Allowing Russia to play in the 2026 World Cup could be a “good incentive” for Moscow to end the war in Ukraine, Donald Trump has said.
Russia has been banned from international competitions by Fifa and Uefa since its 2022 invasion, and will not play at the upcoming World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Mr Trump was unaware that Russia was banned from the tournament. "I didn't know that. Is that right?” he said at a meeting of Washington’s World Cup 2026 taskforce.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino, sat next to the US president, confirmed it was correct.
Mr Trump continued: "That's possible. Hey, that could be a good incentive, right?” Mr Infantino is “the boss” when it comes to a decision over Russia’s participation, Mr Trump added, saying that he has “nothing to do” with calls to reinstate them.
It comes after Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine claimed Kyiv is prepared to accept a 30-kilometre demilitarised zone with Russia.
Keith Kellogg said the zone, which could see both Ukrainian and Russian forces both withdrawing 15 kilometres, would be controlled by peacekeepers from the ‘coalition of the willing’ - the group of countries ready to join peacekeeping efforts in Ukraine.
Read More
Key Points
- Trump: Russian invite to 2026 World Cup could be 'incentive' to stop war
- Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow for Putin visit
- Ukraine prepared to accept demilitarised zone, claims Trump envoy
- Mother and son killed in Russian attack on Kyiv
- Biden accuses Trump of 'modern-day appeasement' towards Russia
Russia says restoring ties with US not easy but work is progressing
16:59
,
Alex Croft
Russia has said restoring relations between Washington and Moscow is not easy but work is progressing along a number of tracks.
"The contacts are being restored, and given that they were in absolute ruins it is certainly not an easy task, but it is proceeding along a number of tracks," Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said this morning.
Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow for Putin visit
16:30
,
Alex Croft
Chinese president Xi Jinping has arrived in Moscow for his state visit, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.
He will be welcomed as Vladimir Putin’s “guest of honour” for Moscow’s commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over the Nazis and, according to Beijing, Mr Xi will deepen his “mutual trust” with the Russian president.
Mr Xi, whose country buys more Russian oil and gas than any other, and which has thrown Moscow an economic lifeline that has helped it navigate Western sanctions imposed over its war in Ukraine, is due to arrive on Wednesday evening.
He is the most powerful world leader expected to attend a military parade on Moscow's Red Square on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany.
Trump: Russian invite to 2026 World Cup could be 'incentive' to stop war
16:15
,
Alex Croft
Donald Trump has said an invite for Russia to the 2026 World Cup could be an “incentive” to end the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s national team has been banned from international competitions by Fifa and Uefa since it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago - meaning Russia will not play at the upcoming World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.
During a meeting of Washington’s 2026 taskforce, Mr Trump was unaware that Russia was banned from the tournament.
He asked: "I didn't know that. Is that right?"
Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who was sitting next to him, said: "That is right. They are banned for the time being from playing but we hope that something happens and peace will happen so that Russia can be readmitted."
Mr Trump continued: "That's possible. Hey, that could be a good incentive, right?
"We want to get them to stop. We want them to stop. Five thousand young people a week are being killed - it's not even believable."
Mr Infantino is “the boss” when it comes to a decision over Russia’s participation, Mr Trump added, saying that he has “nothing to do” with any call to reinstate them.
Russia and Ukraine exchange 205 prisoners of war each, Russian military reports
16:03
,
Alex Croft
Russia and Ukraine have swapped 205 prisoners of war each, according to the Russian defence ministry, in what would mark one of the largest such exchanges since the start of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale war in February 2022.
The ministry said that the United Arab Emirates had helped mediate the exchange and that the freed Russian prisoners were currently in Belarus receiving medical and psychological support.
It comes just a fortnight after the two sides carried out their largest prisoner swap of the war so far, reportedly exchanging more than 500 prisoners. A month earlier, both sides each returned a further 175 prisoners.
The Ukrainian defence ministry also shared a video of its soldiers returning home on social media.
‘What the hell’s going on?’: Biden slams Trump for ‘appeasing’ Putin in first interview since leaving office
15:37
,
Alex Croft
Former President Joe Biden rebuked Donald Trump’s handling of Vladimir Putin and Russia’s conflict with Ukraine as “modern-day appeasement” in his first interview since leaving the White House in January.
