Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said Russian forces were advancing into Ukrainian defences and that President Vladimir Putin ordered expansion of a buffer zone in Ukraine's Sumy and Kharkiv in 2026,

Russian commanders told Putin during an inspection visit that Moscow's forces had captured towns in Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Leaders from Europe and Canada held talks Tuesday on U.S.-led peace efforts to end the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine, as Moscow and Kyiv sparred over Russian claims, denied by Ukraine, of a mass drone attack on a lakeside residence used by President Vladimir Putin.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claimed in a phone call with President Donald Trump that Kyiv had attacked one of his official residences—a claim which Ukraine denied almost instantly. The Russian readout of the call said that Putin,

President Donald Trump assumes mediator role as talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy focus on a U.S.-backed 20-point peace plan that could end the war in Ukraine.

Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s capital, using missiles and drones to attack Kyiv and try to increase the pressure on Zelenskyy.

Donald Trump's remarks came as he welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida for a meeting.

The two countries have grown closer since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with the People’s Republic sending thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian soldiers on the