Ukrainian leader accuses Belarus of helping Russian forces to circumvent defences that protect Ukraine from attack.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that Russia was using ordinary apartment blocks on the territory of its ally Belarus to attack Ukrainian targets and circumvent Kyiv's defences.

The peace plan presented by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "radically differs" from the version being discussed by representatives of Russia and the United States, stated Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

President Emmanuel Macron has previously denied that Laurent Vinatier worked for the French state and has described his arrest as part of a misinformation campaign by Moscow.

Russia will seek key changes to the latest US peace plan to end its war on Ukraine, including more restrictions on Kyiv’s military, according to a person close to the Kremlin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that he believes the U.S. "wants to reach a final agreement," to end the war in Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky is due to meet President Donald Trump in Florida this weekend, but Russia accused the Ukrainian president and his EU backers on Friday of seeking to ’torpedo’ a US-brokered plan to stop the fighting.

When a group of defense insiders gathered in Whitehall, the home of the British government, last month to discuss how prepared the United Kingdom and its allies were for a war they believe could come in the next few years,

The first draft essentially called for Ukraine’s surrender. The revised version includes the security guarantees Kyiv wants to prevent future Russian aggression.

Oil futures settled lower ahead of the weekend in which President Trump is expected to discuss Russia-Ukraine peace with Ukraine’s President Zelensky.