Russia Ukraine war live: Trump says he will meet Putin even if Kremlin leader won’t meet Zelensky – UK Times

A British man who volunteered to fight in Ukraine has been killed within a month of signing up, his wife has said.

Alan Robert Williams, 35, was killed on his first mission in Ukraine where he signed up to fight despite having no military experience, his wife Stephanie Boyce-Williams told The Telegraph.

He left from Moreton, Merseyside, on 7 May to fight Russian forces in Ukraine’s Kharkiv after losing his job, she said.

Boyce-Williams added that she and their 12-year-old daughter urged him to not go to the war-hit country. They lost contact with him on 2 July when he left for his first battlefield deployment.

Williams was targeted by four Russian drones, sources said, according to the report. The Russian drones dropped a mortar 20ft from his team near the recaptured village of Lyptsi, six miles from the Russian border.

His companions from the military unit said Williams was immediately unresponsive and they had to leave his body to escape the Russian ambush.

Williams has been officially declared as Missing in Action as his remains have not been retrieved, the report added.

Both the White House and the Kremlin have confirmed that a US-Russia summit will take place in the coming days, with reports suggesting a possible three-way meeting that would also include Ukraine’s president Zelensky. The news follows three hours of talks between Vladimir Putin and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, following his fourth visit to Moscow.

If either summit happens, this could mark the most progress towards ending the war since Donald Trump came to office and pledged, unsuccessfully, to end the conflict within 24 hours. But this trilateral encounter is another high-stakes gamble.

Top-level diplomacy does not usually happen like this. The lead time for an old-fashioned US-Russia summit would commonly be months, with the Kremlin in particular favouring meticulous preparation. So what has changed?

Russian president Vladimir Putin may meet with US president Donald Trump next week, Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said but added that he was not aware of any planned meeting between Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

“As far as I heard, there are a number of locations, but they agreed to something that they don’t want to disclose. The timeline is, I think, next week, but that’s again judging from what presidents said themselves,” Polyanskiy told reporters about the Putin-Trump meeting.

“I haven’t heard about any meeting planned with president Zelensky, but I am not in the loop,” he added. There has been no summit of US and Russian leaders since Putin and former president Joe Biden met in Geneva in June 2021.

News of this meeting came on the eve of a White House deadline for Moscow to show progress toward ending the war in Ukraine or suffer additional economic sanctions.

Hopes are up, but most successful summit meetings start from a better place than this…

Security advisers from Ukraine’s allies have held lengthy talks, which will continue on Friday, Volodymyr Zelensky says.

The president posted: “Just now, my team reported to me that the security advisers held quite a lengthy and very detailed conversation.

“There was a significant lineup of participants in the discussion. This is important.

“I thank everyone for their work and for their genuine desire to stop the killing and ensure a lasting peace.

“It was agreed during the conversation to continue tomorrow, there is still much work to be done. Ukraine, as always, will work productively – we need a dignified peace.”

Volodymyr Zelensky has discussed a new financial assistance programme with the International Monetary Fund chief.

“We discussed a new programme of financial assistance that will strengthen Ukrainians now and in the post-war period,” Mr Zelensky wrote.

“We are prepared to carry out the necessary steps quickly. The government is already working on this.”

IMF boss Kristalina Georgieva confirmed what she called a productive call. She said they discussed Ukraine’s economic outlook, the resilience of the Ukrainian people and “the importance of reforms and financial assistance to support Ukraine now and during reconstruction”.

Kyiv is working to cover a widening budget deficit.

Ukraine’s current $15.5billion programme with the IMF expires in 2027.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held a phone call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine crisis and issues of bilateral interest, Ramaphosa’s office said.

“The discussion followed President Putin’s request to brief President Ramaphosa on the peace process with Ukraine and to engage on issues of mutual bilateral interest,” a statement read.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has said he hopes to meet next week with Donald Trump, possibly in the United Arab Emirates – although a White House official cast doubt on the summit occurring unless the Kremlin leader also agreed to a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaking of possible direct talks with Mr Zelensky, Mr Putin said he had mentioned several times that he was not against it, adding: “It’s a possibility, but certain conditions need to be created” for it to happen.

He made the announcement in the Kremlin after meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE.

Asked who initiated the possible talks with the American president, Mr Putin said that didn’t matter and “both sides expressed an interest”.

US president Donald Trump has said Russia’s Vladimir Putin does not have to agree to meet Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky in order to have a meeting with him.