Russia Ukraine war live: Putin proposes new location for Trump talks as Kremlin rejects Zelensky meeting

The new import tax, effective 21 days after 7 August, will raise duties on some Indian exports to as high as 50 per cent, forcing the Asian country to cough up the highest levy on any US trading partner as Washington objects to Russian oil purchases by India.

India’s External Affairs ministry said the decision was “extremely unfortunate” and noted that many other countries are also importing Russian oil in their national economic interest.

Donald Trump has claimed the end of the Ukraine war could come in weeks, despite his latest deadline for Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire expiring in a matter of hours.

Last Monday, Trump dramatically shortened his previous 50-day ultimatum, giving Russia “10 to 12 days” to make progress toward peace or face tougher sanctions.

Sources close to the Kremlin say Putin is unlikely to bow to Trump’s threats, believing Russia holds the upper hand in the war and that the potential benefits of improved ties with Washington do not outweigh his military aims.

Here, The Independent looks at the times Trump has set deadlines for Russia:

Putin met with the president of the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, which reports have previously suggested as a possible venue.

The UAE has quietly become a key broker for diplomacy, particularly between Russia and Ukraine, hosting negotiations over prisoner exchanges.

For Trump, a summit in Abu Dhabi or Dubai would provide the grandeur he often opts for, whilst also avoiding the bureaucracy of more traditional Western venues.

The UAE also has a strong working relationship with Putin, and has resisted Western sanctions against Russia.

US president Donald Trump is using tariffs as a foreign policy tool by imposing secondary duties on Indian goods because of India’s purchase of Russian oil, treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Fox News.

“President Trump is using tariffs as an instrument of foreign policy, and he is putting secondary tariffs on India for buying Russian oil,” Bessent told Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” yesterday.

Asked if the US could slap additional tariffs on Chinese goods over Beijing’s purchase of Russian oil, Bessent said Trump is keeping all options open to stop the war in Ukraine and “China tariffs could be on the table at some point.”

Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with the leaders of France and Germany and with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, and said Europe must be involved in the peace process.

“The war is happening in Europe, and Ukraine is an integral part of Europe – we are already in negotiations on EU accession. Therefore, Europe must be a participant in the relevant processes,” he said on X.

He said the war must end with a “dignified peace”, and whatever settlement was reached would shape the security landscape of Europe for decades to come. Russia had still not said it was ready for a ceasefire, he added.

Ukraine and European leaders have long held concerns that Trump, who has voiced sympathy with some of Russia’s demands, could align with Putin to force a deal on Zelensky that would be deeply disadvantageous to Kyiv.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that US special envoy Steve Witkoff took part in Wednesday’s call between Trump, Zelensky and European leaders and briefed them on some things that Putin could agree to.

A long-overdue summit between the presidents of the United States and the Russian Federation to discuss peace in Ukraine, where nuclear war has been threatened, must be seen as a historic moment for optimism.

Except that from London to Langley, Berlin, Canberra and Tokyo, intelligence chiefs will be on tenterhooks wondering whether this is another occasion resembling the meeting between an agent and his handler.

There’s no evidence that Donald Trump works for Vladimir Putin. But there is ample evidence that the US president favours Putin’s agenda. And that he has done all he can to hobble Ukraine while it attempts to defend itself against a Russian invasion of Europe’s eastern flank.

A British man who volunteered to fight in Ukraine has been killed within a month of signing up, his wife has said.

Alan Robert Williams, 35, was killed on his first mission in Ukraine where he signed up to fight despite having no military experience, his wife Stephanie Boyce-Williams told The Telegraph.

He left from Moreton, Merseyside, on 7 May to fight Russian forces in Ukraine’s Kharkiv after losing his job, she said.

Boyce-Williams added that she and their 12-year-old daughter urged him to not go to the war-hit country. They lost contact with him on 2 July when he left for his first battlefield deployment.

Williams was targeted by four Russian drones, sources said, according to the report. The Russian drones dropped a mortar 20ft from his team near the recaptured village of Lyptsi, six miles from the Russian border.

His companions from the military unit said Williams was immediately unresponsive and they had to leave his body to escape the Russian ambush.

Williams has been officially declared as Missing in Action as his remains have not been retrieved, the report added.

Both the White House and the Kremlin have confirmed that a US-Russia summit will take place in the coming days, with reports suggesting a possible three-way meeting that would also include Ukraine’s president Zelensky. The news follows three hours of talks between Vladimir Putin and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, following his fourth visit to Moscow.

If either summit happens, this could mark the most progress towards ending the war since Donald Trump came to office and pledged, unsuccessfully, to end the conflict within 24 hours. But this trilateral encounter is another high-stakes gamble.

Top-level diplomacy does not usually happen like this. The lead time for an old-fashioned US-Russia summit would commonly be months, with the Kremlin in particular favouring meticulous preparation. So what has changed?