27 m. ago European leaders meet Zelenskyy ahead of Trump’s summit with Putin

European countries rushing to build a common approach with US on how to end war

Politics

3 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

7 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

7 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

7 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

10 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

18 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

19 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

19 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

20 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

21 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

23 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

25 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

26 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

28 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

30 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

42 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

42 h. ago Trump confirms 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

43 h. ago ‘I’m going to Russia on Friday’: 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

45 h. ago 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