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As the Russia-Ukraine conflict enters its fourth year, its ripple effects continue to shape global geopolitics, economies, and everyday lives. Let's examine the evolving dynamics of the conflict, the diplomatic efforts for peace, and the shifting sentiments on the ground and look at the current situation as well as the shifting US stance and EU commitments that may affect the conflict's outcome.
The United States announced agreements on Tuesday with Ukraine and Russia to ensure safe passage in the Black Sea and ban military attacks by the two countries on energy facilities.
The United States and Russia held talks on Monday aimed at producing a 30-day limited cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine — focused on stemming attacks on energy infrastructure — but the two countries in the conflict accused the other of continuing military attacks.
Negotiators from the United States and Russia sat down on Monday for talks in Saudi Arabia on a partial ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict, hours after a round of negotiations between US and Ukrainian delegations, Russian news reports said.
The state Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies confirmed that negotiations had begun in the capital Riyadh. The meeting is expected to be followed by another contact between US and Ukrainian teams.
US and Russian delegations will meet in Saudi Arabia on Monday to discuss a potential 30-day cease-fire in the Ukraine-Russia war.
US President Donald Trump, in a call on Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, suggested that the United States could take control of Ukraine's power plants to ensure their security, in their discussion about a limited cease-fire between Kiev and Moscow.
Trump told Zelensky that the US could be "very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise", according to a White House statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz.
MOSCOW - The Russian military operation to retake the Kursk region from Ukrainian armed forces entered its final stage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday proposed establishing a security zone along Russia's state border and demanded the complete expulsion of enemy forces from the Kursk region during a visit to a military command center overseeing operations in the area.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning expressed hope on Wednesday that all parties involved in the Ukraine crisis would find a sustainable and lasting peace solution that addresses each party's concerns through dialogue and negotiations.
Mao made the remarks after Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia after talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
High-level delegations from Ukraine and the United States held talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, with Kyiv ready to sign a key minerals deal with the Donald Trump administration and poised to propose a partial cease-fire with Moscow — in an effort to mend ties and restore support from Washington.
KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said overnight Tuesday that he discussed steps toward peace in Ukraine with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
MOSCOW - Russia's air defense systems shot down 337 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday on its Telegram channel.
MOSCOW - Four people were killed in a Ukrainian shelling attack on a shopping center in the village of Belaya in Russia's Kursk Oblast, the region's acting governor said Monday.
"The death toll from the shelling of a shopping center in the Belovsky district has risen to four. Two women (born in 1959 and 1988), a 39-year-old man and an 18-year-old boy were killed," Khinshtein said on the messaging app Telegram.
WASHINGTON — The US side is planning to use Tuesday's meeting with a Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia in part to determine whether Ukraine is willing to make material concessions to Russia to end the conflict, according to two US officials.
KYIV — Russia said on Saturday its troops had retaken three villages seized by Ukraine in its Kursk border region, in a fresh setback for Kyiv ahead of talks to try to end the conflict.
A White House meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday — which was expected to produce an agreement over rare earth minerals as a condition for ending Ukraine's three-year military conflict with Russia — turned dramatically contentious with no deal reached as video of the clash reverberated around the globe.
US President Donald Trump confirmed that his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky would visit Washington on Friday to sign an agreement on rare earth minerals, while the latter said the success of the deal would hinge on the talks that take place and continued US aid.
ISTANBUL -- A Russian delegation arrived at the premises of the US Consulate General in Istanbul on Thursday for talks on bilateral issues, the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Anadolu broadcast live from the premises on the European side of the city, showing a vehicle carrying the Russian delegation arriving at around 9:45 am local time (0645 GMT).
KYIV - Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced Wednesday that his government adopted a set of measures needed for signing the minerals partnership agreement with the United States, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.
"Today the government is making decisions necessary for signing an agreement between Ukraine and the United States," Shmyhal said.
