Russia open to peace but must 'achieve goals' in Ukraine
Mr Peskov and other Russian officials have repeatedly rejected accusations from Kyiv and its western partners of stalling peace talks.
Meanwhile, Moscow continues to intensify its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, with more drones launched in a single night than during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate.
Mr Peskov told state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin: "(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible.
"This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy.
"The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear."
Kremlin on peace conditions
The Kremlin has insisted any peace deal should see Ukraine withdraw from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully captured.
It also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its armed forces, demands Kyiv and its Western allies have rejected.
In his nightly address yesterday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said his officials had proposed a new round of peace talks this week.
Russian state media reported today that no date had yet been set for the negotiations but that Istanbul would likely remain the host city.
Mr Trump threatened Russia on 14 July with steep tariffs and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for US weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance towards Moscow after months of frustration following unsuccessful negotiations aimed at ending the war.
Previous negotiations in Istanbul
The direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul resulted in several rounds of prisoner exchanges, but little else.
Mr Trump said he would implement "severe tariffs" unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days.
He provided few details on how they would be implemented, but suggested they would target Russia's trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy.
In addition, Mr Trump said European allies would buy "billions and billions" of dollars of US military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country's supplies of weapons.
Included in the plan are Patriot air defence systems, a top priority for Ukraine as it fends off Russian drones and missiles.
Russian drones shot down overnight
Elsewhere, Ukraine's air force said it shot down 18 of 57 Shahed-type and decoy drones launched by Russia overnight, with seven more disappearing from radar.
Two women were injured in Zaporizhzhia, a southern Ukrainian region partly occupied by Russia, when a drone struck their house, according to the regional military administration.
Two more civilians were injured in Izium, north-eastern Ukraine, after a drone hit a residential building, local Ukrainian officials said.
Later, drones struck a leafy square in the centre of Sumy, wounding a woman and her seven-year-old son, officials said.
The strike also damaged a power line, leaving some 100 households without electricity, according to Serhii Krivosheienko of the municipal military administration.
Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry said its forces had shot down 93 Ukrainian drones targeting Russian territory overnight, including at least 15 that appeared to be headed for Moscow.
Ten more drones were downed on the approach to the capital today, according to mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
He said one drone had struck a residential building in Zelenograd, on the outskirts of Moscow, damaging an apartment but causing no casualties.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
US attorney general told Trump his name is among many in Epstein files, Wall Street Journal reports
US attorney general Pam Bondi told president Donald Trump in May his name appeared in justice department files related to financier Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in prison, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing senior administration officials. Reuters was not able to immediately verify the Journal's report, which the White House characterised as 'fake news'. The newspaper's report threatened to expand what has become a political crisis for Mr Trump, whose past friendship with Epstein has drawn renewed scrutiny after his administration said it would not release the files, reversing a campaign promise. The justice department released a memo earlier this month that there was no basis to continue investigating the Epstein case, triggering a backlash among Mr Trump's political base, who demanded more information about wealthy and powerful people who had interacted with Epstein. READ MORE Mr Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing related to Epstein and has said their friendship ended before Epstein was first prosecuted. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. He had pleaded not guilty and the case was dismissed after his death. Under political pressure last week, Mr Trump directed the justice department to seek the release of sealed grand jury transcripts from the case. A federal judge denied that request earlier on Wednesday. While the White House immediately dismissed the report as fictitious, Ms Bondi and deputy attorney general Todd Blanche issued a statement that did not directly address the Wall Street Journal's reporting. [ Donald Trump sues Rupert Murdoch and Wall Street Journal publisher for $10bn over Jeffrey Epstein report Opens in new window ] 'Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, and we have filed a motion in court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts,' the officials said. 