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European Leaders Split Over Phone Call to Putin

The diplomatic outreach was part of an effort to push talks to end the war in Ukraine, though it was not welcomed by all European leaders.

© Pool photo by Maxim Shipenkov

President Vladimir Putin of Russia in Moscow on Friday.
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Trump Explores Lifting Sanctions on Russia’s Flagship Investment Fund

The move would be the latest U.S. concession to Moscow as President Trump pursues economic incentives he hopes will secure an end to war in Ukraine.

© Ramil Sitdikov/Reuters

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s envoys, with Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, in Moscow last month.
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In U.S. Gas Talks With Kremlin, Hidden Financing for Alaska Project Emerges

Interviews and documents show a Russian energy giant secretly funded a U.S. firm. The deal has been discussed in talks to end the war in Ukraine.

© Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

Oil drilling rigs in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The Polar LNG plan called for the company to tap into the giant load of natural gas available in the state’s northern reaches.
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Melania Trump Says She Brokered a Cease-Fire in a Starving Ukrainian City

The first lady, who is positioning herself as an intermediary between two warring nations as her husband sides with Russia, said the agreement would allow residents to evacuate.

© Eric Lee for The New York Times

“It was abundantly clear that without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible,” Melania Trump, the first lady, said in a statement.
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Trump Asked Musk to Reverse Starshield Restrictions on Ukraine

The call from the president about the Starshield network came after officials in Ukraine reported that they found new limits on the use of military drones in their war against Russia.

© Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times

A Ukrainian soldier checking a reconnaissance drone before launching it in the Sumy region last fall.
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Putin Nears a Prize: Restoring Ties With the U.S. While Giving Up Nothing

Russia has sought to separate the war in Ukraine from potential business deals and diplomacy with the United States. Its efforts now appear to be working.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Anchorage, Alaska, last year.
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What Putin Gains From Releasing an American Prisoner

After Russia released an American prisoner, President Trump’s special envoy praised President Vladimir V. Putin as “a humanitarian.” Our White House and national security correspondent, David E. Sanger, describes how the release comes amid Mr. Trump’s broader shift toward Russia and away from Ukraine.
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