Ukraine seeks new round of talks with Russia

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said the US would send "top-of-the-line weapons" to Ukraine via Nato countries, while also threatening Russia with severe tariffs if a deal to end the war is not reached within 50 days. Two rounds of talks in Istanbul between Moscow and Kyiv have so far failed to result in any progress towards a ceasefire, but large-scale prisoner exchanges and deals to return the bodies of killed soldiers were agreed. After the last round, which ended in early June, Ukrainian negotiators said Russia had again rejected an "unconditional ceasefire" - a key demand by Kyiv and its allies in Europe and the US .