In recent weeks, the Trump administration has quietly disbanded a working group formed to develop strategies for pressuring Russia into peace talks with Ukraine, three US officials told Reuters. The move follows a suspension of a separate initiative countering Russian disinformation. Trump’s broader peacemaking efforts, including in the Middle East, have also struggled in recent months.

Group lost momentum amid Trump’s waning interest

Set up earlier this spring, the inter-agency group included officials from the National Security Council (NSC), State Department, Treasury, Pentagon, and intelligence community. It lost relevance by May as Trump appeared increasingly uninterested in tougher action against Moscow.

“The effort […] lost steam toward the end because the president wasn’t there. Instead of doing more, maybe he wanted to do less,” one official said.

Officials said the group explored ways to pressure post-Soviet states to restrict trade with Russia, including incentives for Kazakhstan to curb sanctions evasion. However, no policies were enacted before the group’s shutdown.

Trump delays backing new Russia sanctions over claimed US economic burden and peace deal hopes as Moscow continues to bomb Ukraine

NSC purges sealed the group’s fate

Roughly three weeks ago, most members of the NSC’s Ukraine team were dismissed, including top Europe-Russia adviser Andrew Peek. The purge made it nearly impossible to continue the effort.

The existence of the group had not been publicly known. Its end raises concerns among European allies, especially ahead of an upcoming NATO summit, over Trump’s mixed signals on supporting Ukraine.

Shift in tone despite earlier frustration with Russia

The group was formed as Trump publicly expressed anger at Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying in March he was “pissed off” over attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s legitimacy. Still, Trump has since suggested the US might abandon peace efforts altogether.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared “unconditional support” for Russia’s war against Ukraine during a meeting with top Russian official Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang, according to North Korean state media on 5 June.

AP reports that Kim met with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang on 4 June. According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim told Shoigu that North Korea would “unconditionally support the stand of Russia and its foreign policies in all the crucial international political issues including the Ukrainian issue.” The visit marks an intensification of cooperation between the two countries.

KCNA added that the two officials discussed how to solidify the strategic partnership between North Korea and Russia, reaching a consensus on the Ukraine issue and other unspecified international situations. No further details were provided by the North Korean outlet.

North Korea’s troops, shells, missiles aided Russia in war against Ukraine, breaching UN sanctions, report confirms

Troop deployment and military presence

In April 2025, North Korea and Russia officially confirmed the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia for the first time. The confirmation stated that North Korean and Russian soldiers were fighting side by side against what they described as a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast. 

Though neither Russia nor North Korea has released troop counts, intelligence from the US, South Korea, and Ukraine has previously stated that North Korea sent between 10,000 and 12,000 troops to Russia last fall. South Korean authorities recently added that another 3,000 troops were dispatched earlier this year.

North Korea supplied Russia with 9 mn rounds of ammunition and 100 ballistic missiles since 2023

Russia’s state-run Tass news agency, citing the Russian Security Council’s press service, reported that Shoigu and Kim also discussed the reconstruction of Kursk Oblast and agreed on steps to honor the contributions of North Korean soldiers involved in the fighting there.

Despite Russia’s April 2025 claim of full control over Kursk Oblast, Ukraine’s army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said Saturday that Ukrainian forces still hold ground there.

Latvia was elected on June 3 to the United Nations Security Council for the first time in its history.

Along with four other countries – Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Liberia – Latvia will serve a two-year term, beginning in January 2026, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Reacting to the vote, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze called it a "historic day for Latvia."

"We are honored by the trust placed in us and ready to take on this responsibility to defend the rules-based international order," she wrote on X.

With the exception of Latvia – which is taking a seat on the council for the first time – all the elected countries have previously served.

The newly elected countries will take the place of Algeria, Guyana, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia, whose terms will end in December 2025. They will join the five non-permanent members that were elected last year – Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama, and Somalia.

The UN Security Council is the main UN body responsible for maintaining international peace and security. It is composed of 15 members, including five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The permanent members hold veto power.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has repeatedly used its veto power to block resolutions concerning its actions in Ukraine. Latvia, a vocal critic of Russia, has consistently pushed for stronger Western support for Ukraine.

The Baltic nation has been a steadfast ally of Ukraine – it recently delivered 1,500 combat drones to Ukraine and has committed providing military support at the level of 0.25% of its GDP every year.

Latvia has also urged the European Union to adopt tougher measures against Russia, including an EU-wide ban on issuing visas to Russian citizens.

Ukrainian delegation arrives in US to discuss defense support, Russia sanctions

Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, is traveling to the U.S., a source close to the Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent on June 3.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek

Russia is prepared to consider a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine, but only if Kyiv stops receiving Western weapons and halts mobilization, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's envoy to the United Nations, said on May 30, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.

"In principle, we are ready to consider the possibility of establishing a ceasefire, which would subsequently allow for a sustainable resolution of the root causes of the conflict," Nebenzya said at a U.N. Security Council meeting.

Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, convened the meeting to accuse European nations of undermining peace efforts. The Russian ambassador said that any ceasefire would require Western governments to end their support for Ukraine's armed forces.

"During the ceasefire, it is essential that Western countries stop supplying weapons to the Kyiv regime (the Ukrainian government) and that Ukraine halt its mobilization," Nebenzya said.

The statement comes just days ahead of the next round of peace talks in Istanbul on June 2. Despite the stated offer, Nebenzya also pledged that Moscow would "continue and intensify military operations for as long as necessary."

Ukraine swiftly rejected the demand as disingenuous.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the remarks a "slap in the face to all who advocate for peace," including countries like China and Brazil, which have pressed both sides to end the war.

"When the entire world insists that it is time to stop the killing immediately and engage in meaningful diplomacy, Russia uses the highest fora to spew such belligerent rhetoric," Sybiha wrote on X.

"We insist that the pressure on Moscow be increased already now. They do not understand normal attitude or diplomatic language; it is time to speak to them in the language of sanctions and increased support for Ukraine."

Despite growing global calls for a truce, Russia has so far rejected Ukraine's U.S.-backed proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire. The Kremlin has instead escalated its aerial assaults across Ukrainian territory and is reportedly preparing a new summer offensive.

Moscow is expected to present a draft "ceasefire memorandum" at the June 2 talks in Istanbul. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on May 29 that the proposal would be delivered by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, who led Russia's delegation at the previous round of talks.

President Volodymyr Zelensky's Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said on May 29 that Kyiv is open to the talks but insists that Russia share the memorandum ahead of the meeting.

According to Reuters, Moscow's demands for ending the war include Ukraine's withdrawal from four partially occupied regions, a pledge to abandon NATO ambitions, and the lifting of key Western sanctions — conditions Kyiv and its allies have categorically rejected.

Ukraine attacks elite Russian unit base nearly 7,000km away in Vladivostok, source claims

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) was behind the explosions near Desantnaya Bay in Russia’s Vladivostok on May 30, which reportedly damaged military personnel and equipment, a source in HUR told the Kyiv Independent.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova