#russia-ukraine-conflict

#russia-ukraine-conflict

President Trump had set a deadline of Thursday for Ukraine to accept a deal to give up territory to Russia, including territory that Russia has not captured on the battlefield in almost four years of war. But now that deadline seems to be shifting and the terms of the deal changing. The White House says there's been, quote, 'tremendous progress' in talks this week, but more negotiations are needed.

Ukrainian strikes have "annihilated" a major power plant in Moscow with multiple explosions and machine gun fire was heard at the Shatura Thermal Power Plant in Moscow Oblast. Unverified footage shows multiple explosions ringing out with several fireballs lighting up the night sky. Moscow region governor, Andrei Vorobyov, said, "Some of the drones were destroyed by air defense forces. Several fell on the territory of the station," he added a fire broke out but this is now "localised".

The 28-point Trumpplan calls for Russia to gain full de facto control of Luhansk and Donetsk (together referred to as the Donbas), despite Ukraine still controlling around 12% of the territory there. Despite being under Russian control, the areas in Donbas from which Ukraine would withdraw would be considered a demilitarized zone, with Russia not able to position troops there. In two other war-torn regions, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the current lines of control would mostly be frozen in place, with Russia returning some land, subject to negotiations.

A Russian soldier, with his face blurred, poses in front of the bodies of three Ukrainian soldiers lying face down in a pool of blood, their hands clasped behind their heads. The image, shared by the Russian Rusich unit on its Telegram channel, is accompanied by an announcement for a contest: The first three people to submit a photo of prisoners who have clearly been erased from existence will receive a cryptocurrency reward.

Russia unleashed a massive combined attack on Kyiv early Friday, sparking fires and scattering debris across many districts of the capital, mayor Vitali Klitschko said. At least 11 people were injured as emergency crews responded to multiple strikes, he said in a statement. Five people were hospitalised, including one man in critical condition and a pregnant woman, after a series of powerful explosions sounded in the city and air defences were activated.

Drone sightings, threats and an arms race raise spectre of war. After nearly four years of war between Kyiv and Moscow, fighting is heating up on the front lines of eastern Ukraine. But with drones spotted at sensitive sites across the European Union, its leaders have declared Russia is fighting a hybrid war beyond Ukraine's borders. They say the bloc will protect every centimetre of its territory, as member states scale up military spending to heights not seen for decades.

"This is the moment of taking existential choices that are ahead of us," Grabar-Kitarović said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has welcomed recent sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union against Russia, calling them an important step in pressuring Moscow. "We waited for this. God bless, it will work. This is very important," Zelenskyy said as he arrived at an EU summit in Brussels. Speaking alongside European Council President Antonio Costa, Zelenskyy said Russia's continued attacks on civilian infrastructure, including kindergartens and schools, show it has no interest in peace.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Zelenskyy told reporters: [Trump] proposed Stay where we stay and begin conversation'. I think that was a good compromise, but I'm not sure that Putin will support it, and I said it to the [US] president. It comes as plans to hold a summit between Trump and Putin in Budapest have been put on hold as it was reported that Ukraine and its European allies had rallied in pushing for a ceasefire without territorial concessions from Kyiv.

United States President Donald Trump has expressed optimism about ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as he hosted his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. On Friday, Trump also told reporters that Zelenskyy will be in touch during upcoming negotiations in Hungary, where the US president will meet with Russia's Vladimir Putin. list of 3 itemsend of list But direct talks between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders are unlikely, according to Trump, who reemphasised there's a lot of blood between the two presidents.

Hungary's government has made clear it will not arrest Vladimir Putin, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, if he arrives in Budapest for peace talks. Speaking to state radio on Friday, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban hailed the fact his country would host the meeting. Budapest is essentially the only place in Europe today where such a meeting could be held, primarily because Hungary is almost the only pro-peace country.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also spoke at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. Pezeshkian told the chamber that Iran has "no intention" to build a nuclear bomb. "I hereby declare once more before this assembly that Iran has never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb. We do not seek to build a nuclear bomb. We do not seek nuclear weapons," Pezeshkian said in his speech.

Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 810 drones and 13 missiles during the attack, which caused damage across the country, including the cities of Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Odesa, as well as in the Sumy and Chernihiv regions. Other Russian attacks killed three in the Zaporizhia region, two in Donetsk, a 66-year-old woman in Kharkiv, a 51-year-old woman in Sumy, and a 54-year-old man in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to Ukrainian officials.

A series of Russian strikes across Ukraine overnight left at least two people dead and several others injured, Ukrainian officials reported. In Kyiv, falling debris from downed drones started fires on top of a 16-story residential building and two nine-story buildings, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv's city military administration, said that among the dead was a one-year-old child whose body was uncovered from the rubble by rescuers.

Overnight two drones entered Polish airspace, they were not shot down as the posed no danger, the Armed Forces Operational Commander Maciej Klisz said on Thursday. Poland's General Staff Chief Wieslaw Kukula said the drones then left Polish airspace and caused no damage. Overnight Russia launched another deadly attack in western and central Ukraine which saw the two drones enter Poland's territory.

He suggested that Zelenskyy's term has expired with no means of extending it, once again questioning his legitimacy to hold the office without elections. So does it make sense to meet with the current administration? We could do that; I've never refused to do that if that leads to some positive outcomes, he argued. He said Trump asked him if it was possible to which he replied: I said yes, it was possible, let him come to Moscow.

In connection with another attack by the Russian Federation striking objects on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aviation has begun operating in our airspace.

These attacks show that Putin is just mocking any kind of peace efforts that are made,

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin should come to the negotiating table if he is serious about peace. "Just spoke with President Zelenskyy, then President Donald Trump, following the massive strike on Kyiv which also hit our EU offices," she posted on X. "Putin must come to the negotiating table. We must secure a just and lasting peace for Ukraine with firm and credible security guarantees."

Russian forces launched a massive aerial attack overnight on Ukraine on August 21, deploying a combination of drones and missiles against multiple regions of the country, according to the Ukrainian authorities. The authorities reported civilian casualties and significant damage to residential areas and infrastructure. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched 574 drones and 40 missiles in an overnight attack. In Lviv, a city in western Ukraine, a Russian missile and drone strike killed one person and injured two others, according to Maksym Kozytskyy, the region's governor.

Bolton stated that negotiations between Putin and Zelensky might succeed more if Trump is present, although he expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of direct bilateral talks.

The Donbas, an industrial region in eastern Ukraine, has been a primary battlefield in the current war, with Russia controlling the majority since its invasion in 2022.

Ukrainian soldiers sometimes accidentally jam their own drones in efforts to stop Russian ones due to overlapping frequency usage, complicating electronic warfare efforts.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy stated that his forces are countering and increasing pressure on the occupier despite Russian advances in Donetsk, especially around Pokrovsk.