Russia

NBC News reports: Russia’s top diplomat said Friday that no meeting is planned between President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, casting new doubt on President Donald Trump’s push for a summit to end the war. “Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda is ready for a summit, and this agenda is not ready at all,” Foreign …

The Telegraph reports: Russia struck an American business with cruise missiles overnight in one of the largest aerial attacks of the war so far, Ukraine has said. The Ukrainian air force said some 574 drones and 40 missiles were fired overnight, primarily targeting western regions of the country – far from the battlefield’s front line in the east and south …

The Moscow Times reports: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin was open to meeting Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, but stressed that preparations for high-level summits take time, even as European leaders indicated the talks are expected to take place within the next two weeks. “We’re not refusing any kind of work format, neither bilateral nor …

NBC News reports: “When I look at the situation and the facts, I don’t see President Putin very willing to get peace now,” French President Emmanuel Macron told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in an exclusive interview Monday after a high-stakes White House meeting. “But perhaps I’m too pessimistic.” If there is no progress in the bilateral …

The Daily Beast reports: Russian forces were spotted mocking Trump’s capitulation to Vladimir Putin during their peace summit by attaching American flags to their vehicles as they rode into battle in Ukraine. Video footage first shared by Kremlin propaganda network RT showed Russian troops cruising into battle in a captured American M113 APC, which they described as a “trophy,” while …

“I have already arrived in Washington, tomorrow I am meeting with President Trump. Tomorrow we are also speaking with European leaders. I am grateful to President Donald J. Trump for the invitation. We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably. “And peace must be lasting. Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced …

Politico reports: A pro-Russian propaganda group is taking advantage of high-profile news events to spread disinformation, and it’s spoofing reputable organizations — including news outlets, nonprofits and government agencies — to do so. According to misinformation tracker NewsGuard, the campaign takes advantage of high-profile events to pump out fabricated content from various publications, including ABC News, BBC and most recently …

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Ukraine should make a deal to end the war with Russia because “Russia is a very big power, and they’re not”, after a summit where Vladimir Putin was reported to have demanded more Ukrainian land. Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Putin had offered to freeze most front lines if …

The Guardian reports: Russia’s reaction to Donald Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska has been nothing short of jubilant, with Moscow celebrating the fact that the Russian leader met his US counterpart without making concessions and now faces no sanctions despite rejecting Trump’s ceasefire demands. “The meeting proved that negotiations are possible without preconditions,” wrote former president Dmitry Medvedev …

The BBC reports: The three-on-three portion of the meeting in Alaska – with Americans Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio, and Russians Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov – has finished, according to the Kremlin. It’s not the first time these four men have met at the negotiating table. They all took part in Ukraine peace talks in …

CBS News reports: In a carefully choreographed moment, Mr. Trump descended the steps of Air Force One moments before Putin came down the steps of his plane, stepping onto U.S. soil for the first time in about a decade. Both Mr. Trump and Putin walked down their respective red carpets, with Mr. Trump waiting for Putin at the end and …

“I understand from everything I’ve read that [Trump] would very much like to receive a Nobel Peace Prize, and honestly, if he could bring about the end to this terrible war where Putin is the aggressor, invading a neighboring country, trying to change the borders – if he could end it without putting Ukraine in a position where it had …

Politico Europe reports: Several hundred people gathered for a pro-Ukraine rally in Anchorage, Alaska, where U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are set to meet Friday. The high-stakes summit — the first in-person meeting between an American president and Putin since the latter launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, is meant to lay the …

Politico Europe reports: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov appeared to be wearing a sweater with the letters “CCCP” — Russian for USSR — upon his arrival in Alaska. Lavrov will be part of the Kremlin’s delegation when Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump meet later on Friday in a hotly anticipated summit to discuss the war in …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump said Wednesday there will be “very severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to stop the Ukraine war after Friday’s summit. Trump was “very clear” in a virtual meeting Wednesday with European leaders that the U.S. wants to achieve a ceasefire at the upcoming U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska, French President Emmanuel …

The Associated Press reports: The group Stand Up Alaska has organized rallies on Thursday and Friday in the state, where sentiment toward Russia has cooled since Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Anchorage Assembly voted unanimously to suspend its three-decade-long sister city relationship with Magadan, Russia, and the Juneau Assembly sent its sister city of Vladivostock a letter expressing concern. …

Politico reports: U.S. President Donald Trump will join European leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for an emergency virtual summit on Wednesday. The call, organized by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, comes ahead of Friday’s summit in Alaska between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine. The virtual summit will focus on pressure options against Russia, questions …

Time Magazine reports: European leaders said peace talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska next week are unlikely to succeed without Ukraine’s involvement. “The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” a statement released on Saturday and signed by the leaders of France, Italy, the U.K., Germany, Poland, and Finland read. …

The New York Times reports: President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Saturday flatly rejected President Trump’s proposal that a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia could include “some swapping of territories,” a plan that would in effect mean ceding land to Moscow. “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” Mr. Zelensky said in a video address from his …

The Alaska Beacon reports: President Donald Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 15 in Alaska, Trump said in a social media post Friday. The location, timing and other details were not immediately available. Staff for all three members of Alaska’s congressional delegation said they were unaware of the announcement ahead of time. “The highly anticipated meeting …