Russia and Ukraine stage new prisoner exchange after UAE mediation
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 146 prisoners of war from each side yesterday after mediation by the United Arab Emirates, the Russian defence ministry and the Ukrainian president said.
The Russian ministry said all of the freed Russians were in Belarus receiving psychological and medical assistance.
Ukraine also returned to Moscow eight Russian citizens, residents of the Kursk region, the ministry said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, writing on the Telegram messaging app, announced that the exchange had taken place, but gave no figures.
The president posted pictures of smiling returnees, saying most of them had been in captivity since 2022, when Russia invaded its smaller neighbour. He said a journalist taken prisoner a month after the invasion was among them.
Arpan Rai25 August 2025 08:06
German finance minister says Ukraine can count on Germany
Russian president Vladimir Putin should be aware that Germany’s support for Ukraine is not waning, German finance minister and vice chancellor Lars Klingbeil said today upon arriving in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on an unannounced visit.
“Putin should have no illusions that Germany’s support for Ukraine could crumble,” said Klingbeil, leader of the Social Democratic Party that is the junior partner in chancellor Friedrich Merz’ conservative-led coalition government.
“On the contrary: We remain Ukraine’s second-largest supporter worldwide and the largest in Europe,” said Klingbeil. “Ukraine can continue to rely on Germany.”
Klingbeil urged Putin to demonstrate an interest in a peace process in Europe’s deadliest war in 80 years that broke out in February 2022.
US president Donald Trump has pressed for a quick end to the war, but Kyiv and its allies are concerned he could seek to force an agreement on Russia’s terms.
Arpan Rai25 August 2025 07:14
Zelensky thanks King Charles for ‘inspirational’ letter sent to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day
In a message posted on X, the King spoke of his “greatest and deepest admiration” for the Ukrainian people as they continue defending their country against Russian invasion, and called for a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine.
“I keep feeling the greatest and deepest admiration for the unbreakable courage and spirit of the Ukrainian people,” King Charles wrote.
Arpan Rai25 August 2025 06:19
Vance boasts Trump’s ‘energetic diplomacy’ will end Ukraine war
Vance told NBC’s Kristen Welker, in a pre-taped interview, that both sides had signaled their openness to accepting “significant concessions” in recent days, and said that the president was open to increasing pressure if one side was seen as an obstacle to peace.
“This is the energetic diplomacy that’s going to bring this war to a close,” Vance said. “We sometimes feel like we’ve made great progress with the Russians, and sometimes, as the president has said, he’s been very frustrated with the Russians. We’re going to keep on doing what we have to do to bring this thing to a close.”
But as his remarks aired on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, Russia’s top diplomat was making that prospect look unlikely — while walking back progress made between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky and a host of European leaders in a whirlwind series of meetings over the past two weeks.
John Bowden reports from Washington DC:
Arpan Rai25 August 2025 06:10
Zelensky vows to push Russia to peace in Independence Day remarks
Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to “to push Russia to peace” as Kyiv marked its Independence Day on Sunday.
The ceremony in Kyiv was attended by US envoy Keith Kellogg as Zelensky insisted that a meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin is “the most effective way forward” to end the war in Ukraine.
The commemoration of Ukraine’s 1991 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union came as Russia accused Kyiv of launching a massive drone attack that sparked fire at a nuclear power plant in the western Kursk region.
President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered remarks in a video address from Kyiv’s Independence Square, emphasizing the nation’s resolve.
“We are building a Ukraine that will have enough strength and power to live in security and peace,” Zelenskyy said, calling for a “just peace.”
“What our future will be is up to us alone,” he said, in a nod to the US-Russia summit in Alaska earlier in August, which many feared would leave Ukrainian and European interests sidelined.
“And the world knows this. And the world respects this. It respects Ukraine. It perceives Ukraine as an equal,” he said.
US special envoy Keith Kellogg was also awarded the Ukrainian Order of Merit of the 1st degree.
Arpan Rai25 August 2025 05:53
RECAP: Lavrov says next steps ‘depend on US’
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said the ‘next steps’ in repairing US-Russia relations depend on US leadership.
In a post on Telegram, he stated: “President #Putin: @realDonaldTrump & I had a very good, constructive & frank discussion in Alaska.
“I really hope the first steps made are just the beginning of a full-scale recovery of #RussiaUS relations.
“The next steps depend on the US leadership.”
Nicole Wootton-Cane25 August 2025 05:00
Ukraine unveils devastating new ‘Flamingo’ cruise missile
Ukraine has revealed its plans to move ahead with a new cruise missile that would have the ability 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.
Manufactured by Ukraine’s Fire Point defence company, the missile is reportedly faster than any the country currently use and took just nine months to develop.
Workers inspect Flamingo missiles a Fire Point’s secret factory in Ukraine on Thursday (AP)
Nicole Wootton-Cane25 August 2025 04:45
Vance insists Trump will bring end to war
US vice president JD Vance has insisted Donald Trump will be the one to bring an end to war in Ukraine as he praised his “energetic diplomacy”.
In remarks made on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, Vance told Kristen Welker both sides had shown openness to accepting “significant concessions” in recent days.
He added Trump would be willing to pile the pressure onto one side if necessary.
Earlier this week, the US president said he would “see whose fault it is” before taking further action towards peace talks.
Nicole Wootton-Cane25 August 2025 04:30
Belarusian president says he is healthy after physical examination
Veteran Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, said that he had undergone the first physical of his life and was found to be in good health.
Questions have periodically been raised about Lukashenko’s health in the past few years
“Recently, for the first time in my life, I underwent a complete physical over two days,” Lukashenko, 70, told journalists on Belarusian television in comments posted on his Pul Pervogo Telegram channel.
“Goodness knows what they didn’t do to me. They even got into my brain. They x-rayed every bit of me… Touch wood, I am happy. Everything is normal.”
Doubts about his health intensified during a visit to Moscow in 2023 on the anniversary of the 1945 Soviet victory over Nazi Germany during which he missed events, appeared unsteady and failed to make an address.
Lukashenko said even intelligence services from nations friendly to Belarus had inquired about his health.
“I am saying that I am ok with that,” he said. “Hand over the test results, those examinations and let them be published.”
In power since 1994, Lukashenko allowed Putin to use his country’s territory to launch the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but has said he will play no direct role in the conflict.
Arpan Rai25 August 2025 04:17
RECAP: Putin says Trump is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for US-Russia relations
Russian leader Vladimir Putin praised US President Donald Trump as the “light at the end of the tunnel” after decades of strained relations between the two countries.
His remarks came after the two met in Alaska in a high-stakes summit that failed to see any significant progress made towards peace in Ukraine.
Putin fawns over Trump as ‘light at the end of tunnel’
Nicole Wootton-Cane25 August 2025 04:15