Donald Trump<\/a> could meet with Vladimir Putin<\/a> next week to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine<\/a>, a White House<\/a> official has said.<\/p>\n The official told the Associated Press that Trump was open to meeting both Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a>, but cautioned that a meeting had not been scheduled yet and no location agreed on.<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters at the White House<\/a>, Trump said there was \u201ca good chance\u201d of a leaders’ summit between Putin and Zelensky, which would be their first meeting since Russia<\/a> launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n The face-to-face meeting would also be the first between a sitting US and Russian president since Joe Biden<\/a> met Putin in Geneva<\/a> in June 2021, some eight months before Russia<\/a> launched the biggest attack on a European nation since the Second World War.<\/p>\n The plans were disclosed in a call with European leaders, according to the New York Times, who cited two people familiar with the plan.<\/p>\n Earlier, Trump said his envoy Steve Witkoff made \u201cgreat progress\u201d in a meeting with Putin in Moscow<\/a>, adding: “Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come.\u201d <\/p>\n Ukraine-Russia latest: Key Points<\/a>What we know about Putin’s meeting with Trump’s peace envoy Witkoff<\/p>\n Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow yesterday, which the US president lauded as \u201ca highly productive meeting” in which “great progress was made.”<\/p>\n Arpan Rai7 August 2025 06:18<\/p>\n <\/a>Zelensky marks one year of Kursk incursion: ‘A truly Ukrainian historic operation’<\/p>\n Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Ukrainian forces who carried out the country\u2019s incursion into Russia\u2019s Kursk oblast a year ago as he marked the anniversary.<\/p>\n Ukrainian forces pushed into Kursk on 6 August last year in a surprise attack, with battle-hardened mechanised units quickly overwhelming lightly armed Russian border guards and inexperienced army conscripts. Hundreds were taken prisoner.<\/p>\n The incursion was a humiliating blow to the Kremlin \u2013 the first time the country\u2019s territory was occupied by an invader since the Second World War.<\/p>\n \u201cToday marks the anniversary of the Kursk operation \u2013 a truly Ukrainian historic operation. We brought the war onto the territory of the aggressor state and are still operating on its territory. At a time when many spoke that the situation had reached a stalemate, and were losing faith in Ukraine, we proved that Ukrainians know how to act right,\u201d he said in his nightly address.<\/p>\n Ukraine proved that many of Russia\u2019s threats were just bluffs, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThirteen hundred kilometres of Russian territory were under our control. And this forced the Russians not only to pull their forces away from the Donetsk region, but also to ask North Korea for help,\u201d Zelensky said, calling the historic incursion \u201cthe most important chapters of this war\u201d.<\/p>\n Chris Stevenson<\/strong> explains why Ukraine launched an audacious cross-border attack on Putin\u2019s forces in Russia:<\/p>\n Arpan Rai7 August 2025 06:04<\/p>\n <\/a>US understands conditions under which Russia would end war in Ukraine, says Rubio<\/p>\n The US has a better understanding of the conditions under which Russia would be prepared to end its war in Ukraine after president Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met with Vladimir Putin, secretary of state Marco Rubio said.<\/p>\n The key elements of any ceasefire agreement would involve territory, he said. <\/p>\n “For the first time perhaps since this administration began, we have some concrete examples of the kinds of things that Russia would ask for in order to end the war,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow\u201d.<\/p>\n Arpan Rai7 August 2025 05:45<\/p>\n <\/a>Trump hails \u2018great progress\u2019 in Putin talks \u2013 but no sign of end to Ukraine war<\/p>\n The US president insisted \u201cgreat progress\u201d had been made between his special envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russian president following a three-hour meeting in Moscow yesterday.<\/p>\n Mr Witkoff had travelled to Russia <\/a>in an attempt to convince the Russian president to sign a ceasefire<\/a> agreement with Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Afterwards, Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social: \u201cGreat progress was made! Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies. Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter!\u201d.<\/p>\n Arpan Rai7 August 2025 05:33<\/p>\n <\/a>Trump\u2019s envoy Witkoff will bring back only humiliation from his meeting with Putin<\/p>\n The US president has been taking a much tougher line, in public,<\/a> when it comes to getting Russia<\/a> to wind down its war against Ukraine<\/a>, in a shift away from the blatantly pro-Putin stand of his earlier presidency.<\/p>\n If Russia doesn\u2019t join ceasefire discussions by Friday, Trump has threatened to implement more sanctions against Moscow<\/a>.<\/p>\n World affairs editor Sam Kiley<\/strong> writes:<\/p>\n Arpan Rai7 August 2025 05:13<\/p>\n <\/a>US sanctions expected to hit Russia tomorrow despite high-level talks<\/p>\n The US is expected to continue with its plan to impose secondary sanctions against Russia on Friday, after a 10-day deadline that Donald Trump imposed is to expire, a White House official said yesterday.<\/p>\n The high-level talks between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian president Vladimir Putin did not yield results to prevent the sanctions from Trump administration, the officials said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Russians are eager to continue engaging with the United States,\u201d a White House official said after the meeting, adding that \u201cthe secondary sanctions are still expected to be implemented on Friday\u201d.<\/p>\n The White House has not yet released details about the sanctions.<\/p>\n Washington has threatened “severe tariffs” and other economic penalties if the killing in the Russia-Ukraine war doesn’t stop.<\/p>\n Trump also has threatened to slap tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, which could increase import taxes dramatically on China and India. On Tuesday, he said he hadn’t publicly committed to any particular tariff rate, and indicated that his decision could depend on an outcome of the meeting with Putin.<\/p>\n Arpan Rai7 August 2025 05:10<\/p>\n <\/a>Russia more inclined to ceasefire now, says Zelensky<\/p>\n Russia is now more inclined to agree to a ceasefire in the Ukraine war, president Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday.<\/p>\n In a social media post yesterday evening, Zelensky said he and Donald Trump spoke on the phone after US special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Vladimir Putin. <\/p>\n He said “European leaders also participated in the conversation,” and “we discussed what was said in Moscow.”<\/p>\n “It seems that Russia is now more inclined to agree to a ceasefire,” Mr Zelensky said, adding that the pressure on Moscow “is working,” without elaborating.<\/p>\n The Ukrainian war-time leader stressed it was important to make sure Russia does not “deceive us or the United States” when it comes to “the details” of a potential agreement. <\/p>\n Kyiv proposes that Ukraine and its allies soon “talk to determine our position, our common position, and our common view.”<\/p>\n Arpan Rai7 August 2025 04:58<\/p>\n\n
![\"Russia's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/RUSSIA-US-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-7xtak08f.jpeg\")
Russia’s president Vladimir Putin greets US special envoy Steve Witkoff prior to their talks in Moscow (Sputnik)<\/p>\n![\"Russian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Russia_Putin_Witkoff_32721.jpg\")
Russian president Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff shake hands during their meeting in Moscow (Sputnik)<\/p>\n![\"Ukraine's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT-WAR-6g9on30i.jpeg\")
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky looks on as he meets with soldiers on the frontline positions at an undisclosed location in the Kharkiv region (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service)<\/p>\n
![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2201771134.jpg\")
US vice president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio ahead of a meeting at the Oval Office at the White House (Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2228118341.jpg\")
US president Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n