Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump issues first comment on CIA chief’s mysterious visit to Moscow

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump issues first comment on CIA chief’s mysterious visit to Moscow Trump says he is hopeful 'something may come out of' CIA chief’s meetings in Russia - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments US president Donald Trump has said “something may come out of” the CIA director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow on Tuesday. Trump said the US is “working very hard” to end the war in Ukraine, calling the CIA chief a “fantastic guy”. Answering a question on Ratcliffe’s visit to Russia, Trump said that the CIA director made a visit to Russia on a “very semi-routine” basis and “something may come out of it”. The Kremlin revealed yesterday that CIA director Ratcliffe held talks with Russian intelligence officials during a mysterious visit this week but did not meet president Vladimir Putin. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov framed communication between the two countries’ intelligence agencies as positive. This comes as Kremlin sources said Russia is considering stepping up its ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv. Putin is contemplating hitting targets in the city centre and on critical infrastructure elsewhere in Ukraine, after concluding that efforts to negotiate a peace deal have reached a dead end, they said. EU states revive plan to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, FT reports EU countries, including Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland, are urging Brussels to revive efforts to use immobilised Russian sovereign assets to fund Ukraine, the Financial Times reported today. A letter from a coalition of states to the European Commission will call on the EU's executive to restart work on plans to fund Ukraine using Russian central bank assets, the FT reported, citing four people briefed on the document. Watch: US military transport plane lands in Moscow with no explanation from Kremlin or Trump Trump says 'something may come out of' CIA director's Russia visit Donald Trump has said “something may come out of” the CIA director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow on Tuesday. The US is “working very hard” to end the war in Ukraine, he said. “We would like to see the Ukraine war end.” Answering a question on Ratcliffe’s visit to Russia, Trump said that the CIA director made a visit to Russia on a “very semi-routine” basis. "Something may come out of it," Trump said, calling Ratcliffe a “fantastic guy”. Putin weighs stepping up strikes on Kyiv with talks at dead end Russia is considering stepping up its ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv, including targets in the city centre, and on critical infrastructure elsewhere in Ukraine after concluding that efforts to negotiate a peace deal have reached a dead end, said three people close to the Kremlin. Speaking to Bloomberg, they said negotiation frameworks had effectively collapsed, while president Vladimir Putin remained unlikely to end the war in response to sanctions or Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries and logistics networks. Dozens of ships stuck in Danube for access to Ukrainian ports, threatening grain price spike Up to 70 vessels are waiting near the Danube's Sulina Canal for access to Ukrainian ports to load grain for export, traders and analysts said on Wednesday, with a shortage of pilots and priority given to other cargoes creating long delays. After Russian attacks effectively blocked Ukraine's Black Sea ports, which had handled 90 per cent of the country's grain exports, some shipments were rerouted through Danube river ports, which have much lower capacity. Grain cargoes are competing for access with higher-priority shipments such as fuel, slowing exports. Frequent air raid alerts, which force the suspension of all port operations, have added to the disruption. Ukraine is one of the world's biggest grain exporters and disruptions to its shipments can drive up global prices. US senator hopes 'sledgehammer' Russian sanctions will pass next month A US senator sponsoring a bill for wide-ranging sanctions on Russia said on Wednesday he was hopeful it would pass the House of Representatives next month, and be a "sledgehammer" to president Vladimir Putin's efforts to fund his war in Ukraine. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut who met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and senior officials during a visit to Kyiv, said the bill had strong Republican support in the House, after comfortably passing an initial Senate vote last month. “Putin understands only force,” Blumenthal told a news conference. “And the Russia sanctions bill is a sledgehammer that can have the kind of force Putin understands.” Though Democrats are broadly supportive of the sanctions, some have expressed concern that it would give Republican president Donald Trump leeway to impose additional tariffs, including on US allies. Falling debris damages vessel in Ukraine's port of Reni A civilian vessel was damaged overnight at the Danube River port of Reni near Ukraine's Izmail, local Ukrainian authorities said this morning. The vessel was damaged due to falling debris likely from an intercepted drone. It is not immediately clear if the incident caused any casualties. Reni sits close to Ukraine's borders with Romania and Moldova. Explosions rock Kyiv as Russia carries out major attack Explosions were heard in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, a Reuters witness said, as Russia was hitting Ukraine with drones and missiles in the early hours today. Kyiv authorities, who earlier issued a drone attack alert, said on Telegram that debris had fallen in the courtyard of a residential building and damage was being clarified. Ukraine's Armed Forces separately issued a ballistic missile alert for Kyiv. In Kryvyi Rih, a steel-and-mining hub in central Ukraine and president Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown, two were injured as missiles hit an industrial facility and three more were wounded in Zaporizhzhia, officials said. Husband pleads for wife’s release from Russia as health issues worsen The recent release of Marine veteran Robert Gilman from Russian custody ended more than four years of imprisonment, but his visibly frail condition has raised alarming questions for the families of Americans still detained there. Watching the news coverage from the United States, Harold Jezler saw Gilman's gaunt appearance and immediately worried about what it meant for his 36-year-old wife, Olga, who has been held in Russia since 2022 while suffering from her own deteriorating health issues. Although Gilman’s freedom follows a series of prisoner releases over recent years, numerous Americans remain incarcerated in Russia. Relatives and advocates report that several suffer from unaddressed or inadequately treated medical conditions, escalating the urgency of diplomatic efforts to secure their freedom. Read the full story: Husband pleads for wife’s release from Russian prison as her health issues worsen Russia's Putin and Syria's Sharaa discussed deepening ties, Kremlin says Russian president Vladimir Putin and Syrian president Ahmed al- Sharaa on Wednesday spoke by phone and discussed deepening political dialogue and cooperation in trade and other areas, the Kremlin said. It said in a statement that the two leaders had noted the importance of an August 9 memorandum of understanding to settle the future of Russia's bases at Tartus and Hmeimim after 18 months of negotiations. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments