Russia

The hub will handle a wide range of Russian goods, including wheat and grains, and target initial cargo volumes of around 250,000 tons per month, one of the officials said.

The Elysee said that planning was still underway for security guarantees for when a ceasefire is reached between Ukraine and Russia.

A source close to the Kremlin told Reuters last year that Gilman was one of nine people on a list of Americans jailed in Russia that Washington wanted to be released and returned to the US.

Zelensky has long pleaded for faster supplies of interceptors capable of bringing down Russian ballistic missiles, a need accentuated by recent assaults on the Ukrainian capital and other cities.

To date, about two million soldiers have been killed, wounded, or missing since the full-scale invasion in early 2022, 1.4 million of them Russian.

Rutte, who spoke with Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, addressed the criticism he gets for how he deals with US President Trump.

In Ankara, Zelensky pressed NATO allies for "effective anti-ballistic systems and missiles," and emphasized that ballistic missiles were  "Russia's last major advantage."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly pleaded for the US-made interceptors - the only weapon in Ukraine's arsenal that can shoot down ballistic projectiles.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the ROC was suspended in October 2023 for recognizing regional Olympic councils in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said the investigation helped to reveal Russia's true attitude to Italy after Italy provided military and civilian aid to Ukraine.