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- By RFE/RL
Trump Says He Passed Physical Exam And Feels 'In Very Good Shape'
US President Donald Trump said he felt "in very good shape" after his first medical checkup since returning to the White House.
Trump, 78, arrived on April 11 at the Walter Reed Medical Center in suburban Washington for a physical exam that put the focus on cardio and cognitive tests. He later told reporters on Air Force One that he “got every answer right" on the cognitive test and said he had not only a “good heart” but also a "very good soul."
"It went, I think, well,” Trump said of the exam, adding that he underwent “every test you can imagine” and that a report is expected to be issued on April 13.
American presidents traditionally provide details about their health and wellbeing though they are not compelled to do so.
Trump has repeatedly been accused of a lack of openness about his health, but the White House said that presidential physician Sean Barbabella would give a readout of the exam and that "of course" it would be made public.
"I can confirm the president is in very good shape, as you see on a near daily basis," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said.
Trump, a prolific golfer who abstains from alcohol and cigarettes, has repeatedly boasted about his vigor since starting a second term, but he is known to indulge in fast food. He likes it so much he staged a photo op at a McDonald's during his campaign last year.
The White House doctor in his first term, Ronny Jackson, said in 2018 that with a healthier diet Trump could "live to be 200 years old." The exams conducted during his first term revealed that Trump was taking medication to treat high cholesterol.
Jackson's report suggested Trump should aim to lose 10 to 15 pounds but said he was generally in "excellent health" with no signs of "any cognitive issues."
A year later, an exam found the 1.9-meter tall president weighed 110 kilograms. Trump appears to have lost some weight since then.
Age and cognitive health became a major issue in the 2024 election when Trump and then-President Joe Biden faced off as the oldest major party candidates in history.
Biden, now 82, was forced to drop out of the race after verbally stumbling through a TV debate against Trump in June that put concerns over his health to the top of the agenda.
Since returning to office Trump has repeatedly compared his own vigor to Biden's, while the White House has accused the previous administration of covering up what it says was Biden’s decline.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP
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Russian Journalists Handed Prison Terms For Alleged Ties To Navalny
Four Russian journalists have been sentenced by a Moscow court to 5 1/2 years in prison each for their activities linked to the late opposition leader Aleksei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which Russian authorities have designated as an "extremist organization."
The journalists -- Antonina Favorskaya, Sergei Karelin, Konstantin Gabov, and Artyom Kriger -- were convicted after a closed-door trial for their contributions to YouTube channels affiliated with FBK before it was outlawed in 2021.
The court on April 15 also barred the defendants from working as journalists for three years after their release.
After the verdicts and sentences were pronounced, the journalists' supporters started applauding and chanting: "Guys, you are the best!"
Kriger told supporters: "Everything will be okay, guys, do not worry, sooner or later all this will be over. Those who sentenced me will for sure be convicted themselves."
Bailiffs then started shouting at Kriger and cleared the courtroom.
All four journalists have repeatedly denied the charges.
The trial, which started in early October 2024, was held behind closed doors with supporters and journalists only allowed to attend the reading out of the verdicts and sentences.
Favorskaya and Kriger are reporters for the independent outlet SOTAVision, itself labeled a “foreign agent” by the Russian government.
'Independent Journalist Is Equated With Extremism'
Gabov and Karelin are freelance journalists who have contributed to major international media organizations, including Reuters and the Associated Press. Gabov has also contributed to Radio Liberty, Radio Free Europe's Russian-language service.
"I have never been a member of any political party and always considered it my duty as a journalist to objectively express the opinions of people with diverse views to help them be heard by the authorities," Gabov said in his final statement to the court.
“Independent journalism [in Russia] is equated with extremism.”
Karelin stressed in his final statement that the channel he was accused of working with wasn't outlawed as extremist at the time he contributed to it.
“Remorse is considered to be a mitigating circumstance. It’s the criminals who need to have remorse for what they did. But I am in prison for my work, for the honest and impartial attitude to journalism, FOR THE LOVE for my family and country,” he said in a written statement to the court.
The prosecution had sought up to six years in prison for each defendant. The trial was closed to the public, with authorities citing warnings from Russia’s Center for Combating Extremism, which claimed the FBK might attempt to disrupt proceedings.
The sentencing is part of a broader crackdown on journalists and former associates of Navalny, who died in prison in February 2024 under disputed circumstances while serving a 19-year sentence on charges widely regarded as politically motivated.
His death prompted international outrage and intensified scrutiny of Russia’s treatment of political prisoners and independent media.
Human rights organizations report that dozens of journalists are currently detained in Russia on similar charges, as the government continues to tighten control over dissenting voices.
Ukraine Replaces Regional Governor As Sumy Buries More Victims Of Russian Strike
Ukraine's government approved the dismissal of the military governor of the Sumy region for holding an award ceremony that appears to have been the target of a Russian air strike that killed 35 people, including two children.
Volodymyr Artyukh, the head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, is expected to be relieved of his position once President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signs the approval, confirmed by the cabinet on April 15, government spokesman Taras Melnychuk said.
Artyukh will be replaced by Oleh Hryhorov, a former law enforcement official.
The decision comes amid a public outcry over an apparent military award ceremony held in Sumy just hours before the strike on April 13.
Russian forces launched two ballistic missiles -- one equipped with cluster munitions, according to Ukrainian officials -- at the center of the city, injuring more than 100 people along with the 35 deaths.
Residents of Sumy on April 15 buried more of those killed in the attack in emotional ceremonies.
"My sister died in the attack. If I was handed a gun, I’d start killing Russians on the [front line]. I’m fed up with them. Please, stop. I can’t take it anymore," said one grief-stricken relative at the funeral of two of the victims.
A 'Horrible Thing'
Officials from around the world condemned Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, for the attack, which fell on Palm Sunday as many in the city marked one of the most religious days in the Christian calendar.
US President Donald Trump, who has made ending the war a top foreign policy priority since taking office less than three months ago, called the Russian strike on Sumy a "horrible thing."
But Bloomberg News reported on April 15 that the United States told its allies that it won't endorse a statement condemning Russia in the attack because it does not want to impact a peace process it is trying to bring the parties to sign to end Europe's largest conflict since World War II.
NATO chief Mark Rutte, in Odesa on April 15, said the alliance's support is "unwavering."
