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Zelensky and Trump may be doing better, but tough issues lie ahead The consequences of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s contentious White House visit last month appear to have abated. But this week’s negotiations in Saudi Arabia suggest the conversation over how to end the war in Ukraine will only get harder. Russia and Ukraine agreed Tuesday to expand a partial ceasefire to include the Black Sea, a development that followed the resumption of U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing …

U.S. gets Russian and Ukrainian commitment to Black Sea ceasefire Russia and Ukraine agreed Tuesday to expand their initial limited ceasefire on energy infrastructure to include the Black Sea after U.S.-sponsored indirect talks in Saudi Arabia. In separate joint statements from the White House — one between the United States and Russia, another between the U.S. and Ukraine — the two countries agreed to “ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vesse…

Trump, Zelensky speak a day after White House talks with Putin President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a “very good telephone call” on Wednesday, Trump said, a day after the U.S. leader agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a limited ceasefire in Ukraine that would spare energy infrastructure targets in both Ukraine and Russia. The conversation between Trump and Zelensky took place nearly a full day after Trump’s call with Russian President Vladimir Puti…

Trump and Putin agree to partial ceasefire in Ukraine, but plan still needs Kyiv’s approval President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday negotiated a partial ceasefire in the Ukraine war, making a deal in a lengthy call to end strikes on energy and infrastructure after more than three years of battle. The Kremlin said that Putin immediately ordered the military to cease strikes on Ukrainian energy sites. It was not immediately clear if Kyiv would accept the pared-down…

Trump terminates program tracking mass abductions of Ukrainian children The Trump administration has terminated a U.S.-funded initiative that documents alleged Russian war crimes, including a sensitive database detailing the mass deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, according to U.S. officials familiar with the directive and documents obtained by The Washington Post. The move has barred the transmission of evidence to prosecutors pursuing multiple criminal cases, including the Internat…

Russia confirms Trump-Putin call set for Tuesday over next steps in ceasefire talks President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are set to speak in a phone call on Tuesday to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin confirmed Monday, as the United States seeks Moscow’s support for a 30-day ceasefire proposal. Trump first announced the planned call on Sunday, stating there was “a very good chance” of reaching a deal. “We are doing pretty well, I think, with Russia,” he told r…

Kremlin says Putin ‘cautiously optimistic’ on deal, needs to talk to Trump Hours after President Donald Trump’s Russia envoy, Steve Witkoff, flew out of Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov portrayed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position as standing “in solidarity” with Trump, although the Russian leader had cast serious doubt on a U.S. 30-day ceasefire proposal to halt fighting in the Ukraine war. Peskov said Putin spelled out Moscow’s position to Witkoff, who left early Friday, on t…

Russia makes gains against Ukraine in Kursk as Trump envoy arrives in Moscow Ahead of talks with U.S. officials over a proposed 30-day ceasefire in the Ukraine war, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a defiant military message when he made a rare appearance in a camouflage uniform to mark Russian advances against Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region of southern Russia. Ukraine’s seven-month-old occupation of a sliver of Russian territory in the Kursk region may be nearing an end as Gen. Val…

U.S. and Ukraine start peace talks as Moscow and Kyiv trade strikes JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — The United States and Ukraine began talks Tuesday aimed at ending the war in Ukraine as Moscow came under one of its largest bombardments of the conflict from long-range drones. The violence in Russia’s capital came as Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia underscored their openness to U.S.-led negotiations in a bid to repair their relationship with President Donald Trump following his rancorous Oval Offic…

Amid fierce fighting along the front, Ukraine prepares for U.S. talks Ukrainian forces battled to stave off fierce Russian attacks both inside Russia and along Ukraine’s front lines, as the country’s officials prepared Monday for high-stakes talks in Saudi Arabia with an increasingly skeptical ally, the United States. Ukraine hopes the talks, set to begin Tuesday, will restore relations after a bruising week in which President Donald Trump paused the provision of military aid and intelligence …

Ukraine fears Musk may cut vital Starlink internet amid Trump pressure With the pausing of billions of dollars in U.S. military aid and of intelligence sharing with Ukraine, there are fears in the country that billionaire Elon Musk’s vital Starlink internet service could also be cut. Thousands of Starlink terminals are working on Ukraine’s battlefields. They serve as commanders’ eyes and ears, providing access to drone footage in real time and maintaining command and control communications acr…

Spooked by Trump and Putin, Europe rushes to rearm The European Union, an entity that casts itself as a peace and trade project, is in crisis talks Thursday focused on defense. Along with the specter of a belligerent Moscow, President Donald Trump’s sudden redrawing of alliances and withdrawal of aid for Ukraine are driving Europeans to fast-track plans to bolster their militaries, upgrade their arsenals — and, ultimately, to curb their dependence on the United States. “I want to believe the …

U.S. pauses sharing the intelligence Ukraine uses for strikes on Russia The United States has paused major portions of its intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, squeezing the flow of vital information that Kyiv has used to repel invading Russian forces and strike back at select targets inside Russia, according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials. The rupture in intelligence-sharing includes a halt in targeting data that U.S. spy agencies supply to Kyiv so it can launch American-provided weapons and U…

Trump administration to pause future deliveries of military aid to Ukraine President Donald Trump has decided to pause all future deliveries of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine in an extraordinary move aimed at pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into peace talks with Russia, said two U.S. officials familiar with the matter. U.S. military support for Ukraine has been essential to fending off Russia’s invading forces, but what started as a conflict with widespread bipartisan su…

Amid low birth rates, war and emigration, Ukraine’s numbers are dwindling Ukraine is shrinking. The war has killed tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers. At least 5 million more have fled and live outside Ukraine, and a fifth of the country — another 5 million people — are under Russian occupation. And the number of deaths is nearly three times the number of births, according to the justice minister. These missing Ukrainians — the ones who have fled, the dead, the occupied — have left …

North Korea sending more troops to fight for Russia, Seoul says North Korea appears to have sent more troops to support Russia in its war, South Korea’s spy agency said Thursday, but the agency has not yet determined exactly how many extra soldiers have been deployed. The additional troops appear to have been deployed to the fronts in Russia’s Kursk region in the first week of February, after North Korean troops reportedly withdrew from the area at the end of January, the National Intelligence…

Trump administration launches talks with Russia on Ukraine war The Trump administration launched talks with Russia on Tuesday over the war in Ukraine, a turning point in Washington’s handling of Europe’s most destructive conflict in decades and a sign of the U.S. president’s willingness to sideline allies in his determination to impose a swift peace. The talks marked a departure from an earlier U.S. insistence that Ukraine must lead any negotiations. The meeting also is part of an approach tha…

Europeans plan for troops to back Ukraine ceasefire — but want U.S. support As European leaders strategize on sending troops to Ukraine under a ceasefire deal, they are also sounding out the Trump team about what kind of U.S. military support they would get. Washington is seeking answers, too, on the weaponry and forces European countries could commit. Ukraine’s European backers are scrambling for a role in the negotiations to end the conflict from which they have been excluded even as the tal…

Top Russian and U.S. officials to meet in Riyadh over Ukraine war Top U.S. and Russian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia Tuesday to discuss the war in Ukraine, officials said, as Washington and Moscow race to advance President Donald Trump’s bid to broker an end to the conflict and, potentially, conclude a long period of frigid relations. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who will lead Russia’s delegation for talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top American officials, said the …

Europe, sidelined by U.S. and Russia, seeks influence in Ukraine talks As the Trump administration moves toward direct talks with Russian officials over the war in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron has called European leaders to an emergency meeting to discuss how they might influence the talks. Leaders will meet in Paris on Monday as they scramble for a role in negotiations that could determine the future of Ukraine and of Europe’s security landscape — and that are advancing quickly w…