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Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreSir Keir Starmer is reportedly set to propose deploying British troops to Ukraine as part of a 30,000-strong European “reassurance force” during his meeting with Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., next week.The plan, developed with France, would station troops in key locations such as cities, ports, and nuclear sites – but not near the frontlines. It would focus on intelligence gathering, airspace monitoring, and securing critical infrastructure. Sir Keir will present the plan to President Trump during his first official White House visit since the election. He is expected to urge the US to keep fighter jets and missiles on standby in Eastern Europe to deter any Russian violations of a potential agreement.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the plan “unacceptable” for Moscow, while Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that any Nato troops in Ukraine would be a “direct threat,” regardless of their banner.News of Sir Keir Starmer’s plans comes amid rising concerns about Britain’s military readiness, with some suggesting the reintroduction of conscription.Now we want to know what you think: Should British troops be deployed in Ukraine? Do you think Starmer’s proposals go far enough? Are you worried about the state of Britain’s armed forces? Is there a better way to back Ukraine without direct military involvement?Share your thoughts in the comments – we’ll feature the most compelling responses.All you have to do is sign up and register your details – then you can take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen. More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreRussia and the United States shook hands today on an agreement to resume full diplomatic relations and establish Ukraine peace talks, cementing an extraordinary reversal of international policy under Donald Trump’s presidency.US secretary of state Marco Rubio greeted his smiling counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh and said ending the war could open “incredible opportunities that exist to partner with the Russians geopolitically on issues of common interest and, frankly, economically”.Immediately, Russia hardened its demands even further over Ukraine, dismissing the idea put forward by Sir Keir Starmer of British or other Nato-led peacekeeping troops in the event of a truce.“We explained today that the appearance of armed forces from … Nato countries, but under a false flag, under the flag of the European Union or under national flags, does not change anything,” Lavrov said. “This is unacceptable to us.”The talks in Saudi Arabia – unthinkable even six months ago – were aimed as a step toward ending Russia’s war in Ukraine after Mr Trump ordered officials to begin negotiations.Mr Rubio said the sides agreed as a first step to re-establish full staffing of their respective embassies, reversing the expulsions that followed Mr Putin’s invasion.He said those moves had “really diminished our ability to operate in Moscow” and that Russia would say the same about its mission in Washington. “We’re going to need to have vibrant diplomatic missions that are able to function normally,” he said.Mr Lavrov said that “the conversation was very useful”.The comments were likely to cause dismay in Europe, where leaders met in Paris on Monday to discuss Mr Trump’s desire to end US transatlantic security guarantees.Ukraine was shut out of Tuesday’s meeting in the Saudi capital.President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has already said his country will not accept the outcome of any talks it has not taken part in, was visiting Turkey where he reiterated his demand for a full return to 2014 borders, before the annexation of Crimea.“No matter how difficult it is for us, Ukraine will not legally recognise the parts occupied by Russia,” he told reporters. “The east is ours, Crimea is ours and all the other towns and villages that are important for us.”Kyiv’s participation in such talks was a bedrock of US policy under Mr Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, whose administration also led international efforts to isolate Russia over the war.White House officials have rejected the claim Europe has been left out of the conversation, noting that administration officials have spoken to several leaders.The meeting at the Diriyah Palace also highlights de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to be a major diplomatic player, burnishing a reputation severely tarnished by the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.Saudi state media described the talks as happening at the prince’s direction. Saudi Arabia has also helped in prisoner negotiations and hosted Mr Zelensky for an Arab League summit in 2023.However, Mr Zelensky on Tuesday cancelled a visit to the kingdom planned for later this week.Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreA split has emerged among European nations over whether to match Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to send UK troops to Ukraine, as allies thrash out a response to US president Donald Trump’s push for a deal with Vladimir Putin. Divisions became clear as leaders attended an emergency summit in Paris amid fears Washington will cut its transatlantic defence commitments.The emergency summit was called after Mr Trump announced his plan to sideline Europe by holding Ukraine peace talks directly with Mr Putin.Sir Keir said he would be willing to contribute to security guarantees by “putting our own troops on the ground if necessary”, echoing similar statements by France’s Emmanuel Macron. He later called for the US to provide a “backstop” to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again if the UK were to put troops on the ground. “Europe must play its role, and I’m prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others if there is a lasting peace agreement.“But there must be a US backstop, because a US security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again”, he told reporters after the meeting in Paris. But several other EU nations declined to follow Britain’s lead, with Poland ruling out such a move. “Poland will support Ukraine as it has done so far: organisationally, in accordance with our financial capabilities, in terms of humanitarian and military aid,” prime minister Donald Tusk told reporters before boarding a plane to Paris.