In an online post, US President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a three-day cease-fire deal starting on May 9. The date coincides with Victory Day celebrations in Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there would be no attacks on the site of the celebrations.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to steady ties with Italy and the Vatican during a visit to Rome shaped by disputes over Iran, NATO, and migration. He also defended Washington’s military posture in the Middle East and warned Tehran against trying to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Leonid and Valentyna Stoyanov, two veterinarians in Odesa, took in as many injured and abandoned animals as they could. Soon, they were making regular trips to the front lines to rescue animals affected by the war.

Sources in the Pakistani Taliban told RFE/RL that the group’s leadership has been ordered to relocate from the Afghan capital, Kabul, where it is allegedly based.

US President Donald Trump announced a three-day cease-fire in the war between Russia and Ukraine, with both sides quickly confirming they had agreed to the truce along with a major prisoner swap.

Security is tight as Moscow prepares for the May 9 Victory Day parade on Red Square, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. For the first time in nearly 20 years, the event will be held without military hardware. Mobile Internet restrictions are already in effect across the Russian capital.

The United States sees energy security in the Western Balkans as a national security priority and is stepping up efforts to help the region reduce its dependence on Russian supplies, Joshua Volz, a special envoy for energy integration at the U.S. Department of Energy, told RFE/RL.

Oil production cuts, plumes of smoke, altered plans for President Vladimir Putin: Ukraine’s strikes on oil facilities, military installations, and air defense systems are taking a toll on Moscow’s capacity to fight its war against Ukraine.

In an interview with RFE/RL, Barry Pavel, a former senior director for defense policy and strategy at the National Security Council, who served as a special assistant to the president under George W. Bush, unpacks the strategic meaning behind recent developments in the US war with Iran.

Iran said it was reviewing the latest US proposal that sources say would end the fighting but leave several key issues open, as US President Donald Trump claimed a deal was “very possible” but also warned of renewed fighting if Tehran rejected the deal.

Russia warned Kyiv-based diplomats and representatives of international organizations to prepare to evacuate the Ukrainian capital, saying its forces would launch a "massive" missile attack against the city if Ukraine disrupted its May 9 World War II commemorations.

A Russian drone hit a kindergarten in northern Ukraine, and Moscow launched scores of drones and missiles across the country, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of ignoring a Kyiv-proposed cease-fire.