Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at a conference in 2017 (EPA)

EA-Times Radio VideoCast: Why Trump Wobbled on Tomahawks for Ukraine

EA with TVP World: What Next After Zelensky-Trump Meeting?

EA on France 24 and Ukraine’s War and Politics 24: “Putin Is Not Interested In Negotiations”

Saturday’s Coverage: Trump Hesitates on Tomahawk Missiles for Kyiv

UPDATE 0615 GMT:

Ukrainian drones have again hit the Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery in the Samara region in southwest Russia.

The refinery was also hit on September 20.

Explosions and fire are also reported at the Gazprom gas plant in the Orenburg region near Kazakhstan, around 1,250 km (777 miles) from the frontline in Ukraine.

UPDATE 0603 GMT:

Repairs have begun on the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, almost four weeks after Moscow’s shelling knocked out power lines.

The repairs started after Russian and Ukrainian forces established “local ceasefire zones to allow work to proceed”, said Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Both sides engaged constructively with the IAEA to enable the complex repair plan to proceed. Restoration of off-site power is crucial for nuclear safety and security.

The IAEA said it expected the work to take about a week.

During the outage, back-up diesel generators have provided the power needing for cooling and safety systems.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: In his phone call to Donald Trump last Thursday, Vladimir Putin demanded more territory in eastern Ukraine before halting Russia’s 45-month full-scale invasion.

“Two senior US officials” said Putin maintained his demand for full control of the Donetsk region, even though Ukraine currently holds about 25% of the area.

The Russian leader that if he was given the territory, he would pull back from parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in southern Ukraine.

The two officials noted that the terms showed Putin is not backing away from the demands that have blocked any halt to his invasion.

But pointing a division within the Administration, some White House officials described the proposal as “progress”.

After Thursday’s call and in Friday’s meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump pulled back on supply of Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv for strikes inside Russia.

A “senior European diplomat” said Ukraine will continue its rejection of the demand: “It’s like selling them their own leg in exchange for nothing.”

Putin suggested to Trump that they meet in Hungary’s capital Budapest for further discussion. The Kremlin said the summit may be within the next two weeks.