“We do not plan to send Polish soldiers to the territory of Ukraine. We will … give logistical and political support to the countries that will possibly want to provide such guarantees in the future, such physical guarantees.”Keir Starmer is in Paris for talks on Ukraine with European partners (Carl Court/PA) More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreDonald Trump said he and Russian president Vladimir Putin agreed by phone to begin negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine and will “work together, very closely”.Announcing a huge shift in US foreign policy via social media, the US president said on Wednesday that the leaders are to meet in person and their respective teams will start talks “immediately”.Mr Trump also spoke at length with Volodymyr Zelensky, which the Ukrainian president’s aide described as a “good conversation”.But it came as US defence secretary Pete Hegseth ruled out Nato membership for Ukraine – the stance agreed by Britain, Europe, and Joe Biden – and suggested Kyiv should abandon hope of a return to its pre-2014 borders.Sir Keir Starmer responded that Britain would not soften its support for Ukraine, saying it “needs to be in the strongest possible position” ahead of any talks.Former armed forces minister Sir Nick Harvey expressed dismay at Washington for “ditching support to Ukraine before its hoped-for negotiations have even begun” and said the shift in policy “smacks of blackmail”.“It is essential for the democratic world to stand by Ukraine and not consort with its enemies,” he said.Reform UK leader Nigel Farage insisted it was “probably essential” for Ukraine to join Nato as part of any settlement.US vice-president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and Mr Trump’s special Russia-Ukraine envoy, retired general Keith Kellogg, will all be in Germany later this week for the annual Munich Security Conference, which Mr Zelensky will also attend.Mr Trump’s phone call on Wednesday followed a prisoner swap in which Russia released American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, of Pennsylvania, after more than three years of detention in return for convicted Russian cryptocurrency money launderer Alexander Vinnik.“We each talked about the strengths of our respective nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together,” Mr Trump said in a social media post. “But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.” Mr Trump said they also “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately”.Mr Trump’s announcement appeared to dismantle the Biden-era mantra that Kyiv would be a full participant in any decisions made. “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Mr Biden and his top national security aides said repeatedly. White House officials on Wednesday declined to clarify if Ukraine would be a party to the US talks with Russia.Even before Mr Trump’s announcement, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Ukraine being forced to cede part of its country to Russia would be the “greatest betrayal of a European ally” since Poland in 1945.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the conversation between Mr Trump and Mr Putin covered a good deal of ground, including the Middle East and Iran in addition to Ukraine, which was the main focus.Mr Peskov said that Mr Trump called for a quick cessation of hostilities and a peaceful settlement and that Mr Putin “emphasized the need to remove the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be achieved through peace talks”.He added: “The Russian president invited the US president to visit Moscow and expressed readiness to host US officials in Russia for issues of mutual interest, naturally including Ukraine, the Ukrainian settlement.” More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreAngela Merkel has revealed that she was “tormented” over the Brexit vote result and saw it as a “humiliation” for the EU.The former German chancellor wrote in her new autobiography Freedom that she ruminated on whether she could have done more to help the then-British prime minister David Cameron prevent the UK from leaving the bloc.However, in the extracts from the book, which is set to be published on Tuesday, Ms Merkel, who left office three years ago, concluded it was only himself that Mr Cameron could blame. Upon reflection, she said Brexit was a possibility as soon as he suggested in 2005 that Conservative Party MEPs should quit the European People’s Party (EPP) over the parliamentary allliance’s support of the Lisbon treaty in 2009 – which they did, with Eurosceptics criticising the changes the treaty introduced as undemocratic.In the five pages she dedicated to Brexit in her 700-page memoir, the Guardian reported Ms Merkel wrote: “To me, the result felt like a humiliation, a disgrace for us, the other members of the European Union – the United Kingdom was leaving us in the lurch. This changed the European Union in the view of the world; we were weakened.”Risking the ire of other EU leaders, Ms Merkel disclosed that she “tried wherever possible to help David Cameron”, including reaching out to him as he attempted to secure changes over freedom of movement and trade with a view to pitching a reformed EU.The former German chancellor wrote in her new autobiography Freedom that she ruminated on whether she could have done more to help the then-British prime minister David Cameron prevent the UK from leaving the bloc More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreThe war in Ukraine is entering a “decisive phase”, with Vladimir Putin’s launch of a new ballistic missile showing that the threat of global conflict is “serious and real”, Poland’s prime minister has said.Donald Tusk’s warning came as Nato and Ukrainian officials convened emergency talks over the hypersonic ballistic missile strike against Dnipro.Putin said its launch was in response to Ukraine using British and American long-range missiles on targets in Russia – and issued a stark threat that Moscow “had the right” to strike any Western nation that provided Kyiv with such weapons. And he vowed to continue using the new missile “in combat conditions” – a threat to both Ukraine and the West. Mr Tusk made clear the danger in Ukraine, which shares a border with Poland: “The war in the east is entering a decisive phase; we feel that the unknown is approaching. The conflict is taking on dramatic proportions. The last few dozen hours have shown that the threat is serious and real when it comes to global conflict.”Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said the world needs to mount a “serious response” to Putin’s firing of the missile, to show that there are “real consequences”. He added that his defence ministry was already working with allies and partners to develop air defences to protect against the “new risks” his country is facing.A session of Ukraine’s parliament was cancelled on Friday as security was tightened following the strike on Dnipro.Flashes after the missile strike on Dnipro in Ukraine More