Calls for the Artyukh removal came after Artem Semenikhin, mayor of Konotop—the second-largest city in the Sumy region -- publicly accused the governor of organizing the ceremony honoring soldiers from the 117th Territorial Defense Brigade at the Sumy Congress Center.
"He [Artyukh] held an award ceremony for our heroes from the 117th Brigade right here. Everyone knows about it. It's not true that nothing was happening. It was. Thank God no soldiers were hurt -- they were in a shelter. But [the Russians] used a cluster bomb to cause as many civilian casualties as possible," Semenikhin said in a video statement recorded on the day of the attack.
In a subsequent interview with public broadcaster Suspilne, Artyukh acknowledged he had attended the event but denied organizing it.
"It wasn't my initiative. I was invited," he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed the target of the strike was a "Ukrainian command staff meeting," while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov alleged, without providing evidence, that NATO military personnel were present.
Ukrainian authorities have neither confirmed nor denied the presence of an army event in Sumy the day of the attack.
Ukrainian lawmaker Maryana Bezuhla stated on social media that there had been a leak of information concerning the ceremony.
EU Looks to Tighten Visa Rules: 61 Countries Face Visa-Free Travel Overhaul
The European Union looks set to sharpen its visa suspension mechanism later this year, making it easier for Brussels to revoke visa-free travel for citizens of the 61 countries that currently enjoy it -- including all the EU hopefuls in the Western Balkans, as well as Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
The proposal to list more reasons for suspending visa-free travel was initiated by the European Commission back in 2023, and the Council of the EU -- which represents the 27 member states –- already adopted its position on the matter a year ago. However, due to the European Parliamentary elections in June 2024 and a heavy backlog of legislation, the European Parliament only recently obtained its negotiation mandate.
Last week, the first trialogue between the three institutions took place on the proposed legislation, with the goal of reaching an agreement during the Polish Presidency of the EU Council, which runs until the end of June. If all goes well, the new legislation should be up and running in early autumn.
Why Is This Happening Now?
Essentially, the bloc is becoming much more hard-nosed about visa liberalization, reflecting a broader shift: first, to combat any form of illegal migration into the EU; and second, to potentially use visa policy as a political tool to pressure third countries.
Visa liberalization -- which in this case includes all EU member states except Ireland, as well as non-EU countries Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland -- has long been one of Brussels' most significant political carrots, particularly for countries in its neighborhood.
It allows nationals from third countries to visit the EU for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. Kosovo was included on the list in early 2024 and Georgia and Ukraine in 2017 -- moves that were celebrated in all these countries.
To threaten to withdraw the privilege can therefore be seen as a real stick.
The current suspension mechanism, in place since 2018, can be triggered in cases of clear abuse -- for example, a surge in third-country nationals overstaying the 90-day limit or using the liberalization of travel to seek asylum in the EU. So far, the bloc has only suspended visa liberalization once: first temporarily, then permanently, for the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu.
So, what changes are likely in store? Broadly speaking, there are four key areas of change, as Brussels aims to make the visa suspension mechanism a more credible deterrent. First, visa liberalization could be suspended if there is a perceived lack of alignment between a visa-free third country and the EU's general visa policy.
This was the case in 2022, for example, when Serbia allowed visa-free travel for citizens of countries such as Burundi, India, and Cuba. Brussels suggested that many of those individuals were using Serbia as a backdoor into the EU. After pressure from the European Commission, Belgrade dropped some of these arrangements. Under the proposed legislation, however, such behavior could be punished more readily.
Hybrid Threats
Another reason for suspending visas is so-called hybrid threats. While still rather theoretical, this provision is inspired by cases such as Russia and Belarus, which the EU has accused of transporting migrants from Africa and Asia to EU frontiers, like Poland and Lithuania's borders.
Now, the EU's visa facilitation agreements with both Moscow and Minsk have already been suspended for several years, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Belarusian strongman Aleksandr Lukashenko's crackdown on the opposition. However, if another visa-free country attempts a similar tactic, the new mechanism could be triggered in response.
Thirdly, if a country operates an investor citizenship scheme -- allowing individuals to buy citizenship without any genuine link to that country -- then visa liberalization with the EU could also be halted in the future.
However, the fourth new ground for suspension is perhaps the most interesting one, as it relates to the EU's political relations with third countries. The draft legislation states that the suspension mechanism can be triggered in cases of “serious human rights violations and abuses" or “serious breaches of international law and standards, including human rights law and noncompliance with international court decisions and rulings."
'Democracy Criterion'
If you ask EU officials, their reading has always been that a “democracy criterion" exists when it comes to visa liberalization -- but it has never been clearly spelled out what exactly this entails.
Another interesting and new aspect is that triggering the mechanism in this case should be the exclusive prerogative of the European Commission, after consultation with EU member states, as it deals with the external relations of the bloc.
Ultimately, however, it would still be up to the member states -- via a qualified majority -- to suspend visa liberalization with a third country. As EU officials put it, this remains “the nuclear option when all others have been exhausted," since the bloc is generally reluctant to penalize a country's entire population rather than its government.
That's why, earlier this year, the EU chose to suspend visa liberalization for Georgian diplomatic passport holders only, following democratic backsliding in the Caucasus country. Still, the option of targeting the entire population remains on the table -- and with the future expanded scope of the suspension mechanism, the bloc is clearly sharpening its toolbox.
- By RFE/RL
In Couched Comments, Khamenei Backs Iran-US Nuclear Talks
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to back the continuation of nuclear discussions between Tehran and Washington, though he said he is neither "overly optimistic nor overly pessimistic" about the talks as they head toward a second round this weekend.
In his first public comments on the initiation of talks between Iran and the United States last weekend, Khamenei on April 15 said Iranian negotiators need to proceed with caution.
"A decision was made [to enter the talks] and has been carried out well in the initial steps. Going forward, we need to move carefully. Our red lines -- and the other side's -- are clearly defined," Khamenei said at a gathering of the senior members of the three branches of power.
"The negotiations may or may not lead to a result. We are neither very optimistic nor very pessimistic about these talks. Of course, we are very pessimistic about the other side, but we are optimistic about our own capabilities," he added.
Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, urged officials "not to tie the country's affairs" to the negotiations.
The first round of talks, which were mostly carried out indirectly, were held in Muscat on April 12, with the next round scheduled for April 19.
Italy was initially set to host the second round, but Iran later said Oman would continue to host the talks. None of the parties involved have elaborated on why the venue was changed.
Montenegro Releases Kazakh Rights Activist Smailova Awaiting Extradition Ruling
Kazakh women's rights activist Dinara Smailova was released by Montenegro's Higher Court in Podgorica on April 15, a day after she was arrested in the coastal town of Budva at the request of Kazakh authorities.
The court ruled that she may remain free while the extradition case proceeds, but ordered the confiscation of her passport to prevent her from leaving the country.
Authorities in Podgorica said on April 14 that Smailova's arrest was carried out "in accordance with an order by the investigative judge of the Higher Court," pending a review of the extradition request.
She is the founder of NeMolchiKZ (Don’t Be Silent KZ), a leading advocacy group fighting domestic and sexual violence in Kazakhstan.
Smailova applied for asylum in Montenegro in October 2023 and the decision is expected in the following months, her lawyer Dalibor Tomovic said on April 15.
"The request for asylum was submitted before the Kazakh government submitted a request for her extradition and the detention. So in the case that she is extradited to Kazakhstan, the fear of persecution is justified."
After leaving the court in Podgorica, Smailova thanked the supporters of NeMolchiKZ.
"You've been supporting us for about nine years, and that led to a women's revolution in Kazakhstan, where both men and women support our fight against domestic violence. Don't give up," Smailova said.
In December 2023, a Kazakh court issued a warrant for Smailova's arrest on charges of fraud, violating privacy, and spreading false information -- allegations that could carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Human Rights Watch had earlier described the charges as "dubious" and part of a broader campaign to discredit her activism.
"Kazakh authorities appear to be on a fishing expedition, aggressively targeting Smailova in an effort to undermine her legitimate work defending victims of abuse," the group warned in February 2024.
Domestic violence remains a serious issue in Kazakhstan. According to local and international organizations, hundreds of women die every year as a result of domestic violence, and thousands more suffer abuse in silence due to societal stigma and institutional indifference.
In 2017, Kazakhstan decriminalized beatings and other acts causing "minor" physical harm, with the punishment reduced to an arrest, fine, or warning.
During a high-profile trial of a former government official who beat his wife to death, a law was introduced in April 2024 to close gaps in legal protections against domestic violence by criminalizing battery and intentional harm to health.
However, several human rights groups, including Smailova's organization, expressed concerns, saying the amendments do not go far enough.
Smailova's organization has provided critical support to survivors, including legal aid and public advocacy. Her outspoken criticism of the government's failure to protect women and children has drawn both praise and political backlash.
Montenegro's Council for Civilian Oversight of Police Work had cautioned Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic that Smailova would face persecution if returned to Kazakhstan.
The council likened Kazakhstan's increasing pressure on human rights defenders to similar tactics used by the Russian government and stressed that extraditing Smailova would contradict Montenegro's commitment to protecting human dignity and democratic values.
Smailova and her husband, fellow rights activist Almat Mukhamezhanov, have lived in self-imposed exile for several years and moved to Montenegro in 2023.
- By RFE/RL
Drone Attack On Kursk Kills 1, Injures 9, Russian Authorities Say
A Ukrainian drone attack killed an 85-year-old woman and injured nine people in the Russian city of Kursk near the border with Ukraine, regional authorities said on April 15.
"Kursk has been subjected to a massive enemy attack overnight," the Kursk regional administration said on Telegram.
Several apartments in a multistory residential building caught fire as a result of the drone attack, said acting Mayor Sergei Kotlyarov on Telegram. Residents have been evacuated to a nearby school, he added.
Drones also hit also an ambulance garage, damaging 11 vehicles, the region's administration said.
More than 20 blasts shook the city, according to Russia's Baza and SHOT Telegram channels, which often publish information from sources in the security services and law enforcement.
The reports could not be independently verified. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Both sides deny targeting civilians.
Ukrainian troops staged an incursion into the Kursk region in August, but Russian forces have been successful in recent months in pushing Ukrainian troops back across the border.
The attack on April 15 follows a Russian missile strike that left at least 34 people dead on April 13 in the Ukrainian city of Sumy, capital of the Sumy region, which borders Russia’s Kursk region.
Ukraine's state emergency service said two children were among those killed in the attack, which occurred as Ukrainians marked Palm Sunday. At least 117 others -- including 15 children -- were injured.
Officials from around the world condemned Russia and President Vladimir Putin on April 14.
European officials accused Russia of committing a war crime, while US officials from President Donald Trump to several Republican and Democratic Party lawmakers expressed horror at the death and destruction caused in the second major attack to kill Ukrainian civilians in 10 days.
With reporting by Reuters
Serbian Students Rally Against Protest Coverage In Front Of Public Broadcasters
Serbian students staged demonstrations late on April 14 in front of the buildings of public broadcasters in Belgrade and Novi Sad to express their dissatisfaction with their reporting of protests that have taken place almost daily since the fatal collapse of a concrete at train station in November.
The students accused the national broadcasters -- Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) in Belgrade and Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV) in Novi Sad -- of ignoring their movement and the protests.
"The public broadcaster is working against all of us," the students wrote on Instagram. They pitched tents outside RTS and RTV and vowed a prolonged blockade.
Police officers were deployed in Belgrade, but no incidents were reported.
Belgrade students took to social media without notice earlier on April 14 to call for a blockade of RTS at two locations in Belgrade.
There has been criticism that the broadcasters failed to cover dozens of Serbian cyclists who earlier this month traveled some 1,300 kilometers to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to draw attention to their country's ongoing anti-corruption campaign.
The protests started after the collapse of a concrete canopy at Novi Sad train station killed 16 people. The deadly collapse triggered nationwide demonstrations in Serbia by people who blamed the government for corruption and poor oversight.
Gatherings have taken place almost daily, drawing hundreds of thousands of participants in major cities. The broader movement is drawing attention to what they says is the crumbling rule of law and systemic corruption under President Aleksandar Vucic.
The pressure led to the resignation of the prime minister and the collapse of the government.
The President of the National Assembly of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, has scheduled a special session of the parliament for April 15 at which members of the new government are expected to be elected, according to the website of the assembly.