The Democrat sat for a wide-ranging interview with the BBC in Delaware this week, addressing the current state of global affairs and his thoughts on his successor.
Biden responded with blistering criticism when pressed for his opinion on Trump’s behavior since taking office, including the president’s threats against Greenland, making Canada the 51st state, talking about acquiring the Panama Canal, and renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
James Liddell with the full report:
In pictures: Mother and son killed in Russian strike on Kyiv
15:12
,
Alex Croft
China a key enabler of Russia's war in Ukraine - EU spokesperson
14:41
,
Alex Croft
China continues to be the key enabler of Russia’s war in Ukraine, a European Commission spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Without China's support, Russia would not be able to wage war in Ukraine to the same extent, they added.
Chinese president Xi Jinping has departed for Moscow where he will be Vladimir Putin’s “guest of honour” for Russia’s VE Day 80th anniversary commemorations.
Watch: What Zelensky hopes to achieve by targeting Moscow ahead of Putin’s victory parade
14:09
,
Alex Croft
Putin to sign strategic partnership with Venezuelan president Maduro
13:39
,
Alex Croft
Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in Moscow on Wednesday, where the two will sign a strategic partnership.
The deal will be "weighty, substantial and very important framework document", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Moscow has been looking to strengthen ties with other countries around the world which share its desire to counter the influence of what it calls the “collective West”.
Venezuela has a fraught recent history with the US, marked by broken diplomatic relations, sanctions and accusations of criminal activity and coup-plotting.
Mr Maduro will also join the commemorative events to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day on Friday.
Putin will travel to China in August, Kremlin says
13:09
,
Alex Croft
Vladimir Putin will travel to China at the end of August, reciprocating Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s expected visit to Russia this week, the Kremlin has announced.
Mr Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the visit will be part of a “good tradition”, in which Mr Xi visits Moscow to attend celebrations of Russia’s defeat over Nazi Germany, and Mr Putin travels to China to attend events marking the Allied defeat of Japan.
“This was the case 10 years ago, in 2015, and this will be the case this year,” Mr Ushakov said. In September, Beijing is set to host an event marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which China refers to as “the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression”.
In 2015, China marked the 70th anniversary of its role in the defeat of Japan with a massive military parade involving more than 12,000 troops, 500 pieces of military equipment and 200 military aircraft.
Full report: White House caught off guard by Hegseth’s request to cancel weapons supply to Ukraine
12:41
,
Alex Croft
Defence secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly blocked military aid flights to Ukraine within days after US president Donald Trump entered office without the administration knowing.
An order from the US military told freight airlines at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and a US base in Qatar to halt 11 flights loaded with artillery shells and other weapons bound for Ukraine, according to Reuters.
The verbal order reportedly came from Mr Hegseth’s office, according to US Transportation Command records reviewed by Reuters.
His instructions sparked mass confusion across Washington, DC and in Kyiv, underscoring what officials and critics have warned is a Pentagon in disarray and driven by haphazard decision-making.
The pause in aid was previously reported, but Mr Hegseth’s apparent direct role in making the call to halt the flights carrying military aid was not. The flights resumed several days later after then-national security adviser Mike Waltz intervened, according to Reuters.
Alex Woodward reports from New York:
Xi Jinping departs for Moscow - Chinese media
12:13
,
Alex Croft
Chinese president Xi Jinping has left Beijing for his state visit to Russia, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.
He will be welcomed as Vladimir Putin’s “guest of honour” for Moscow’s commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over the Nazis and, according to Beijing, Mr Xi will deepen his “mutual trust” with the Russian president.
Mr Xi, whose country buys more Russian oil and gas than any other, and which has thrown Moscow an economic lifeline that has helped it navigate Western sanctions imposed over its war in Ukraine, is due to arrive on Wednesday evening.
He is the most powerful world leader expected to attend a military parade on Moscow's Red Square on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany.
Kremlin describes attempted Ukrainian attacks on Moscow as 'terrorism'
11:45
,
Alex Croft
The Kremlin has described attempted Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow as showing Kyiv’s tendency to commit “acts of terrorism” - despite Moscow’s own attack on the Ukrainian capital which killed a mother and son.
