Belgium on Wednesday rejected a plan to use frozen Russian assets to help prop up Ukraine's economy and war effort over the next two years, saying that the scheme poses major financial and legal risks.

Ukraine's budget and military needs for 2026 and 2027 are estimated to total around 130 billion euros ($150 billion). The European Union has committed to fill the gap. It has already poured in over 170 billion euros ($197 billion) since the war started in 2022.

China on Wednesday blasted the U.K. government's latest delay in deciding whether to approve the construction of a huge Chinese Embassy in London.

U.S. President Donald Trump's push for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine is intensifying.

Officials from the U.S., Ukraine and Russia have crisscrossed the globe in recent weeks in a flurry of meetings aimed at negotiating a deal. Here's a look at the key negotiators in those talks.

Emmanuel Macron arrived in China on Wednesday for a three-day state visit focusing on trade and diplomatic talks as the French president seeks to enlist Beijing in pressuring Russia toward a ceasefire with Ukraine.

Macron will advocate for an agenda of cooperation in economic and trade matters aimed at achieving a balance that ensures "sustainable, solid growth that benefits everyone," his office said.

Talks between Russia and the U.S. on ending the nearly four-year war in Ukraine were constructive, but much work remains, Yuri Ushakov, a senior adviser to President Vladimir Putin, told reporters on Wednesday.

Putin met U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin in talks that began late Tuesday as part of a renewed push by the Trump administration to broker a peace deal. Both sides agreed not to disclose the substance of the talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump summoned his top national security officials to the Oval Office on Monday to discuss Venezuela, as his counterpart Nicolas Maduro rejected a "slave's peace" amid mounting fears of American military action.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to hold talks in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the Trump administration's controversial proposal to end the war in Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed he had recently spoken with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro amid soaring tensions between the two countries, while Caracas slammed what it called U.S. preparations for an attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks on Ukraine with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Tuesday afternoon, the Kremlin said.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky Monday arrived for Elysee talks with French President Emmanuel Macron as he sought to shore up European support for a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine.