Russia-Ukraine War

Ukraine boasts vast reserves of ilmenite — a key element used to produce titanium — in the heavy mineral sands that stretch for miles along the country’s embattled east.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff are headed to Saudi Arabia to initiate negotiations toward peace between Russia and Ukraine, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.

The Ukrainian president told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that he doesn’t “want to think about” not having American support.

The Trump administration has suggested to Ukraine that the United States be granted 50% ownership of the country’s rare earth minerals, and signaled an openness to deploying American troops there to guard them if there’s a deal with Russia to end the war, according to four U.S. officials.

The vice president used the high-level security gathering that had been focusing on Russia and Ukraine to raise social issues animating many on the American right.

President Donald Trump says he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to begin “negotiations” on ending the Ukraine war.

Speaking at a NATO meeting in Belgium, the defense secretary said the U.S. would no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship with its allies.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told the Ukraine Defense Contact Group that the Russia-Ukraine war “must end” but said that returning Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders was an “unrealistic objective.”

Ukraine has offered to strike a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump for continued American military aid in exchange for developing Ukraine’s mineral industry.

South Korea’s military says it suspects North Korea is preparing to send additional troops to Russia after its soldiers already deployed on the Russian-Ukraine war fronts suffered heavy casualties.

President-elect Trump’s team has yet to present a blueprint for how to end the war. His chosen envoy to Ukraine says the new administration’s goal is a peace deal within 100 days.

President Joe Biden says the United States will send nearly $2.5 billion more in weapons to Ukraine.

“President Putin said that he wants to meet with me as soon as possible,” Trump said during his remarks at Turning Point’s America Fest convention.

Authorities said they had arrested an Uzbek national born in 1995 for working with Ukrainian special services to plant a bomb on a scooter outside the general’s residence.

Ukraine’s security service on Tuesday claimed responsibility for killing the head of Russia’s chemical, radiological and biological weapons unit, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov.

At least three feminist activists have been detained for vandalizing a monument outside the United Nations building in Geneva.

The St. Nicholas’ Reindeers initiative publishes letters online detailing the children’s wishes. Some ask for gifts, such as a bicycle or a pet mouse, alongside more complicated requests for their family members to be released from captivity or to be able to return to their homes.

Trump made his cease-fire proposal after a weekend meeting in Paris with French and Ukrainian leaders, claiming in a social media post that Kyiv “would like to make a deal” to end the more than 1,000-day war.

The weapon systems purchased are often intended to support Ukraine’s future military capabilities, not make an immediate difference on the battlefield.

The U.S. is preparing to send Ukraine an additional $725 million in military assistance, including counter-drone systems and munitions for its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.