Aleksandar Vulin, who held the position of vice president in the previous government, is not on the proposed list of new ministers. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Vulin has visited Russia and met with high Russian officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. Vulin has been under US sanctions since 2023 for allegedly facilitating Russian activities in the Balkans.
Vucic on April 12 rallied his supporters in Belgrade, announcing that he will form a new political movement in the face of the growing wave of protests.
Vucic insists the student-led protests are threatening peace and stability in the country and accuses organizers of being paid by "foreign intelligence agencies."
He told thousands of supporters during the April 12 rally that authorities must begin procedures "to restore order in the country" and that "full respect for the Constitution [must take place] to ensure the security of Serbia."
He said a new movement for the people and the state is required "because we need new energy and new strength, a new plan, not a plan until 2027, but until 2035."
With reporting by AFP
Hungary Passes Constitutional Amendment Recognizing Only Two Genders
Hungarian lawmakers on Monday passed the 15th amendment to the Fundamental Law, as the constitution is called, restricting the right of LGBT groups to hold public events while recognizing only two genders: male and female.
The amendment was passed by a vote of 140 to 21, with deputies from the far-right Our Homeland Movement joining Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party and its allies, the Christian Democrats.
Members and supporters of the opposition Momentum party tried to disrupt the vote by blocking the parliamentary parking lot and honking a horn during the plenary session. Opposition groups also protested against the amendment outside Parliament during the voting.
As a result of the vote, the Fundamental Law now stipulates that a person can only identify as either male or female. The law comes three months after US President Donald Trump, an ally of Orban, issued an executive order recognizing only two genders.
The Hungarian bill says the right of children to proper physical, mental, and moral development -- with the exception of the right to life -- takes precedence over all other fundamental rights, including the right to assembly. The Pride march, held annually in Budapest for some 30 years, can now be banned.
The new amendment also says Hungarians have the fundamental right to use cash and allows for the suspension of citizenship and the expulsion from Hungary of Hungarians who are also citizens of another country outside the European Union if they are deemed to pose a threat to public order and the country's national security.
The production, use, distribution, and promotion of drugs is also now constitutionally banned.
The ban on public LGBT events was the latest step by the Orban government opposing the rights of the LGBT community. Since Orban's return to power in 2010, the government has banned gay marriage, severely restricted the possibility for LGBT people to adopt children and has tried equating homosexuality with pedophilia.
Xi Eyes Inroads In Asia, Europe Amid Trump's Tariffs And US-China Tensions
Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for upholding multilateral trade as he landed in Vietnam as part of a high-stakes tour of Southeast Asia's most export-reliant economies as he looks to capitalize on global trade tensions with the United States.
The three-country visit, which begins with a two-day state visit to Vietnam on April 14, will also take Xi to Malaysia and Cambodia as he aims to emphasize China as a stable partner in contrast to the United States, which has imposed and then suspended punishing tariffs across the region and roiled global markets.
"There are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars, and protectionism has no way out," Xi wrote in an article published in Vietnamese state media ahead of his visit, without mentioning the United States specifically.
The Chinese leader also urged strengthening coordination and cooperation through regional initiatives, such as the East Asia Cooperation and the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, which he called necessary to "inject more stability and positive energy into a chaotic and intertwined world."
Beijing and Hanoi signed 45 agreements, although the contents of all the deals have not yet been disclosed. Xi expected to attend the launch ceremony for a new $8-billion railway project connecting Vietnam and China on April 15. The venture is part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global infrastructure development strategy.
While planned ahead of the announcement of global US tariffs, the tour now forms part of a broader Chinese charm offensive launched in the wake of a growing trade war that saw US President Donald Trump hit China with 145 percent tariffs and Beijing respond with a 125 percent tit-for-tat move on US goods.
Before receiving a 90-day reprieve on "reciprocal" US tariffs, Vietnam and Cambodia were hit with 46 percent and 49 percent tariffs, respectively, and both countries are walking a tightrope in their relations between China and the United States, both of which are important economic partners.
China is also looking for inroads in Europe amid the tariff tumult. Xi hosted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing on April 11, where he said China and the European Union should "jointly oppose unilateral acts of bullying."
Similarly, Chinese premier Li Qiang spoke with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week when they both emphasized the need for a "strong reformed trading system, free, fair, and founded on a level playing field," according to a readout.
"US tariffs were seen as truly existential, and while we're in a pause on the retaliatory tariffs, there's still this pervading sense of uncertainty around the threat of future tariffs," said Kaitlyn Garman, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).
"You can see short- and long-term scenarios where policy decisions will need to be assessed through the lens of the potential that this opens up another point of confrontation with the United States and risks an escalating trade war," she added.
Tariffs Ignite A Delicate Balancing Act in Southeast Asia
Trump has said his goal in unleashing tariffs is to eliminate the US trade deficit once and for all, which he says will help lure more manufacturing back to the United States, creating jobs at home and staunching the flow of US money to China.
But the tariffs also appear to be a negotiating tool for Washington to remake its trade relationships with much of the world.
Some 70 countries are said to currently be negotiating tariff relief with Washington, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week they should "approach China as a group" together with the United States.
Many countries across Asia, however, are also grappling with being slapped by soaring tariffs and debating how to respond in the event that they could be reinstated to their full level after the 90-day pause ends.
It's against this backdrop that Beijing is looking to gain ground with its strategic neighbors in Southeast Asia.
Vietnam and many others in the region have traditionally sought to avoid taking sides between China and the United States. Washington is a crucial export market for southeast Asia and a security partner that serves as a counterbalance to China's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.
However, trade in the region is closely intertwined with China, with countries from the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), counting as the biggest recipient of Chinese exports last year, according to China's customs data.
Vietnam is in the process of looking to negotiate its trade relationship with the Trump administration and has already sent Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc to Washington, who promised to buy more US goods, including defense systems, as it looks to avoid the 46 percent levy being reintroduced.
Exports to the United States account for 30 percent of Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP) and the country has received a boost in recent years as many companies moved there from China to skirt tariffs imposed by Washington.
China Looks For Diplomatic Inroads Elsewhere
Beijing has cast a wide net as it has looked to capitalize diplomatically in the aftermath of US tariffs.
Last week, China held video calls with Malaysia, as well as Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Xi also vowed to deepen China's strategic partnership with Indonesia in a call with that country's president, Prabowo Subianto, on April 13.
