President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met briefly Saturday before the funeral for Pope Francis as the American leader steps up the pressure to end Russia’s

Russia's illegal seizure of Crimea from Ukraine 11 years ago was quick and bloodless. But Kyiv — and most of the world — never recognized Moscow's annexation of the strategic peninsula, which is now a major focus of U.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has recently doubled down on his position that Kyiv will not accept any peace proposal that recognizes Crimea as Russian despite President Donald Trump's threats to walk away from peace processes.

The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has told the BBC that Ukraine may have to give up land as part of a peace deal with Russia, amid a growing pressure from President Donald Trump to accept territorial concessions.

Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Ukraine may need to temporarily cede land as part of a peace deal with Russia, Britain's BBC reported on Friday. "One of the scenarios is… to give up territory. It's not fair.

"It's not fair. But for peace, temporary peace, maybe it can be a solution," Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Russia has regained control of Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year, President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.

All Ukrainian troops have been forced from Russia’s Kursk region, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Saturday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed on Saturday what he called the complete failure of an offensive by Ukrainian forces into Russia's Kursk region after they were expelled from the last village Moscow said they had been holding.