Putin sees ‘light at end of the tunnel’ in Russia-US ties, cooperation in Arctic and Alaska
Vladimir Putin said on Friday that there was “light at the end of the tunnel” in Russia-US relations and that the two countries were discussing joint projects in the Arctic and Alaska.
The Russian president, answering questions during a visit to a nuclear research centre, said he was sure that US president Donald Trump’s leadership qualities would help in restoring relations from recent lows.
“With the arrival of President Trump, I think that a light at the end of the tunnel has finally loomed. And now we had a very good, meaningful and frank meeting in Alaska,” Putin said, referring to last week’s summit.
Russian president Vladimir Putin delivers his speech during a meeting with nuclear industry personnel in Sarov, Russia (AP)
“The next steps now depend on the leadership of the United States, but I am confident that the leadership qualities of the current president, President Trump, are a good guarantee that relations will be restored.”
Namita Singh23 August 2025 09:00
Ukraine unveils devastating new ‘Flamingo’ cruise missile that can strike deep inside Russia
Ukraine is moving ahead with plans for a new cruise missile which will be able to strike deep into Russian territory.
The Flamingo FP-5 missile can carry a warhead weighing more than one tonne, and can fly more than 3,000 kilometres deep into Russia.
The entirely Ukrainian-made missile is produced by Ukraine’s Fire Point defence company, and took just nine months to develop the idea into a missile which has had its first successful tests on the battlefield, CEO and technical director Iryna Terekh said.
More in this report from my colleague Alex Croft:
Namita Singh23 August 2025 08:30
Tearful Kim Jong Un pays respect to North Korean soldiers killed fighting for Russia
A visibly emotional Kim Jong-un was seen consoling the families of North Korean soldiers killed fighting alongside Russia during the Ukraine war.
During a ceremony in Pyongyang on Friday (22 August), the North Korean dictator awarded “hero” titles to troops who returned after fighting alongside Russian forces in Kursk.
“My heart aches and is bitter, as I face the reality that I only get to meet the noble figures who gave up their precious lives for great victory and glory through photos on the memorial wall,” state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Kim as saying.
Tearful Kim Jong Un pays respect to North Korean soldiers killed fighting for Russia
A visibly emotional Kim Jong-un was seen consoling the families of North Korean soldiers killed fighting alongside Russia during the Ukraine war. During a ceremony in Pyongyang on Friday (22 August), the North Korean dictator awarded “hero” titles to troops who returned after fighting alongside Russian forces in Kursk. “My heart aches and is bitter, as I face the reality that I only get to meet the noble figures who gave up their precious lives for great victory and glory through photos on the memorial wall,” state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Kim as saying. In 2024, Pyongyang sent more than 20,000 soldiers to the Kursk region, according to South Korean and Western intelligence agencies. Around 600 have been killed in action.
Namita Singh23 August 2025 08:21
Ukrainian man arrested in Italy over Nord Stream pipeline sabotage
A Ukrainian man accused of helping to blow up the Nord Stream gas pipelines has been arrested in northern Italy.
The 49-year-old, named by investigators as Serhii K, once served in Ukraine’s security services and special forces, reported Sky News.
He was detained at a bungalow hotel in San Clemente, Rimini province, after German prosecutors issued a European arrest warrant. Officers from Italy’s Carabinieri raided his room without resistance.
Mr K had checked in with his family under his real name, triggering a police alert. At least one of their travel tickets was issued in Poland. He had driven across the Italian border last week in a car with Ukrainian plates.
No weapons or further evidence were recovered during the search.
He has denied the charges, insisting he was in Ukraine at the time of the September 2022 blasts, which ruptured three Russian pipelines near Bornholm island in the Baltic Sea. German authorities accuse him of collusion to cause explosions, sabotage and destruction of infrastructure.
Deputy Bologna Prosecutor Licia Scagliarini authorised his handover to Germany, but Mr K told the court he would not consent, which could delay extradition. He remains in custody in Bologna until the next hearing on 3 September.
The Nord Stream explosions escalated the Ukraine war and deepened Europe’s energy crisis.
Western intelligence has suggested a pro-Ukraine group may have been involved, but responsibility has never been claimed. Italian prosecutors are also probing possible links with other sabotage incidents, including the sinking of a Russian-linked oil tanker off Savona earlier this year.
Namita Singh23 August 2025 07:42
Putin’s land demands are a ‘trap’ for Ukraine, warns EU official
The European Union’s foreign policy chief said that the possibility of Ukraine ceding land to Russia as part of a peace deal to end their three-year war is “a trap” set by Mr Putin.
The Russian leader is demanding Ukrainian concessions in return for halting his army’s invasion but granting him those demands would amount to rewarding the country that started the fighting, Kaja Kallas, vice-president of the European Commission, said.
The recent talk about handing Putin concessions is “exactly the trap that Russia wants us to walk into,” Kallas said in an interview with the BBC.
Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice president of the European Commission talks to journalists in Brussels on 14 July 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)
“I mean, the discussion all about what Ukraine should give up, what the concessions that Ukraine is willing to (make), whereas we are forgetting that Russia has not made one single concession and they are the ones who are the aggressor here, they are the ones who are brutally attacking another country and killing people,” she said.
“Russia is just dragging feet. It’s clear that Russia does not want peace,” Kallas said.
“President Trump has been repeatedly saying that the killing has to stop and Putin is just laughing, not stopping the killing, but increasing the killing.”
Namita Singh23 August 2025 07:12
Russia does not want to end the war, says Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia wants to avoid a meeting with him because “they do not want to end the war”.
The Ukrainian president spoke during a press conference alongside Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, who was visiting Kyiv.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky and secretary general of Nato Mark Rutte shaking hands ahead of their meeting in Kyiv (AFP via Getty )
“It is necessary that this space for avoidance be reduced,” Zelensky said.
“US and European unity will reduce this space.”
Rutte said that Trump wants to “break the deadlock” with Putin and engage the United States in providing security guarantees for Ukraine.
“President Trump has made this a priority,” he told the news conference.
Namita Singh23 August 2025 06:50
No meeting between Putin and Zelensky planned, says Russian minister
Russia’s top diplomat said there are no plans for a meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss their three-year war, days after US president Donald Trump said he had begun arrangements for them to sit down together.
“There is no meeting planned” between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told NBC.
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov attends a joint press conference with India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (Reuters)
Uncertainty has grown in recent days about Moscow’s commitment to US-led peace efforts, as Russian officials have raised fundamental objections to the nascent proposals.
Lavrov said Putin would be ready to meet with Zelensky to discuss peace terms – but only after key issues were first worked out by senior officials. That could involve a protracted negotiating process between two sides that are currently far apart.
Ukraine wants Western security guarantees to deter any post-war Russian attack, and US and European officials are scrambling to come up with detailed proposals on how that might work.
But Lavrov said earlier this week that making security arrangements for Ukraine without Moscow’s involvement was pointless.
Namita Singh23 August 2025 06:30
Trump vexed over progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks
Donald Trump has expressed frustration that the peace talks between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky have not yet been scheduled.
“We’re going to see whether or not they have a meeting,” Trump told reporters.
“It’ll be interesting to see. If they don’t, why didn’t they have a meeting, because I told them to have a meeting. But I’ll know what I am going to do in two weeks.”
Trump said he had begun making arrangements for a Putin-Zelensky meeting on Monday soon after concluding White House talks with Zelensky and European leaders and speaking on the phone with Putin.
Russia’s top diplomat, Sergei Lavrov, made clear on Friday that Putin won’t sit down with Zelensky until Ukraine agrees to certain concessions.
Namita Singh23 August 2025 06:07
Putin praises Trump’s leadership
Vladimir Putin praised Donald Trump for his leadership as he expressed hope of improved bilateral ties between the two nations.
Calling the meeting with him during their Alaska summit “just the start of a full recovery of our relations,” with the US, he added that the outcome would depend on several other western nations.
US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin look at each other during a press conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine (Reuters)
He also allayed his scepticism about the progress made, saying that the US is “bound by its obligations” to its partners including Nato.
“But I am sure that leadership qualities of the current president, President Trump, are a good guarantee that the relationships will be restored,” Putin said.
Namita Singh23 August 2025 05:45
Trump ‘not happy’ after Russia hits American electronics manufacturer in Ukraine
President Donald Trump expressed his displeasure on Friday over a Russian strike hitting an American electronics manufacturer in Ukraine.
“I [said] that I’m not happy about it, and I’m not happy about anything having to do with that war,” Trump said.
“No, I’m not happy about anything about that war. Nothing. Not happy at all. We’ll see what happens. I say, over the next two weeks, we’re going to find out which way it’s going to go. And, I better be very happy,” Trump added.
The US president again threatened Russia with “massive sanctions” over the war unless an agreement is reached within a fortnight. Only then, Trump said, would he decide on “whether or not it’s massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both — or do we do nothing and say, ‘it’s your fight.’”
President Donald Trump and Russia’s president Vladimir Putin talk, Friday, 15 August 2025 (AP)
This is not the first time that Trump has expressed a desire to enforce stronger sanctions, only to change his mind.
Last month, he threatened Russia with 100 per cent tariffs if a truce was not reached and on 28 July, he gave Putin another 10 days to reach a deal with Ukraine.
However, that deadline passed without much action.
Namita Singh23 August 2025 05:22