Russian air defence forces downed 14 Ukrainian drones on Wednesday, the city's mayor said, as Kyiv targeted the Russian capital for the third consecutive day.
The drones forced most of the Russian capital's airports to close hours before Chinese president Xi Jinping was due to fly in for a visit that Kyiv has made clear it opposes.
In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The Kyiv regime continues to demonstrate its essence, its propensity for terrorist acts."
"All necessary measures are being taken by our intelligence services and our military to ensure that the celebration of the Great Victory is held in a calm, stable and peaceful environment," he added.
What is the US-Ukraine minerals deal? | Independent Explains
11:14
,
Alex Croft
Poll shows Ukrainians positive about US-Kyiv minerals deal
10:45
,
Alex Croft
A poll has shown that 47 per cent of Ukrainians have a fairly positive expectation of the US critical minerals deal, as of early May.
Conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, the survey also found that 22 per cent of respondents expect the deal will have negative consequences, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Another 19 per cent believe it will have no impact on Ukraine, while 12 per cent were undecided.
The deal was signed last week after months of intense negotiations, and will see Washington and Kyiv share profits from the future sale of Ukraine’s mineral and energy reserves.
Mother and son killed in Russian attack on Kyiv
10:19
,
Alex Croft
Earlier, we reported that two people had been killed in Russia’s intense overnight drone attack on Kyiv.
It has now emerged that a mother and son were the two people who died, according to Ukrainian authorities.
At least seven people, including four children, were also injured in the attacks, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding that Russia fired four ballistic missiles and 142 drones at Kyiv and five other regions.
Residents evacuated their apartment buildings still in night dress, and waited outside the damaged as emergency workers battled blazes in their apartment blocks.
Russian drones continued to circle the Ukrainian territory at 11am (9am BST) on Wednesday, more than nine hours after the first air raid sirens sounded over the region.
In pictures: Residential buildings in Kyiv suffer heavy damage after intense Russian attacks
10:10
,
Alex Croft
Ukraine shares video of 205 troops returning home in prisoner swap
09:46
,
Alex Croft
Welcome home pic.twitter.com/3LL6U54Nkq
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 6, 2025
Watch: Trump claims Russia invaded Ukraine because they were thrown out of G8
09:34
,
Alex Croft
Trump envoy claims Ukraine prepared to accept demilitarised zone
09:18
,
Alex Croft
Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, has claimed Kyiv is ready to accept the idea of a 30-kilometre demilitarised zone.
A ceasefire “in place” - meaning both sides retain the territory they currently hold - may be the best way out of the current situation, Mr Kellog said.
"So you tell the Ukrainians ‘Look, this is one of those things that's going to be evolving over time. And if you do a ceasefire in place, the ground that you own, the ground that you fought for, that's your ground right now.’"
He gave examples including the reunification of Germany, to note that political realities can then change over time.
Kyiv is ready for a temporary demilitarised zone, Mr Kellog claimed, in which Ukrainian and Russian forces could withdraw by 15 kilometres each, creating a 30-kilometre no-fire zone.
This would be controlled by the ‘coalition of the willing’, the Anglo-French-led group of European countries prepared to put boots on the ground to facilitate peacekeeping efforts in Ukraine.
Analysis | Why Putin’s latest ceasefire raises immediate suspicion
09:04
,
Alex Croft
Less than two days after US president Donald Trump lashed out at Vladimir Putin for “tapping me along” over a peace deal, the Russian president announced another temporary ceasefire – this one scheduled to last three days.
His grand declaration raised immediate suspicion over whether this was yet another stalling tactic from the most conniving of dictators. One designed to keep an increasingly frustrated White House happy: Mr Trump’s top diplomat has even talked this week of pulling out of the entire negotiating process.
Chief international correspondent Bel Trew writes:
Four killed and ten wounded in attacks on Donetsk region
08:48
,
Alex Croft
Russian forces killed four civilians and wounded ten more in the Donetsk region on Tuesday, the region’s military chief said.
