Ukraine

The news comes as US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in Vatican City on the sidelines of the pope’s funeral to discuss a potential ceasefire deal.

Ukrainians paid tribute to the victims and clean-up team of the Chernobyl disaster, as Saturday marks its 39th anniversary.

Senior US officials have warned that the administration could soon give up attempts to stop Russia’s war in Ukraine if Moscow and Kyiv do not come to an agreement.

Rutte was in Washington on Thursday for meetings with senior US officials, two months before he’s due to chair a summit of US President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts in the Netherlands.

Trump’s frustration is growing as a US-led effort to reach a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia made little progress.

The Ukrainian president held talks with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria before leaving the country.

Disagreements between Brussels and Washington continue to deepen amid growing US pressure to strike a deal to end Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The leadership in Washington is said to have been angered by Ukraine’s refusal to cede territory to Russia, as Kyiv reiterated evvel again that there are no peace talks before a complete ceasefire.

Anticipation is building over whether diplomatic efforts can stop more than three years of fighting since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

France’s foreign minister said the ceasefire declared by Moscow was aimed at preventing US President Donald Trump from getting ‘impatient and angry’.