Ceasefire

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "personally" in Istanbul on Thursday for talks over ending the war.

His post on X came shortly after Donald Trump demanded Ukraine agree to Putin's offer of direct talks between the two countries in Turkey.

"There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally," Zelensky wrote.

He had earlier said his country was open to talks with Russia but only after a ceasefire was in place...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "personally" in Istanbul on Thursday for talks over ending the war.

His post on X came shortly after Donald Trump demanded Ukraine agree to Putin's offer of direct talks between the two countries in Turkey.

"There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally," Zelensky wrote.

Friedrich Merz says Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal for direct peace talks with Kyiv is insufficient. The German chancellor says a ceasefire with Ukraine should come first. 

Welcome to The Logoff: Today Joshua Keating and I are focusing on a surprising ceasefire agreement between the US and the Houthis, a pact that signals a new direction in the Trump administration’s approach to a multiyear military struggle in the Middle East.

Russia will settle for nothing less than a demilitarized Ukraine and the annexation of 20% of the nation in any peace settlement, Russia's foreign minister said in an interview, demands that would suggest President Vladimir Putin is flouting President Donald Trump's call for peace to end the three-year war, according to multiple reports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has said the ceasefire will run from the morning of 8 May until the 11 May - which coincides with victory celebrations to mark the end of World War Two.

In a statement it said Putin declared the ceasefire "based on humanitarian considerations".

Ukraine has not yet responded.

A senior Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo early Saturday for talks with Egyptian officials aimed at brokering a ceasefire agreement, according to a statement by Hamas.

The delegation, led by Chairman of the Hamas Leadership Council Muhammad Darwish, includes other key leaders, among them Khaled Meshaal, Khalil al-Hayya, Zaher Jabarin, and Eng. Nizar Awadallah.

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he encouraged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza as his nation's war with Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, remains ongoing.

Newsweek reached out to Netanyahu's office for comment via email on Friday.

On March 2, Israel stopped all aid and other supplies heading into Gaza, with Netanyahu warning Hamas at the time that "additional consequences" could come to fruition.

President Donald Trump said he stressed to Israel that humanitarian supplies need to get into the embattled Gaza Strip amid its war against Hamas.

“We’ve got to be good to Gaza,” Trump said he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Those people are suffering. We’ve got to be good to Gaza.”

“We’re going to take care of that,” Trump continued Friday. “There’s a very big need for medicine, food, and medicine, and we’re taking care of it.”

President Trump issued a stark warning to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, saying Kyiv’s leader was in a “dire” situation and “can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.”