A 1,000-strong "dark fleet" of rogue tankers evading sanctions has become a new target for the U.S. and Ukraine, according to a senior maritime intelligence analyst.

Ukraine has relinquished its ambition of joining the NATO military alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of talks with U.S. envoys in Berlin.

The founder of Russia's opposition Yabloko party, which wants a ceasefire in Ukraine, has said his party will keep campaigning despite the arrest of two senior figures, a move he said was meant to derail it before next year's parliamentary election.

Germany plans to deepen its defense cooperation with Ukraine, including for the first time the possibility of acquiring weapons and battlefield data from Kyiv, alongside a potential peace agreement under discussion in Berlin.

The Kremlin has described Ukraine’s push to join NATO as one of the “root causes” of the conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump has ruled out Ukrainian membership in the Western defensive alliance. Zelensky is searching for compromises that could secure a peace deal to end Russia’s ongoing invasion.

After almost four years of Russia's full-scale war, Kyiv is running out of cash, and needs an estimated €135.7bn over the next two years.