Hundreds of thousands of Vladimir Putin's troops are being amassed on NATO borders as 2026 shapes up to be a 'critical' year for European peace, ex-German army official Roderich Kiesewetter said

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said he thinks the US would issue additional Russian sanctions and sell more military aid to Kyiv should Russia reject Washington’s

U.S. administration officials signaled Monday a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine may be closer than ever.

Ukraine has relinquished its ambition of joining the NATO military alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of talks with U.S. envoys in Berlin.

The latest proposal is designed to deter future Russian aggression. But Russia is not part of the talks and has shown little willingness to negotiate.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told ABC News during an exclusive interview in Moscow on Monday that he believes the warring parties are close to a deal.

Negotiators solved probably “90% of the issues between Ukraine and Russia ,” the U.S. official told reporters, and Trump “believes he can get Russia to accept” the “NATO-like” guarantee and European Union membership for Ukraine.

Ukraine could receive security guarantees modeled on NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense pledge under a proposed peace deal with Russia, U.S. officials said on Monday — an unprecedented offer aimed at ending the war sparked by Moscow’s 2022 invasion.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte issued a stern warning to the organization’s allied nations on Thursday, suggesting they stand as “Russia’s next target” after Ukraine. Rutte delivered the sobering message that NATO countries are “already in harm’s way” during a keynote address at a Berlin event hosted by the Munich Security Conference.