The Kremlin has described Ukraine’s push to join NATO as one of the “root causes” of the conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump has ruled out Ukrainian membership in the Western defensive alliance. Zelensky is searching for compromises that could secure a peace deal to end Russia’s ongoing invasion.

The founder of Russia's opposition Yabloko party, which wants a ceasefire in Ukraine, has said his party will keep campaigning despite the arrest of two senior figures, a move he said was meant to derail it before next year's parliamentary election.

The European Union is set to lock up Russia’s assets in Europe until Russia ends its war on Ukraine and compensates for the damage.

Ukraine said it hit a major oil refinery and an oil depot in Russia as US President Donald Trump dispatched envoys to Berlin for another round of talks on how to end the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin started in 2022.

A Ukrainian peace plan, sent this week to Washington, pushes back against President Trump’s proposal that Ukraine give up more land for peace, although Russia is unlikely to accept it.

Ukraine has used long-range drones to attack Russian oil platforms as it expands its strikes on the country's energy sector.

A senior Kremlin official says Russian police and the National Guard will stay on in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas even if a peace settlement ends the war.

At the core of the discussions in Berlin is the 20-point peace plan proposal presented to the US by Ukraine last week to counter an initial American plan which was seen as heavily favouring Russia.