Germany is ready to step up funding for and training of Ukrainian forces but will decide on further military commitments only after broader conditions are clarified, a government spokesperson said on Thursday.

Sep. 4, 2025 at 12:50 p.m. ET

Key Points and Summary -Despite President Trump’s repeated promises to end the war in Ukraine, the conflict is no closer to a resolution. -While diplomatic channels are more open than before, Russia’s “maximalist demands”—including territorial seizures and Ukrainian neutrality—remain unacceptable to Kyiv and its allies.

Speaking in Beijing at the end of a visit that resulted in an agreement on a new gas pipeline to China, Putin said he perceived "a certain light at the end of the tunnel", given what he said were sincere efforts by the United States to find a settlement to Europe's biggest land war since World War Two.