25 h. ago Bloke caught on CCTV breaking into water park with son claims 'I wanted to give him birthday he wouldn't forget'

The dad was a staff member at the water park in the city of Khabarovsk in Russia - his bosses gave a surprising verdict on his unathorised entrance after viewing the footage

Events

3 d. ago European leaders vow to tighten sanctions on Russia after missile attack on Kyiv kills 23

The attack saw two missiles land just 50 yards from the EU mission in the Ukrainian capital, shattering doors and windows.

Events

4 d. ago Putin ignores international outrage over strikes on UK and EU buildings and launches new deadly barrage on Ukraine

In one of its deadliest onslaughts since the start of the war, Moscow launched 'egregious' attacks on Kyiv on Thursday, including the EU delegation and British Council buildings

Events

1 week ago By sanctioning journalists, the Kremlin admits how much the truth hurts | Rafael Behr

I’ve been accused of ‘anti-Russia narratives’ but Russia has many stories – including resistance against tyrannyThere is a Russian proverb: don’t blame the mirror if your face is crooked. I first came across it as the epigraph to The Government Inspector, Gogol’s 1836 masterpiece satirising corruption and hypocrisy in the provinces of the tsar’s empire.The phrase sprang to mind last week when I learned that a 21st-century government inspector is displeased with things I have written about Vladimir Putin and his imperial war against Ukraine – the land of Gogol’s birth. This I know because my name has been added to the “stop list”, a growing roster of undesirable elements – politicians, journalists, charity workers, consultants – banned from entering the Russian federation.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Trump needs to understand what the war in Ukraine is really about | Kenneth Roth

It’s not about Nato or the Soviet Union. It’s about democracyIt may be difficult for a real-estate mogul like Donald Trump to recognize, but Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is not about slices of war-torn land in eastern Ukraine. It is about Ukraine’s democracy. Putin fears that the Russian people will see that democracy as an enticing alternative to his stultifying autocratic rule. Trump is unlikely to secure a peace deal unless he acts on that reality and changes the cost-benefit analysis behind Putin’s continuing war.Much of the public analysis of the Alaska summit between Trump and Putin, and the Washington collection of European leaders protecting the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, from the temperamental Trump, has been replete with red-herring issues. For example, Putin did not invade Ukraine because of feared Nato expansion. The unanimous consent of all Nato members required to admit Ukraine is nowhere on the horizon, especially since article 5 of the Nato tre...

Politics

1 week ago ‘It would be a terrible loss’: Ukrainian frontline troops sceptical of ceding land

Near Dobropillia new trenches are visible, drone attacks continue and there is no sign of the fighting easingOver dinner on Monday, a simple barbecue of meat and roasted vegetables, the soldiers of Ukraine’s 150th reconnaissance and strike battalion have other things on their mind. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the White House and Donald Trump has just promised to give Ukraine “very good protection”.When this development is passed on to the group around, one of the soldiers pipes up “From who?” and laughs, such is the uncertainty about who the US really supports. But in reality the troops are not following the news closely. After three and half years, the war has its own momentum, technology and schedule. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago ‘Red lines’: Ukraine fears more Russian aggression if it gives up land

Zelenskyy’s anxiety over territorial concessions increases in the face of Putin’s maximalist demands

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on Trump and Zelenskyy: Ukraine deserves better than 'better than we feared' | Editorial

In Washington, European leaders helped steer the US president away from his embrace of Vladimir Putin’s talking points. But for how long?The verdict on Donald Trump’s meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders on Monday depends entirely upon the metric used. The great fear was that this might prove a disaster along the lines of the US president’s dressing down of the Ukrainian leader in February – a scenario so plausible that Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz and other key European leaders dropped everything to dash to the White House themselves in support.Following his red carpet welcome for Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, Mr Trump reportedly backed the idea that Ukraine should hand over the Donbas to achieve a peace deal. Even if one were naive enough to think that the Kremlin would see that as an end to conflict, rather than a staging post for a later offensive, it would not be a “land swap” but a land grab that Ukraine – for go...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump says Ukraine will 'get a lot of land' as Zelensky hails White House peace talks

Trump hints that the US would help to defend Ukraine in the air under a peace agreement with Russia

Politics

2 w. ago Starmer and European allies travel to Washington with Zelensky for crunch talks

The PM and other European leaders will aim to prevent Ukraine from having to concede to Russian land grabs.

Politics

2 w. ago Fears mount in Europe as Donald Trump 'backs Vladimir Putin’s land grab in Ukraine to end war'

The US president urged Volodymyr Zelensky to strike a deal with Russia to end the deadliest conflict since the Second World War

Politics

2 w. ago Vladimir Putin names his to end Ukraine war as Zelensky prepares for Trump talks

Vladimir Putin is hoping to grab as much land as possible from Ukraine ahead of any ceasefire or peace deal with Donald Trump remaining coy over what guarantees he will offer Kyiv

Politics

2 w. ago Donald Trump sparks horror fears for Ukraine as Putin demands land grab to end war

The Prime Minister, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will host the coalition of the willing on Sunday afternoon as Putin set the Donbas as his price for peace

Politics

2 w. ago PM to speak with allies, amid reports Trump mulling Russian land grab in Ukraine

The Prime Minister, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz will host the coalition of the willing on Sunday afternoon.

Politics

2 w. ago Trump reportedly backs Ukrainian land concession in peace plan with Putin – live

Putin in return offered ceasefire across Ukraine and written promise to not attack again, according to senior officialsZelenskyy to meet Trump on Monday after Putin summit briefingAt the Alaska summit, Putin demanded Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk as a condition for ending the war, but offered Trump a freeze along the remaining frontline, two sources with direct knowledge of the talks told the Guardian.Although Luhansk is almost entirely under Russian control, Ukraine still holds key parts of Donetsk, including the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk and heavily fortified positions whose defence has cost tens of thousands of lives. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump drags Zelensky to White House showdown as 'disturbing' details of Putin peace deal leak

President Donald Trump also signaled that he and Vladimir Putin had discussed potential land swaps and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Politics

2 w. ago Trump drags Zelensky to explosive White House showdown as Putin 'land swap' pact leaves Europe reeling

President Donald Trump also signaled that he and Vladimir Putin had discussed potential land swaps and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Politics

2 w. ago Trump and Putin shake hands in Alaska as summit begins – live updates

Putin and Trump land in Alaska to meet about ending war in Ukraine; US president says he wants to see a ceasefire and ‘won’t be happy if it’s not today’What’s at stake at the Trump-Putin Ukraine peace summit?The president has yet to deplane, but is currently greeting Alaska governor Muke Dunleavy and senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, all Republicans, aboard Air Force One, per the White House.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also says that for the expanded bilateral meeting and lunch, Trump, Rubio, and Witkoff will be joined by treasury secretary Scott Bessent, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Three weeks ago, this town was thriving’: Ukrainians flee the front line in Putin’s frantic land grab

Putin’s aggression on the Ukrainian front line has stepped up in the recent weeks, leaving locals with little choice but to flee west. Harry Stourton reports from the eastern town of Dobropillia

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Three weeks ago, this town was thriving’: Ukrainians flee the frontline in Putin’s frantic land grab

Putin’s aggression on the Ukrainian frontline has stepped up in the recent weeks, leaving locals with little choice but to flee west. Harry Stourton reports from the eastern town of Dobropillia

Politics