05/30/2025May 30, 2025Kellogg says Russian concern over NATO enlargement is ‘fair’
Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump‘s envoy to Ukraine, said that Russia’s concern over NATO’s eastward expansion was fair and that the United States does not want Ukraine to join the military alliance.
When asked by US network ABC News about a Reuters report that Russia wanted a written pledge that NATO would not expand eastward to include Ukraine and other former Soviet republics, Kellogg said, “It’s a fair concern.”
“We’ve said that to us, Ukraine coming into NATO is not on the table, and we’re not the only country that says that,” he told ABC late on Thursday. “That’s one of the issues that Russia wil bring up.”
“They’re not just talking Ukraine, they’re talking the country of Georgia, they’re talking Moldova,” Kellogg said, adding that a decision on US views of NATO enlargement was for Trump to make.
Kellogg said that the peace talks would begin with an attempt to merge the two memorandums drafted by Ukraine and Russia into a single document
He also added that national security advisers from Germany, France, and Britain would join the United States in discussing the memorandum, with talks set to begin in Turkey on Monday.
https://p.dw.com/p/4vB5q
05/30/2025May 30, 2025Turkey hopes to host Trump-Putin-Zelenskyy meeting
While on the visit to Kyiv, Turkey’s Fidan said that Turkey hopes Russia and Ukraine will largely finish addressing technical issues at their next potential talks in Istanbul on Monday.
He added that Ankara wants to host a leaders’ summit afterwards, with the Turkish and US presidents in attendance.
“We sincerely think that it is possible to cap the first and second direct Istanbul talks with a meeting between Mr. (Donald) Trump, Mr. (Vladimir) Putin and M. (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy, under the direction of Mr. (Recep Tayyip Erdogan),” Fidan said.
However, during a press conference with Fidan, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha did not disclose whether Ukraine would participate in the Istanbul talks on Monday.
He stated that Ukraine had not yet received the expected memorandum from Russian negotiators containing their proposals for the upcoming negotiations.
https://p.dw.com/p/4vBPq
05/30/2025May 30, 2025Turkey FM says Ukraine, Russia ‘want ceasefire’
Ahead of a potential second round of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul next week, Turkey‘s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that both sides wanted a ceasefire.
“I observe that the issue is beginning to take a more optimistic turn as negotiations start. Both parties want a ceasefire. No one says they don’t want it,” Fidan said on a train to Kyiv, according to the Anadolu news agency.
Fidan arrived in Kyiv on Friday and met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. He also visited a memorial for fallen soldiers and was expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later in the day.
Earlier this week, Fidan held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Ukraine has not yet confirmed whether it will send a delegation to the talks proposed by Russia for Monday.
https://p.dw.com/p/4vAyz
05/30/2025May 30, 2025Russian drones target Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Odesa regions
Several people, including two teenagers, were injured in a massive Russian drone attack overnight on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region.
According to Governor Oleh Syniehubov, eight people, including two 16-year-olds, were injured in an attack in the village of Vasyliv Khutir.
The main city of the Kharkiv region also came under Russian drone attack, which targeted a trolleybus depot and injured two people, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
A trolleybus was completely destroyed in the Russian attack on KharkivImage: Sofiia Gatilova/REUTERS
“Today, Kharkiv suffered another attack: the enemy fired 8 ‘shaheds’ at one of the depots where our trolleybuses were being repaired and maintained,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
He added that one trolleybus was completely destroyed and 18 others were damaged to varying degrees. More than 30 nearby apartment buildings also sustained damage.
The Russian attack hit the town of Izmail in the southern region of Odesa, which lies next to NATO member RomaniaImage: State Emergency Service of Ukraine via REUTERS
In the southern Odesa region, meanwhile, the Russian attack hit the town of Izmail, Ukraine’s biggest port on the Danube River. The port is important for critical imports and lies across the river from Romania.
A delivery service branch was destroyed in the drone attack, said regional Governor Oleh Kiper. He reported no casualties.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 90 drones and two ballistic missiles against Ukraine overnight that targeted the Kharkiv, Odesa, and Donetsk regions.
https://p.dw.com/p/4vArC
As the two countries prepare for the possible next round of talks in Turkey, Russia keeps attacking Ukraine with drones and missiles and pushing on the frontlines.
DW will provide the latest news, analysis, and insights from our reporters and correspondents regarding Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
https://p.dw.com/p/4vAmr