Trump says he'll attend Notre Dame Cathedral reopening celebration in Paris this weekend

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump will attend the reopening celebration for Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris this weekend, his first foreign trip since the election. The cathedral is set to reopen Saturday after more than five years of reconstruction following a devastating...

German leader Scholz vows more Ukraine aid and defends his phone call with Putin

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Ukraine for the first time in more than two years Monday and vowed to keep supporting Kyiv in the war, just weeks after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rebuked him for having a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. ...

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrives in Kyiv, Ukraine, for his first visit in 2 1/2 years

Putin signs off record Russian defense spending as top EU officials visit Kyiv

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin approved budget plans, raising 2025 military spending to record levels as Moscow seeks to prevail in the war in Ukraine. Around 32.5% of the budget posted on a government website Sunday has been allocated for national defense,...

Zelenskyy says NATO offer for Ukraine-controlled territory could end 'hot stage' of war

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An offer of NATO membership to territory under Kyiv’s control would end “the hot stage of the war” in Ukraine, but any proposal to join the military alliance should be extended to all parts of the country that fall under internationally recognized borders, President...

Desertion threatens to starve Ukraine's forces at a crucial time in its war with Russia

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Desertion is starving the Ukrainian army of desperately needed manpower and crippling its battle plans at a crucial time in its war with Russia, which could put Kyiv at a clear disadvantage in future ceasefire talks. Facing every imaginable shortage, tens of...

The week that upped the stakes of the Ukraine war

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — This past week has seen the most significant escalation in hostilities that Ukraine has witnessed since Russia's full-scale invasion and marks a new chapter in the nearly three-year war — one tinged with uncertainty and fear. It began with U.S. President Joe...

NATO and Ukraine to hold emergency talks after Russia's attack with new hypersonic missile

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war. The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” Poland's Prime Minister...

Belarus opposition figure extradited from Vietnam faces terrorism charges, possible death penalty

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Belarusian opposition figure was detained in Vietnam and extradited to Belarus, where he is facing charges of terrorism and possibly a death penalty, the opposition said Thursday. The arrest of Vasil Verameichyk, 34, is the latest in an unrelenting...

The biggest remaining unsanctioned Russian bank hit with U.S. sanctions, nearly three years into war

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia's third largest bank, Gazprombank and its six foreign subsidiaries were hit with U.S. sanctions on Thursday — in a move intended to curtail Russia's ability to evade the thousands of sanctions imposed on the nation since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in...