'As part of our routine briefing, we made the president aware of the findings.' The Journal reported that Ms Bondi and her deputy told Mr Trump at a White House meeting that his name, as well as those of 'many other high-profile figures', appeared in the files. Last week, the newspaper reported that Mr Trump had sent Epstein a bawdy birthday note in 2003 that ended, 'Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.' Reuters has not confirmed the authenticity of the alleged letter. Mr Trump has sued the Journal and its owners, including billionaire Rupert Murdoch, asserting that the birthday note was fake. Since the justice department's memo, Mr Trump has faced growing frustration among his base of supporters, after far-right figures spent years promoting conspiracy theories – at times echoed by Mr Trump – about Epstein and alleged ties to prominent Democratic politicians. Epstein hung himself in prison in 2019, according to the New York City chief medical examiner. But his connections with wealthy and powerful individuals prompted speculation that his death was not a suicide. The justice department said in its memo this month that it had concluded Epstein died by his own hand. [ Top Republican Mike Johnson shuts US Congress early to avoid Epstein vote Opens in new window ] In a sign of how the issue has bedevilled Mr Trump and his fellow Republicans, US House speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday abruptly said he would send lawmakers home for the summer a day early to avoid a floor fight over a vote on the Epstein files. His decision temporarily stymied a push by Democrats and some Republicans for a vote on a bipartisan resolution that would require the justice department to release all Epstein-related documents. More than two-thirds of Americans believe the Trump administration is hiding information about Epstein's clients, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week. Wednesday's court motion stemmed from federal investigations into Epstein in 2005 and 2007, according to court documents. US district judge Robin Rosenberg found that the justice department's request in Florida did not fall into any of the exceptions to rules requiring grand jury material be kept secret. The justice department also has pending requests to unseal transcripts in Manhattan federal court related to later indictments brought against Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her conviction for child sex trafficking and other crimes. – Reuters (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
EU and US move toward trade deal that could include a 15pc baseline tariff on EU goods with possible exemptions
European negotiators were hoping to reach an agreement to dodge the 30pc tariff rate Trump has said he would impose on imports from the 27-nation bloc on August 1. The rate, which could also extend to cars, would mirror the framework agreement the U.S. has struck with Japan, which Trump announced late on Tuesday. There could be concessions for sectors like aircraft and lumber as well as some medicines and agricultural products, which would not face tariffs, the diplomats said. Washington does not, however, appear willing to lower its current 50pc tariff on steel, they said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro told Bloomberg News the report from the EU should be taken with "a grain of salt." As talks continued, the European Commission said it would press on with potential counter-measures in case a deal was not reached. EU member states were set to vote on 93 billion euros of counter-tariffs on U.S. goods on Thursday, European diplomats said. A broad majority of members support using anti-coercion instruments if there is no deal, they said. Trump was aiming to secure an agreement on the heels of a complicated deal reached with Japan, the largest foreign investor in the U.S. That deal included a $550 investment and loan pledges from Japan and its commitment to buy 100 Boeing airplanes and boost purchases of U.S. agricultural products. That investment - to be spent at Trump's discretion - would focus on key industries like energy, semiconductors, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals and shipbuilding, the White House said on Wednesday. Tariffs on Japan's auto sector will drop from 27.5pc to 15pc as part of the agreement, reviving hopes for similar treatment for European cars. Asian and European stock markets rallied as investors cheered the U.S.-Japan agreement, but U.S. stocks showed a more modest rise and earnings reports were gloomy. American businesses making everything from chips to steel reported downbeat results on Wednesday, revealing how the Trump administration's chaotic trade policy has hurt profits, added to costs, upended supply chains and weighed on consumer confidence. U.S. automakers signaled their unhappiness with the Japan deal, raising concerns about a trade regime that cuts tariffs on Japanese auto imports while leaving 25pc tariffs on imports from their plants and suppliers in Canada and Mexico. "Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no U.S. content than the tariff imposed on North American-built vehicles with high U.S. content is a bad deal for U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers," said Matt Blunt, the president of the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents General Motors, Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis. Automobile stocks led the climb of European shares after the Japan deal spurred hopes that the U.S. was budging over tariffs on EU cars. EU officials have previously said Washington has shown little sign of doing so. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that Japan received the 15pc rate on auto tariffs "because they were willing to provide this innovative financing mechanism" that he did not think other countries could replicate. Trump, however, has appeared open to a range of options as the U.S. negotiates trade deals. "I will only lower tariffs if a country agrees to open its market," Trump wrote in a social media post on Wednesday. The Republican president said late on Tuesday that other countries would be coming to Washington for talks this week. Governments were scrambling to close trade deals before next week's deadline that the White House has repeatedly pushed back under pressure from markets and intense lobbying by industry. U.S. and Chinese officials plan to meet in Stockholm next week to discuss extending an August 12 deadline for negotiating a trade deal. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday would not discuss expectations for the meeting, but said Bessent "looks forward to continuing discussions with his Chinese counterparts."
