13 h. ago Trump’s involvement in Ukraine peace talks ‘giving Putin more power’, Yulia Navalnaya says

Widow of the late Russian dissident Alexei Navalny said Trump speaking to Putin “like they’re equal” is making him more powerful

Politics

16 h. ago Hundreds of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers and civilians released in biggest prisoner swap of war

Russia and Ukraine had each agreed after two hours of peace talks in Istanbul last week to swap 1,000 prisoners

Events

17 h. ago Hundreds of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers released in biggest prisoner swap of war

Russia and Ukraine had each agreed after two hours of peace talks in Istanbul last week to swap 1,000 prisoners

Events

18 h. ago In Ukraine, I saw Trump’s ‘peace deal’ wouldn’t just trade away land – but lives, memories and homes | Timothy Garton Ash

Ukrainians I met in Kyiv and Lviv were grimly realistic about the end of the war. We should follow their exampleThe next time a breathless news anchor talks about the prospect of a war-ending “deal”, with Ukraine “ceding land for peace”, I want to sit them down with Adeline. In Lviv last week, Adeline showed me on her phone map her lost home in Russian-occupied Nova Kakhovka, just across the Dnipro River from the Ukrainian-liberated territory around Kherson. Look, she said, with tears welling up in her eyes, here on this satellite snapshot you can see the ecological disaster that followed Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka dam in 2023. And here’s the place where she dreamed of setting up a small art gallery. “Why should I give up on my home?” she cried. Why indeed.The territory occupied by Russia is the size of Portugal and Slovenia combined. It’s difficult to get accurate figures, but perhaps some 5 million people live there, while at least another 2 million refugees from those t...

Politics

20 h. ago Trump’s ambush of South Africa’s president shows how low the US has fallen | Justice Malala

Instead of embarrassing Cyril Ramaphosa, the US president’s ‘gotcha’ moment illuminates the fact-free reality show that is Trump’s AmericaDonald Trump should really try harder.When the US president unexpectedly and dramatically dimmed the lights inside the Oval Office on Wednesday and played a video clip of the alleged burial site of white victims of “genocide”, he meant to embarrass and humiliate his guest, Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa. It was his “gotcha!” moment after four months of relentless social media attacks, executive orders, boycotts, and threats of economic and diplomatic sanctions. Continue reading...

Politics

31 h. ago Trump's original 'first buddy' reveals exact moment White House bromance with Elon Musk went up in flames

Donald Trump 's original political guru revealed the exact moment Elon Musk started to fall out with the president.

Politics

38 h. ago The Guardian view on the US and South Africa: Trump looks to his base and partners look elsewhere | Editorial

The president’s cynical ambush of Cyril Ramaphosa was not about American interests but racial grievancesThe most telling moment of Donald Trump’s meeting with Cyril Ramaphosa was not the cynical screening of footage promoting false claims of “white genocide” in South Africa. It was when a reporter asked the US president what he wanted his counterpart to do about it. Mr Trump replied: “I don’t know.”Leaders enter the Oval Office uneasily, especially since the kicking administered to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The South African president came armed with gratitude, two golf stars, a billionaire and compliments on the decor – and kept a cool head and a straight face as he was ambushed. Mr Ramaphosa later described it as “robust engagement”. But, in truth, it was a clash of two worlds rather than an interaction.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, ...

Politics

42 h. ago Trump 'told Zelensky that Ukraine and Russia will need to reach a peace deal themselves' after his bombshell phone call with Putin in clearest sign yet he is ready to walk away from ceasefire talks

US president Donald Trump has reportedly told Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders they would have to find a solution to the invasion of Ukraine themselves. 

Politics

42 h. ago ‘Every day there is shelling’: Ukrainian border town torn between hope and despair

Mayor of Bilopillya, where nine people were killed in strike on bus, says Russia has shown it does not care about talksEven before the Russian strike on a shuttle bus travelling from his frontline town at the weekend, the mayor of Bilopillya, Yuri Zarko, was very sceptical that Vladimir Putin’s agreement to direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul would lead to peace.The strike, which killed nine people including five over 60, only confirmed his conviction that talks to end the war were going nowhere and Ukraine had a challenging time ahead. Continue reading...

