Russia has long pushed for a direct peace deal that would address a broad range of issues and impose onerous demands on Ukraine, including territorial concessions. Avoiding a cease-fire would allow Russia to continue pressing its advantage on the battlefield in the meantime.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday after a Russia-U.S. summit ended without an agreement to stop the fighting in Ukraine after 3 1/2 years.

Expectations are fairly low heading into Friday's meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, but quite a lot is on the line for European construction companies.

US President Donald Trump is threatening tariffs on other countries that buy Russian oil, in an attempt to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. But the United States and Europe themselves are still doing billions of dollars in trade with Russia.

Ukraine's largest mobile operator Kyivstar successfully tested Starlink's Direct to Cell satellite technology, allowing text messages sent directly from smartphones via satellite, as announced by the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Kyivstar parent company Veon.

As President Trump talks of land swaps, Ukrainians find it difficult to imagine giving up the Donbas, for military, humanitarian and political reasons.

The issue of ending the war launched by Russia cannot be resolved without the participation of Ukraine and Europe, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said in an interview with the BBC. According to him, after the end of Joe Biden's presidency ...

Elsewhere, the Times reports European leaders are putting forward an alternative peace plan for Ukraine ahead of Donald Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska next week. Image caption,