The ball is now in Russia’s court. But Russia excels at grabbing the ball, pocketing it and debating the rules of the game before claiming the ball has in fact been stolen clean from them by the other team.

President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia was excluded from high-level talks on ending the war after the Kremlin said it didn't want him there, a U.S. administration official and a Russian official tell NBC News.

The captain of the Solong cargo ship who was arrested after crashing into an oil tanker off the English coast is a Russian national, the vessel’s owner said Wednesday, as maritime experts search for answers.

As momentum builds for a ceasefire with Russia , Ukraine has all but lost a valuable bargaining chip. The Ukrainian army stunned Russia in August by attacking across the border and taking control of an estimated 1,

President Vladimir Putin donned military fatigues for a surprise visit to troops in Russia's western Kursk region on Wednesday where he ordered them to press their lightning advance and swiftly retake the rest of the area from Ukrainian forces.

It comes as Ukrainian officials are saying they are open to a 30 day ceasefire. U.S. and Ukrainian officials held talks in Saudi Arabia without any Russians.

President Vladimir Putin has visited the western Russian region of Kursk for the first time since Ukrainian forces seized some territory in the region. Appearing on Wednesday (March 12) on Russian state television dressed in a pixilated military uniform,