears the 100th day of his second term, he's struggling to make good on two of his biggest foreign policy campaign promises and is not taking well to suggestions that he's falling short. And after criticising President Joe Biden during last year's campaign for preventing Israel from carrying out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Trump now finds himself giving diplomacy a chance as he tries to curb Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme. The war has been raging for three years. I just got here, and you say, 'What's taken so long?' Trump bristled, when asked about the Ukraine war in a Time magazine interview about his first 100 days. As for the Gaza conflict, he insisted the October 7 attack by Hama
 "Trump struggles in first 100 days to deliver on Ukraine, Gaza war promises")
Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korean troops for fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region, after North Korea on Monday confirmed the deployment for the first time. In a statement Monday from the Kremlin, Putin hailed the heroism and dedication of the North Korean fighters, who he said shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters, defended our Motherland as their own. Russia on Saturday said its troops have fully reclaimed the Kursk region that Ukrainian forces seized in a surprise incursion last year. Ukrainian officials denied the claim. US, South Korean and Ukraine intelligence officials have said North Korea dispatched 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia last fall in its first participation in a major armed conflict since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. But North Korea hadn't confirmed or denied its reported troop deployments to Russia until Monday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un decided to send the combat troops to Russia under a mutual defence treaty he
 "Russian Prez Putin thanks North Korea for sending troops to fight Ukraine")
Highlighting the ongoing fighting and Russia's continued offensive, the Ukrainian President stressed that the current global pressure on Russia is insufficient to bring this war to an end
 "Zelenskyy calls for pressure on Russia as Ukraine's situation difficult")
Russia launched a sweeping drone assault across Ukraine overnight into Sunday, targeting multiple regions, officials said, after US President Donald Trump cast doubt over Russian President Vladimir Putin's willingness to end the war. One person was killed and a 14-year-old girl wounded in the city of Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which was hit for the third consecutive night, regional Governor Serhii Lysak said. The attacks came hours after Russia claimed to have regained control over the remaining parts of the Kursk region, which Ukrainian forces seized in a surprise incursion last August. Ukrainian officials said the fighting in Kursk was still ongoing. Trump said Saturday that he doubts Putin wants to end the more than three-year war in Ukraine, expressing new skepticism that a peace deal can be reached soon. Only a day earlier, Trump had said Ukraine and Russia were "very close to a deal." "There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cit
 "Russia launches nearly 150 drones in major overnight assault on Ukraine")
A peace proposal by the Trump administration that includes recognising Russian authority over Crimea shocked Ukrainian officials, who say they will not accept any formal surrender of the peninsula, even though they expect to concede the territory to the Kremlin, at least temporarily. Giving up the land that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 is also politically and legally impossible, according to experts. It would require a change to the Ukrainian constitution and a nationwide vote, and it could be considered treason. Lawmakers and the public are firmly opposed to the idea. It doesn't mean anything, said Oleksandr Merezkho, a lawmaker with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's party. We will never recognize Crimea as part of Russia. Unlike a territorial concession, a formal surrender would permanently relinquish Crimea and abandon the hope that Ukraine could regain it in the future. The Ukrainian public largely understands that land must be ceded as part of any armistice
 "Shocked by US peace proposal, Ukrainians reject formal surrender of Crimea")
President Donald Trump on Friday called for Ukraine and Russia to meet for "very high-level talks", saying they are "very close to a deal" on ending the bloody three-year war. Trump posted on his Truth Social site shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis' funeral that it was a "good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine". His envoy, Steve Witkoff, had made a visit to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. "They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to finish it off," Trump wrote. "Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!" Trump's announcement followed him saying in an interview published on Friday that "Crimea will stay with Russia", the latest example of how he has been pressuring Ukraine to make concessions to end the war while the country remains under siege. He also earlier ..
A Russian drone struck an apartment building in a southeastern Ukraine city, killing three people and injuring 10 others, officials said Friday, a day after US President Donald Trump rebuked Russia's leader for a deadly missile and drone attack on Kyiv while Washington endeavours to stop the more than three-year war. Among the civilians killed in the nighttime drone strike in Pavlohrad, in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, were a child and a 76-year-old woman, the head of the regional administration, Serhii Lysak, wrote on Telegram. Russian forces fired 103 Shahed and decoy drones at five Ukrainian regions overnight, Ukraine's air force reported. Authorities in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions reported damage to civilian infrastructure but no casualties. Russia pounded Kyiv in an hourslong barrage Thursday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 87 in its deadliest assault on the Ukrainian capital since July. The attack drew a rare rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Puti
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday he is cutting short his official trip to South Africa and returning home after a Russian strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv killed at least nine people and injured more than 70. Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post that he will fly back to Kyiv after meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Ukrainian leader had hoped to recruit further South African support in efforts to end his country's war with Russia, now in its fourth year. The attack on Kyiv came hours after peace negotiations appeared to stall, with President Donald Trump lashing out at Zelenskyy, saying he was prolonging the killing field by pushing back on ceding Crimea to Russia as part of a potential peace plan. Later that day, Trump said it's been harder to deal with Zelenskyy than with Russia. Zelenskyy has said multiple times that recognising occupied territory as Russian is a red line for his country. The Kyiv City Military Administration said on it
Diplomats and defence chiefs from Britain, the US, European nations and Ukraine will meet in London on Wednesday to push for a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. British Defence Secretary John Healey said the meeting of foreign ministers and national security advisers follows talks last week in Paris and will include what a ceasefire might look like and how to secure peace in the long term. Those attending include retired Lt Gen Keith Kellogg, President Donald Trump's envoy for Ukraine and Russia. The US State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who attended the Paris talks, was unable to come because of a scheduling issue. Britain has downplayed expectations of a breakthrough, but says this is an important week for diplomatic efforts to stop more than three years of fighting since Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour. Trump said last week that negotiations were coming to a head and the US might take a pass if either of the two sides didn't move toward ...
Russia and Ukraine said Saturday they each swapped hundreds of prisoners in the largest exchange since the Russian full-scale invasion started over three years ago. Russia's Ministry of Defence said 246 Russian service members were returned from territory controlled by Kyiv, and that as a gesture of goodwill 31 wounded Ukrainian prisoners of war were transferred in exchange for 15 wounded Russian soldiers in need of urgent medical care. Ukrainian President Volodymyr said that 277 Ukrainian "warriors have returned home from Russian captivity.
During his campaign, Donald Trump said repeatedly that he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in 24 hours upon taking office. He has changed his tone since becoming president again. As various US emissaries have held talks looking for an end to the war, both Trump and his top officials have become more reserved about the prospects of a peace deal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday suggested the US might soon back away from negotiations altogether without more progress, adding a comment that sounded like a repudiation of the president's old comments. No one's saying this can be done in 12 hours, he told reporters. The promises made by presidential candidates are often felled by the realities of governing. But Trump's shift is noteworthy given his prior term as president and his long histories with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The White House on Friday did not immediately respond to a message seeking ...