Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart Donald Trump Saturday that Moscow was ready to hold a fresh round of peace talks with Kyiv after June 22, once the warring sides complete exchanging prisoners and soldiers’ bodies.

Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile did not mention whether Ukraine would agree to the next round of talks, only saying that “the exchanges will be completed and the parties will discuss the next step.”

Putin and Trump held a call for the fifth time since the Republican took office and sought to reset relations with Moscow, in a stark pivot from the approach of his predecessor Joe Biden’s administration to Russia’s 2022 invasion of its neighbour.

Trump’s approach has stunned Washington’s allies, raising doubts about the future of US aid to Kyiv and leaving Europe scrambling to work out how it can fill any gap in supplies if Trump decides to pull US military, financial and intelligence support.

“Both leaders expressed satisfaction with their personal relations,” during the call, the Kremlin said.

It added that the presidents “communicate in a businesslike manner and seek solutions to pressing issues on the bilateral and international agenda, no matter how complex these issues may be.”

Zelensky urged the United States to “shift tone” in its dialogue with Russia, saying it was “too warm” and would not help to end the war.

“Any signals of reduced aid, or of treating Ukraine and Russia as equals, are deeply unfair. Russia is the aggressor. They started this war. They do not want to end it,” the Ukrainian President said on X.

The Ukrainian leader also warned against a drop in aid due to the escalating Israel-Iran conflict, at a time when European support is stalling without US engagement.

The recent escalation sparked anxiety in Kyiv about future supplies of military aid, fearing Washington might relocate more resources to beef up the defence of its close ally Israel which unleashed a large-scale attack on Iran Friday.

“We would like to see aid to Ukraine not decrease because of this,” he said. “Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.”

Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine and Russia swapped prisoners in the fourth such exchange this week, part of a large-scale plan to bring back 1,000 wounded prisoners from each side and return bodies of killed soldiers.

The prisoner agreement was the only visible result of two recent rounds of talks in Istanbul.

Photos published by Zelensky on Telegram showed men of various ages, mostly with shaved heads, wearing camouflage and draped in Ukrainian flags.

Some were injured, others disembarked from buses and hugged those welcoming them, or were seen calling someone by phone, sometimes covering their faces or smiling.

Moscow’s defence ministry released its own video showing men in uniforms holding Russian flags, clapping and chanting “Glory to Russia” and “hooray”, some raising their fists in the air.

As part of the Istanbul agreements, Kyiv also said it had received another 1,200 unidentified bodies from Russia.

It said Moscow had said they were those of “Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel.” Ukraine did not say whether it returned any bodies to Russia.

Russia has rejected calls to halt its three-year offensive. It has demanded Ukraine cede territory and renounce Western military support if it wants peace.

Since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the assault has forced millions of people to flee their homes as towns and cities across eastern Ukraine have been flattened by heavy bombardments.

Meanwhile, Russia intensified its advances along the front line, especially on the northeastern Ukrainian region of Sumy, where it seeks to establish a “buffer zone”.

By doing it, Moscow seeks to protect its bordering region of Kursk, previously partly occupied by Ukraine.

Zelensky said Russia’s advance on Sumy was stopped and that Kyiv’s forces had managed to retake one village.

He also denied Moscow’s earlier claims that its troops entered the Dnipropetrovsk region.

He said 53,000 Russian soldiers were involved in the Sumy operation.

AFP

The lone survivor of 242 people aboard a London-bound passenger plane that crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on Friday said how even he was struggling to explain how he miraculously walked out alive from the fireball explosion.

“Everything happened in front of me, and even I couldn’t believe how I managed to come out alive from that,” British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh said from his hospital bed on Friday, speaking in Hindi to national broadcaster, DD News.

The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane, which was full of fuel as it took off for a long-haul flight to London, exploded into a burst of orange flame on Thursday afternoon just after taking off.

Ramesh — who was in seat 11A according to media reports — was the only one aboard the plane not to be killed, with at least 24 others killed on the ground.

His brother was also on the same flight, his family in Britain told reporters.

“Within a minute after takeoff, suddenly… it felt like something got stuck… I realised something had happened, and then suddenly the plane’s green and white lights turned on,” Ramesh said.

“After that, the plane seemed to speed up, heading straight towards what turned out to be a hostel of a hospital. Everything was visible in front of my eyes when the crash happened.”

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, paid a visit to Ramesh on Friday at the hospital where he is being treated for burns and other injuries, footage on his YouTube channel showed.

Ramesh, aged 40, is from the British city of Leicester, according to Britain’s Press Association news agency, which spoke with his family at home.

The plane smashed into the buildings just outside the perimeter of the airport.

“Initially, I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive,” he said.

“I saw the air hostess and aunties and uncles all in front of me,” he said, his voice trailing off in emotion, using a term of respect used in India for older people.

“I unfastened my seatbelt and tried to escape, and I did,” he said.

“I think the side I was on was not facing the hostel. Where I landed was closer to the ground and there was space too – and when my door broke — I saw that there was space, and I thought I could try to slip out,” he added.

Videos shared on social media showed Ramesh soon after, dressed in a bloodied t-shirt and limping, but walking toward an ambulance.

“My left hand got slightly burnt due to the fire, but an ambulance brought me to the hospital. The people here are taking good care of me,” he said.

Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London’s Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members.

The death toll currently stands at 265, police said.

Authorities have set up DNA testing for relatives of passengers and those killed on the ground to identify the scorched bodies and body parts.



AFP

A US senator from California was forcibly removed from a news conference being held by Donald Trump’s homeland security chief on Thursday, in the latest escalation of tensions over controversial immigration arrests.

Senator Alex Padilla was pushed and shoved from the room at a federal building in Los Angeles as he tried to ask Kristi Noem about operations that have rocked America’s second largest city.

“I’m Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” he said as two men grappled with him in front of journalists, including from AFP.

Footage filmed by Padilla’s staff outside the room showed the senator being pushed to the ground by security agents wearing bulletproof vests with FBI logos, who then handcuffed him.

Padilla, one of two Democratic senators representing California in the upper chamber of Congress, did not resist.

A voice can be heard telling the Padilla staffer “There’s no recording allowed out here,” as a body moves in front of the camera, before the recording ends.

The Department of Homeland Security claimed — despite video evidence — that Padilla had “lunged” at Noem.

“Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem,” Assistant Secretary Trisha McLaughlin wrote on social media.

“@SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately,” she said, adding that Noem and Padilla met for 15 minutes after the news conference.

Noem called Padilla’s interruption “inappropriate” and told reporters at the news conference he had not requested a meeting with her.

Democratic response was rapid.

California Governor Gavin Newsom called the incident “outrageous, dictatorial and shameful.”

“Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now,” he wrote on social media.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the episode “absolutely abhorrent and outrageous.”

“He is a sitting United States Senator. This administration’s violent attacks on our city must end.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for an investigation into the “despicable” incident.

“(It) reeks of totalitarianism. This is not what democracies do.

“Senator Padilla was there legitimately in that building to ask questions of what’s going on in California, which everybody wants to know answers to.

Noem’s press conference came after almost a week of protests in Los Angeles sparked by an immigration crackdown ordered by Trump officials.

The mostly peaceful demonstrations have been marred by eye-catching violence, including people torching cars and throwing rocks at police.

The White House responded with overwhelming force, sending 4,700 troops to the city, despite objections from local officials and the police, who said they had the manpower and ability to handle unrest that has taken place in a few city blocks.