American and Russian officials say arrangements are being made for Ukraine peace talks in China next month involving Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, but without any Ukrainian representation.
Asked whether he would meet Putin and Xi without Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said he would do "anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody is there or not".
Secretary of state Marco Rubio confirmed there had been "talk of a meeting", and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that while the prospect of such a meeting had been mentioned, "no substantive proposals or agreements” have been discussed.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha criticised the idea of peace talks without Kyiv, saying it would only embolden Putin.
Trump was also asked about Zelensky saying the president was “on the wrong side of history” with the Russia diesel deal, to which he responded: “Zelensky doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Zelensky’s a man that should have this war settled a long time ago.
“To be honest, I think it’s time for someone else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.”
Russia says it hit cargo vessels and logistics hubs in Ukraine
The Russian military struck three cargo vessels in Ukraine's port of Reni and another cargo vessel en route to Odesa, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.
It also said it hit two logistics hubs in the Volyn region and in the city of Khmelnitskiy.
The Russian defence ministry claimed all the vessels and the logistics hubs were being used for military purposes.
Zelensky travels to Norway for talks on war and security
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky is arriving in Oslo on Tuesday for talks on the war in Ukraine and European security, the Norwegian government and co-host Finland said.
Reuters reported on Monday that US president Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Norway this week for a round of negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine, and that Zelensky and European representatives were expected to attend.
"President Zelensky has asked Norway and Finland to arrange a meeting as part of ongoing diplomatic efforts, at a critical time for Ukraine," Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement.
Finland's president Alexander Stubb said he will attend meetings with Zelensky and Stoere to discuss "Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and the overall security situation in Europe”.
Zelensky, Stubb and Stoere will hold a press conference later on Tuesday, Norway said.
The statements from Norway and Finland made no mention of any US or European delegations.
Russian airstrike kills three in Kyiv region
An overnight Russian airstrike killed three people and injured another six in the region surrounding Ukraine's capital of Kyiv, the area's emergency service said on Telegram on Tuesday.
Russian forces struck a production and warehouse building where a fire was later extinguished, the emergency service said in the post.
Belarus bars entry to some goods from Latvia
Belarus, one of Russia's closest allies, said on Monday it was barring the entry of a number of goods from neighbouring Latvia because of the Baltic state's "unfriendly" relations.
Belarus's government had slapped the ban on a range of products including canned fish and various industrial goods, state news agency Belta said.
"This decision was taken in connection with the Latvian side maintaining an unconstructive approach and unfriendly rhetoric in relation to Belarus," Belta quoted the government decision as saying.
Latvia closed its border with Belarus in July.
Like Belarus's other neighbours, Latvia has encountered difficulties with Minsk over mass attempts by migrants to cross the Belarusian border into the European Union.
Belarus denies colluding or encouraging migrants from other countries to attempt to cross its borders into the EU.
Led by president Alexander Lukashenko since 1994, Belarus has long been accused of human rights abuses subject to Western sanctions. Lukashenko allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory to help launch the 2022 invasion of Ukraine but has declined to commit his country's forces to the conflict.
US yet to authorise delivery of latest Nato weaponry package to Ukraine – sources
Secretary of defence Pete Hegseth has yet to authorise delivery of the latest package of US weaponry purchased by Nato allies under a program known as PURL, a source told Reuters.
The source could not confirm whether the shipment included Patriots.
The relationship between the US and Ukraine has nosedived in recent weeks, after Donald Trump announced a deal to purchase Russian diesel and temporarily waived some sanctions in a bid to lower fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections.
The US president has accused Zelensky of refusing to hold peace talks with Russia and in his latest broadside on Monday said that maybe it was time that the Ukrainian leader "get somebody else to negotiate." Zelensky has consistently said he is ready for talks.
US officials plan to travel to Norway, Russia for Ukraine talks, say sources
US president Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Norway this week for the next round of negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Two of the people said they expected Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to attend the meetings. Another person familiar with the matter said Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was expected to take part in the talks, was sick and would attend virtually.
The Oslo discussions are expected to include Zelensky, Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Store, representatives of the E4 – made up of Britain, France, Germany, and Poland – the European Union, and Nato.
Witkoff is also set to travel to Russia to meet president Vladimir Putin, two of the people familiar with the matter said. The Russian conversations are going to focus on a range of topics related to Ukraine as well as the release of American citizen Stephen Hubbard, who was jailed in Russia in 2022.
Senators hold call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky
Senators who organised a call with Volodymyr Zelensky said he confirmed that critical Starlink services remain degraded, impeding Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian drones.
Republican senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said in a statement that Zelensky also reported disruptions to US intelligence sharing concerning early warning of Russian ballistic missile launches.
"As a result of these disruptions, civilians - children - are dying," the senators said.
The senators participated in the call after the Trump administration waived sanctions against Russia approved recently by Congress.
The senators said that Democrats and Republicans understand what will happen if Russian president Vladimir Putin faces no consequences, and they remain committed to Ukraine and European allies trying to end "the slaughter in Russia's war of aggression".
"Zelensky reiterated his willingness to halt strikes on Russian energy facilities as President Trump has proposed, but only if Putin agrees to the same - a fair request," they said.
Russia strikes 28 energy critical energy facilities
Russia has struck 28 substations and other critical energy facilities across Ukraine in another wave of attacks.
At least 550,000 households lost power overnight, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Restoration work is underway everywhere, and electricity is gradually being restored to people.
“Grateful to every repair crew, all employees of energy companies—men and women alike.”
Both Russia and Ukraine have ramped up attacks on energy facilities after Donald Trump’s energy ceasefire collapsed.
Comment: Why a mysterious Russian satellite is threatening to spark a space war
If Russia were to detonate a nuclear weapon in low orbit, it would be a game-changer – an escalation in conventional military strategy that would kill no one directly. More alarming still, it would not require the industrial capacity Moscow lacks, but rely on technology it already possesses, says missile defence expert Dr Sidharth Kaushal
Trump claims Zelensky ‘never wanted to end war’ as rift deepens with Kyiv
Donald Trump has claimed that Volodymyr Zelensky “never wanted to end” the war with Russia as he escalated his attacks on the Ukrainian president.
Over the past few weeks, the relationship between the US and Ukraine has rapidly declined after Washington announced it would pause sanctions on Moscow and import fuel.
The rift between the two powers deepened on Sunday when Trump posted on Truth Social that Zelensky “doesn’t want to end this war”.
He said: “Frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.”
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