Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump says he’s spoken to Putin about ending war as North Korea backs ‘just cause’
Next week, Donald Trump is likely to meet Mr Zelensky to discuss Ukraine's war
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.US President Donald Trump said he has talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine.
In an interview aboard Air Force One on Friday Trump said that he had "better not say," when asked how many times the two leaders have spoken.
"He (Putin) wants to see people stop dying," Trump told the New York Post.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday he could "neither confirm nor deny" reports of a conversation between the two leaders.
Next week, Trump is likely to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss Ukraine's war to repel Russian invaders.
It comes as North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un made his first admission of its the country’s support of Putin’s invasion.
North Korean army will “invariably support and encourage the just cause of the Russian army and people to defend their sovereignty, security and territorial integrity in keeping with the spirit of the treaty on the comprehensive strategic partnership” with Russia, Kim said in latest comments.
Used as human shields, starved and under fire: The horrors people with disabilities face in Putin’s war

Used as human shields and starved: The horrors Ukrainians with disabilities face
In the final part of our series on the plight of people with disabilities caught up in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Bel Trew speaks to a man who had only the use of one limb, his arm, about the terrible treatment Ukrainians are subjected to in Russian-occupied territory. He was returned to Kyiv and his family, but would later die



Mapped: Ukraine’s counterattack into the Russian Kursk region explained

Mapped: Ukraine’s counterattack into the Russian Kursk region explained
Ukraine’s attack into Kursk has left Vladimir Putin’s forces scrambling
Robotic vehicles to be rolled out to bolster Ukrainian front line

Robotic vehicles to be rolled out to bolster Ukrainian front line
The Ukrainian move has reportedly been driven by dwindling manpower reserves
Watch | Rapper leads Ukraine's drone war against Russia
Putin’s forces are desperate for a prize eastern city and Ukraine will fight street to street to keep them out

Ukraine will fight street to street to keep Russia out of key eastern city
The Russians taking Pokrovsk would split Ukraine’s defensive line in the region and harm supplies in the eastern part of Donetsk. Now facing constant bombardment, soldiers and residents in Pokrovsk speak to Askold Krushelnycky about the drawn-out siege they are bracing themselves for
Baltic states switch to European power grid, ending Russia ties
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said on Sunday they had successfully synchronised their electricity systems to the European continental power grid, one day after severing decades-old energy ties to Russia and Belarus.
Planned for many years, the complex switch away from the grid of their former Soviet imperial overlord is designed to integrate the three Baltic nations more closely with the European Union and to boost the region's energy security.
"We did it!," Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said in a post on social media X.
After disconnecting on Saturday from the IPS/UPS network, established by the Soviet Union in the 1950s and now run by Russia, the Baltic nations cut cross-border high-voltage transmission lines in eastern Latvia, some 100 metres from the Russian border, handing out pieces of chopped wire to enthusiastic bystanders as keepsakes.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, herself an Estonian, earlier this week called the switch "a victory for freedom and European unity".
The Baltic Sea region is on high alert after power cable, telecom links and gas pipeline outages between the Baltics and Sweden or Finland. All were believed to have been caused by ships dragging anchors along the seabed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia has denied any involvement.
Poland and the Baltics deployed navy assets, elite police units and helicopters after an undersea power link from Finland to Estonia was damaged in December, while Lithuania's military began drills to protect the overland connection to Poland.
Analysts say more damage to links could push power prices in the Baltics to levels not seen since the invasion of Ukraine, when energy prices soared.
Pictured | Zelensky meets the Chair of the Nato Military Committee


Russia repelled three Ukrainian counterattacks in Kursk region, defence ministry says
Russian troops repelled three Ukrainian counterattacks in the Kursk region overnight, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Sunday, quoted by state news agency TASS.
The Russian Defence Ministry has said that Ukrainian troops attempted a counterattack in the west of Kursk Region near the villages of Ulanok and Cherkasskaya Konopelka on Thursday but were repelled by Russian troops.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments