‘No Meeting Planned’ Between Putin and Zelensky, Top Russian Diplomat Says

It was the clearest sign yet that President Trump’s push for an imminent summit was faltering.

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Russia Demands Role in Guaranteeing Ukraine’s Postwar Security

European and Ukrainian officials call the idea ludicrous, showing the large gaps in peace negotiations.

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Will Putin Meet With Zelensky to End the Ukraine War?

The Kremlin is keeping its options open, but analysts said the Russian leader would probably only meet with his Ukrainian counterpart to accept a capitulation.

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Dmitri Kozak Was a Key Putin Aide. He Lost Power When He Balked at the Ukraine War.

Dmitri N. Kozak, who has said privately that the invasion was a mistake, has lost power to another senior Putin ally, Sergei V. Kiriyenko, who has embraced the military action.

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Takeaways From The Times’s Reporting on Putin’s Powerful Aide

Showing an uncanny ability to adapt to circumstances, Sergei V. Kiriyenko has turned himself into a key engineer of President Vladimir V. Putin’s autocratic machine.

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The Russian Technocrat Who Helps Enable Putin and Manage the Ukraine War

For three years, Sergei V. Kiriyenko has handled the political aspects of the war in Ukraine, rising among a cadre of skilled managers who oversee the sprawling Russian state.

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Trump Sends His Envoy to Russia With Sanctions Deadline Looming

The envoy, Steve Witkoff, is making his fifth visit this year. He has managed to secure some prisoner exchanges but made no clear progress so far on ending the war in Ukraine.

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Trump Tells Russian Official to ‘Watch His Words,’ but He Bites Back Instead

The former Russian president Dmitri Medvedev offers President Trump a useful foil to criticize without rebuking Vladimir Putin, one analyst said.

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North Korea Will Send 5,000 Workers to Russia, Kremlin Says

Thousands of North Korean laborers are already toiling in Russia. A new contingent is headed to the region where North Korean troops fought Ukraine.

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Putin Keeps Pummeling Ukraine, Convinced Trump Is on His Side

The concessions offered so far by President Trump fall short of Russia’s stated war aims. But President Vladimir V. Putin appears certain that he has the upper hand in talks.

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