The Irish Sun
5 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Putin's favourite newspaper preparing Russians for NUCLEAR WAR in chillingly short time frame: ‘Nowhere we can't hit'
RUSSIAN media is reportedly preparing its citizens for a potential nuclear war with the West in the near future. Several media outlets in Moscow - part of 12 Plans for dealing with a nuclear attack on London have been obtained by The Sun Credit: Getty 12 A Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launches from the Plesetsk military launchpad in northwestern Russia Credit: EPA 12 US soldiers manually load an AIM-120 AMRAAM Missile onto an FA-18 Hornet on the flight deck of USS Harry S. Truman Credit: AP:Associated Press Komsomolskaya Pravda (KP) newspaper uses Russian 'experts' to explain how such a conflict could happen - ramping up the nuclear war rhetoric. Readers are told that Britain and Europe want to engage in a conflict with the Russian empire. This could happen by the end of the decade when "European forces reach full operational readiness", the newspaper reports. It comes after a senior US army general threatened to launch a read more on Russia The newspaper argues multiple Western politicians and military figures have threatened war. And it threatens to launch an attack on the West - claiming "there is no place in Europe [Russia] cannot hit". Andrei Klintsevich, head of the Centre for the Study of Military and Political Conflicts, told the newspaper: "They need a big war to dismember Russia into small independent states and get free access to our resources." Lintsevich accused the West of mobilising its military-industrial complex, mining borders, and building defences. Most read in The US Sun The aim is to provoke Russia, accuse Moscow of 'aggression', and launch direct confrontation, he told the paper. He demanded that Russia now stage a nuclear weapons test in the Arctic - the first since the end of the Cold War - to deter the West. Independent news outlet Agentsvo said the report in KP - said to be Putin's favourite newspaper - was 'intended to prepare Russian public opinion for a potential war with Nato'. Nato jets scrambled after Putin blitz... while Ukraine drones hit Moscow AGAIN 'Russia would have to respond — not only diplomatically. Missile strikes would be inevitable, as securing a land corridor through Odesa and Mykolaiv would require considerable time and force,' explained the newspaper. General Christopher Donahue, commander of the United States Army Europe and Africa, said Nato could capture Kaliningrad - Wedged between Poland and Lithuania, the region of Kaliningrad is heavily militarised by the Russians. It is cut off from the rest of Putin's empire, but could be used by the tyrant to launch an attack on Europe. Using the strategic exclave, the Russians could also take over the Suwalki Gap - a hard-to-defend strip of land less than 60 miles wide that links the rest of the Nato countries to the Baltic nations. 12 Vladimir Putin and his cronies have threatened to nuke the West several times Credit: AFP 12 General Christopher Donahue, commander of the United States Army Europe and Africa Credit: AFP 12 Donahue had argued that Nato could destroy the heavily militarised Kaliningrad 'in a timeframe that is unheard of and faster than we've ever been able to do' in the event of Russian threats against allied states. 'Donahue's words confirm that they are preparing to seize Kaliningrad,' said Klintsevich. 'The Swedish island of Gotland is already being turned into a powerful warship — with air defence systems, anti-ship missiles, and more being deployed there. Estonia and Finland are forming a joint group.' He warned Russians: 'Under a made-up pretext, they'll block Kaliningrad's air and sea routes. 'Our protests and ultimatums will be ignored, forcing our troops to fight their way through the Suwałki Gap [a 60-mile wide strip of land connecting NATO states Lithuania and Poland , flanked by Russia - Kaliningrad - and its ally Belarus]. 