TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Even now, safe in her new home in Estonia, Inna Vnukova says she can’t shake the terrifying memory of living under Russian occupation in eastern Ukraine at the start of the war and her family’s harrowing escape. They hid for days in a damp basement in their village of Kudriashivka after … Read more
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The terms of Russia’s pledge to U.S. President Donald Trump to temporarily halt bombing Ukraine during one of the country’s bleakest winters in years remained unclear Friday as Ukrainians braced for even worse conditions next week. Trump said late Thursday that President Vladimir Putin had agreed to a temporary pause in … Read more
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday criticized his European allies for what he described as the continent’s slow, fragmented and inadequate response to Russia’s nearly four-year-old invasion and its continued international aggression. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelenskyy listed a series of grievances and criticisms of Europe … Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Ukraine settlement with US President Donald Trump’s envoys during marathon talks overnight, and the Kremlin insisted the territorial issue must be resolved to reach a peace deal. The meeting in the Kremlin, which lasted until 3 a.m. on Friday, came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply criticized his … Read more
Now, deep into what might be called his anecdote, Donald Trump couldn’t resist offering his usual repertoire of supposedly entertaining and inspirational stories to a stunned captive audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Then, just hours later, he made a surprise U-turn and dropped his latest tariff threat against Europe altogether after reaching … Read more
Vsevolod Kozhemyako, the Ukrainian grain billionaire, thought about his new job as he played Beethoven’s Für Elise at a grand piano in a dimly lit hotel in Kharkiv, dressed in military fatigues. “Yes, I am a businessman,” he said. “And now I am the commander of a military unit in Ukraine.” The light infantry battalion … Read more
Russia strongly condemned the US seizure of an oil tanker on Thursday, signaling a further chill in relations between Moscow and Washington that could spill over into other areas and hurt President Donald Trump’s efforts to persuade Russia to end its nearly four-year war in Ukraine. Wednesday’s capture of the Russian-flagged tanker in the North … Read more
As far as the Russians were concerned, they had taken their man. Denis Kapustin, one of the leading anti-Putin Russians fighting on behalf of Ukraine, was pronounced dead on December 27, killed by a drone on the southern front. He had long been hunted by Moscow and the price on his head reflected this: Russian … Read more
When Vladimir Putin made a four-day trip to visit Xi Jinping in September, he addressed his Chinese counterpart as “dear friend”. Speaking to Xi at a vast orchid exhibition in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, the Russian president claimed their ties were “at an unprecedented level”. Certainly, on the surface, it appears that China’s … Read more
MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin stressed Friday that Moscow’s troops are advancing on the battlefield in Ukraine and expressed confidence that the Kremlin will achieve its military goals if Kiev does not agree to Russia’s terms in peace talks. Speaking at the tightly orchestrated annual news conference, which lasted about 4 1/2 hours, Putin … Read more