{"id":353956,"date":"2025-08-18T10:35:38","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T10:35:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/353956\/"},"modified":"2025-08-18T10:35:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T10:35:38","slug":"its-up-to-zelensky-to-end-the-war-says-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/353956\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s up to Zelensky to end the war, says Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ukraine\u2019s foreign minister said that Hungary \u201ccan now send complaints\u201d to Moscow, not Kyiv, after his Hungarian counterpart accused Ukraine of an attack on a Russian oil pipeline.<\/p>\n<p>Russian crude oil flows to Hungary were halted after a strike on a transformer station of the pipeline leading to Hungary. In a Facebook post, the Hungarian foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, said Kyiv was behind the attack.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Most of Hungary\u2019s crude oil is imported via the Druzhba pipeline\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/341cf90f-472a-482f-8847-4637ae7424d7.jpg\" class=\"responsive-sc-1nnon4d-0 bAbKns\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Most of Hungary\u2019s crude oil is imported via the Druzhba pipeline<\/p>\n<p>BERNADETT SZABO\/REUTERS<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Szijjarto said that he had talked to Russian deputy energy minister, Pavel Sorokin, who informed him that experts were working to restore the transformer station but it was unclear when deliveries will resume.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine\u2019s foreign minister, neither confirmed nor denied the accusations in his statement on X. \u201cIt is Russia, not Ukraine, who began this war and refuses to end it. Hungary has been told for years that Moscow is an unreliable partner. Despite this, Hungary has made every effort to maintain its reliance on Russia,\u201d he said<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Hungary imports most of its crude oil via the Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian crude through Belarus and Ukraine to Hungary and also Slovakia.<\/p>\n<p>Putin calls allies to discuss results of Alaska summit<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">President Putin will continue to inform foreign partners about the outcome of the Russia-US summit, the Interfax news agency reported on Monday, citing the Kremlin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">On Sunday, the Putin held phone calls with the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to discuss the results of Friday\u2019s summit in Alaska with President Trump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Putin is also reported to have discussed the summit with President Ramaphosa of South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Three killed in strike on Zaporizhzhia<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">A Russian attack on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia killed three people and injured 20, the regional governor has said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram that \u201cmany\u201d of the injured were in critical condition after the Monday morning strike.<\/p>\n<p>Ukrainian helicopters prove \u2018highly effective\u2019 against Putin\u2019s drone waves<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Military helicopters equipped with machine guns have been used to shoot down Russia\u2019s Shahed-type drones\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/081653f2-45b6-4f90-ace6-083c817cbabe.jpg\" class=\"responsive-sc-1nnon4d-0 bAbKns\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Military helicopters equipped with machine guns have been used to shoot down Russia\u2019s Shahed-type drones<\/p>\n<p>YURIY DYACHYSHYN\/AFP\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Ukraine shot down more than 3,200 Russian Shahed-type drones from helicopters over the past year, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi told RBC-Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Frequently used to target cities, including residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/world\/russia-ukraine-war\/article\/drones-trump-ceasefire-deadline-3qw6x6hg2\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Shahed drones<\/a> have become a central weapon in Moscow\u2019s long-range strikes against Ukraine, The Kyiv Independent reports.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cThe army aviation has proven itself very well: helicopters equipped with machine guns are highly effective,\u201d Syrskyi said. \u201cFrom August last year to August this year, they shot down more than 3,200 Shahed-type drones \u2014 these are impressive figures,\u201d Syrskyi said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Originally designed in Iran and mass-produced in Russia under the name Geran-2, Ukraine has made countering Shahed drones a priority in its defence planning for this year, as Russia continues to scale up production. Ukraine\u2019s airforce reported that 6,129 Shahed drones were launched in July, surpassing June\u2019s 5,337 and a fourteen-fold increase compared with July last year.<\/p>\n<p>We need details on security guarantees, says Ukrainian MP<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Solidifying the details of a security agreement is the \u201cmost important goal\u201d of President Zelensky and European leaders in America today, the Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik has said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">She told Times Radio that ensuring President Putin did not attack Ukraine again if it agreed to a peace deal had been \u201ca complicated question that no one has wanted to tackle all along\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cRight now, we are at the time when it has to be discussed, needs to be discussed, and President Trump sort of hinted that they have discussed it with Putin and the US are ready to provide security guarantees for Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cPresident Zelensky needs to understand: what is that that is offered, and then try to perhaps craft some agreements between the US, Europe and Ukraine on how it would look.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"styles__Paragraph-sc-12n1gx9-4 cHqSOe\">Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using <a href=\"#\" class=\"styles__LinkPrivacyManager-sc-12n1gx9-7 gbNmVF\">privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceThe industrial heartland central to today\u2019s talks<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The final stand for thousands of soldiers, rich in coal but ruined by war \u2014 no other territory in Ukraine has seen a similar toll as the eastern Donbas region (Anthony Loyd writes). Its fate may now decide the future of the war during today\u2019s meeting in Washington.