Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump meets Zelensky as row breaks out over Nato’s stance on Putin

Donald Trump has just been asked why he hasn’t been able to end the Ukraine war, after previously claiming he could end it in 24 hours.

He replied: “It’s more difficult than people would have any idea.

“Vladimir Putin has been more difficult, and frankly, I had some problems with Zelensky, you might have read about them.

“Its been more difficult than other wars.”

Poland is on the right track towards ensuring its security from Russian aggression, Polish President Andrzej Duda said.

“We are really on a very, very good path to ensuring our full security,” Duda said. “One part of this security is us, it is our potential, it is the Polish army … but on the other hand it is also our presence in the North Atlantic Alliance and the guarantees that the alliance gives us.”

Donald Trump has said Zelensky is fighting a “brave” and “tough” battle.

The US president added he is committed to ending the war in Ukraine.

Donald Trump has said that there is a possibility that Vladimir Putin has territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine.

He added his meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky was “very nice”, adding that the pair previously had “rough times”.

“I’m going to speak to Putin to get it ended,” Trump added.

Donald Trump has said Nato allies committed to dramatic increases in spending for the common defence at their annual summit.

At a news conference ending his participation at the summit, Mr Trump said the additional money should be spent on “very serious” military hardware, not bureaucracy, and should help avert wars like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky has said he had a “long and substantive” meeting with Donald Trump, which lasted around 50 minutes.

“We covered all the truly important issues,” he said in a post on X.

“I thank Mr. President, I thank the United States.

“We discussed how to achieve a ceasefire and a real peace. We spoke about how to protect our people. We appreciate the attention and the readiness to help bring peace closer.”

It is an aberration to ask Europeans to spend more on defence while launching a tariff war, Emmanuel Macron has said.

Speaking to reporters after a Nato summit in The Hague, Mr Macron said Russia was the primary threat to the alliance and that a final statement between the 32 members showed that Europe was reinforcing its position within Nato after committing to defence spending hikes by 2035.

“We can’t say we are going to spend more, and then at the heart of Nato, launch a trade war,” Macron said.

“It’s an aberration, and that’s why it’s very important that we can return to what should be the rule within all the allies, that is to say, a true trade peace and therefore lowering all tariff barriers that exist or that have been reinforced.”

Mr Macron said he had brought the subject up several times with US President Donald Trump and said it was time for it to end.

A row has broken out over the language used in the Nato declaration signed today, with some reports suggesting the alliance has softened its stance on Russia to please Mr Trump.

The communique released on Wednesday refers to Nato’s unity “in the face of profound security threats and challenges, in particular the long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security” and reaffirms support for Ukraine, but does not explicitly condemn the Russian invasion.

However, asked whether Donald Trump did not want Nato to condemn Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the summit’s joint communique, Sir Keir Starmer said: “On the question of Ukraine, the position in Nato has not changed nor has my position changed.

“In fact, over the last couple of days I would say in my discussions with leaders there’s been a real resolve that now is the time to push again to get Putin to the table for the unconditional ceasefire.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has begun a meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of a NATO summit in The Hague, Zelensky’s spokesman said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not travel to next week’s BRICS summit in Brazil because of an outstanding arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said o

The ICC issued the warrant in 2023, just over a year after Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine, accusing Putin of the war crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Russia denies allegations of war crimes, and the Kremlin, which did not sign the ICC’s founding treaty, has dismissed the warrant as null and void.

But it means that Putin needs to weigh the risk that he might be arrested if he travels to another country that is a signatory to the ICC treaty.

In 2023, he decided against travelling to one such country, South Africa, for a BRICS summit. But last year, he was given a red carpet welcome in Mongolia, even though it is an ICC member state.

Ushakov said Putin would take part via video link in the July 6-7 BRICS summit in Brazil.