3 h. ago As Ukraine battles to hold lines, Trump may find Putin difficult to persuade

Despite huge numbers of casualties, Russian leader believes he is slowly winning war – so he can afford to string talks outFor Ukraine, the break in the frontline is unfortunately timed. Lightly armed Russian saboteur groups – three on one count – cut though Ukrainian positions in the Donbas countryside east of the key junction at Dobropillia. Though one group has been eliminated, as of Tuesday two were thought to remain at large – and although their numbers are small for now, perhaps 20 to 30, the breach is significant.At the beginning of the year it was safe to visit Dobropillia, which had become a bustling market centre busy with soldiers and locals, nearly 15 miles north of the frontline in Pokrovsk. But since then the town, where once busy supply roads from Pokrovsk to Kramatorsk split, has come under sustained attack with glide bombs, while FPV (first person view) drones strike targets on the move. Continue reading...

Politics

7 h. ago Ignore the vitriol from the Left, the truth is that this week Trump CAN become the world's Peacemaker

Trump alone has the power to drag Russia's Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and has the diplomatic leverage necessary to force an end to the war in Ukraine.

Politics

11 h. ago Donald Trump issues Putin 'VERY severe consequences' warning if Ukraine war doesn't end

Donald Trump has issued a grave warning to Vladimir Putin after previously stating he would sting Russia with new sanctions if he failed to make a Ukraine deal

Events

13 h. ago Donald Trump warns Putin there will be 'VERY severe consequences' if Russia does not stop the war in Ukraine

The US President took a tougher tone against the dictator yesterday saying he was yet to be convinced he would be able to persuade Putin to stop killing civilians.

Events

14 h. ago Trump threatens ‘very severe consequences’ if Putin refuses to end Ukraine war

US president allays European concerns with focus on ceasefire as Alaska talks near

Politics

14 h. ago Putin to face ‘very severe consequences’ if he does not agree Ukraine ceasefire, says Trump

US president also suggests he would push for second summit if his meeting with Putin goes well alongside Vlodymyr ZelesnkyyVladimir Putin will face “very severe consequences” if he does not agree a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine at his summit with Donald Trump in Alaska, the US president said on Wednesday.Speaking after a call with Vlodymyr Zelesnkyy and other European leaders, including Britain’s Keir Starmer, Trump also suggested he would push for a second summit if his meeting with Putin goes well – this time including his Ukrainian counterpart. Continue reading...

Politics

14 h. ago Putin faces ‘very severe consequences’ if no Ukraine truce agreed, Trump says

US president also says he would push for three-way summit with Volodymyr Zelenskyy if Alaska meeting goes wellVladimir Putin will face “very severe consequences” if he does not agree a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine at his summit with Donald Trump in Alaska, the US president said on Wednesday.Speaking after a call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders, including Britain’s Keir Starmer, Trump also suggested he would push for a second summit if his meeting with Putin goes well – this time including his Ukrainian counterpart. Continue reading...

Politics

15 h. ago Mirror Daily Digest: Our top stories from Ukraine ceasefire 'viable' to inside 'cruel' Beckham feud

In this Wednesday's Mirror Daily Digest, we've pulled together the biggest stories of the day from Starmer's Ukraine war claims to the latest Beckham feud information

Events

23 h. ago Trump alone in a room with Putin is a recipe for disaster – just look to their last meeting

The two plan to meet behind closed doors Friday in Alaska to discuss ‘land swapping’. What will happen this time?The lessons of Helsinki are clear: putting Donald Trump alone in a room with Vladimir Putin is an unpredictable – and often dangerous – affair.It was 2018 when the two leaders met at the invitation of Sauli Niinistö, the Finnish president, to discuss a collapse in US-Russia relations, accusations of elections interference, and the grinding war in east Ukraine, among other topics. Continue reading...

Politics

27 h. ago ‘It’s a robot war’: eastern Ukraine faces onslaught of Russian glide bombs, rockets and kamikaze drones

Putin has escalated strikes on Donetsk region and is likely to demand Ukraine hands it over in talks with TrumpNataliya Petrovna pointed to a crater on the edge of a football field. Around it lay bits of twisted metal. From nearby came loud banging as residents fixed plywood to their damaged five-storey apartment block. Many of its windows were broken. “The last few days have been terrible. We could hear the drones buzzing over us. The one that exploded near the school opposite was a Russian Shahed. Maybe some kind of new type,” she said.Petrovna lives in the eastern garrison city of Kramatorsk, in Donetsk province, about 15 miles from the frontline. The distance is just beyond the range of Russian first-person view (FPV) drones, at least for now. But it is easily reachable by other kinds of enemy objects. They include air-dropped glide bombs, Grad rockets and unmanned kamikaze drones – now cruising Ukraine’s skies in overwhelming numbers. Continue reading...

Events

38 h. ago Ukraine will not cede land that could be Russian springboard for new war, Zelenskyy says

Ukrainian leader sees no sign of Russia preparing for ceasefire after reports of frontline breach in DonbasVolodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine could not agree to a Russian proposal to give up more of his country’s territory in exchange for a ceasefire because Moscow would use what it gained as a springboard to start a future war.The Ukrainian president said he did not believe that Donald Trump supported Russia’s demands, and he expressed hope the US leader would act as an honest mediator when he meets Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Continue reading...

Events

39 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

41 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

41 h. ago ‘We wondered if it was ethical to adapt it’: can poetry about deaf resistance wow theatre audiences?

Deaf Republic, a collection of war poems written by the Ukrainian American Ilya Kaminsky, have caused a sensation. Now they have been turned into an extraordinary playIn Vasenka, a fictional town under military occupation, a deaf boy is shot by soldiers and the town’s inhabitants become deaf in response. The opening of Deaf Republic – the remarkable second collection by the Ukrainian-American poet and translator Ilya Kaminsky – sets in train a narrative of resistance through silence, as “deafness, an insurgency, begins” and the soldiers start executing the citizens of Vasenka, who refuse to hear their orders.Since its publication in 2019, Deaf Republic has won multiple awards and been critically lauded for what Andrew Motion has described as “a folk drama that feels archetypal, yet is deeply revealing of our here and now”. That quality of being current, urgent in its commentary on war yet as timeless as a fable, appealed to Bush Moukarzel and Ben Kidd, co-directors of theatre compan...

Events

43 h. ago North Koreans ‘worked like slaves’ to make up for Russian losses in Ukraine – report

Defectors describe 18-hour shifts, violence from managers and round-the-clock surveillance as Moscow bypasses UN ban to bring in labourers

Economics

45 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

46 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

49 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

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

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

Politics

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

US president gives details on Alaska meeting and expresses frustration with Zelenskyy’s insistence on referendum on any peace dealDonald Trump has confirmed that he and Vladimir Putin will discuss “land swapping” when they meet on Friday in Alaska for a high-stakes summit on the Ukraine war.But the US president expressed frustration with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader, for putting conditions on such a potential agreement. Continue reading...

Politics