The NATO issue is what the Kremlin describes as a "root cause" of its war in Ukraine.

A senior Kremlin official says Russian police and the National Guard will stay on in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas even if a peace settlement ends the war.

Ukraine said it hit a major oil refinery and an oil depot in Russia as US President Donald Trump dispatched envoys to Berlin for another round of talks on how to end the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin started in 2022.

Ukraine struck an oil tanker belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet in the Black Sea on Wednesday, according to an official in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

The European Union is set to lock up Russia’s assets in Europe until Russia ends its war on Ukraine and compensates for the damage.

EU foreign chief Kaja Kallas warned that using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine requires Belgium’s support and tangible security guarantees.

A Ukrainian peace plan, sent this week to Washington, pushes back against President Trump’s proposal that Ukraine give up more land for peace, although Russia is unlikely to accept it.

Washington has tried for months to navigate the demands of each side as President Trump presses for a swift end to Russia’s war and grows increasingly exasperated by delays.