Top European diplomats accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of undermining talks with Ukraine aimed at securing a halt to his war, though the US struck a more cautious tone ahead of a potential meeting in Turkey.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky might meet Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Turkey on Thursday – if the Russian leader decides to show up for a summit that he himself suggested.

US President Donald Trump is contemplating a visit to Türkiye on Friday, as Ukraine and Russia are set to resume direct peace talks for the first tim

The war in Ukraine could escalate into a direct confrontation between the U.S. and Russia, according to the Pentagon. General Gregory Guillot, the head of the U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) issued the warning to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.

The US president's foreign policy has been laid out unashamedly this week - it has been purely transactional - and in the Middle East it might just pay dividends. But might it work elsewhere, most of all to end Russia's war with Ukraine?

Putin last week declared a three-day ceasefire over May 8-10 to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany in World War Two. But the pause comes amid a backdrop of daily skirmishes, largely by drone warfare.

Pope Leo XIV, the first American leader of the Catholic Church, previously known as Robert Francis Prevost, gave his first Sunday blessing as pope and called for peace in the Ukraine-Russia conflict and a ceasefire in Gaza.

Ukraine and its European allies called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a 30-day ceasefire by Monday or face a new wave of sanctions.