Brussels also announced that it plans to host an EU-China summit in July, and the bloc said last week that it agreed to restart talks with Beijing to settle a dispute over Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports, which the EU hit with tariffs in 2024.
Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez's recent visit to Beijing also made headlines when he called for Europe to review its relationship with China as it adapts to a new reality with the United States. Those comments were met with a rebuke from US Treasury Secretary Bessent, who warned that cooperating with Beijing would be "cutting your own throat."
Analysts say a rapprochement between Brussels and Beijing is not in the cards given that China's support of Russia amid its war in Ukraine has deeply damaged relations with the bloc.
But Trump's tariffs threats, as well disagreements over US diplomacy over how to end the war in Ukraine, are also leading European governments to adjust their foreign policies, which could see them forge closer trading partnerships with other "like-minded" partners in Asia like India, Japan, and South Korea, and elsewhere in Europe with Norway and Britain.
"Europe will invest into robustly promoting trade through a like-minded partners approach," said Reinhard Butikofer, a former Member of the European Parliament. "The European Union will pursue a very active trade policy and try to strike new trade deals."
- By RFE/RL
US Envoy Says Any Deal With Iran Needs Proof Of Nuclear Enrichment Purposes
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on April 14 that any diplomatic agreement reached with Iran will be centered on details related to verification of the country's uranium enrichment and weapons programs.
"This is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program, and then ultimately verification on weaponization," Witkoff said in an interview on Fox News. "That includes missiles, the type of missiles that they have stockpiled there, and it includes the trigger for a bomb."
Tehran and Washington held the first round of nuclear talks over the weekend in Oman, both saying afterward that the talks were "positive" and "constructive."
The Iranian Foreign Ministry on April 14 said a second round of talks between the United States and Iran will be held in Oman on April 19.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei was quoted by Iranian state news agency IRNA as saying that it was decided that Muscat will continue to host the talks.
The comment contradicted a statement by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who said the talks would be held in Rome. Tajani said Italy received the request from the interested parties and announced Rome would be the venue.
Tehran also confirmed on April 14 that Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will visit Moscow ahead of the next round of talks.
Separately, Iran confirmed on April 13 that Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will travel to Iran on April 16.
Araqchi met Witkoff met briefly after the first round of talks ended, adding to optimism relations between the two countries have taken a step forward.
US President Donald Trump has said he wants to ensure Iran will never acquire nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and wants a deal that leads to the lifting of sanctions that have battered its economy.
Trump has said that in the absence of a deal, there will be military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, with potential Israeli involvement.
Estimates suggest Iran could enrich sufficient uranium for a single bomb in less than a week and enough for several bombs within a month.
Meanwhile, the European Union on April 13 introduced sanctions on seven Iranian prison and judicial officials over Tehran's detention of nationals from the bloc.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the sanctions were in response to Iran's "state-sponsored hostage-taking" of European citizens.
On Iran's nuclear program, she said there was a need for a swift resolution because the October deadline to reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran is approaching.
European powers have warned Iran that they will trigger the 2015 nuclear deal's "snapback mechanism" to reimpose UN sanctions if it fails to reach a new deal with the United States.
With reporting by AP and AFP
Islamabad Demands Justice After 'Brutal' Killing of 8 Pakistanis in Iran
Pakistan has called on Iran to take swift action following the killing of eight Pakistani nationals in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan.
The victims, all workers at an auto repair shop in the town of Mehrestan, were reportedly shot dead by unidentified armed assailants on April 11. The attackers are said to have tied up the victims before executing them at close range and fleeing the scene.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the killings and urged Iranian authorities to apprehend and punish those responsible.
"The Iranian government must immediately arrest those involved in the killings, ensure they receive severe punishment, and uncover the motives behind this brutal act," he said.
He also emphasized the need for the immediate repatriation of the victims' bodies to their families in Punjab, Pakistan, where all eight men were from.
The attack has sparked outrage in Pakistan, with officials calling for enhanced security measures to protect Pakistani citizens working in Iran.
Iran has officially condemned the killings as an "act of terrorism." Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said in a statement on April 13 that Iranian security and judicial authorities are committed to identifying and prosecuting the perpetrators.
The Iranian Embassy in Islamabad also strongly condemned the incident, labeling it a "cowardly and inhumane attack" while emphasizing terrorism as a shared threat to regional peace and security.
Some reports allege the separatist group Baloch National Army (BNA) has claimed responsibility for the killings, alleging the victims were linked to Pakistani intelligence agencies. RFE/RL has not been able to independently verify this.
The BNA has a history of targeting Pakistani nationals and has carried out similar attacks in the past as part of its campaign against Islamabad's influence in the region.
Iran and Pakistan have frequently accused one another of allowing militants to launch cross-border attacks from their territory.
In January last year, nine Pakistanis were killed in Sistan-Baluchistan province.
Armed opposition groups to the Islamic republic -- such as Jaish al-Adl -- have a long history of launching attacks in the Iranian province.
Putin Condemned Over Sumy Attack As Zelenskyy Invites Trump To See Destruction
Officials from around the world condemned Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, as the Ukrainian city of Sumy continued to sift through the wreckage caused by Russian a missile strike that left at least 34 people dead.
Ukraine's state emergency service said two children were among those killed in the April 13 attack when Ukrainians were marking Palm Sunday, while at least 117 others -- including 15 children -- were injured.
The attack prompted European officials to accuse Russia of committing a war crime, while US officials from President Donald Trump to several Republican and Democratic Party lawmakers expressed horror at the death and destruction caused in the second major attack to kill civilians in 10 days.
In an interview that aired late on April 13 on the US news program 60 Minutes, Zelenskyy, who was speaking before the latest attack had occurred, urged President Donald Trump to visit Ukraine to see first hand what Russia was doing to his country even as the two sides talk with Washington about a cease-fire.
"But please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead," Zelenskyy said.
"You will understand what Putin did."
The Kremlin denied that the two attacks targeted civilian infrastructure. Russia has throughout the war consistently rejected allegations of deliberately striking civilian targets in Ukraine, even though repeated attacks on hospitals, schools, energy facilities, and residential buildings far from any military objects have been documented.
Trump, who has made ending the war a top foreign policy priority since taking office less than three months ago, called the Russian strike on Sumy a "horrible thing."
