The Donbas region in eastern Ukraine has long been contested by Russia, with military aggression forcing 1.5 million Ukrainians to flee over the past decade. Ukraine has consistently rejected conceding Donbas to the Kremlin in exchange for peace, though Trump stressed the need for "swapping of territories".

Political messages don’t get much blunter than the Russian missiles that slammed into an American-owned manufacturing firm overnight Wednesday in western Ukraine, hundreds of miles away from the frontline trenches of a war with no end in sight.

Ukraine struck a key Russian oil facility overnight “with US missiles” amid growing petrol queues and soaring prices in Vladimir Putin ’s country. It was the second strike in a week on the Druzhba oil pipeline to Europe, and footage showed it in flames.

The Trump administration has ruled out deploying US troops on the ground in Ukraine, but officials suggest Washington could provide air support.

An obvious plot offers itself to the deft diplomat: could Europe, the continental home of the Nobel prizes, dangle the prospect of a shiny medal and an Oslo banquet as a sort of carrot to lure Mr Trump onto their side when it comes to Ukraine?

Military chiefs from the United States and a number of European countries have completed military options on Ukraine and will now present the options to their respective national security advisers, the U.

US vice president J D Vance has said that Europe would take the "lion's share of the burden" in ensuring Ukraine's security, while Washington would "only help if necessary." Speaking to Fox News, Vance said the primary responsibility lay with Europe ...