"The Russians killed four residents of Donetsk Oblast on 6 May – in Kramatorsk, Poltavka, Yablunivka and Sofiivka. Another 10 people were wounded during the day,” Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk military administration, said on Telegram.
Russian forces have killed at least 3,196 civilians and injured at least 7,065 in the Donetsk region since the war began more than three years ago, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Ukraine attacks Moscow airports as Xi visits
08:31
,
Alex Croft
Ukrainian drone attacks forced most of Moscow’s airports to close just as Chinese president Xi Jinping was due to arrive to join Russia’s VE Day celebrations.
Moscow’s key airports remained out of operation for most of the night as Russian air defence units destroyed at least 14 Ukrainian drones from 10pm on Tuesday (8pm BST) until Wednesday morning.
Twenty-nine world leaders, including Mr Xi, are expected to attend World War Two Victory Day commemorations in Moscow in the coming days, according to the Kremlin. Military units from 13 countries, including China, will take part in the parade.
Russian national carrier Aeroflot has said it will reorder the timetable to cope with the disruption.
Mr Xi is due to start a four-day visit to Russia on Wednesday, giving President Vladimir Putin an important diplomatic boost at a time when the Russian leader is keen to show his country is not isolated on the world stage.
Biden accuses Trump of 'modern-day appeasement' towards Russia
08:21
,
Alex Croft
Former US President Joe Biden has accused Donald Trump of “modern-day appeasement” towards Russia due the pressure he has placed on Ukraine into giving up territory.
In an interview with the BBC broadcast on Wednesday, Mr Biden said Russian president Vladimir Putin believes Ukraine is part of "mother Russia" and "anybody who thinks he's going to stop is just foolish".
"I just don't understand how people think that if we allow a dictator, a thug, to decide he's going to take significant portions of land that aren't his, that that's going to satisfy him," he told the BBC. "I don't quite understand."
He also expressed concern that "Europe is going to lose confidence in the certainty of America and the leadership of America".
Europe's leaders were "wondering, well, what do I do now?... Can I rely on the United States? Are they going to be there?," Biden said.
Russia destroys seven Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow
08:07
,
Arpan Rai
Russia's air defence units destroyed at least seven Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow early this morning, mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
This is the third consecutive night Russia has said it has been attacked by Ukrainian drones. On Monday, at least four drones headed for Moscow were downed, and yesterday, in a dramatic escalation, dozens of drones headed for Moscow were intercepted while at least 105 drones in total attacked Russia.
"Today, throughout the day, defence ministry air defence units have been repelling enemy drones," the Moscow mayor said yesterday.
Russia only reports the drones that it destroys and does not disclose the total number of drones that target the country, or how many hit their targets.
In photos: Russian drone attack kills two in Kyiv overnight
07:31
,
Arpan Rai
Two killed and four children injured in Russian attack on Kyiv
07:25
,
Arpan Rai
At least two people were killed and seven others were injured, including four children, in Kyiv this morning after Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital.
Falling debris from destroyed drones sparked fires in apartments and buildings across three of Kyiv's districts, killing two people in the busy, urban Shevchenkivskyi district, Ukraine's emergency service said on its Telegram channel.
At least four children were among seven people who sustained injuries as a result of the drone attack on Kyiv that came just hours after Russia sent missiles to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Five people were injured in Kyiv's Dniprovskyi district that sprawls along the Dnipro River, the head of Kyiv's military administration Timur Tkachenko said on Telegram.
How did Hegseth make the chaotic decision to block military aid to Ukraine?
07:14
,
Arpan Rai
Defence secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly blocked military aid flights to Ukraine within days after Donald Trump entered office without the administration knowing.
How did his decision take place?
Mr Hegseth’s decision reportedly followed an Oval Office meeting on 30 January, though Mr Trump did not explicitly direct Mr Hegseth to freeze any aid. A formal order halting aid that was authorised under Joe Biden’s administration went into effect roughly one month later, on 4 March.
But the White House told Reuters that Mr Hegseth was following Mr Trump’s directive, despite the apparent chaos and confusion among top national security officials who had no idea why the flights were grounded, and who ordered them.
“Negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine War has been a complex and fluid situation,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Reuters. “We are not going to detail every conversation among top administration officials throughout the process … The bottom line is the war is much closer to an end today than it was when President Trump took office,” the White House said.
The pause in shipments also raised alarms in Ukraine, where officials had difficulties getting any answers from Trump administration officials through multiple channels, according to Reuters.
Why Zelensky is targeting Moscow in run-up to Putin’s victory parade
07:07
,
Arpan Rai
Drone attacks that shut down Moscow’s airports, renewed assaults on Russian territory, and new claims to have “stalled” Russia’s costly eastern offensive all add up to red faces in the Kremlin, as it prepares to celebrate 80 years since the Nazis were vanquished.
Vladimir Putin has claimed, among other things, that his full-scale invasion of Ukraine was to topple the “Nazi regime” (headed by a Jew) ruling Kyiv. None of the world leaders planning to attend Russia’s parades this week believe that nonsense.
They will note, however, that Ukraine is showing the resilience of a democracy backed by other democracies. And that, perhaps, Volodymyr Zelensky is feeling his country is more secure now that he has locked in American interests in Ukraine’s minerals – and a new uplift in US-made air defences.
Ukraine’s drone onslaught on Russia in the run-up to Moscow’s victory parade is designed to make Putin look foolish on the world stage, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley:
Russia says restoring ties with US not easy but work is progressing
07:02
,
Arpan Rai
Russia has said restoring relations between Washington and Moscow is not easy but work is progressing along a number of tracks.
"The contacts are being restored, and given that they were in absolute ruins it is certainly not an easy task, but it is proceeding along a number of tracks," Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said this morning.
New EU sanctions on Russia to target shadow fleet ships and tighten export controls
06:30
,
Arpan Rai
The 17th package of European Commission sanctions against Russia is expected to contain tighter controls on exports as well as sales of technology that can be used by the military, as well as restrictions on Russia’s shadow fleet, EU diplomats said.
The draft package, due to be published on Tuesday, is not expected to contain any major new restrictions, but one source told Reuters that the package shows Russia that the 27-member bloc can "still agree on something against Russia" after repeated veto threats from Hungary.
France's foreign minister told news agency AFP last week the EU would try to coordinate the timing of its next package with the United States, which has recently finalised new economic sanctions against Russia.
Analysis: What Zelensky hopes to achieve by targeting Moscow ahead of Putin’s victory parade
06:15
,
Arpan Rai
World affairs editor Sam Kiley examines the Ukrainian president’s goals in attacks against Russia ahead of major World War II commemorations.
Russia and Ukraine exchange 205 prisoners of war each, Russian military reports
06:00
,
Arpan Rai
Russia and Ukraine have swapped 205 prisoners of war each, according to the Russian defence ministry, in what would mark one of the largest such exchanges since the start of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale war in February 2022.
The ministry said that the United Arab Emirates had helped mediate the exchange and that the freed Russian prisoners were currently in Belarus receiving medical and psychological support.
It comes just a fortnight after the two sides carried out their largest prisoner swap of the war so far, reportedly exchanging more than 500 prisoners. A month earlier, both sides each returned a further 175 prisoners.
Ukraine urges countries not to join Russia’s upcoming military parade
05:40
,
Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s foreign ministry has urged countries not to send any troops to take part in a military parade in Moscow on Friday marking the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s Second World War victory over Nazi Germany.
“The participation of foreign military personnel in this event is unacceptable and will be regarded by Ukraine as an outrage to the memory of the victory over Nazism,” the ministry said.
Home of Ukraine Eurovision contestant destroyed by Russian shelling
05:30
,
Arpan Rai
Russian shelling has destroyed the home of a teenage Ukrainian Eurovision contestant in the eastern region of Donetsk.
Khrystyna Starykova, 19, posted photos and video on social media detailing her damaged apartment block in the city of Myrnograd.
The teenager is currently in Switzerland rehearsing for her performance with the band Ziferblat. Ms Starykova is a backing singer, affectionately known as "bird girl" as she handles the song's high notes.
Ms Starykova posted two photos of her apartment block shrouded in smoke and still partly on fire, alongside the captions “Home” with a broken heart emoji and “I dreamed so much of returning home”.
