European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times in an interview that Europe is drawing up"fairly precise plans" for a multinational troop deployment in Ukraine as part of post-conflict security guarantees, which will be backed by the United States.

Meanwhile, Russian forces are conducting a nonstop offensive along nearly the entire front line in Ukraine, with particular intensity in the country's east. Russia has intensified its airstrikes on remote Ukrainian cities this summer and has continued a slow but steady offensive across much of the east, seeking to gain more territory in its three-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine.

Putin's troops began advancing into the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region this month, and seven towns there are now under Russian control, despite the Ukrainian military's claims that its forces have contained Russian movements in the area. Moscow now controls 99.7 percent of eastern Luhansk, 79 percent of Donetsk, 74 percent of Zaporizhia, and 76 percent of Kherson.

The Russian offensive comes less than two weeks after US President Donald Trump hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska, a meeting Washington hoped would boost its efforts to end the conflict.

8:00 PM

Von der Leyen says Europe is making"precise" plans to send troops to Ukraine, according to the Financial Times.

Europe is drawing up"fairly precise plans" for a multinational troop deployment to Ukraine as part of post-conflict security guarantees, which will be backed up by U.S. capabilities, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times in an interview published Sunday, Reuters reports.

"President Trump assured us that there will be a US presence as part of the support," von der Leyen told the FT, adding that"that was made very clear and repeatedly stated."

The deployment will potentially include tens of thousands of European-led troops, backed by U.S. assistance, including command and control systems and intelligence and surveillance assets, the report said, adding that the arrangement was agreed upon at a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and senior European leaders last month.

European leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and von der Leyen are expected to meet in Paris on Thursday at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron to continue high-level talks on Ukraine, the FT reported, citing three diplomats briefed on the plans.

16:40

Putin to meet Slovak Prime Minister in China

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is in China, plans to meet there with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, known for his pro-Russian stance against the EU, the Kremlin announced on Sunday. The Russian president's diplomatic adviser, Yuri Ushakov, when asked about the possibility of a meeting between the two leaders, responded that it was"planned," without specifying when they would meet or what they would discuss, AFP reports.

Robert Fico is one of the very few European leaders who has remained close to Vladimir Putin since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, earning him criticism from the EU.

The Slovak prime minister is expected to travel to China on Wednesday for a parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the victory over Japan.

15:45

Merz says the price of peace cannot be Ukraine's capitulation.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz asserted on Sunday that the price of peace cannot be the capitulation of Ukraine and warned that such a scenario would lead to Russia attempting to attack other countries."We will try to end the war as soon as possible, but the price cannot be the capitulation of Ukraine," Merz said in an interview broadcast tonight on German National Television (ZDF), according to Efe."In that case, the day after tomorrow another country would be attacked, and later it would be our turn," he added.

When asked about the possibility of German troops being present in Ukraine, he said that this is not something that is currently being considered."No one is talking about troops now. We are talking about the possibility of providing security guarantees in the event of a ceasefire. Only after that can many things be considered," he stated.

Asked what the chances are of a ceasefire in Ukraine next year, Merz says that while he hasn't abandoned hope, he's not deluded:"I'm not giving up hope that it can be achieved, but I'm not deluded."

13:27

Ukrainians honor politician Andriy Parubi and blame Russia for his murder

Ukrainians are paying tribute this Sunday to the pivotal role played by slain politician Andriy Parubi in bolstering the defense against Russia and are looking to Moscow as a possible culprit, following a series of attacks against prominent Ukrainian figures. The search for the perpetrator continues, Efe reports.

The death of Parubi, an opposition MP and former speaker of Ukraine's parliament, in Lviv on Saturday is widely attributed to his unwavering stance against Russian interference in Ukrainian politics and his key contributions to countering the threat following the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.

12:58

Ukraine plans new attacks inside Russia

Ukraine is planning new attacks inside Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday, following weeks of escalating attacks on Russian energy assets, Reuters reports.

"We will continue our active operations exactly as required for the defense of Ukraine. Forces and resources are ready. New attacks on the interior have also been planned," Zelensky said in X after meeting with Ukraine's top general, Oleksandr Syrsky.

