Why Iran won't give up Hormuz Could Israel sabotage US-Iran deal? Lawmakers in the United States are quietly advancing a proposal that could deepen military ties between the US and Israel in unprecedented ways, at a time when public support for Israel among Americans is increasingly fractured. Among the provisions included in the 2027 National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) released this week is Section 224, the "United States-Israel Defence Technology Cooperation Initiative". Some legislators have already signalled opposition, with Representative Thomas Massie saying he would seek to remove the provision if it reaches the House floor. The measure remains at an early stage, but analysts say if passed, it would limit political oversight over the defence relationship.

What is in the 28-point US plan for Ukraine? Why is Europe opposing Trump's peace plan? Is the fall of Pokrovsk inevitable? 'A corruption scandal may well end the Ukraine war' Trump'wants us to capitulate' to Russia: Ukrainians aghast at peace plan The timing for United States President Donald Trump's new peace plan and a menacing ultimatum for Ukraine could not be worse. Russian troops, drones and fog-generating robots have punctured the southeastern front line as civilians in the city of Zaporizhzhia hear new, harrowing notes in their almost nightly cannonade - the sound of heavy gliding bombs.

Is Trump losing patience with Putin? Will sanctions against Russian oil giants hurt Putin? How much of Europe's oil still comes from Russia? Ukraine's Zelenskyy to meet European leaders in London over military aid Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to meet European leaders in the United Kingdom for talks on military aid to stave off future Russian aggression if a ceasefire stops the war now in its fourth year. Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are expected to be joined at the Foreign Office in London on Friday by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof.

Ukraine's European allies pledged increased levels of military aid to Ukraine this year, making up for a United States aid freeze, as Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his ambition to absorb all of Ukraine into the Russian Federation. "At this moment, the Europeans and the Canadians have pledged, for this year, 35bn in military support to Ukraine," said NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte ahead of the alliance's annual summit, which took place in The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 24-25. "Last year, it was just over 50bn for the full year. Now, before we reach half year, it is already at 35bn. And there are even others saying it's already close to 40bn," he added.

Kyiv, Ukraine – On Sunday, a top Russian security official in Moscow lauded dozens of servicemen who used an abandoned natural gas pipeline as a tunnel to infiltrate a Ukraine-occupied area in the western Russian region of Kursk. "The lid of a boiling cauldron is almost closed! Good job!" Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president and prime minister before becoming deputy head of Russia's Security Council, wrote on Telegram. But a Ukrainian serviceman deployed in Kursk offered a starkly different version of how the Russians barely got out of the pipeline on Saturday – only to be reportedly killed en masse. "Some suffocated right [in the pipeline], some turned back. About a hundred came out in our rear, split into two groups and were almost immediately ambushed by our special forces. And [also killed by] a massive squall of artillery," Evhen Sazonov wrote on Telegram.

Ukraine has targeted Moscow with a large overnight drone attack as Russia's Ministry of Defence says it has shot down 337 unmanned aircraft across the country. "The Defence Ministry's air defence continues to repel a massive attack by enemy drones on Moscow," Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram early on Tuesday. Three people are reported to have been killed and three wounded in the southern suburbs of Moscow, according to Governor Andrei Vorobyov. He added that drone debris damaged at least seven units in a residential building in another suburb southeast of the city. The attack on the Russian capital, hundreds of kilometres from the Ukrainian border, comes before a meeting between United States and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has signed a 100-year partnership agreement with Ukraine to provide support across various sectors, including healthcare and military technology, while pledging to provide security guarantees if an end to Russia's war comes. During Starmer's first visit to Kyiv since becoming prime minister, the British leader told a news conference on Thursday that the United Kingdom would examine "the practical ways to get a just and lasting peace … that guarantees your security, your independence and your right to choose your own future". "We will work with you and all of our allies on steps that would be robust enough to guarantee Ukraine's security," Starmer said. "Those conversations will continue for many months ahead." While Starmer was speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the presidential palace, loud blasts and air raid sirens were heard over Kyiv as air defence systems took aim at a Russian drone attack. The British leader said the Russian attack served as a reminder of the situation on the ground.

Months of relentless Russian artillery pounding have devastated a strategic city in eastern Ukraine, new drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows, with barely a building left intact, homes and municipal offices charred and a town that once had a population of 12,000 now all but deserted. The footage shows Chasiv Yar -- set amid green fields and woodland -- pounded into an apocalyptic vista. The destruction is reminiscent of the cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, which Ukraine yielded after months of bombardment and huge losses for both sides. The strategically important city has been under attack by Russian forces for months. Capturing it would give Russia control of a hilltop from which it can attack other cities that form the backbone of Ukraine's eastern defenses.

Ukraine has been fighting Russia for two years to liberate its lands and drive Russia back – but supply, tactics and the flat terrain have meant that the much-vaunted Ukrainian counteroffensive of last year has produced few tangible results. In the wide-open agricultural land of southern Ukraine, there is not much in the way of cover for an attacking force. Russia had months to prepare its defences, and built them in depth. Row after row of trenches, anti-tank obstacles, ditches and reinforced bunkers have formed a barrier, often kilometres deep, effectively containing Ukrainian forces as they have repeatedly tried to break through into the open country beyond, with little success. The counteroffensive has bogged down into slow, attritional warfare, as Russia's strategy of making Ukraine pay for every metre it tries to take is showing signs of succeeding.

Ukraine changed its military leadership and announced a change of tactics in the past week, as a vote in the US Senate brought renewed hope of US aid for the embattled country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed ground forces commander Oleksandr Syrskii as commander-in-chief of the armed forces on February 8. Zelenskyy reportedly asked the outgoing Valery Zaluzhny to "continue to be part of the team", without specifying what that meant. "We stood against a vile and powerful enemy. Endured together," wrote Zaluzhny, an immensely popular general who stopped Russia's invasion in February 2022 and ordered a counterattack in August that year, which claimed more than 1,500sq km (580sq miles) Since then, Ukrainian forces have become bogged down in positional warfare. A counteroffensive last summer failed to achieve its goal of cutting the Russian front in two.