US seeks new Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks

The United States is working to arrange new trilateral talks with Russia and Ukraine to end the four-and-a-half-year war, with both Kyiv and Moscow confirming the plan on Friday and the UAE proposed as a possible host. The move follows earlier US-brokered negotiations that stalled amid Washington's war on Iran. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US proposed a technical-level meeting, while the Kremlin confirmed a trilateral meeting could occur soon. Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited both countries earlier this month to restart ceasefire efforts. Zelenskyy said Trump told him Ukraine will be granted permission to produce Patriot air defence missiles, though any new systems would take over a year to deploy. Overnight Russian strikes killed a 14-year-old boy in Kyiv and one person in the Odesa region, while Ukraine hit Russian oil refineries.