"I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it's a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing," he told reporters aboard Air Force One on April 13 as he traveled to Washington from Florida, although he didn't specify what he meant by "made a mistake."
Russia Targeted Crowded Center of Sumy
An RFE/RL correspondent who arrived in Sumy not long after the attack said it occurred "in a very crowded place -- the center of the city" at a time when many Ukrainians would have been going to church for Palm Sunday.
"People walk there with their children," Alyona Yatsyna added. "There are some cafes. All the cars on the street, including public transport -- a whole bus burned to the ground. There's a lot of destruction. A lot of people were killed."
The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Telegram that two Iskander-M / KN-23 ballistic missiles had been launched at Sumy from Russia's Voronezh and Kursk regions.
As crews began to clean up debris the day after the attack, locals laid flowers to remember the victims. "It's a huge tragedy," said Serhiy Pask, the mayor of Mykolayivka, a village just north of Sumy. "Unfortunately, it's happening every day."
Global Leaders Condemn Putin Over Sumy Strike
"This is the height of [Putin's] perfidy," Germany's incoming chancellor, Friedrich Merz, told public broadcaster ARD on April 14.
"It was a deliberate and calculated war crime."
Merz, the 69-year-old leader of the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), reiterated his consistent support for supplying long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, stressing that such a move should be made in close coordination with European allies.
"European partners are already supplying cruise missiles," he said. "The British are doing it, the French are doing it, and the Americans are doing it anyway. It has to be coordinated, and if it is coordinated, then Germany should be part of it," he added.
He also pointed to Crimea as a potential target for Ukraine's long-range strikes. "One example would be to destroy the most important land link between Russia and Crimea," Merz added, noting its strategic importance for Russian military logistics.
When questioned about the Sumy attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on April 14 said Russia's military targets only "military and military-linked targets."
At the news briefing, Peskov also condemned Merz's proposal on supplies of Taurus long-range missiles, warning that such a move "will only lead to a further escalation" of the conflict.
The European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on April 14 in Luxembourg that "all those who want the killing to stop should put the maximum pressure" possible on Russia to agree to a peace plan.
"We have to put the pressure, the maximum pressure, on Russia to really end this war, because it takes two to want peace," Kallas said as she arrived at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers.
UN chief Antonio Guterres, meanwhile, was "deeply alarmed and shocked" by the attack in Sumy, his spokesman stated, saying it "continues a devastating pattern of similar assaults on Ukrainian cities and towns in recent weeks."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it a "horrifying Russian missile attack," while Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said the "Palm Sunday attack by Russian forces on civilian targets in Sumy crosses any line of decency."
Trump has signaled impatience with the pace of negotiations to cement a cease-fire in Ukraine. His administration continues to engage in direct talks with Russian officials as part of a wider deal aimed at rebuilding bilateral relations.
White House envoy Steve Witkoff flew to St. Petersburg, Russia, to meet with Putin for more than four hours of talks on April 12. Neither Witkoff nor the White House issued any public comment after the meeting, though the Kremlin said "aspects of a Ukrainian settlement" had been discussed.
"While Ukraine has accepted President Trump's ceasefire proposal, Putin continues to show he is more interested in bloodshed than in peace. Targeting innocent civilians as they gather to worship on Palm Sunday is beyond the pale," Republican Congressman Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in a post on X.
Russia and Ukraine separately agreed with the United States last month at talks in Saudi Arabia to halt strikes on energy infrastructure and at sea in what appeared to be an important step toward a full cease-fire. In the meantime, Russia has continued to strike civilian infrastructure.
"I don’t see any hope for a real cease-fire as long as Russia is not under pressure to comply with it. All the pressure has been on Ukraine. I’ve seen no pressure from the U.S. administration on Russia," retired U.S. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who commanded U.S. Army forces in Europe from 2014 and 2017, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.
'Russia Is Targeting Civilians'
Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy's chief of staff, claimed the missiles contained cluster munitions.
"The Russians are doing this to kill as many civilians as possible," he said, according to Reuters.
Zelenskyy's condemnation of the attack came after a Russian strike on the city of Kryviy Rih killed 20 people, including nine children, just over a week earlier.
Maia Sandu, president of Ukraine's southwestern neighbor Moldova, was quick to offer her condolences, too.
"Palm Sunday is a day of peace. This morning, as people gathered to pray, Russia bombed Sumy -- killing and injuring civilians," she said on X. "Moldova mourns with Ukraine and urges more air defense to save lives. The aggressor must be held accountable. There is no justification for such evil."
There has been no comment yet from the Kremlin on the reported strike.
The UN reported late last month that at least 413 civilians had been killed in the conflict since the beginning of 2025. It also said that more than 2,000 people had been injured in Ukraine due to Russian aggression in the first three months of the year, an increase of 30 percent compared to the same period in 2024.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said: "For the second month in a row, Russia has refused to accept the US proposal for a full cease-fire, which Ukraine unconditionally accepted on March 11. Instead, Russia ramps up its terror."
"We urge partners to provide Ukraine with additional air defense capabilities and increase pressure on Moscow. Strength is the only language they can understand and the only way to put an end to the horrific terror."
Elsewhere on April 13, the Turkish Defense Ministry said it will hold a meeting on Black Sea security on April 15–16, according to TASS, although Ukrainian officials said such a session had not yet been scheduled.
The meeting would take place in the context of a possible cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine. Military representatives from foreign countries will take part, the Russian news agency reported.
Vucic Opponents, Supporters Rally In Serbian Cities As Tensions Mount
BELGRADE -- Opponents and supporters of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic rallied at different locations on April 12 as tensions mounted in the Balkan nation, which has been hit by months of student-organized demonstrations against the Vucic-led government.
Vucic himself rallied supporters in the capital, Belgrade, announcing that he will form a new political movement in the face of a growing wave of protests that began in November following the collapse of a rail station overhang that killed 16 people in Novi Sad.
Protesters, led by student groups but joined by thousands of others, have blamed the rail station tragedy on corruption and poor oversight.
Protests over the accident have evolved into a broader movement opposing what demonstrators say is the crumbling rule of law and systemic corruption under Vucic, the president since 2017 and prime minister for three years before that.
Vucic insists that the protests -- which have developed into one of the biggest challenges to his long rule -- are threatening peace and stability in the country and accuses organizers of being paid by "foreign intelligence agencies."
