The head of Britain’s MI6 spy agency says Russian President Vladimir Putin is stalling efforts to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, and is testing the West with tactics that fall “just below the threshold of war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed without evidence that Russian forces have taken control of Ukrainian cities Pokrovsk and Vovchansk.

The new chief of Britain’s foreign intelligence service MI6 accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of deliberately prolonging negotiations to put an end to the war in Ukraine, in an assessment that complicates President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker a deal by year-end.

President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff are meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday to discuss the war in Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published on Thursday that Russia would take full control of Ukraine's Donbas region by force unless Ukrainian forces withdraw, something Kyiv has flatly rejected.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte issued a stark warning to Western allies about the reality of the threat posed by Russia, as negotiations are making slow progress to end the war in Ukraine and the U.S. pressures Kyiv to make painful compromises with the Kremlin, including on territorial concessions.

Ahead of the key meeting, Russia professed fresh military victories, hammering home its claim that it can succeed in the war without negotiations if it wants.

Ukraine and Russia are "closer to peace" than at any time in almost four years, it has been claimed – though a top European leader still warned againt Vladimir Putin's plans to take on the West. Sir Keir Starmer today joins emergency talks in Berlin aimed at ending the debilitating war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his five-hour talks with US envoys on ending the war in Ukraine were “necessary” and “useful” but also “difficult work,” with some of the proposals

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly cited supposed neonazism in Ukraine as one of the reasons behind his full-scale invasion of the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold urgent talks Thursday with leaders and officials from about 30 countries that support Kyiv’s efforts to obtain fair terms for halting nearly four years of war following Russia's full-scale invasion.