'In such a case, Europe would launch a ground operation in Kaliningrad using large numbers of rockets, artillery, and drones ,' said the newspaper. 'The Alliance believes that occupying Kaliningrad would cut Russia off from the Baltic once and for all,' said military expert Alexander Zimovsky. Another flashpoint starting a new war in Europe could be ex-Soviet state Moldova , says KP. Russia's foreign intelligence service SVR has warned that Nato 'is rapidly turning Moldova into a military staging ground. Another trigger point for World War Three could be the north, claimed Sergey Sudakov, of the Russian Academy of Military Sciences. The most likely threat is Finland, which recently joined NATO. They have 'solid military infrastructure, which the alliance could use for attacks on St Petersburg, Karelia, and Murmansk,' said Zimovsky. 12 Russia's Burevestnik cruise missile, known as Skyfall, in action during a test launch Credit: East2west News 12 A satellite image which shows five Russian nuclear warhead storage bunkers (right) as well as launch positions, according to researchers Credit: Reuters 12 Russian military expert Andrei Klintsevich Credit: Andrei Klintsevich/e2w 12 KP stressed: 'While a Kaliningrad conflict might be settled, an assault on St Petersburg would risk triggering World War Three.' The Kremlin has ramped up its nuclear rhetoric after the threats from the US commander - with Putin's henchmen accusing the US of "unleashing World War Three". Terrifying The chilling documents lay bare the grim reality of how Londoners would face The tirade from Moscow comes as the Kremlin pushes on with its war against Ukraine - Fears new Russia-Ukraine talks are already doomed to fail By , Foreign Editor RUSSIA and Ukraine held peace talks in Istanbul today following Donald Trump's stern warning to warmonger Vladimir Putin. Any hopes for a breakthrough continue to appear bleak as Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned the enemies remained "diametrically opposed". And fears still linger that Putin may - yet again - make impossible demands and play for time while continuing his 'meatgrinder' assaults and attacks on civilians. Trump has given the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a new round of negotiations will take place in Turkey involving envoys from both sides. Zelensky said he had authorised his security council chief Rustem Umerov to stage the third crucial meeting following failed attempts at peace in May and June. He said discussions would centre on 'preparations for a prisoner exchange and another meeting in Turkey with the Russian side". A senior Ukrainian source said talks could also begin working towards a possible historic meeting between Zelensky and Putin. But Kremlin spokesman Peskov downplayed the likelihood of reaching any concrete outcome anytime soon. Peskov said: "A lot of diplomatic work lies ahead." Last week, US president Trump vented his frustration with Putin, declaring he was He imposed a Instead of agreeing, a snarling Putin declined and ramped up his ground and aerial offensives across Ukraine. Meanwhile, Trump agreed to sell defence systems to Ukraine and It comes after ex-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said that Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, raged that Nato and the West are effectively already at war with Russia as he pushed the Kremlin's view that his country is the victim. That's despite it being Medvedev accused the US and Europe of an attempt to 'destroy' Russia which is 'hated by the West', he claimed. Diplomats say his remarks give an indication of the thinking among some within the Moscow political elite. 12 An explosion of a drone lights up the sky over Kyiv during a Russian drone and missile strike Credit: Reuters 12 Last week, US President Trump vented his frustration with Putin, declaring he was 'disappointed' but 'not done' with the Russian tyrant Credit: AP
