Politics
U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Ukraine to reach an agreement with Russia to end the war. He said Russia wants to bring the conflict to an end, while Moscow appears to have the upper hand on the battlefield.
U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Ukraine to reach an agreement with Russia to end the war. He said Russia wants to bring the conflict to an end, while Moscow appears to have the upper hand on the battlefield. According to Reuters, Trump made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the White House, saying that Ukraine should also be willing to end the war. Referring to Russia’s military advances, he described Russia as a major power that was continuing to move forward and had already occupied large areas of Ukrainian territory.
As part of diplomatic efforts to end the war, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo, the Norwegian capital. U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also participated in the meeting online. Witkoff is scheduled to visit Russia on Wednesday to brief the leadership in Moscow on the discussions with Ukraine and the proposals under consideration. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre described the Oslo talks as positive and constructive, saying the efforts could potentially pave the way for a high-level meeting between the two countries. Finnish President Alexander Stubb also said that the peace process appeared to be moving forward again.
Ukrainian President Zelensky also spoke by telephone with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio while in Oslo. According to Zelensky, Ukraine has started receiving advance warnings about Russian missile attacks again. Kyiv had previously complained that Washington had stopped sharing intelligence about Russian aerial attacks. Zelensky said he also discussed missiles for the Patriot air defence system and issues related to the satellite-based Starlink system with Rubio. He added that he expected to speak with the U.S. secretary of state again within the next 48 hours.
The Ukrainian president further said that security guarantees for Ukraine were discussed during the Oslo negotiations. These included guarantees similar to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, under which an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all alliance members. According to Zelensky, various security proposals have been incorporated into documents that Witkoff will discuss with Russian officials. Ukraine wants a joint meeting involving the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and the United States to address the key issues surrounding an end to the war.
According to the report, the United States has largely halted direct weapons deliveries to Ukraine, although European countries can purchase American weapons and supply them to Kyiv. Washington has continued to provide Ukraine with intelligence and certain forms of technical assistance. A source familiar with the matter said that most U.S. weapons shipments were continuing, but U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had not approved Ukraine’s latest requests for Patriot interceptor missiles. Meanwhile, Trump’s recent efforts to improve relations with Russia, including a deal involving Russian diesel purchases and the easing of certain sanctions, have raised concerns among some members of the U.S. Congress and several European countries.
