Russia

Stephen Hubbard, 74, was released from Russian custody at US President Donald Trump’s request, with Moscow citing his poor health.

The Russian ships arrived following the two countries’ Exercise INDRA 2026.

Putin is open to a new round of trilateral talks with Ukraine and the United States next month, Kremlin officials said.

Rubio said decisions on Ukraine's Starlink access rested with SpaceX, while Reuters reported that the White House was ultimately responsible for a slowdown.

Hubbard, who was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison in 2024, had been designated wrongfully detained by the US government under former President Joe Biden.

Trump says Russia is gaining territory as US envoy Steve Witkoff heads to St Petersburg for talks, with Rubio citing Washington’s role in Ukraine’s survival.

Ukraine welcomes renewed US intelligence after Rubio call as Russian strikes kill civilians, damage infrastructure and cause power outages across 12 regions.

Niculescu pledged to begin work immediately, but analysts warned that a fragmented Parliament and tight budget could threaten the government’s stability.

Foreign ministers Abbas Araghchi and Sergei Lavrov also discussed expanding bilateral trade, energy cooperation and the return of Russian specialists to Iran's Bushehr nuclear project.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian attacks killed one person, injured eight and left at least 550,000 households without electricity.

Marco Rubio suggested that the waiver from tariffs for buying Russian oil was linked to the decision to try to finalise the trade deal between the two countries.

The attacks killed a woman in Kyiv and disrupted essential services, while delays in US supplies and intelligence warnings add to Ukraine's concerns.

Trump defended his diplomatic approach towards Moscow and blamed Zelenskyy for failing to secure a better deal,while Ukraine reported Russian strikes on energy infrastructure