US President Donald Trump called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "crazy" on Sunday after Moscow launched a deadly barrage of drones against Ukraine, even as the warring countries completed a large-scale prisoner exchange.

Trump also said he would speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO officials, expressing hope that a "ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war... will end".

The Kremlin said Saturday a meeting between Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky would be possible only after both sides reach an agreement, a day after the first direct talks between the two countries in more than three years.

War rivals Ukraine and Russia are set to go into their first direct talks in more than three years on Thursday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin not included on the list of attendees.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed holding direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15, hours after Kyiv and European leaders called for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire to start Monday.

Before Putin's announcement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held new talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, having declared that this will be a crucial week in a US decision on whether to halt its peace efforts.

US President Donald Trump said he believed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was ready to concede Crimea to Russia as part of any ceasefire deal, as talks on a truce entered what Washington called a critical week on Monday.

The Russian army has fully liberated the border Kursk region from Ukrainian control with the help of North Korean soldiers, Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov said on Saturday, admitting their participation in the conflict for the first time.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday announced a surprise Easter truce in Ukraine, set to last until midnight on Sunday in what would be the most significant pause in the fighting throughout the three-year conflict.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said a Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy that killed at least 34 people was "a horrible thing."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday lamented the lack of a US response to Russia's refusal to sign "a full, unconditional ceasefire" as two people were killed in Moscow's latest aerial bombardment.

"If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia's fault... I am going to put secondary tariffs on all oil coming out of Russia," Trump said.

With President Donald Trump pushing for a rapid end to the war that has killed tens of thousands of people, US negotiators shuttled separately over three days in the Saudi capital Riyadh between delegations from Ukraine and Russia.

The US-Ukraine and US-Russia talks were originally planned to take place simultaneously to enable shuttle diplomacy, with the United States going back and forth between the delegations, but they are now taking place one after the other.

US President Donald Trump is pushing for a rapid end to the three-year war and hopes talks in Riyadh could pave the way for a breakthrough, with both sides have proposed different plans for temporary ceasefires.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said the leaders of a coalition of Ukraine backers would meet again in Paris next week, as it seeks to finalise plans to secure a potential truce in the war with Russia

Donald Trump spoke to both Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky this week and the US is also due to hold talks with Kyiv in the coming days. "These consultations will take place on Monday, March 24th, in Riyadh," Ushakov said Thursday in comments published by the Kremlin.

Paris, France - Vladimir Putin scored a coup by discussing with Donald Trump in highly anticipated phone talks everything from improving bilateral ties to Iran and even hockey matches, but stopping well short of agreeing any peace path to end the war in Ukraine, analysts say. During the call on Tuesday,...

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin agreed Tuesday on a halt in Russian attacks against Ukrainian energy targets -- but fell far short of securing a full ceasefire in a highly anticipated phone call.

US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are expected to speak this week, officials said on Sunday, as Washington and Kyiv's European allies press Moscow to accept a ceasefire in the three-year war.

Russia has mounted a rapid counteroffensive in the western border region of Kursk over the past week, recapturing much of the territory Ukraine seized in a shock incursion last August.

The positive response from Ukraine prompted President Donald Trump's administration to lift a freeze on military aid and to predict the beginning to an end to three years of war.

The call came ahead of an expected summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin amid mounting concern from Ukraine and its European allies that the pair will strike a deal without them.

US president's remarks on Russia and China mark a seismic shift after more than a decade of US policy which had increasingly cast Moscow into the cold and largely viewed both it and Beijing as adversaries.

In a defiant address to the nation, Russia's president railed at Ukraine's allies granting permission for Kyiv to use Western-supplied weapons to strike targets on Russian territory, warning of retaliation.

G20 leaders gather in Brazil on Monday to discuss fighting poverty, boosting climate financing and other multilateral initiatives that could yet be upended by Donald Trump's impending return to the White House

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he expected his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to attend a BRICS summit in Russia next month after Türkiye requested to join the group of emerging economies. Putin said he was due to meet Erdogan on October 23, a day after the start of...

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict grinds on, the West's financial commitment grows, while neither Zelenskyy nor Putin shows interest in peace talks. Zelenskyy, backed by Western support, has postponed elections, and the war allows him to stay in power as well as avoid focusing on Ukraine’s struggling economy.

Aliyev and Putin will sign joint documents and make statements to the press, said Russian agency Ria Novosti. On Monday, Putin will also lay a wreath on the tomb of Heydar Aliyev, father of the current leader, who was president from 1993 to 2003.

