Key developments on May 15: * Zelensky sends Ukrainian delegation to Istanbul, as peace talks with Russia are expected on May 16 * Trump expects no progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks until he meets Putin * Pro-Ukraine partisans sabotage railway track near Russia's Smolensk * Ukraine shows its latest 'ship-killer' Magura drone series to
The United States is proposing to revive the NATO-Russia Council as part of a broader American plan to end the war in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on May 15, citing unnamed sources.
"I think there's this weird idea among the mainstream media that if this thing goes on for just another few years, the Russians will collapse, the Ukrainians will take their territory back, and everything will go back to the way that it was before the war. That is not the reality that we live in."
Formally recognizing Crimea as Russian would breach international law and potentially open the door to further global conflicts, experts warn.
The U.S. reportedly presented its peace proposal last week during a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Paris.
Standing beside a sleepy village in Ukraine’s central Kirovohrad Oblast, the Zavalivskiy mine lies beneath layers of brown and pink earth, holding some 7.5 million metric tons of graphite ore — the second largest flake graphite mine in Europe. Like many mining companies in Ukraine, Zavalivskiy Graphite has lost
President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has clarified his comments in an interview with the Times on April 11, where he seemingly suggested that Ukraine could be partitioned into separate zones as part of a peace deal with Russia.
"These are Ukrainian territories ... this is one of the main red lines for us, in any case, this is a temporary occupation of territories," Zelensky said.
"As far as we can see, there is no place in (the U.S. proposals) today for our main demand, namely to solve the problems related to the root causes of this conflict," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov claimed on April 1.
Over 30 countries have expressed willingness to contribute to the coalition's peacekeeping force, Starmer's spokesperson said on March 17.
"The inclusion of China in a 'coalition of the willing' could potentially increase Russia's acceptance of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine," an unnamed EU diplomatic source reportedly told Die Welt.
The RAF could reportedly deploy either Typhoon or U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets to conduct air patrols, given their advanced air-to-air capabilities.
"We know that because it's happened before, and I am absolutely clear in my mind that it will happen again," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at a meeting of military planners from 31 countries.
The potential move comes as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares for a call with Vladimir Putin on March 18, with a proposed 30-day ceasefire on the table.
Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney discussed increasing pressure on Moscow, particularly by imposing additional sanctions against Russia's banking sector and its so-called "shadow fleet" of oil tankers.
"It is not reasonable to demand that, for example, Zaporizhzhia or Kherson be fully handed over — that sounds like a f*** off to us," a high-level Ukrainian official said.
The proposed contingent would include around 10,000 troops, mostly provided by the U.K. and France, U.K. military sources told the Sunday Times. Thirty-five countries would assist with weapons, logistics, and intelligence support.
"I have repeatedly stressed that none of us trust Russia... but we will not play with narratives that we want the war to continue," President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference.
"If it comes to the point where a European presence is needed for a ceasefire or peace agreement to be reached, then Denmark is in principle prepared for that," Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said.
While U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not specify details of a potential agreement, he clarified that mutual concessions would be key to any diplomatic resolution.
The Kremlin insists on organizing the framework of a pottential peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. This includes deciding what countries would take part in a peacekeeping force, a person familiar with the issue told Bloomberg.
"We're looking at putting this plan together in days and not weeks," a senior European diplomat told Reuters.
Ukraine and Europe are working on a plan for the first steps toward a just and sustainable peace as Russia's full-scale invasion enters its fourth year, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 5.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that steps towards a peace deal were "moving along pretty rapidly" and that he expected an agreement to be negotiated "fairly soon," or not at all.
Russian forces have ramped up attacks on Ukraine’s logistic networks in Kursk Oblast, further hampering the Ukrainian effort to hold on to the Russian territory it controls ahead of potential peace talks, analysts and soldiers on the ground told the Kyiv Independent. “The Russians have been on the offensive
Russian President Vladimir Putin still wants to occupy all of Ukraine and thinks he can outlast Ukraine and Europe in its armed aggression, unnamed intelligence officials said.
Such a force could number in the tens of thousands, or even fewer — a number far below President Zelensky's suggestion of 100,000 to 150,000 peacekeepers.
The alleged plan, which reportedly includes a ceasefire, elections in Ukraine, and a final peace agreement, was revealed by Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich on X.
"Today, we are not talking about any peace agreement... A peace deal cannot be signed in Munich because it is Munich. We remember what things were signed here. I do not repeat such things," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Editor's note: The article was updated on Feb. 14 to include the Latvian Foreign Ministry's comments. European nations, particularly Ukraine’s neighbors and the Baltic states, were stunned when the U.S. President Donald Trump suddenly announced the start of peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the
Key developments on Feb. 6: * First French Mirage fighter jets reportedly arrive in Ukraine * Ukraine launches new offensive in Kursk Oblast, Russian media claims, Kyiv yet to confirm * Ukraine strikes Russian drone launch site in Krasnodar Krai, military claims * U.S. won't present plan to end Russia's war at Munich
"There is no official plan yet. What is in certain publications... I am sure that this is not President Trump's official plan," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 6.
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