Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Swipe for next article
Trump’s envoy Witkoff to meet Ukrainian officials in Miami today after saying path to peace ‘unclear’
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Vladimir Putin has said that talks to end the war in Ukraine with Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were “very useful” but failed to yield a breakthrough.
Speaking to India Today, Putin said the negotiations were “necessary” and that both sides had gone over “every single point” proposed in Washington’s 27-point peace plan.
He said that Russia would take full control of Ukraine’s Donbas region by force unless Ukrainian forces withdraw – a demand that Kyiv has flatly rejected.
Meanwhile, senior Ukrainian and European officials have accused Russia of not pursuing “any kind of peace” and wasting the world’s time by refusing to back down on their maximalist demands for an agreement.
Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said Russian president Vladimir Putin “should end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table and to support a just and lasting peace”.
Trump has insisted that Putin is serious about seeking peace in Ukraine, but Kyiv has accused Russia of feigning interest. Ukrainian officials will meet with Witkoff in Miami on Thursday.
President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published on Thursday that Russia would take full control of Ukraine’s Donbas region by force unless Ukrainian forces withdraw.
“Either we liberate these territories by force of arms, or Ukrainian troops leave these territories,” Putin told India Today ahead of a visit to New Delhi, according to a clip shown on Russian state television.
Ukraine says it does not want to gift Russia its own territory that Moscow has failed to win on the battlefield.
Vladimir Putin has said that talks on Ukraine with Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were “very useful” but failed to yield a breakthrough.
Speaking to India Today, Putin said: “I think it is too early to say, but this meeting was necessary.”
He went on: “We had to go over every point, which is why it took so on… So it was a necessary conversation, a very concrete one… Somewhere we said, yes, we can discuss this, but we can’t agree on that. That’s precisely the tone of the conversation.”
A senior Russian official has said that the European Union’s plan to seize frozen Russian assets may be considered as justification for war.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said: “If the crazy European Union does, after all, try to steal Russian assets frozen in Belgium under the guise of a so-called ˜reparations loan, Russia may well view this move as tantamount to a casus belli with all the relevant implications for Brussels and individual EU countries.”
Russia attacked a Ukrainian energy facility in the southern Odesa region overnight, leaving 51,800 households without power.
Energy workers are working to restore the electricity as soon as possible, energy company DTEK said in a statement on Telegram.
New drone footage shows a devastated Ukrainian town nearly encircled by Russian forces near the city that Moscow this week claimed to now control.
Barely a street appears to be untouched in Myrnohrad in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, 12km (7 miles) from the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
Some destruction is so fresh that smoke was still rising in the footage shot in the past few days.
“They are trying to simply erase the (town) from the face of the earth,” said Oleksii Hodzenko, press officer of the drone battalion of the 38th Marine Brigade, whose soldiers were still fighting inside Myrnohrad Wednesday.
Senior Ukrainian and European officials have accused Russia of not pursuing “any kind of peace” and wasting the world’s time.
Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said the Russian president Vladimir Putin “should end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table and to support a just and lasting peace”.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called on the Russian leader to “stop wasting the world’s time”.
“Russia must end the bloodshed it has started. If this doesn’t happen and Putin just spits into the world’s face once again, there must be consequences. Russia must stop wasting the world’s time, which must be the time for peace,” he said.
Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said Putin “has not changed course”, adding: “It’s pretty obvious that he doesn’t want to have any kind of peace.”
French president Emmanuel Macron urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to cooperate more closely on geopolitics, trade and the environment, as the European Union seeks China’s help to end the war in Ukraine.
“Now, more than ever, dialogue between China and France is vital,” Macron told his host during their meeting at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
“I propose a positive three-fold agenda for our relations, one of geopolitical stability, of economic rebalancing, and of environmental sustainability,” he said.
“We have to continue to rally in favour of peace and stability in the world,” he added, referring to the conflict in Ukraine. “Our ability to work together is decisive.”
Additionally, Xi told Macron that China remained committed to promoting peace in Ukraine and Gaza.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in