EU leaders kicked off a make-or-break summit Thursday on using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, with key player Belgium under pressure to drop its opposition.
President Volodymyr Zelensky will be in Brussels on Thursday to convince European partners to use frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv, despite Washington pressuring EU countries against the plan, a Ukrainian official told AFP.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has cautioned that Russia was preparing to wage a new "year of war" against his country in 2026, after his counterpart Vladimir Putin said Moscow would "certainly" achieve its objectives.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Western claims of an imminent attack by Moscow as “lies and nonsense”, stressing that such deliberate statements are meant to raise the level of hysteria on the continent.
The United States is preparing a further round of sanctions on Russia's energy sector to increase the pressure on Moscow should President Vladimir Putin reject a peace accord with Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
A bipartisan group of four American senators introduced the Decreasing Russia Oil Profits (DROP) Act of 2025, a bill that would impose targeted sanctions on anyone dealing in Russian oil.
The UK’s Chief of the Defense Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, has stressed that the chances of a direct confrontation with Russian forces on UK soil are not “zero” – a speculation dismissed by Moscow as “nonsense.”
The United States has given Ukraine a “take it or leave it” ultimatum, warning that an offer of NATO-style security guarantees could be withdrawn if Kiev does not agree to Washington’s proposed peace terms, according to The Telegraph.
European and UK leaders have called for the deployment of a European-led military force to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, along with US-led “monitoring” teams and the “regeneration” of Kiev’s own army.
Only a third of Ukrainians trust NATO, a new survey showed, signalling a sharp decline in the confidence of the country’s populace in the US-led military bloc.
The United States, Ukraine and major European countries have reached consensus on 90 percent of terms for an accord to end Ukraine’s war, two senior American officials said Monday, but they say questions of territorial control have yet to be resolved.
US President Donald Trump stated he had a “very good conversation” with European leaders and also spoke directly with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in recent days, as part of efforts to get all sides of the Ukraine conflict “on the same page.”
During negotiations in Berlin, the Kiev authorities allegedly agreed to hold elections within 100 days and to refrain from seeking NATO membership under certain conditions, Bild has reported.
Assassination plots, sabotage, cyber-attacks and the manipulation of information by Russia and other hostile states mean that “the frontline is everywhere”, the new head of MI6 warns.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged Europe to strengthen its own defence capabilities in response to US President Donald Trump's shifting security strategy.
The era of ‘Pax Americana’ is over for Europe, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stated, adding that the global economy and political order are undergoing a “tectonic shift” in centers of power worldwide.
The delegations of the United States and Ukraine achieved "a lot of progress" during negotiations in the German capital of Berlin, American Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff has stated.
Ukraine has relinquished its ambition of joining the NATO military alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated ahead of talks with U.S. envoys in Berlin.
EU Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius has warned that Russia could be ready to "test" Europe in a conflict within the next three to four years, stressing the need for the European Union to strengthen its defense capabilities.
Any endeavours by the EU to tap into the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank would be illegal under international law, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has stated.
The administration of US President Donald Trump is willing to offer Kiev NATO-style and Congress-approved security guarantees if it agrees on territorial concessions to Russia, Axios reported on Saturday, citing sources. Ukraine has denied any concessions and has called instead for a ceasefire – a proposal Moscow has dismissed as a ploy to win time and prolong the conflict.
US President Donald Trump is pressuring his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to cede territory to Russia in an effort to end the conflict between Kiev and Moscow, Bild has claimed, citing anonymous sources.