Before thousands of supporters, Serbia's populist president said authorities must begin procedures "to restore order in the country" and that "full respect for the Constitution [must take place] to ensure the security of Serbia."
Vucic said at the gathering that a "Movement for the People and the State" is required "because we need new energy and new strength, a new plan, not a plan until 2027, but until 2035."
He did provide specifics of the movement but said further rallies would be held.
Vucic once again called on students to return to the schools and said that "the colored revolution is over."
The authorities in Serbia have repeatedly called the student-led protests and blockades an attempt at a "colored revolution."
That's a term referring to public uprisings in places like Ukraine, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan that led to the ouster of governments. The popular protests that paved the way for the ouster of Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic in 2000 are also sometimes classified as a "color revolution."
Journalists on the scene reported that many of the supporters attending the rally had been bused in from throughout the country as well as from Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which have large ethnic-Serbian minorities.
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik -- wanted by central authorities in Sarajevo after being convicted of violating the Bosnian constitution -- appeared at the Belgrade rally, AFP reported.
Dodik, who is president of the ethnic-Serbian entity in Bosnia -- Republika Srpska -- addressed the crowd at the rally. Dodik is also under US and UK sanctions for actions Western governments say are aimed at the secession of Republika Srpska from Bosnia.
The Public Meeting Archive, a nongovernmental group that estimates crowd sizes, put the Belgrade gathering at 55,000 people. On March 15, the group estimated the crowd at a student-led, anti-governmental rally at 275,000 to 325,000 people.
Meanwhile, the student-led protest took to the streets of Novi Pazar, some 300 kilometers south of the capital.
The protest is one in a series of demonstrations called for by students who have been blocking university faculties for more than four months, demanding government accountability for the deaths of the 16 people in the fall of the cement canopy in Novi Sad.
A group of students in the blockade walked for days from other cities to Novi Pazar to join the students there in the protest.
Novi Pazar University students blocked the roundabout at the exit from that city.
Buses with supporters of Vucic's ruling right-wing Serbian Progressive Party were scheduled to pass that way on their way to the Belgrade rallies. It was not immediately clear if the buses took alternate routes.
With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP
- By RFE/RL and
- RFE/RL's Radio Farda
US, Iran Agree To Meet Again Next Week Following 'Constructive' Talks In Oman
Iranian and US negotiators agreed to a second round of high-level talks over Tehran's nuclear programs next week after meeting on April 12 for more than two hours of what both sides described as a "positive" and "constructive" session.
"The discussions were very positive and constructive," the White House said after the meeting in the Omani capital of Muscat.
It said special US envoy Steven Witkoff underscored "that he had instructions from President [Donald] Trump to resolve our two nations’ differences through dialogue and diplomacy, if that is possible."
"These issues are very complicated, and special envoy Witkoff’s direct communication today was a step forward in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome," the statement said, adding that "the sides agreed to meet again" on April 19.
Later, Trump, responding to reporters' questions about the talks, said, "I think they're going OK."
"Nothing matters until you get it done, so I don't like talking about it. But it's going OK. The Iran situation is going pretty good, I think," he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
The indirect meetings -- mediated by Oman -- are the first by officials from both countries on the issue in years and come amid spiraling tensions and mounting military threats from Washington.
Officials said the delegations were situated in separate room and exchanged messages through Omani Foreign Minister Said Badr.
Oman, on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, has served as an intermediary between Iran and Western nations, including during talks that led to the release of several foreign citizens and dual nationals held by Tehran.
Witkoff's counterpart in the talks was Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also said the sides will meet again next weekend.
While the two sides didn't meet face to face during the talks, Araqchi briefly spoke with Witkoff -- in the presence of the Omani foreign minister -- after the meeting in what he described as a "diplomatic courtesy."
Araqchi said the meetings took place in a "productive, calm, and positive atmosphere." Iran's Foreign Ministry said the talks had been "constructive."
"[Witkoff's] desire in the negotiations was for the general framework of the agreement to be established in the shortest possible time," Iran's top diplomat said after revealing the first direct interaction between the two nations since the Obama administration.
Days before the talks, Trump issued a new warning saying that "if necessary," the United States "absolutely" would use military force against Iran -- with Israel poised to play a leading role.
Iran's response has been defiant, signaling the high stakes for both nations and the broader Middle East.
How Did We Get Here?
The talks mark another chapter in the fraught relationship between Iran and the United States, which has been defined by cycles of diplomacy and confrontation.
The 2015 nuclear deal -- formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- once offered hope for detente, but Washington's withdrawal in 2018 during Trump's first term triggered a spiral of sanctions and uranium enrichment by Tehran.
European powers tried to salvage the JCPOA by launching what they called the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges, which was meant to facilitate non-dollar transactions with Iran to avoid violating US sanctions and dissuade Tehran from scaling back its commitments.
In practice, only one transaction was made through the mechanism, and it was eventually scrapped in 2023.
Iran's economy, which had been boosted by the JCPOA, took a big hit as Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign bit and significantly reduced Tehran's oil sales.
Shortly after Joe Biden succeeded Trump in the White House in 2021, Iran and the United States began holding a series of indirect talks to revive the nuclear deal. A draft agreement was prepared by the European Union, which serves as the coordinator of the JCPOA, but it was never signed.
Talks stalled in 2022 and remained frozen -- until now.
What's At Stake?
Trump has been clear about what he wants: Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. But it remains unclear whether he wants to restrict Iran's nuclear activities or completely dismantle it.
Iran is willing to offer assurances that it's not looking to acquire a bomb but has rejected the idea of entirely scrapping its nuclear program.
Despite trying to project confidence and claiming it can neutralize US sanctions, Tehran desperately needs a deal.
Iran's economy is arguably in the worst shape it has ever been, with the national currency hitting new lows against the dollar on an almost daily basis. Iranian's purchasing power has dwindled and blackouts have become a fixture of summer and winter despite Iran's global status as an energy-rich nation.
For the United States, preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is a top priority.
Iran is enriching uranium at 60 percent purity, which is widely regarded as near-weapons grade. It has also accumulated enough uranium to build several bombs, should it choose to do so.
Tehran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and has never pursued weaponization. However, with the Trump administration continuing to raise the possibility of military strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, a growing number of Iranian officials have teased that Tehran would develop nukes if cornered.