Moscow, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, discussed the latest escalation in the Middle East in a conversation on Tuesday, the Kremlin said, reported by Russian news agency TASS.On April 1, Israel carried out an airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus and on April...

Meanwhile, the fire at a Moscow concert hall has been "mostly eliminated", the Russian capital's governor said on Saturday. "There are still some pockets of fire, but the fire has been mostly eliminated. Rescuers were able to enter the auditorium," Moscow Governor Andrey Vorobyov said on Telegram.

Ballots will also be cast in the four Ukrainian regions Moscow claimed to have annexed in 2022, as well as the Crimean peninsula, seized in 2014. Moscow is no longer worried about trying to present the vote as a legitimate democratic exercise to the West, or even Russian society.

Western governments immediately attacked the Kremlin over the death of the most outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin. Navalny lost consciousness after a walk and could not be revived by medics, the prison service said. "Navalny felt bad after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness. Medical staff arrived immediately and...

Asked by a journalist who Russia would like to see win in the likely contest between the Democratic incumbent and Republican frontrunner Trump, Putin said: "Biden, he's more experienced. He's predictable, he's an old-school politician."

The Belgorod attack came a day after Ukraine said a barrage of Russian missile strikes on several cities killed at least 40 people, wounding dozens more. Fresh strikes Saturday caused more casualties in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said. Belgorod lies about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the...

Dubai, UAE – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, ahead of his visit to Moscow, has emphasized the importance of the North-South transport corridor project as a key topic in his upcoming bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, TASS reported, citing Iran's IRNA news agency.Speaking at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport before departing...

"The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force by Israel is a war crime. The deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food and water to the residents of Gaza is tantamount to genocide," said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Moscow, Russia - President Vladimir Putin will take part in an online BRICS summit on the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, the Kremlin press service said on Monday."On November 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in an extraordinary BRICS summit (in the videoconference format) to...

Novo-Ogaryovo, Russia: The United States and its satellites are benefiting from conflicts in the Middle East and other parts of the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday."We must not, have no right and cannot afford to be guided by emotions. We must clearly see who is really behind...

Moscow, Russia - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will soon visit Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a senior Russian diplomat announced."I can say that he [Abbas] will soon arrive on an official visit in Moscow; talks with Vladimir [Putin] will be held here," said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister...

Biden also called for an end to a surge in both anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim prejudice in the United States, especially after the killing of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy in an alleged hate crime linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict. "To all of you hurting, I want you to know, I see...

At the top of the invitation list to China's Belt and Road Initiative forum is Russia's President Vladimir Putin, on his first trip to a major global power since the Ukraine invasion threw his regime into international isolation.

The Russian leader's strategic dependence on China has only grown since his invasion of neighbouring Ukraine thrust his country into international isolation. Putin has hardly ventured beyond his country's borders since the war, with next week's trip the first to a major global power

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Israel risked waging an "unacceptable" siege in Gaza comparable to the Nazi blockade of Leningrad during World War II, and called for mediation.Fears for Gaza's Palestinian inhabitants have grown since the Israeli army called for 1.1 million people -- nearly...

"This is the largest trilateral energy project" between the three ex-Soviet countries, Putin said, after formally launching the shipment. He was hosting a meeting in Moscow with his Uzbek and Kazakh counterparts, Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Moscow, Russia - Russian Vladimir Putin on Saturday announced the start of gas supplies to Uzbekistan via Kazakhstan, a boost for Russia's industry hit by a flurry of Western sanctions over the offensive in Ukraine.Despite being home to a wealth of natural  resources including gas, the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan has faced energy shortages.Moscow meanwhile relies heavily...

Moscow, Russia - Russia will soon discuss revoking the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the speaker of the lower house of parliament said Friday.Vyacheslav Volodin made the announcement a day after President Vladimir Putin evoked the possibility of such a move, which could further escalate tensions between Russia...

Moscow, Russia - President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia's mission was to create a "new world" and blamed Western hegemony for Moscow's grinding offensive in Ukraine.Putin has portrayed Russia's full-scale military intervention in Ukraine -- launched in February 2022 -- as part of a long-standing confrontation with the West."We are...

"We are confident that the Russian army and people will win a great victory in the just fight to punish evil groups who pursue hegemony, expansion, and ambition," Kim told Putin, raising a toast during an official dinner following one-on-one talks.

New Delhi, India--Brazil's leader withdrew on Monday his personal assurance that Russia President Vladimir Putin would not be arrested if he attends next year's G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, saying it would be up to the judiciary to decide.Putin missed this year's gathering in the Indian capital New Delhi,...