Ukrainian troops are facing down a ferocious Russian counteroffensive in Kursk as Putin seeks to take back Russian land before any talks.

Experts tell Andy Gregory and Tom Watling that the real question is how much Kyiv’s troops are able to inflict casualties on the Russians as the price for taking the territory back

Russian troops, including soldiers disguised as Ukrainians, briefly broke through the frontlines in the northeast, a sign that Moscow is successfully pressuring Kyiv. Four waves of Kremlin fighters descended on the re-conquered city of Kupiansk on Wednesday,

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin leader’s first publicly announced conversation with the sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the German chancellor's phone call with Russia's leader on Friday opened a "Pandora's box" that undermined efforts to isolate Vladimir Putin and end the war in Ukraine with a "fair peace".