DIRECT. War in Ukraine: “direct negotiations” mentioned by Putin and Witkoff, a Russian general killed near Moscow

“The ball is clearly in the” Russian camp, says the NATO chief

NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte, said Thursday that he was returning to Russia, not Ukraine, to advance negotiations to end the conflict after US President Donald Trump castigated kyiv. “There is something on the table now, I think, and the Ukrainians are really playing the game. And I think the ball is clearly in the Russian camp now,” Mark Rutte told the White House, after a meeting with President Trump.