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US president Donald Trump reversed course and said Russia did invade Ukraine after facing backlash for previously claiming that Kyiv “should have never started” the war three years ago.
“Russia attacked, but they shouldn’t have let him attack,” Mr Trump told Fox News, adding that Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky and then-US president Joe Biden should have done more to deter the invasion.
Mr Trump later said Ukraine had no cards to play with as Washington pursues talks on ending the war with Russia.
“I’ve been watching for years, and I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards. And you get sick of it. You just get sick of it. And I’ve had it,” the president said.
Mr Trump also claimed a minerals deal would be reached soon. Mr Zelensky said that Ukrainian and US teams were working on a draft agreement.
Earlier this week, it emerged Mr Trump was demanding access to around $500bn of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as repayment for Washington’s military support for Kyiv over the last three years.
Mr Zelensky rejected the bid as “not serious” and said it offered no security guarantees in the event of a peace deal with Russia.
Claims that the Trump administration’s stance towards Russia is “appeasement” have been rebutted by US Vice President JD Vance.
“We are negotiating to end the conflict. It is ‘appeasement’ only if you think the Ukrainians have a credible pathway to victory. They don’t, so it’s not,” he said in a post on X.
“Well, the president believes to conduct diplomacy, you actually have to speak to people. This used to be called statesmanship,” he added.
Vance also said there is a false idea that the US has “given the Russians everything they want”.
Alexander Butler22 February 2025 11:00
The European Union is preparing a package of about €20bn (£16.5bn) in military support for Ukraine, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The bloc has been racing to secure assistance for Kyiv in the face of US president Donald Trump’s push to reach a quick peace settlement with Russia.
The initiative would aim to deliver artillery ammunition, air defense systems, deep-precision strike missiles, drones as well as other weapons, according to the report.
Alexander Butler22 February 2025 10:30
Alexander Butler22 February 2025 10:15
Nuclear disaster in Ukraine is only a “matter of time” as long as the international community fails to take tougher action against Russian recklessness, an expert has warned.
“We’re getting closer and closer to possible disaster as attacks now continue on Chernobyl, and the war is going on in the vicinity of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” says historian Serhii Plokhy, who tells the story of the occupation of Chernboyl in his 2024 book Chernobyl Roulette.
Alexander Butler22 February 2025 10:01
Russian forces have captured the village of Novolyubivka in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, the Kremlin claimed.
It comes after Putin’s troops seized the three villages of Nadiivka, Novosilka and Novoocheretuvate, according to Russia’s defence ministry.
Moscow has previously been premature in claiming the capture of Ukrainian towns and villages.
Alexander Butler22 February 2025 09:56
Alexander Butler22 February 2025 09:45
Alexander Butler22 February 2025 09:22
Jabed Ahmed22 February 2025 09:00
Alexander Butler22 February 2025 08:55
A second meeting between representatives of Russia and the US is planned for the next two weeks, the RIA state news agency cited Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying.
The meeting will take place in a third country, Mr Ryabkov told RIA.
He said there was “principled agreement” on both sides to hold consultations to work out “the entire block of so-called irritants”.
“Today we are facing two parallel, but, of course, to some extent, politically interconnected tracks: one is Ukrainian affairs, the other is bilateral,” Mr Ryabkov said.
“A dialogue on strategic stability and arms control is possible when we see visible shifts for the better in American policy,” he added. He also said the US and Russia could discuss the Middle East.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar22 February 2025 08:30