Politics

46 h. ago What would Russia’s peace deal demands really mean for Ukraine? – visualised

Trump on Monday again failed to persuade Putin to accept a ceasefire in Ukraine as a first step toward a peace deal. But what might a deal even look like, and what would it mean for the Ukrainian people?One of the few explicit peace proposals is a US outline reportedly seen by Reuters last month. It asks Ukraine to accept de jure recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and de facto recognition of its occupation of large parts of several oblasts in the country’s east. On Monday, Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Russia is demanding Ukrainian troops abandon five oblasts as a precondition not for peace, but for a ceasefire and the opening of negotiations.Before the war, those oblasts were home to about 11 million Ukrainians. To put that into context, we visualised some broadly comparable populated areas in three European countries and one US state, in each case starting from the north-east corner. The shaded areas represent populations of about 11 million French, British, Italian ...

Economics

57 h. ago Moment Donald Trump's makes brutal remark to reporter in Oval Office and demands he 'get out'

The US President was hosting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office when he was shown a video of white South Africans mourning their loved ones

Politics

61 h. ago Trump’s attempt at Oval Office ‘gotcha’ moment backfired spectacularly

ANALYSIS: Armed with printouts of tabloid news articles and a montage of video clips, Trump launched into a meandering explanation of the current political situation in South Africa to its president Cyril Ramaphosa, Richard Hall writes.

Politics

69 h. ago Russia’s new sanctions explained: Ukraine’s allies target Moscow as peace talks stall

Kyiv’s European allies have slapped new sanctions on Moscow, a day after a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to produce a breakthrough on ending the 3-year-old war in Ukraine

Events

3 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Pope opens Vatican door to peace talks, says Meloni

Zelenskyy says Putin ‘trying to buy time’ after phone call with Trump; EU lays on further sanctions and more coming up. What we know on day 1,183Pope Leo confirmed to Giorgia Meloni his willingness to host in the Vatican the next round of negotiations to try to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Italian prime minister said on Tuesday. “Finding in the Holy Father confirmation of the readiness to host the next talks between the parties in the Vatican, the prime minister expressed deep gratitude to Pope Leo XIV for his unceasing commitment to peace,” said a statement from Meloni. Leo, elected two weeks ago, said on 14 May that the Vatican could act as a mediator in global conflicts, without specifically mentioning Russia’s war against Ukraine.Separately the Italian prime minister said she had talks with other European leaders and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, over next steps. “It was agreed to maintain close coordination between the partners with a view to a ne...

Events

3 d. ago Zelenskyy urges more pressure on Russia after no ceasefire agreed in Trump

Ukrainian president says ‘pressure on Russia will push it toward real peace’Trump and Putin hold phone call but Kremlin refuses ceasefireEU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Tuesday called for the United States to take “strong action” against Russia if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.“America said that if Russia doesn’t agree on an unconditional ceasefire, then there are going to be consequences. So we want to see those consequences, also from the US side,” Kallas said at a meeting of EU ministers in Brussels.Putin is clearly playing for time, unfortunately we have to say Putin is not really interested in peace. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Trump’s calls with Putin are worth nothing – no matter how much the US president enjoys them

Donald Trump claims his two-hour phone call with Vladimir Putin went ‘very well’, but it is the Russian president who calls the shots, writes Sam Kiley, The Independent’s world affairs editor

Politics

4 d. ago 'Humiliated' Trump will let Putin off the hook on Ukraine to get Russia trade deal, says Ben Wallace

The Former Defence Secretary made the prediction after a two-hour phone call between the US president and Russian leader

Politics

4 d. ago Trump makes sensational Pope announcement on Ukraine peace talks after 'excellent' two

President Donald Trump gave an upbeat readout of his Monday call with Vladimir Putin about ending the brutal war in Ukraine - even urging Russia and Ukraine to use the Pope as a mediator.

Politics

4 d. ago Trump and Putin hold phone call but Kremlin refuses Ukraine ceasefire

Trump describes call as ‘excellent,’ despite Putin’s lack of support for ceasefire that US said was primary objectiveTrump says Russia-Ukraine ceasefire discussions to start immediately but Kremlin denies timeline for talks – liveVladimir Putin and Donald Trump have held a rare phone call, which the US leader described as “excellent,” but the Kremlin refused to agree to a ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, despite pressure from Washington and European allies.Speaking to reporters in Sochi after the two-hour conversation on Monday, Putin described the call as “very meaningful and frank,” and said he was prepared to work with Ukraine on drafting a memorandum for future peace talks. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Trump says Russia and Ukraine will 'immediately' begin ceasefire talks after two

Putin made no mention of an immediate ceasefire amid growing pressure from the White House

Politics