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Impressed by Ukraine’s Battlefield Gains, Trump Warms to Zelensky

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Ukrainian leader plans to meet Tuesday with Trump at the White House By Meridith McGraw, Annie Linskey, and Robbie Gramer The Wall Street Journal July 27, 2026 at 08:02 PM EDT   President Trump met this month with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a summit in Turkey. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images WASHINGTON -- For more than a year, President Trump insisted in private conversations with advisers that Ukraine was losing the war. But in recent weeks, the president has expressed fresh optimism about Ukraine and its leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, according to people who have spoken to him. Trump, the people said, has been impressed with Zelensky’s resilience as he takes the fight deep into Russian territory. The shift comes after several meetings on the sidelines of global summits where the Ukrainian president has tried to charm Trump, the people said, part of a concerted campaign by European leaders to improve the relationship. Trump has come to admire Ukraine’s drone industry, esp...

Two Wars Converge in the Caspian Sea as Ukraine Hits Iranian Supply Line to Russia

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The Iran and Ukraine wars are colliding on the world’s biggest lake. Here’s what to know 11 HR AGO [posted July 27 at circa 11 pm on this blog in DC] By Tim Lister, Leila Gharagozlou CNN WORLD A satellite image of the Caspian Sea. Planet Observer/Universal Images Group/Getty Images The Caspian Sea has become the latest region to be sucked into the growing conflict between Iran and its adversaries – not least because it’s a vital artery in the growing relationship between Iran and Russia. Ukraine at the weekend said its drones had struck two Russian vessels carrying military cargoes in the Caspian, the world’s largest inland body of water. It asserted that both had left Iran for a Russian port. In a post on X Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the targets included “ships that were involved in transporting military cargo from Iran, as well as a warship,” subsequently identified by Ukraine’s security service as a Russian missile boat. Iran countered that one of its co...

Inside Ukraine’s Secretive Unit Knocking Russian Drones Out of the Sky

  including a Loeb, six Sabews and an OPC. He has held a variety of jobs at the Journal, including markets editor for EMEA, senior Canada correspondent, and U.K. politics and general news reporter in London. Alistair has also worked at Reuters and outlets in his native North East of England.

How Russia Uses Sexual Violence to Wage War

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Serhii Boychuk said he suffered sexual torture at the hands of his Russian guards . [more on  Serhii Boychuk and others below] By Alistair MacDonald , Serhi Bosak and Ivegeniia Sivorka The Wall Street Journal Photography by Sasha Maslov for WSJ  July 25, 2026 11:00 pm ET JB:  See also  Chatham House, which notes, " A recent report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine found that sexual violence has been used systematically by Russian authorities as a method of torture in detention settings. The report underscores that conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) affects civilians and prisoners of war alike and constitutes a significant proportion of war crimes being prosecuted in Ukraine." Quick Summary -- Growing testimony suggests Russian sexual violence against Ukrainian POWs and civilian prisoners has been systematic and condoned by senior Russian officials. -- The Unit ed Natio ns has gathered testimo ny about 310 cases of sexual viole...