Ukraine and the US are to hold crunch peace talks in Saudi Arabia from tomorrow following a tense few weeks in which relations between Kyiv and Washington looked more fraught than ever, US officials have said they are planning on using the meeting with their Ukrainian counterparts to determine whether Kyiv is willing to make material concessions

The front line inside Ukraine has become more static, Ukrainian soldiers say, even as Russia regains ground in its own Kursk region.

By Andrew Osborn and Anastasiia Malenko LONDON/KYIV (Reuters) -Thousands of Ukrainian troops who stormed into Russia's Kursk region last summer in a shock incursion are nearly surrounded by Russian forces there,