3 d. ago European leaders gather in Berlin as US pushes to end Ukraine conflict

Zelenskyy to meet British, French and German leaders, with Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, also invitedEurope live – latest updatesEuropean leaders including Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron will meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday in a show of support hosted by the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, as the US pushes for a swift end to the war in Ukraine.The British prime minister, French president and the heads of Nato and the EU, who have criticised previous US proposals to end the Russian invasion as too favourable to Moscow, are set to convene with Zelenskyy on Monday evening at Merz’s offices in central Berlin. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Ukraine willing to drop ambitions to join Nato, Zelenskyy says

The move marks a major shift for Ukraine, which has fought to join Nato as a safeguard against Russian attacksVolodymyr Zelenskyy has offered to drop Ukraine’s aspirations to join the Nato military alliance, as he held five hours of talks with US envoys in Berlin on Sunday to end the war with Russia.Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said “a lot of progress was made” as he and the US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met Zelenskyy in the latest push to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since the second world war – though full details were not divulged. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Ukraine war briefing: Progress depends on Russia taking peace talks seriously, say Washington and Kyiv

US and Ukraine to hold third day of discussions in Florida as Emmanuel Macron says there is ‘no mistrust’ between Europe and White House. What we know on day 1,382See all our Ukraine war coverageUkrainian and US officials will hold a third straight day of talks in Miami on Saturday, with Washington saying the two sides agree that “real progress” would depend on Russia’s willingness to end the war. Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have been meeting top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and Andrii Hnatov, the chief of staff of Kyiv’s armed forces. “Both parties agreed that real progress toward any agreement depends on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace, including steps toward de-escalation and cessation of killings,” said a summary of the talks.The US and Ukrainian officials “also agreed on the framework of security arrangements and discussed necessary deterrence capabilities to sustain a lasting pea...

Events

2 w. ago Putin crushes hopes for a peace deal once more as UK eyes unlocking £8BILLION of frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine

Speaking publicly for the first time about his talks with Donald Trump 's peace envoy Steve Witkoff, the Russian president held a hard line.

Economics

2 w. ago Europe is holding the line against Trump’s and Putin’s plans for Ukraine. But it won’t be able to for ever | Martin Kettle

In the 21st-century imbalance of power, Europe and Nato have neither the arms nor the wealth to impel Russia or the US to take its peace settlement seriouslyThe failure of this week’s peace talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff fits into a now well-established pattern of standoffs on Ukraine during Trump’s second term. But the dynamic that produced these talks may be becoming more entrenched. The US and Russian interests driving the process have not changed, while the conflict on the ground is intensifying. The lack of progress this week means there will be another attempt to end the war soon, and perhaps another after that, until, one day, there is some kind of US-backed deal to halt the conflict on terms broadly favouring Russia.The geopolitical algorithm driving this effort is too consistent to ignore. It has been repeated ever since Trump re-entered the White House in January. On the campaign trail, Trump had claimed he could stop the war in a day. ...

Politics

2 w. ago Ukraine accuses Putin of 'wasting the world's time' after Russian and US officials fail to reach make progress on peace deal

The White House expressed confidence a breakthrough could be achieved, despite peace envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law emerging empty-handed on Tuesday.

Politics

2 w. ago Putin doesn’t want peace –and Trump’s baffling error has made it easy for him

All hopes were on Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff trip to Moscow, but a breakthrough in peace talks was never going to happen with a man who has repeatedly taken Russia’s side, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley

Politics

2 w. ago Russia ‘ready’ for war if Europe starts it, Putin says, as US peace talks end without progress

Kremlin aide says Ukraine crisis is no closer to resolution after Witkoff talks, as Russian president accuses European powers of sabotaging peace Russia and the US did not make progress toward a peace deal for Ukraine during their talks, a senior aide to Vladimir Putin has said, hours after the Russian president issued threats that Russia was ready for war with Europe.In remarks to Russian media, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that after a five-hour meeting with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the two sides were “neither further nor closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine. There is a lot of work to be done.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Peace push fizzles as Witkoff leaves Moscow with no sign of deal

Zelenskyy says ready to meet Trump and that Russia is hoping US loses interest; Briton held in Ukraine on Russian spy allegations. What we know on day 1,379See all our Ukraine war coverageSteve Witkoff was reported to have flown out of Moscow on Tuesday night after Kremlin aides said no progress was made towards ending the Ukraine war. It came after two weeks of diplomatic chaos and haggling beginning with the Russian leaking of a 28-point wishlist that Moscow had discussed with the US, followed by frenzied efforts involving Ukraine and Europe to produce a counter-proposal more acceptable to Kyiv.Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that after their five-hour meeting the two sides were “neither further nor closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine. There is a lot of work to be done.” On Tuesday, a video feed showed Vladimir Putin asking Witkoff, Donald Trump’s envoy, about a short tour of Moscow he had taken before the meeting, with Witkoff calling it a “magnificent city”. The feed then c...

