Kherson region. Late on May 18, Russian shelling of residential areas in Ukraine’s southern oblast, or region, of Kherson, killed a woman and injured three other people; earlier the same day, a man was killed in a drone strike on the village of Vesele on the Dnieper River.

President Donald Trump held a high-stakes call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, the latest in a series of high-level meetings and negotiations as the Trump administration and international allies seek an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

The EU and Britain announced new sanctions against Russia on Tuesday without waiting for the United States to join them, a day after President Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin without winning a promise for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has withstood pressure for an immediate cease-fire as a precondition for peace talks, but the Russian president’s push for normalizing relations with the United States appears in limbo.

"We had better realize that personally Trump is a friend and ally of Putin," Swedish economist Anders Åslund told Newsweek.

Russia peace talks in the Vatican marks a significant development for the first US-born pontiff, just as the Trump administration appears to be stepping back from leading negotiations.The Vatican has helped arbitrate delicate matters of diplomacy in the past.

President Trump said he didn’t bring up his Easter plea to halt attacks on Ukraine during a phone call Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a post on Truth Social at the time, Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin has seemingly turned his back on his own decree over buying Russian-made products, having gone and spaffed a lot of cash on a Swiss smart watch