Vladimir Putin

A third of the voters voted at 8.30 a.m. today, almost twice as many as five years ago. The votes will be conditioned by the electronic vote and the attacks by Ukraine (both sides have failed). 

The United States, Ukraine and its European partners have agreed to hold more meetings in the coming weeks and to strengthen aid to Ukraine for the winter. Their priorities include more air defence systems, support for the energy sector and additional supplies.

Representatives of the US Government, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have arrived in Kiev to meet Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, who was in Moscow the day before to present a proposal to Vladimir Putin to end the war, which they will forward to Zelensky today.

For months now, the war front in Ukraine has been operating without much progress. Instead, air strikes are more frequent. Drone bombings of cities and strategic points have changed strategy, while Ukraine is increasing its offensive capability and hitting Russia as well. Olga Tarnovska and Albert Sort, two analysts based in Kiev and Moscow, talk to ETB about how this new large-scale war is going.

Also, the Republican leader  has assured us that the Strait of Hormuz is open and that ships have begun to pass through it, adding that he is considering taking control of that passage. 

The poison, originally produced by an Ecuadorian frog, is not "naturally" present in Russia. Von der Leyen denounces the "terrorist" behaviour of the Russian state.

Zelenski has denied the attack and warned on his social media that Putin's goal is "to be an excuse to continue his attacks on Ukraine."

He stressed that Russia is prepared to "end the conflict peacefully, based on the principles I set out before the Foreign Ministry last June" and "if the original causes of the conflict are eliminated."

Zelenski has explained that eight of the initial 28 points of the plan presented by the Donald Trump administration have been removed from the totally unacceptable eight points for Kiev during the meetings between Kiev and Washington in Geneva, Abu Dhabi and Miami.  

Ukraine's president will be in London on Monday to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and then plan to travel to Brussels to meet with Europe's main allies. One of the main points of disagreement between Ukrainians and Russians is the handing over of the territory under Kiev's control Donbas to the Kremlin.

The Russian President has denounced that European countries, especially France, Germany and the United Kingdom, have included in their peace plan demands that are 'unacceptable' to Moscow. In his words, they want 'the whole peace process to be blocked'. 

The Russian president "will hold several meetings today behind closed doors to prepare the course of relations between Russia and the United States."

He said the proposed plan requires "a thorough review of all the details" and advanced that Kiev is "against" the text.

Like Trump, Putin has fueled the nuclear threat after more than three decades of interruption. Russia last conducted nuclear tests in 1990 and the United States in 1992. 

The White House confirms the news after the Kremlin lowered expectations about the meeting. They argue it needs "serious preparation." On the other hand, Russia has also ruled out a ceasefire in Ukraine, saying it would serve to rearm Ukraine.