Economics

2 w. ago Russia says talks with US on Ukraine ‘useful’ but no deal reached

Vladimir Putin holds meeting with Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow

Economics

2 w. ago Talks between Russia and US on Ukraine were useful but work remains, says Putin aide

Russian president holds meeting with Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow

Politics

2 w. ago Russia ‘ready’ for war with Europe, Putin says, as US peace talks end without progress

Kremlin aide says Ukraine crisis is no closer to resolution after Witkoff talks, as Russian president accuses European powers of sabotaging peace Russia and the US did not make progress toward a peace deal for Ukraine during their talks, a senior aide to Vladimir Putin has said, hours after the Russian president issued threats that Russia was ready for war with Europe.In remarks to Russian media, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that after a five-hour meeting with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the two sides were “neither further nor closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine. There is a lot of work to be done.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Russia ‘ready’ for war with Europe, Putin says as peace talks with US begin

Russian president accuses European powers of preventing peace in Ukraine as he meets with Witkoff and KushnerRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesVladimir Putin has accused European powers of preventing peace in Ukraine and threatened that Russia was ready for war as Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, arrived for talks at the Kremlin on Tuesday evening.Moments before the closed-door meeting with Witkoff and Kushner, Putin made a series of hard-edged remarks. Speaking to reporters, he accused European governments of sabotaging the peace process and said that “European demands” on ending the war in Ukraine were “not acceptable to Russia”. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Vladimir Putin issues terrifying WW3 threat after latest Ukraine peace plan hurdle

Russian President Vladimir Putin issues terrible 'war against Europe' warning ahead of his latest peace summit with US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff - as new missile figures emerge

Events

2 w. ago Watch live: Putin meets Trump envoy for crunch Ukraine talks

Watch live as Vladimir Putin meets Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff for talks in Moscow on Tuesday, 2 December.

Politics

2 w. ago Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner head to Moscow for Putin showdown with Ukraine offer that could redraw Europe

Ukrainian officials have discussed what they are willing to concede to end Russia 's invasion after hours-long negotiations with top US diplomats who will soon deliver the demands to Moscow.

Politics

2 w. ago Ukraine war live: Trump envoy Steve Witkoff set to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow amid US push for peace deal

Talks come after Witkoff led US discussions with Ukraine at weekend amid European concerns that Kyiv will be pressured to make concessions to MoscowUS-Russia talks may pile pressure on Kyiv to make concessions, says EU foreign policy chief See all our Ukraine war coverageThe Kremlin has said Vladimir Putin will meet Steve Witkoff for their talks on Tuesday afternoon. It’s now approaching 9.10am local time in Moscow.Their meeting would take “in the second half of the day”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, while refusing to be drawn on Russia’s red lines, saying megaphone diplomacy was not helpful.Russian military commanders told Putin in comments reported on Monday that Russian forces had captured the frontline Ukrainian towns of Pokrovsk – a key logistics hub – and Vovchansk and were advancing elsewhere, which the Russian president hailed as successes to enable further gains. Ukrainian officials have made no acknowledgement that either place has fallen into Russian hands. Co...

Politics

2 w. ago Ukrainian and US officials meet in Florida to discuss proposals to end Russia’s war

Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner meet Kyiv delegation, after another weekend of deadly Russian attacks in UkraineUkrainian negotiators are meeting with US officials in Florida to thrash out details of Washington’s proposed framework to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, as Kyiv faces pressure on military and political fronts.The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, are sitting down with a Ukrainian delegation on Sunday before planned US talks this week in Moscow with Vladimir Putin.Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Ukrainian and US officials to meet in Florida to discuss proposals to end Russia’s war

Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner expected to meet Kyiv delegation, after another weekend of deadly Russian attacks in UkraineUkrainian negotiators are preparing to meet US officials in Florida to thrash out details of Washington’s proposed framework to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, as Kyiv faces pressure on military and political fronts.The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, are expected to sit down with a Ukrainian delegation on Sunday before planned US talks this week in Moscow with Vladimir Putin. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump slams door on Zelensky's Tomahawk missile dream... as leaked Moscow call triggers Republican fears

A bombshell leaked call between President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and top Russian officials has blown open a dramatic shift in Trump's Ukraine strategy.

Politics