U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to ramp up arms shipments to Ukraine is a signal to Kyiv to abandon peace efforts, Russia said on Thursday, vowing it would not accept the "blackmail" of Washington's new sanctions ultimatum.

Separately, on Thursday, bookmaker Star Sports offered odds of 7/2 (22.2 percent) on Trump securing the Nobel Peace Prize, placing him behind Navalnaya on 2/1 (33.3 percent) and ahead of Russian anti-war campaigner Alexei Gorinov on 6/1 (14.3 percent) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with 10/1 (9.1 percent).

Senate Majority Leader John Thune says Republicans will vote on a Russia sanctions bill once Trump approves it, as pressure mounts on Moscow to negotiate peace in Ukraine.

Yes, the president is in the files, and his own administration provided that information back in February when Attorney General Pam Bondi released the “Epstein Files: Phase I.” While that release was a dud, featuring mostly redacted information and things that had already been reported, Trump’s name was there.

Russia does not care about Trump's ultimatum of sanctions unless Moscow agrees to a peace deal in Ukraine, a senior security official said.

Putin’s refusal to compromise on Ukraine, say analysts, is a colossal error costing Russia regional influence, lucrative energy markets and its place in the world.

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