Germany is asking the European Union (EU) to take much stronger steps to punish Russia for its ongoing war against Ukraine. Thorsten Frei, the chief of staff to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has urged Europe to move “out of our comfort zone” and make decisions that will truly challenge Russia’s economy and leadership.

Ukraine has submitted a list of POWs to Russia for a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap. Many Ukrainian soldiers have now spent over three years in Russian captivity, where they are often being tortured, abused and offered to "join Russian forces to then occupy Europe.

The 1998 crisis worsened the situation, as a global recession and falling commodity prices led to fiscal imbalances and doubts about Russia’s ability to service its debt and uphold the fixed exchange rate. The central bank raised interest rates to 150% to try and stabilise the rouble, but this failed.

The White House disputes the officials’ account, saying Trump believes Russia is winning in Ukraine but still wants peace.

The European Union's plan to ban Russian energy imports must be prevented, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday in an interview on state radio.

Russia and Ukraine have no direct peace talks scheduled, the Kremlin said Thursday, nearly a week after their first face-to-face session since shortly after Moscow’s invasion in 2022 and days after U.

The West has been applying pressure on Russia to end the war for three years, since Putin’s initial invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

By Jeanna Smialek Reporting from Brussels The European Union approved a new package of sanctions on Russia on Tuesday, targeting covert oil exports, days after the top E.U. official announced ...

They are considered one of the world’s most dangerous, and indiscriminate, weapons. Yet five European countries have turned their backs on an international treaty on the use of landmines, citing the growing threat from Moscow.

Trump is deeply agnostic about the fate of Ukraine, and is ready to recognise a Russian sphere of influence in Eastern Europe – the US-Ukrainian “minerals” deal does not change this fact.

The European Union is nearing a decision to include the Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines linking Germany and Russia in a fresh proposal of sanctions against Moscow amid persistent rumors about reviving flows that the bloc wants to stop.