94 m. ago Putin calls North Korea’s Kim to promise ‘closer contact’ ahead of Trump summit

Russian president Vladimir Putin held a phone call with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to reaffirm their “friendship” ahead of his summit with Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday.

Politics

2 h. ago Trump swallowing Putin’s lies is a bigger threat to Ukraine than bombs | Rafael Behr

In Alaska the Russian leader will claim to want peace, but only on his terms – and play on the president’s desperation to ‘make a deal’ quicklyWars do not have to be won. Total victories loom largest in the popular imagination because those are the stories nations always tell to sustain patriotic feeling. The fuller version of history is written in stalemates.That is worth remembering when Donald Trump meets Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Both leaders have incentives to pretend that Ukraine’s fate can be settled decisively without any Ukrainians at the negotiating table. That doesn’t make it so. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago No experts in the room: Trump to meet Putin after loss of Russia specialists

Reduction in federal workforce has hollowed out the number of knowledgeable officials in Washington

Politics

3 h. ago You really can see Russia from Alaska, and other things to know ahead of Friday's Trump

When U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska on Friday, it will be the latest chapter in the 49th state’s long history with Russia — and with international tensions

Politics

6 h. ago Karoline Leavitt scrambles to fix Donald Trump's huge blunder as dementia rumors swirl

During a press briefing Monday afternoon, Donald Trump claimed that he would be travelling to Russia to meet Putin

Politics

8 h. ago Donald Trump's summit with Putin will be a 'listening exercise', White House says

Officials yesterday confirmed that the high-stakes talks will take place in Alaska's largest city, Anchorage, with the US President 'determined to try to end this war and stop the killing'.

Politics

10 h. ago Keir Starmer to join crucial Ukraine talks with Donald Trump ahead of major Putin summit

Downing Street said the Prime Minister is 'absolutely focused' on a solution to the conflict - now in its third year - but insisted it must be 'grounded in Ukraine's national interests'

Politics

11 h. ago Putin races to grab territory in Ukraine with lightning advance days before meeting with Trump

Battlefield reports claim Russian sabotage and reconnaisance teams have breached weak points in eastern Ukraine, advancing up to six miles past the front line in two days

Politics

15 h. ago Russian forces break through Ukraine frontline days before Putin

Around 100,000 Russian troops are believed to have travelled at least 10km north of the Ukrainian frontline - days before upcoming peace talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin

Politics

15 h. ago Russia 'breakthrough' in Ukraine: Putin races to grab territory with lightning advance days before meeting with Trump that could end war for good

The gains came just days before US President Donald Trump was to meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska for talks on the war.

Politics

15 h. ago Trump’s Alaskan summit with Putin is high stakes – why is it not just a sideshow?

World affairs editor Sam Kiley looks at the art of the deal versus the art of the steal, ahead of what could be a pivotal meeting on the Ukraine war

Politics

16 h. ago Voices: When Trump and Putin go head to head in Alaska, who wins?

Friday’s summit in Alaska between the two leaders to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine will show that it is the cunning former KGB officer who understands the art of the deal, says Sean O’Grady

Politics

19 h. ago Hurry, hurry, hurry! It’s Trump’s great Ukraine giveaway. Bargains galore, if your name is Vladimir Putin | Marina Hyde

The Art of the Deal, the Art of War: I doubt the US president has read or understood either. If Zelenskyy is a worried man, who can blame him?Good to have it confirmed that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will be talking about Ukraine behind its back on Friday in Alaska, as the US president rambled through a press conference on Monday in which he explained that Putin “wasn’t going to mess with me” and that Ukraine was going to have to accept new borders. And listen – you’ll agree that territorial pronouncements mean so much more coming from a guy whose staff once shamelessly redrew a hurricane impact map to stop him looking stoopid. It’s a true honour for the Ukrainians to see their country effectively carved up by someone who would prefer to post-rationalise any old crap with a Sharpie than admit he doesn’t have the first clue about it and cares even less.Leave it to the tasteful visionary behind the Gaza Riviera to categorise what he’s doing as trying to get back some of Ukraine’s...

Politics

19 h. ago Land swaps with Russia are not only unpopular in Ukraine. They're also illegal

A peace deal that requires Kyiv to accept swapping Ukrainian territory with Russia would not only be deeply unpopular

Events

20 h. ago EU leaders defend Ukraine’s freedom to decide future ahead of Trump

Statement on Ukrainian sovereignty signed by all EU leaders except for Viktor Orbán before call with TrumpEurope live – latest updatesRead all our coverage of the Ukraine warEuropean Union leaders made a rallying call to defend Ukraine’s freedom to decide its own future in advance of their virtual summit with Donald Trump – convened to discuss US strategy before the president’s talks with Vladimir Putin on Friday.With the exception of Hungary, all EU leaders signed a joint statement, with Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief, also calling for the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to attend the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on Friday. Continue reading...

Politics

21 h. ago Trump says he will discuss ‘land swapping’ with Putin at Ukraine war summit

The US President has previously criticised Zelensky for refusing to give occupied land to Moscow as part of a peace deal

Politics

22 h. ago Forget Trump, Europe must show Putin it’s serious about peace in Ukraine – and prepare for war

Politicians in the UK and Europe know the threat from Russia is real, but the public still don’t quite get the danger they are in, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley

Politics

22 h. ago Keir Starmer to speak with Donald Trump after US President warns Ukraine must do a 'land swap' with Russia's Vladimir Putin... but he'll try to recover 'oceanfront property'

The Prime Minister is set to join other European leaders for a videoconference with Mr Trump and US Vice-President JD Vance on Wednesday.

Politics

23 h. ago Zelensky warns Trump not to trust Putin ahead of crunch Ukraine and Russia talks

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has warned Donald Trump not to trust Russian leader Vladimir Putin ahead of their bilateral summit in Alaska this Friday (15 August).

Events

24 h. ago ‘I’m going to Russia’: Trump appears to forget Alaska is in US as he frets over facing Putin

Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the 49th state on Friday

Politics