12:26

A Belizean ship damaged by an explosion in the Black Sea near Odessa

A Belize-flagged civilian bulk carrier suffered minor damage after hitting an unknown explosive device near the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk, two sources told Reuters on Sunday.

Chornomorsk is a large and strategically important seaport in the Odessa region of southern Ukraine, and one of three Ukrainian ports operating on a shipping corridor connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.

Sources reported that the NS PRIDE crew was unharmed and the ship continued on its route. Local media reported that there was no cargo on board at the time of the explosion.

11:00

Albares:"Spain has its own voice in the face of crises and defends the same in Ukraine and Gaza."

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, emphasizes Spain's international influence and asserts that it has its own voice in every crisis and defends"the same principles in Ukraine as in Gaza."

"A country's international influence," he explains,"isn't measured by a photo. Sometimes the price to pay for appearing in a photo is precisely not to influence, to remain silent, to be just another person. And of course, Spain currently has a foreign policy that speaks volumes in every crisis, and we say the same thing with the same principles in Ukraine as we do in Gaza."

10:30

Russia restores reactor capacity at Kursk nuclear power plant

The third reactor at Russia's Kursk nuclear power plant has been fully restored after being halved following a drone attack, the TASS news agency reported on Sunday, citing the plant, according to Reuters.

The Kursk nuclear power plant in western Russia reported last week that air defenses shot down a drone that detonated near the plant, damaging an auxiliary transformer and forcing a 50% reduction in reactor No. 3's operating capacity.

10:00

Russian strikes kill at least three civilians in Ukraine's Donetsk region

A series of Russian attacks have left at least three civilians dead and six wounded in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk in the last 24 hours, the head of the Regional Military Administration, Vadim Filashkin, reported via Telegram, Efe reports.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russian forces have killed 3,441 residents of the region and wounded 7,922. These figures do not include casualties in Mariupol and Volnokha.

Overall, Russian attacks continue unabated, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia may be preparing a new large-scale offensive in Pokrovsk.

9:30

Russia claims its units destroyed 21 Ukrainian drones in the south and southwest

Russian air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 21 Ukrainian drones, the Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday after an overnight strike, Reuters reports.

Eleven drones were shot down over the Volgograd region in southern Russia, while the rest were destroyed over the Rostov, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions in southwestern Russia, the ministry reported on the Telegram messaging app.

9:00

Ukraine says Russian forces failed to gain full control of any Ukrainian city over the summer.

Ukraine's armed forces said Sunday that, despite Moscow's claims of a successful offensive over the summer, Russian forces have failed to gain full control of any major Ukrainian cities, and that the figures provided for captured territories are"grossly exaggerated," Reuters reported.

Russian General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov said Saturday that since March, Russia has captured more than 3,500 square kilometers (1,351 square miles) of territory in Ukraine and taken control of 149 towns.

"Contrary to Gerasimov's claims, Russian forces have not gained full control of any major cities," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement on social media."The figures presented by the occupiers regarding captured territories and settlements are grossly exaggerated."

8:30

A Russian overnight attack leaves thousands without power in Odessa.

A Russian drone strike damaged a power plant near the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa, leaving more than 29,000 customers without electricity on Sunday morning, the region's governor said, Reuters reported.

The hardest hit city was Chornomorsk, just outside Odessa, where the attack also damaged homes and administrative buildings, Odessa Region Governor Oleh Kiper reported on the Telegram messaging app.

8:00

North Korea reveals it has decided to send troops to Russia in August 2024

North Korea revealed that the official decision to deploy troops to support Russia in its invasion of Ukraine was made in late August last year, shortly after Ukraine launched an incursion into Kursk, according to a document shown on state television KCTV, Efe reports.

A music video for the song"Remember," used in videos featuring North Korean soldiers' exploits, featured official documents and information about the"Kursk liberation operation plan," confirming that the order to deploy troops was issued on August 28, 2024, local news agency Yonhap reported Sunday.