35 h. ago ‘Every day there is shelling’: Ukrainian border town torn between hope and despair

Mayor of Bilopillya, where nine people were killed in strike on bus, says Russia has shown it does not care about talksEven before the Russian strike on a shuttle bus travelling from his frontline town at the weekend, the mayor of Bilopillya, Yuri Zarko, was very sceptical that Vladimir Putin’s agreement to direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul would lead to peace.The strike, which killed nine people including five over 60, only confirmed his conviction that talks to end the war were going nowhere and Ukraine had a challenging time ahead. Continue reading...

Politics

37 h. ago House passes Trump’s ‘big beautiful’ tax and spending bill after months of wrangling – US politics live

Sweeping legislation will now be sent to the SenateThe Kremlin said on Thursday that a report in the Wall Street Journal which said US president Donald Trump had told European leaders that President Vladimir Putin did not want to end the war in Ukraine contrasted with its own knowledge.The Journal said Trump had briefed European leaders after talking to Putin by phone on Monday and said Putin wanted to keep fighting in Ukraine because he thought he was winning.With a narrow 220-212 majority, House Speaker Mike Johnson could not afford to lose more than a handful of votes from his side.Republicans on the party’s right flank had pushed for deeper spending cuts to lessen the budget impact, but they met resistance from centrists who worried they would fall too heavily on the 71 million low-income Americans enrolled in the Medicaid health program. Continue reading...

Politics

55 h. ago The Guardian view on Russia sanctions: a brittle economy is Putin’s weakness | Editorial

Ukraine’s allies must dial up sanctions to expose the fragility of the Kremlin’s strategy for perpetual warDonald Trump’s pledge to end the war in Ukraine on the first day of his second term as US president was a sign of his unsuitability as a peace broker. A clearer sign was his apparent sympathy with Vladimir Putin. Mr Trump’s tone regarding the Russian president has cooled somewhat on the discovery that the conflict cannot be frozen by White House diktat. There are hints of recognition that the peace process is failing because the Kremlin is cynically playing for time. Sadly, any such insight hasn’t evolved into outrage at the criminal aggression that started the war in the first place.Accounts of a telephone call between the two leaders earlier this week indicate no increase in American pressure on Russia. Mr Trump’s impatience with the whole issue seems likelier to result in him walking away. Mr Putin relishes that prospect.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this ar...

Politics

55 h. ago Putin makes shock unannounced visit to nuclear plant after retaking Kursk

Vladimir Putin made a surprise inspection at a nuclear plant in Kursk, in his first visit to the region since Russian forces claimed they ejected Ukrainian troops from the area last month.

Events

58 h. ago European unity against Putin in peril if Trump moves to ease sanctions

EU’s hopes of US increasing pressure on Kremlin have been dashed, and Hungary could yet make situation worseEuropean leaders – who have promised to impose “massive” new sanctions on Russia after Vladimir Putin’s rejection of a ceasefire in Ukraine – face the prospect of having to introduce their planned expansion of economic restrictions on the Russian war economy without the United States.European hopes that Donald Trump might increase the pressure on the Kremlin were dashed after the US president’s two-hour inconclusive phone call with Putin on Monday. Trump did not follow through on previous threats to introduce “large-scale” sanctions on Russia if there was no ceasefire, but instead extolled the prospect of restarting trade with Moscow. Continue reading...

Politics

61 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

Events

61 h. ago Vladimir Putin's propagandists call for nuclear bomb to be exploded over London

Russian propagandists have threatened to usher in WW3 by calling for a massive nuclear attack to devastate London in order to teach "scoundrels" living in Britain a lesson

Events

65 h. ago Putin visited the Kursk region for the first time since Russia said it expelled Ukrainian forces

Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the Kursk region for the first time since Russia said it expelled Ukrainian forces from the area in April

Politics

3 d. ago Rubio says US will impose new sanctions on Russia if no progress on peace deal

Secretary of state defends Donald Trump’s handling of call with Vladimir Putin

Economics

3 d. ago Rubio says US will impose may sanctions on Russia if no progress on peace deal

Secretary of state defends Donald Trump’s handling of call with Vladimir Putin

Economics

3 d. ago Rubio says US may impose sanctions on Russia if no progress on peace deal

Secretary of state defends Donald Trump’s handling of call with Vladimir Putin

Economics

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

Politics

3 d. ago With little progress after phone calls and talks, Ukraine's allies hit Russia with new sanctions

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

Events

3 d. ago Donald Trump branded 'desperate' after making surprising statement about Russia

Donald Trump has been branded 'desperate' for a Nobel Peace Prize after issuing a surprising statement on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, following a phone call with Vladimir Putin

Politics

3 d. ago Vladimir Putin loses most decorated sniper as he's killed on Ukraine frontline

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to honour one of his soldiers who was considered the 'legend of sniping' - Vitaly Shapovalov, 51, has been buried with full military honours

Events

3 d. ago Vladimir Putin flaunts £1,000 Swiss smart watch as he turns ditches Russia's own brands

Russian President Vladimir Putin has seemingly turned his back on his own decree over buying Russian-made products, having gone and spaffed a lot of cash on a Swiss smart watch

Economics

3 d. ago Vladimir Putin flaunts £1,000 Swiss smart watch as he ditches Russia's own brands

Russian President Vladimir Putin has seemingly turned his back on his own decree over buying Russian-made products, having gone and spaffed a lot of cash on a Swiss smart watch

Economics

3 d. ago UK and Europe target Russia with major sanctions after Putin

Sanctions are aimed at entities supporting Russia’s military machine after call failed to deliver meaningful concessionsWar in Ukraine – live updatesThe UK and Europe have announced major sanctions against Russia as it became clear that Monday’s call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had failed to deliver any meaningful concessions from Moscow.The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accused Russia of “trying to buy time in order to continue its war and occupation”. Continue reading...

Politics

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...

Events

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...

Events