The White House laid out the next steps for Russia-Ukraine peace talks. Pete Hegseth’s personal security requirements are straining an Army protective unit. Jeanine Pirro, D.C.’s top prosecutor, confirmed a major change to gun policy.

The Ukrainian leader returned with a U.S. commitment to participate in security guarantees for Kyiv in a postwar settlement.

Moscow continues to say that the presence of any western troops in Ukraine is unacceptable, however, and accuses Kyiv and European capitals of trying to undermine the attempts of Mr Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the war and rebuild US-Russia relations.

Top U.S. and European defense officials spent much of this week privately discussing possible military options in Ukraine that would bolster the Eastern European country’s protections against Russia.

The Trump administration has trumpeted a breakthrough in talks with Russia this month, claiming that Mr. Putin had accepted a proposal for the West to provide security guarantees for Ukraine as strong as Article 5 of the NATO charter, which stipulates that an attack on one alliance member is considered an attack on all.

Oil prices climbed about 2% on Wednesday on a bigger-than-expected weekly drop in U.S. crude inventories as investors awaited the next steps in talks to end the Ukraine war, with sanctions on Russian crude remaining in place for now.

Russian state media footage shows the M113 armored personnel carrier driving into combat in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Donald Trump has signalled his support for a package of security guarantees for Ukraine, including foreign boots on Ukrainian soil from around 10 European countries, in a new push to pressure Russian president Vladimir Putin into ending the conflict.