1 hour ago Is Putin playing chicken? Russian leader's name is left off Kremlin's list of officials jetting to Turkey for peace talks with Ukraine

The Kremlin has left despot Vladimir Putin's name off the Russian delegation attending talks with Ukraine in Turkey. 

Politics

2 h. ago Putin will not travel to Istanbul for peace talks with Zelenskyy, Kremlin confirms

Russian leader rejects Ukrainian president’s bold proposal for face-to-face meeting in TurkeyVladimir Putin will not travel to Istanbul for talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Kremlin has said, rejecting the Ukrainian president’s bold proposal for a face-to-face meeting in Turkey to discuss peace.In a statement late on Wednesday, the Kremlin said its delegation would be led by Vladimir Medinsky, a hardline Putin aide who led the only previous round of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in 2022. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Vladimir Putin 'makes decision' on if he'll attend Ukraine peace talks in Turkey

The full list of Russian delegates heading to meet Ukrainian officials in Istanbul has been released - and neither Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov are on it

Politics

4 h. ago Putin mocks West and Ukraine by refusing to confirm if he's attending peace talks

An evasive Vladimir Putin embarked on a bizarre monologue about the history of tsarist Russia as speculation mounted over whether he will meet Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul for crunch talks

Politics

8 h. ago Will anyone show up to Turkey peace talks? What Trump, Zelensky and Putin have said

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky says he will be waiting for Vladimir Putin in Turkey, but insists that he will not talk to lower-level Russian officials

Politics

8 h. ago Vladimir Putin is a 'dead man walking' and 'won't meet Zelensky over assassination fears'

The Russian despot has tightened his security and rarely leaves his Kremlin security bubble out of fear of a Ukrainian kill squad, anti-Kremlin plotters or killers from within his inner-circle

Politics

10 h. ago Ukraine 'catches soldiers like stray dogs' but Russians use 'free will', says Putin

Vladimir Putin's continued insistence on living in a Kremlin-created fantasy land was evident once again after he made bizarre claims regarding conscription and sanctions

Politics

11 h. ago Starmer says Tories are ‘dead party walking’ as Badenoch dismisses trade deals

The Opposition leader said agreements with Narendra Modi and Donald Trump’s governments are ‘tiny tariff’ deals.

Economics

13 h. ago Putin blasts West’s ‘moron’ leaders for hitting Russia with sanctions

Vladimir Putin blasted the West’s “moron” leaders for threatening Russia with new sanctions if he refuses to meet Volodymyr Zelensky for ceasefire negotiations on Thursday.

Politics

15 h. ago Ukraine war timeline: Key moments after Russian invasion that leads up to Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky has challenged Vladimir Putin to meet him in Istanbul, Turkey, this week in a bid to bring the conflict in Ukraine to an end - though it is not clear if the Russian leader will attend

Events

19 h. ago The good news from Kyiv: with or without a ceasefire, Ukraine has a newfound confidence | Nathalie Tocci

Its European allies must commit to the long-haul – but they, as much as Zelenskyy, will reap the rewardsMy train rolled into Kyiv last week as Russian ballistic missiles and drones hit the city, killing a mother and her son. I had last been in Ukraine just over a year earlier. Back then, in April 2024, the mood was dark. Frustrated by delays in western military aid, people had a palpable fear of escalating Russian territorial gains, perhaps even a collapse of Ukraine’s frontline. Today, the international context is even more fraught. The Biden administration was frustratingly slow and scared, but few doubted that the US wanted to prevent Russia from prevailing. The same cannot be said of Donald Trump, whose ideological affinity with Vladimir Putin has thrown Europe, starting with Ukraine, off balance.But despite the Trump administration’s betrayals, I found the mood in Kyiv more confident than a year previously. After more than three years of war, Ukrainians are tired, but they are ...

Events

27 h. ago JD Vance’s ‘British Sherpa’ claims UK has more free speech offences than Putin’s Russia

A Cambridge University professor whom JD Vance described as his "British Sherpa" has claimed that "more people have got into trouble in the UK for free speech offences" than in Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Politics

28 h. ago Trump must realise Putin is obstacle to peace, Zelenskyy says

Ukrainian president says he will travel to Turkey on Thursday whether or not Russian leader flies in for talksVolodymyr Zelenskyy has said he hopes the current period of frantic diplomacy and high-stakes gambits between Russia and Ukraine will end with Donald Trump understanding that Vladimir Putin is the real obstacle to a peace deal.“Trump needs to believe that Putin actually lies. And we should do our part. Sensibly approach this issue, to show that it’s not us that is slowing down the process,” said Zelenskyy, speaking to a small group of journalists, including the Guardian, in his office at the presidential administration in Kyiv. Continue reading...

Politics

32 h. ago European economist says Russia's economy is strained due to the Ukraine war and sanctions

A leading economist has been telling EU finance ministers that Russia’s economy is under growing strain as its invasion of Ukraine drags on

Events

34 h. ago Putin ‘prevaricating and obfuscating’ in Ukraine peace talks, Lammy warns

The Foreign Secretary was asked by Tory MP James Cleverly if President Donald Trump is committed to defending territorial integrity.

Events

37 h. ago Putin will never apologise for Malaysian Airlines MH17 plane crash disaster for two key reasons

Vladimir Putin abandoned a cooperative strategy with global leaders, instead viewing a more conflict-based mindset as being more advantageous to him and his wider goals for Russia

Events

38 h. ago Russia launches smallest nighttime attack on Ukraine in months in run

Russia launched 10 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine in nighttime attacks, the Ukrainian air force said Tuesday

Events

49 h. ago Vladimir Putin's troops amassing on another European border in chilling echo of Ukraine

A surge in Russian military activity near the Finnish border has been detected, with Moscow rapidly expanding its military footprint in northwestern Russia

Politics

53 h. ago Vladimir Putin issued peace talks warning as European foreign leaders meet in London

Ukraine's allies on Monday joined together to pile pressure on Russian President Putin, calling on him to show "without delay” he is willing to broker peace in Ukraine

Events

55 h. ago Vladimir Putin's UK 'honeytrap' spy ring members learn fate after passing information to Russia

Six Bulgarians have been jailed after being convicted of spying for Russia, with ringleader Orlin Roussev running the operations from a rundown guesthouse on the east coast of England

Politics