Dmitri N. Kozak had worked with President Vladimir V. Putin for three decades before quitting in September. His associates described his break with the Russian leader.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s August summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, is looming large as the White House presses its peace efforts.

Vladimir Putin has said Russia will not back down from its mission to “liberate its historic lands” and predicted the European “swine” backing Kyiv would ultimately lose power, in a speech that showed no readiness to compromise on the goals for his invasion of Ukraine.

Russia faces long-term financial repercussions from its Ukraine invasion, with military spending surging and debt costs outpacing the budget.

Even as Ukraine’s Zelenskyy has accepted a modified version of US-brokered peace proposal to end the war, there are signs that the almost four-year war might not be nearing its end. Russia’s Putin has reportedly rejected the proposal Europe and Ukraine agreed on in Berlin recently.

The Associated Press has documented 145 incidents in what Western officials say is a campaign of disruption across Europe masterminded by Russia since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Russia's Vladimir Solovyov added to fears that a larger war will break out in Europe when he listed multiple countries Russia should "destroy."

Meloni also told the ​Italian ‌parliament that ‍finding a ⁠legal way to use frozen Russian assets to help finance Ukraine remained "far from ​easy". She reaffirmed Italy's support for Kyiv, insisting Moscow must pay for war damages,