5 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: With no Miami breakthrough, Zelenskyy turns to European allies

Positive tone after Florida talks with Ukrainian president heading to London Street to see Starmer, Macron and Merz. What we know on day 1,383Three days of talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami, Florida produced no evident breakthrough by the end of Saturday. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he joined his negotiators for a “very substantive and constructive” call with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. “Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram, adding that the parties agreed on the next steps and a format for talks.Zelenskyy will next turn to European allies when he visits London on Monday for an in-person meeting with leaders Keir Starmer of Britain, Emmanuel Macron of France and Friedrich Merz of Germany. Macron said the group would “take stock” of peace negotiations. The four leaders took part in a virtual meeting of the “coalition of the willing” about two w...

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6 d. 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...

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9 d. 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 Ukraine war briefing: defeating Russia an ‘illusion’, says Putin, as he welcomes Trump deal

Russia’s president says US-led plan ‘could form the basis of a final peace settlement’, bolstering concerns in Europe about one-sided nature of US-brokered deal. What we know on day 1,368See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverageVladimir Putin says Ukraine is being unrealistic if it does not accept the US plan to end the war, declaring: “Ukraine is against it. Apparently, Ukraine and its European allies are still under illusions and dream of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield”. The positive response from the Russian president adds weight to the views of European and Ukrainian officials that the deal amounts to a “capitulation”. Addressing Russia’s national security council, Putin called the 28-point plan “a new version” and “a modernised plan” of what was discussed with the US ahead of his Alaska summit with Donald Trump in August, and said Moscow has received it. Putin said the plan “could form the basis of a final peace settlement”.Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reac...

Politics

3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv seeks $44bn from Russia for climate

The move marks the first time a country is claiming damages for such an increase in emissions. What we know on day 1,365See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverageUkraine plans to seek nearly $44bn from Russia for the damage linked to an increase in climate-warming emissions from the ongoing war, a government minister told Reuters. The move marks the first time a country is claiming damages for such an increase in emissions, including from the fossil fuels, cement and steel used in fighting the war, and from the destruction of trees through resultant fires. “A lot of damage was caused to water, to land, to forests,” said Pavlo Kartashov, the country’s deputy minister for economy, environment, and agriculture. “We have huge amounts of additional CO2 emissions and greenhouse gases,” Kartashov said in an interview on the sidelines of the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil.Russian drones struck an apartment building in Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, triggering a fire, injuring five peo...

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3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv to buy 100 Rafale warplanes, drones and air defence systems from France

Zelenskyy hails ‘a historic deal’; families of Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia on Monday sounded the alarm about their fate. What we know on day 1,364See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverageUkraine on Monday signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale warplanes, drones, air defence systems and other key equipment from France over the next 10 years, as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s long-term security. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who signed the document with French president Emmanuel Macron, called it “a historic deal” at a joint news conference at the Elysée presidential palace. The letter is a preliminary commitment of Ukraine stating its interest in buying a series of French defence equipment.Several families of Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia on Monday sounded the alarm about their fate, saying all contact had been cut off, as they called for international support. During a rare news conference in Paris, Darina Repina, ...

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3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Greece signs deal to supply gas to Kyiv over ‘difficult’ winter

Agreement comes as Volodymyr Zelenskyy starts European tour aimed at shoring up Ukrainian energy supply and defences. What we know on day 1,363See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverageGreece has signed a deal with Ukraine to supply US-origin liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the country amid the crippling of its energy infrastructure from Russian strikes. Sunday’s agreement came as Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Athens at the start of a European tour aimed at shoring up Ukraine’s defences and energy supply ahead of winter. The deal – to run from December until March 2026 – “marks an essential step in strengthening regional energy cooperation and European energy security”, said a joint statement from the Ukrainian president and the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after they met. The deal would make it possible to “support Ukraine in the midst of a difficult winter”, they said. The deal came as Ukrainian energy infrastructure was damaged by Russian drone strikes overnight into Sund...

Economics

3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Drones hit Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery

Russian attacks kill four on Saturday; Serbian government faces deadline to oust Russian owners from state oil company. What we know on day 1,362 Ukraine’s army said on Saturday it struck a Russian oil refinery in the Ryazan region near Moscow, as “part of efforts to reduce the enemy’s ability to launch missile and bomb strikes”. Explosions and a large fire were observed at the site, said the military. Ryazan is located about 200km (125 miles) south-east of Moscow.Russian officials often do not admit such attacks have succeeded, and the Ryazan governor, Pavel Malkov, adopted the standard line that Ukrainian drones were shot down but debris happened to hit the target. “Falling debris caused a fire on the premises of one enterprise,” Malkov said. A wave of 25 Ukrainian drones attacked the region, Malkov said.Officials in southern Ukraine said four people were killed by Russian attacks on Saturday. Prosecutors in the Kherson region said “three civilians are known to have been killed” i...

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3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: mass production of Ukrainian ‘Octopus’ interceptor drones begins

Defence ministry says locally developed technology tested in combat and shown to work against Russia’s deadly Shaheds. What we know on day 1,361See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverageUkraine says it has started mass production of its new domestically developed interceptor drones to strengthen air defences. The first three manufacturers had begun production and 11 more were preparing to set up production lines, the defence ministry said on Friday. The drones would be based on a domestically developed technology called “Octopus” to intercept Shahed drones. It had been tested in combat and proved to be working “at night, under jamming and at low altitudes”, the ministry said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the goal is to manufacture up to 1,000 of the interceptors a day. Russia has been steadily increasing the number of drones it uses in a single strike on Ukraine.Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described Russia’s latest attack against Ukraine as “deliberate, calculated and wicked” aft...

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4 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Flamingo flies into battle, Zelenskyy defers to commanders over Pokrovsk

President suggests leaders on the ground will decide whether holding city is costing too many lives; Kyiv apartments hit in ‘massive’ attack. What we know on day 1,360 Continue reading...

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4 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Fire sale of Lukoil assets before start of US sanctions on Russia

Foreign properties may be nationalised if Lukoil doesn’t sell, or the proceeds frozen if it does; Zelenskyy grapples with corruption scandal fallout. What we know on day 1,359The foreign oil refineries and other assets of Russian company Lukoil are attracting potential buyers as time runs out to strike cheap deals before US sanctions come into force on 21 November. The sanctions, put in place in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine, have already disrupted Lukoil’s operations in Iraq, at pump stations in Finland and a refinery in Bulgaria. Kazakhstan’s state firm KazMunayGas is studying a bid for Lukoil’s assets in the country, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Shell is interested in Lukoil deepwater assets in Ghana and Nigeria, two other sources said. Shell declined to comment to Reuters.The government of Moldova has started talks to nationalise Lukoil’s infrastructure at Chisinau airport, said the airport’s director, Serdgiu Spoiala. Bulgaria is working towards seiz...

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last month Ukraine war briefing: Top banker’s straight talk to Putin over troubled economy

Sberbank head German Gref gives unusually frank assessment; Zaporizhzhia situation has ‘significantly worsened’, says Syrskyi. What we know on day 1,358 Continue reading...

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