Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his readiness to have a face-to-face sitdown with Russia's president. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to ramp up arms shipments to Ukraine is a signal to Kyiv to abandon peace efforts, Russia said on Thursday, vowing it would not accept the "blackmail" of Washington's new sanctions ultimatum.

Separately, on Thursday, bookmaker Star Sports offered odds of 7/2 (22.2 percent) on Trump securing the Nobel Peace Prize, placing him behind Navalnaya on 2/1 (33.3 percent) and ahead of Russian anti-war campaigner Alexei Gorinov on 6/1 (14.3 percent) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with 10/1 (9.1 percent).

US President Donald Trump is trying again to end the war in Ukraine – not by targeting Russia, but by hitting the countries that buy Russia’s oil.

The Kremlin said on Friday that it did not believe that a tougher stance U.S. President Donald Trump has adopted towards Russia over its war in Ukraine means the end of U.S-Russia talks aimed at reviving their battered ties.