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Putin meets top generals in charge of Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine

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President Vladimir Putin visited the commander of Russia’s operation in Ukraine and other top military brass, the Kremlin said on Saturday, a meeting that came after Ukraine claimed counteroffensive gains on the southeastern front, Reuters reported. 

“Vladimir Putin held a meeting at the headquarters of the special military operation group in Rostov-on-Don,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

Russia, which launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, calls its actions a special military operation.

The Kremlin added that Putin, Russia’s supreme commander-in-chief, listened to reports from Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff of the Army in charge of Moscow’s operations in Ukraine, and other top military commanders and officers.

The meeting came after Ukraine, whose counteroffensive to recapture land taken by Russia in the first months of the war has been slower than expected, said it liberated a small village along the frontline, its first since July.

The Kremlin did not provide any additional details of the meeting and it was not clear when the meeting took place. Videos published by the RIA state news agency showed Gerasimov greeting Putin in what appeared to be night-time and leading him into a building after a brief handshake.

Gerasimov, who has been seen rarely in public in recent months, had been the target of savage criticism from Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and some Russian military bloggers over Russia’s failings in the war.

Rostov-on-Don, a city just some 100 kilometers from Ukraine’s border, is home to the Russian southern military district command whose army is fighting in Ukraine.

With Ukraine’s counteroffensive struggling to break through entrenched Russian lines and Moscow’s stretched military resources and dissent in the ranks, both sides have measured recent successes by taking control of tiny villages.

On Thursday, the Ukrainian military said it had liberated the small village of Urozhaine in the Donetsk region, pushing forward in its drive towards the Sea of Azov to potentially cut the Russian land bridge to Crimea – vital for Moscow’s supply routes.

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Norway to give over $9 billion to Ukraine in 2027

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and ​leaders from across the Nordic and Baltic region ​are visiting Kyiv on Sunday in a show of ⁠support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.

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Norway plans to give another 85 billion Norwegian crowns ($9.2 billion) in financial support ​to Ukraine in the 2027 fiscal year, in ‌line with the amount given in 2026, the Nordic country’s government said in a statement on Sunday.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and ​leaders from across the Nordic and Baltic region ​are visiting Kyiv on Sunday in a show of ⁠support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.

Norway plans to give another 85 billion Norwegian crowns ($9.2 billion) in financial support ​to Ukraine in the 2027 fiscal year, in ‌line with the amount given in 2026, the Nordic country’s government said in a statement on Sunday.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and ​leaders from across the Nordic and Baltic region ​are visiting Kyiv on Sunday in a show of ⁠support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.

Russia ​and Ukraine ⁠are both ramping up drone campaigns aiming to cripple each other’s economic infrastructure, often striking targets far beyond the frontlines ⁠of ​the war started by Moscow, as ​fighting on the battlefield grinds toward the 4-1/2-year mark.

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Israel strikes southern Syria; Damascus condemns attack

Israeli troops continue to operate in southern Syria, and ⁠Israel occupies ​territory in southwest Syria it ​seized after the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

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Israel said it targeted a “terrorist” in southern Syria on Saturday in what Syria’s foreign ministry ​said was a drone strike on a ‌civilian vehicle on the outskirts of Damascus in a “blatant” violation of its territory.

The Syrian foreign ministry said the drone ​had hit a civilian car on a ​road near Beit Jinn village in the ⁠countryside west of the capital, which caused injuries ​amongst civilians.

Syrian state TV reported one person was injured.

The ​Israeli military said in a statement that it fired in southern Syria toward what it described as a terrorist, ​whose activity posed an immediate threat to its ​soldiers. It did not say how it fired.

Tensions between Israel ‌and ⁠Syria flared up this week after Israel bombed an airbase in the northwest on Tuesday, an escalation U.S. special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, called “unnecessary.”

Syria’s foreign ​ministry said ​the strike ⁠was part of a pattern of repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory, and ​was a “blatant violation” of its sovereignty. ​It ⁠held Israel accountable for the consequences of such actions.

Israeli troops continue to operate in southern Syria, and ⁠Israel occupies ​territory in southwest Syria it ​seized after the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

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Trump says Iran ‘Not Ready’ for the right deal as war nears six-month mark

The continuing US-Israeli strikes on Iran, along with Israeli attacks on Lebanon, have reportedly killed thousands of people and displaced millions across the region.

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US President Donald Trump has said he does not believe Iran is ready to make what he described as the “right deal,” as the war between Tehran and Washington approaches its six-month mark, Reuters reported.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said the United States was continuing to assess developments in the conflict when asked whether Washington’s military options against Iran had become limited.

“It just means that we’re seeing what happens,” Trump said.

Trump also claimed that the United States had “total control” over the region surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically vital waterway that previously carried around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28.

“They would love to make a deal, but they’re not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion,” Trump said.

The remarks come after Washington pledged this week to impose what it described as the toughest financial penalties in history against Iran, with the stated aim of increasing pressure on the country’s leadership, read the report.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said further details of the planned sanctions would be announced on Monday, following Trump’s warning that any country providing “any type of lifeline” to Iran could face serious economic consequences.

Meanwhile, disruptions to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have continued as Iran retains missile and drone capabilities that have affected oil tanker traffic in the waterway.

Iran responded to the initial attacks on February 28 with strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases.

The continuing US-Israeli strikes on Iran, along with Israeli attacks on Lebanon, have reportedly killed thousands of people and displaced millions across the region.

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