The Times interviewed Russian soldiers who said they face a brutal fight to dislodge determined Ukrainian forces from a sliver of Russian land. Trapped civilians fear catastrophe.

Volodymyr Zelensky's office has confirmed that the Ukrainian president also spoke to Trump in an hour-long phone call.

Mr Trump has long said he would quickly end the war in Ukraine, without saying how he would accomplish this. Read more at straitstimes.com.

President Donald Trump said negotiations to end the Ukraine war will start “immediately” after holding a “lengthy and highly productive” telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday morning.

Authorities in Moscow and Kyiv are in discussions about opening a humanitarian corridor for civilians stranded behind Ukrainian lines in the partially occupied Kursk region, Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkovasaid Tuesday.