Estimates suggest Iran could enrich sufficient uranium for a single bomb in less than a week and enough for several bombs within a month.
Ahead of the talks in Oman, Washington has sought to up the pressure even further. On April 9, the US Treasury announced sanctions on five entities and one person based in Iran for their support of Iran's nuclear program, including the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).
Mohammed Ghaedi, a lecturer at George Washington University's department of political science, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that the new sanctions are unlikely to have much of an impact on Iran's nuclear program since they target AEOI's assets in the United States, which aren't many.
The new sanctions, he argued, mostly serve to strengthen the United States' leverage against Iran during negotiations.
On April 9, Trump again warned that, in the absence of a deal with Iran, the United States would resort to military action to neutralize Tehran's nuclear program.
"Israel will obviously be very much involved in that. They'll be the leader of that," he said.
Ali Shamkhani, a top aide to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, replied that continued threats of military confrontation would compel Iran to expel UN inspectors and "transfer enriched uranium to secure sites."
Who Are The Negotiators?
Araqchi is a career diplomat who has served as both a senior and lead nuclear negotiator. He was heavily involved in the JCPOA talks and led indirect negotiations with the United States to revive it.
Trump's envoy Witkoff, meanwhile, is a billionaire real estate investor, who lacks diplomatic experience but has taken on a central role in high-stakes negotiations since joining Trump's team.
On April 11, Witkoff stopped in St. Petersburg, Russia, for meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. State news agencies said the meetings lasted more than four hours.
"The theme of the meeting -- aspects of a Ukrainian settlement," the Kremlin said in a statement after the meeting.
Witkoff also met with Kirill Dmitriev, a Kremlin adviser and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. Dmitriev has taken on a prominent role in direct talks with Washington, where he traveled last week.
Following the Oman meetings, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's ambassador to international bodies in Vienna, called the US-Iran talks "encouraging" in a Telegram post.
"[Witkoff] is managing a lot of different files and may be out of his depth in technical discussions that are likely to dominate the Oman meetings," Gregory Brew, senior Iran analyst at the New York-based Eurasia Group, told RFE/RL.
"Araqchi is a skilled diplomat with years of experience," he said. "Unless Witkoff is backed up by a strong staff with expertise, it may complicate discussions."
Oman's discreet diplomacy has often bridged gaps between the two sides, including back-channel negotiations that led to the JCPOA. Now, Muscat is poised to host discussions once more, with both sides wary but aware of the risks of failure.
With reporting by RFE/RL correspondent Kian Sharifi, Reuters, and AP
- By RFE/RL
Russia, Ukraine Pound Each Other With Drones, As US Envoy Meets With Putin
Russia and Ukraine pounded each other with drones, with Moscow complaining that Kyiv had targeted its energy facilities in violation of a tenuous cease-fire agreement that has yet to take hold.
Ukraine’s military said Russia had launched more than eight dozen drones overnight on April 12, with most of them either shot down or intercepted with electronic jamming.
At least one district in the capital, Kyiv, was damaged by drones, or debris from downed drones, Mayor Vitali Klitshcko said. At least three people were reported wounded.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said that more than 150 Ukrainian drones had been launched, including at five energy facilities.
On March 11, Ukraine and the United States announced a breakthrough agreement paving the way for a 30-day cease-fire contingent on Russia's signing on.
A major foreign policy priority for US President Donald Trump, it was the first concrete proposal on the negotiating table since the early weeks after Russia's all-out assault on Ukraine in February 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin balked, saying he agreed in principle but there were "nuances" that would have to be addressed and attaching conditions including a halt to Western supplies of weapons to Kyiv.
Late on April 12, Trump told reporters the peace talks "might be going OK" but that there is "a point at which you just have to either put up or shut up, and we'll see what happens, but I think it’s going fine."
Despite the cease-fire announcement, the two sides have continued to fire drones at one another.
Ukraine also announced that an F-16 fighter jet pilot had been killed in action, the second such combat death involving the US-made planes.
The military gave no details as to the 26-year-old Pavlo Ivanov's death. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his condolences to his family and said details of the incident were under investigation.
Ukraine has small flotilla of F-16s that it started receiving in 2024. In August 2024, Ukrainian officials said an F-16 had crashed while repelling a Russian missile attack, killing its pilot.
Speaking to a Senate committee last week, US Army General Christopher Cavoli said Ukrainian F-16s were flying daily as part of both defensive and offensive missions.
The United States, meanwhile, continues to engage in direct talks with Russian officials, as part of a wider deal aimed at rebuilding bilateral relations. White House envoy Steve Witkoff flew to St. Petersburg, Russia, to meet with President Vladimir Putin for more than four hours of talks on April 12.
Neither Witkoff nor the White House issued any public comment after the meeting, though the Kremlin said “aspects of a Ukrainian settlement” had been discussed.
Trump has signaled impatience with the pace of talks to cement a cease-fire in Ukraine. Hours after Witkoff landed in St. Petersburg, Trump posted a message on his social media account, calling the war "senseless" and said it "should have never happened."
"Russia has to get moving. Too many people are DYING,” he wrote.
The White House’s envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, suggested that British and French troops could adopt zones of control in Ukraine.
Speaking in an interview published on April 12 with The Times of London newspaper, Kellogg suggested they could have areas of responsibility west of the Dnieper River, as part of a "reassurance force", with a demilitarized zone separating them from Russian-occupied areas in the east.
"You could almost make it look like what happened with Berlin after World War II, when you had a Russian zone, a French zone, and a British zone, a US zone," he said.
Kellogg later posted a message to X, saying his comments had been misconstrued.
In his interview, Kellogg also said relations between Ukraine and the United States were now "back on track,” and he pointed to a proposed deal on Ukraine's mineral resources.
However, Reuters cited unnamed officials as describing a meeting between US and Ukrainian officials about the mineral deal as "antagonistic.”
The strains were due to the fact that the newest draft proposal is more expansive than the original version.
The latest draft, according to Reuters and The New York Times, would give the United States privileged access to Ukraine's mineral deposits and require Kyiv to place all income from the exploitation of natural resources -- by both Ukrainian state and private firms -- into a joint investment fund.
Trump has said he viewed access to Ukraine's rare and valuable minerals as a way to recoup billions of dollars in US military aid to Kyiv.
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