5 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Multiple injuries as Russia attacks Kyiv with drones and missiles

Explosions heard across capital and fires ignited while Russia and Ukraine begin largest prisoner swap of war. What we know on day 1,186See all our Ukraine war coverage Kyiv came under heavy drone and missile attack by Russian forces overnight into Saturday, triggering fires and injuring at least eight people, the Ukrainian capital’s mayor said. Explosions and machine-gun fire were heard throughout the city and many Kyiv residents took shelter in underground subway stations. Debris fell in at least four districts, said the Kyiv military administration, with six people requiring medical care. Pictures posted online showed smoke billowing from the top of one block of flats and flames leaping from part of another as emergency crews trained water on it.Russia and Ukraine on Friday began a major, complicated exchange of military prisoners of war and civilians, write Peter Beaumont and Pjotr Sauer. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, said the first phase brought home 390 Ukrainians,...

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16 h. ago Ukraine and Russia exchange 800 PoWs in largest prisoner swap of war so far

Russian foreign minister continues to question Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as first phase of ‘1,000 for 1,000’ deal takes placesUkraine and Russia have begun the largest prisoner exchange of the three-year war, with almost 800 captives returned on both sides in a process expected to last several days.Confirming the first phase of the exchange had taken place, the Ukrainian president, Volodmyr Zelenskyy, said Ukraine had returned 390 people to Russia and that the process would continue with further groups on Saturday and Sunday. Continue reading...

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20 h. ago Ukrainian official says major prisoner swap with Russia is underway

A senior Ukrainian officials says an exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine from their more than three-year war is underway

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34 h. ago G7 ministers threaten more sanctions against Russia over Ukraine war

Summit makes little progress on how to respond to Donald Trump’s trade war

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61 h. ago Finland ‘preparing for the worst’ as Russia expands military presence near border

Head of strategy of Finnish defence forces says they are monitoring Moscow’s manoeuvring ‘very closely’Finland has said it expects Russia to further build up troops along their shared border when the war in Ukraine ends, after reports that Moscow had strengthened its military bases near the Nato frontier.Maj Gen Sami Nurmi, the head of strategy of the Finnish defence forces, said the military is following Moscow’s manoeuvring “very closely” and that it was their job, as part of the Nato alliance, to “prepare for the worst”. Continue reading...

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68 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

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3 d. ago Ukraine war has reignited ‘cold war strategies’, says John le Carré’s son

Nick Harkaway sees parallels with postwar period as The Spy Who Came in from the Cold comes to the West End Russia’s war in Ukraine has reignited “cold war strategies”, according to the son of John le Carré, who announced that an adaptation of his father’s classic novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is coming to the West End for the first time.Nick Harkaway, who published Karla’s Choice last year, a sequel to the 1963 thriller, said the current geopolitical situation had echoes of the charged postwar period. Continue reading...

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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...

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3 d. ago Vatican peace talks and a threatened ‘red line’ – what comes after the Trump

Volodymyr Zelensky accuses the Kremlin of trying to ‘buy time’ as Vladimir Putin agrees to work towards a memorandum with Kyiv, but no 30-day ceasefire

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3 d. ago Zelenskyy says Russia ‘trying to buy time to continue war’ – Ukraine war live

Ukrainian president posts on social media after Putin refuses to agree to a ceasefire in phone call with TrumpTrump and Putin hold phone call but Kremlin refuses ceasefireHere’s more of what Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram today.“It is obvious that Russia is trying to buy time to continue the war and occupation,” he said.We have no doubt that the war must end at the negotiating table. There must be clear and realistic proposals on the table. Ukraine is ready for any effective negotiation formats. And if Russia continues to put forward unrealistic conditions and undermine possible results, there must be tough consequences. Continue reading...

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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...

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4 d. ago At least 50 Venezuelans sent to El Salvador prison entered US legally, report finds – US politics live

Libertarian thinktank says ‘dozens of legal immigrants were stripped of their status and imprisoned in El Salvador’At least 50 migrants sent to El Salvador prison entered US legally, report findsJD Vance extended an invitation to Pope Leo XIV to visit the United States during a meeting at the Vatican on Monday ahead of a flurry of US-led diplomatic efforts to make progress on a ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Associated Press reports. Vance gave the first American pope a letter from Donald Trump and the first lady inviting him. The Chicago-born pope took the letter and put it on his desk and was heard saying “at some point”, in the video footage of the meeting provided by Vatican Media. Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, also gave the Augustinian pope a copy of two of St Augustine’s most seminal works, The City of God and On Christian Doctrine, the vice-president’s office said. Another gift: A Chicago Bears T-shirt with Leo’s name on it. “As you can probably imag...

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4 d. ago Senate Democratic leader introduces bill that would ban Trump’s Qatar

In attempt to stop Donald Trump accepting $400m plane from Qatar, Chuck Schumer launches legislation that would ban US from using foreign aircraft as president’s official planeJD Vance extended an invitation to Pope Leo XIV to visit the United States during a meeting at the Vatican on Monday ahead of a flurry of US-led diplomatic efforts to make progress on a ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Associated Press reports. Vance gave the first American pope a letter from Donald Trump and the first lady inviting him. The Chicago-born pope took the letter and put it on his desk and was heard saying “at some point”, in the video footage of the meeting provided by Vatican Media. Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, also gave the Augustinian pope a copy of two of St Augustine’s most seminal works, The City of God and On Christian Doctrine, the vice-president’s office said. Another gift: A Chicago Bears T-shirt with Leo’s name on it. “As you can probably imagine, people in the ...

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.

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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

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4 d. ago Trump says Russia and Ukraine to ‘immediately’ begin talks on ending war

US leader’s comments contrast with more guarded statement from Vladimir Putin

Politics

4 d. ago Trump to speak to Putin and Zelenskyy about Ukraine ceasefire – US politics live

Unclear what US president can achieve after direct talks between Russia and Ukraine ended without conclusionTwo high-profile Catholics, Pope Leo XIV and US vice-president JD Vance, were meeting Monday ahead of a flurry of US-led diplomatic efforts to make progress on a ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine, AP reported.Vance’s motorcade was seen entering Vatican City just after 7.30am Vance, a Catholic convert, had led the US delegation to the formal Mass opening the pontificate of the first American pope. Continue reading...

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5 d. ago Ukraine war latest: Russia launches ‘biggest drone attack since invasion’ ahead of Trump ceasefire call

Trump says ‘hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war ... will end'

Events

5 d. ago Russia fires 273 drones at Ukraine in largest attack since start of war

One killed in Kyiv region in air offensive that follows first direct peace talks between the two sidesThe largest known Russian drone attack since full-scale war began in 2022 killed a woman in the Kyiv region and wounded at least three people, Ukrainian authorities said early on Sunday.The attack comes two days after Ukraine and Russia held their first direct talks since 2022 and a day ahead of a planned phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Ukraine reports largest drone attack from Russia since war began

One person was killed in the Kyiv region, in an attack that came after peace talks between the two sides on FridayThe largest known Russian drone attack since full-scale war began in 2022 killed a woman in the Kyiv region and injured at least three people, Ukrainian authorities said early on Sunday, as Moscow stepped up strikes after peace talks on Friday.Russia launched 273 drones by 8am local time, targeting chiefly the central Kyiv region and the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions in the country’s east, Ukraine’s air force said. Continue reading...

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