International from Thursday, August 21st, 2025

Russian President Vladimir Putin is prepared to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy but all issues must be worked through first and there's a question about the Ukrainian leader's authority to sign a peace deal, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

The Israeli military maintained its pressure on Gaza City with heavy bombardments overnight, residents said, ahead of a Thursday meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers on plans to seize the enclave's largest city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would like a "strong reaction" from Washington if Russian President Vladimir Putin was not willing to sit down for a bilateral meeting with him.

Russian overnight attack killed one person, injured at least 18, and struck a US electronics manufacturer in western Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, after Israel announced the first steps of an operation to take over Gaza City.