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Trump’s special envoy will speak to Russian president in renewed diplomatic effort to end war but both sides remain far from an agreement
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Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Vladimir Putin for talks in Moscow on Tuesday amid a renewed US push to end the war in Ukraine.
The White House said it was “very optimistic” about striking an agreement to end Russia’s invasion following two days of negotiations between Ukrainian and US officials in Florida over the weekend.
Mr Witkoff, who has visited Moscow several times this year, will meet with the Russian President on Tuesday afternoon, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
The visit follows a flurry of diplomatic activity in the past fortnight involving US, Ukrainian and Russian officials. An original US-drafted plan to end the war caused consternation in Europe last month after it appeared to yield to Russia’s maximalist demands, including the recognition of occupied territory in eastern Ukraine.
Zelensky has said the terms now “look better” for Kyiv after negotiations in Florida but there is little evidence that Russia and Ukraine are closer to resolving any of the key issues blocking an agreement.
As President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrives in Moscow to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin to discuss a future peace, the White House said it is “optimistic” about discussions.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that a 28-point draft peace deal had “been very much refined”.
“I think the administration feels very optimistic,” she said.
A Russian-flagged tanker carrying sunflower oil has reportedly been attacked off the Turkish coast, though its 13 crew members are unharmed, Turkey‘s maritime authority confirmed on Tuesday.
The vessel, MIDVOLGA-2, reported the incident 80 miles (130 km) from the Turkish coastline.
It did not request assistance, proceeding instead towards Turkey’s Sinop port, the Maritime Affairs Directorate stated on X. Broadcaster NTV suggested the attack involved a kamikaze drone.
As fighting intensifies in Pokrovsk, Ukraine’s military says it still holds the northern part of the region, military corps told Reuters.
The 7th Rapid Response Corps said the airborne assault troops had conducted attacks in the south of the city, which has become a Russian stronghold.
The response comes after President Vladimir Putin shared what commanders had told him of the capture of Pokrovsk.
A Russian-flagged tanker sailing from Russia to Georgia loaded with sunflower oil reported that it was attacked off the Turkish coast, Turkey’s maritime authority has said.
The vessel, MIDVOLGA-2, reported coming under attack 130km off the Turkish coast but said its 13 crew members were unharmed.
It did not provide additional details, but broadcaster NTV said the attack involved a kamikaze drone.
Asked about the latest attack, a Turkish official said “the necessary messages were conveyed to the relevant parties, including Ukrainian authorities,” but he did not elaborate further.
Nato is considering “pre-emptive” action against Russia following a string of hybrid attacks on Europe, a senior official in the alliance has warned.
Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, an Italian who serves as chair of the Nato Military Committee, said the alliance may need to adopt a more “aggressive” approach to deter Moscow from continuing its campaign of drone incursions and cyber attacks in Europe.
A recent Financial Times investigation revealed how Nato has been put on high alert after three vessels in the Baltic Sea were accused of dragging their anchors in a bid to damage energy and communication cables, with a total of 11 incidents recorded.
Other incidents include frequent cyber attacks on European countries and incursions of Russian drones into Nato airspace.
Read our full story below.
Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine must not lead to Russian president Vladimir Putin escaping accountability for alleged war crimes, a senior European Union official said.
Michael McGrath, the European commissioner for justice and democracy, told Politico on Monday that negotiators should ensure any ceasefire plan does not allow Russia to avoid prosecution, setting what appears to be a new red line for any settlement.
His remarks underline concerns across Europe over the original version of the US proposal, which proposed a “full amnesty for actions committed during the war” and steps to reintegrate Russia into the global economy.
Ukraine has secured the return of 1,859 children abducted and taken to Russian-held territory, the war-hit nation’s first lady Olena Zelenska said in Paris yesterday.
She was speaking at a high-level meeting held under president Volodymyr Zelensky’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative.
She emphasised that returning a child home is only the first step.
“After a child physically returns home, psychological and social return is still required,” Zelenska said.
She added that Ukraine is developing mental-health programs and has introduced state assistance for every returned child.
According to Ukraine’s national “Children of War” database, at least 19,546 Ukrainian children have been abducted from Russian-occupied territories and taken to Russia or Russian-controlled areas since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Serhii Filimonov, the commander of the Da Vinci Wolves battalion, is worried that a peace deal would give Russia everything it needed to attack again.
“I think it would be nice for the Russians – to end the war, remove the sanctions, prepare for a new war and attack again,” he told the Associated Press.
“I don’t believe there can be peace before Russia is destroyed, or at least the leadership is changed.”
He is one of the thousands of exhausted Ukrainian soldiers who say their motivation is fortified by knowing they’re fighting for higher cause: the defence of their homeland.
But as negotiators try to hammer out a peace deal, the troops also believe that Russia remains determined to conquer Ukraine — either now, or with a fresh army in a few years’ time — no matter what kind of agreement is reached.
Filimonov also described how Russian troops had briefly entered the eastern town of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region, but were pushed out.
Fuel and energy facilities in central Russia’s Oryol region caught fire as result of an overnight drone attack, governor Andrei Klychkov said this morning.
Klychkov said that no one had been injured and that the emergency services were working at the scene.
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