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Ukraine has clung to this industrial heartland ever since fighting erupted there in 2014, when pro-Russian separatists first began to clash with Ukrainian troops and declared Donetsk and Luhansk self-styled independent \u201cpeople\u2019s republics\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Yet now, despite holding on to 22 per cent of Donbas \u2014 about 6,600 sq km of land \u2014 Ukraine may be expected to surrender its most fortified defence lines after Putin demanded that it hand over this remaining territory, including strategic heights and fortified cities, as a condition to ending the war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u2022 <b>Read in full: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/world\/russia-ukraine-war\/article\/the-ball-is-in-zelenskys-court-but-he-is-in-an-impossible-position-pcss29b5r\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>The ball is in Zelensky\u2019s court but he is in an impossible position<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Trump \u2018repeating mistakes of the past\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The Alaska summit between President Trump and President Putin on Friday was a \u201cshameful betrayal\u201d of Ukraine and a \u201cPutin capitulation\u201d, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former leader of the Conservative Party, has said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The long-serving MP told Times Radio: \u201cAmerica is blowing hot and cold about whether it thinks Ukraine is important.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">He said Trump was \u201crepeating the mistakes of the past\u201d and compared the possibility of the US forcing Ukraine to cede territory to 1938 when Britain and France demanded Czechoslovakia relinquish control of the Sudetenland territory to Germany in an effort to appease Hitler and avoid war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cThat then led to [Nazi Germany] taking over Czechoslovakia, moving into Poland, and the rest, of course, if brutal history,\u201d Duncan Smith said. \u201cThe West has become very weak militarily, but also in moral terms. We have no idea what we stand for,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"styles__Paragraph-sc-12n1gx9-4 cHqSOe\">Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using <a href=\"#\" class=\"styles__LinkPrivacyManager-sc-12n1gx9-7 gbNmVF\">privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceRussian media derides Zelensky\u2019s \u2018support group\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Russian media has sought to cast Ukraine\u2019s European allies as meddlers in the negotiations between Moscow and Washington before President Zelensky\u2019s meeting with Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Derisively portraying them as Zelensky\u2019s \u201csupport group\u201d, various media outlets suggested that they will attempt to sway Trump away from the peace terms laid out by President Putin in Alaska last week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">In a leading article published in Izvestie entitled \u201ccan the EU \u2018support group\u2019 influence the positions of Russia and the US\u201d, the pro-Kremlin publication said that Europe was becoming the \u201cmain obstacle\u201d to agreements made between Trump and Putin in Alaska.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Komsomolskaya Pravda, another staunchly pro-Putin newspaper, said that letting Zelensky go to Washington alone after the Oval Office disaster in February was a \u201close-lose situation\u201d for them. \u201c[They would prefer for Zelensky] to be gagged, but then of course he wouldn\u2019t be able to refuse Trump, which is what this whole European gang is hoping for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another body found amid rubble in Kharkiv<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The death toll from a Russian drone attack on an apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has risen to six, the region\u2019s governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cA deceased person was found on the top floor of the damaged building,\u201d said Syniehubov. He added that a search and rescue operation continues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Earlier Syniehubov wrote: \u201cA Russian drone attack on Kharkiv at dawn today took the lives of 5 people, including 2 children: 1.5 and 16 years old. We all sincerely hope that this number will not increase, as the debris clearance is still ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meloni \u2018warned leaders to not antagonise Trump\u2019<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Italian leader is concerned that if the US president feels he is being attacked by Europe, he will instead make a deal directly with Russia\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/d294e791-178a-4517-8f74-99b4cbaa4147.jpg\" class=\"responsive-sc-1nnon4d-0 bAbKns\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The Italian leader is concerned that if the US president feels he is being attacked by Europe, he will instead make a deal directly with Russia<\/p>\n<p>WIN MCNAMEE\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">In its insider account of yesterday\u2019s European leaders\u2019 video conference, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera claims the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, warned against challenging President Trump over his handling of negotiations with President Putin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Corriere reported Meloni believes \u201cthe risk is that if Trump is attacked, he will halt everything, effectively claim Ukraine doesn\u2019t want peace, Europe is not collaborating, and do what he wants, with the Americans making a deal directly with Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The newspaper also claimed Meloni said it would be wise to ensure Trump and Zelensky do not have another impromptu press conference in the Oval Office, risking a repeat of their argument in February. Instead, it would be better to have them give separate statements to the press with no questions taken.<\/p>\n<p>Russia continues its slow assault pushing west<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Ukraine\u2019s airforce said on Monday that Russia had launched four missiles and 140 drones during an overnight attack on the country, as Moscow continues its slow assault pushing west.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The airforce said it downed 88 drones and recorded hits in 25 locations across six Ukrainian regions \u2014 Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Kyiv \u2014 according to the statement posted on Telegram.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Here is a map of the present front line, showing in detail the particularly contested Donetsk region.<\/p>\n<p>Meloni and Macron \u2018at odds during EU talks\u2019<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The French and Italian leaders at the G7 summit in June. Italian media has reported that Sunday\u2019s video conference of European leaders was less cordial\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/5893e29a-00de-4c5d-826f-d7bcb97a7079.jpg\" class=\"responsive-sc-1nnon4d-0 bAbKns\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The French and Italian leaders at the G7 summit in June. Italian media has reported that Sunday\u2019s video conference of European leaders was less cordial<\/p>\n<p>CHIP SOMODEVILLA\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera has reported that during Sunday\u2019s video conference held by European leaders, tension was evident between the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and President Macron of France. <\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Macron was \u201cnot persuaded\u201d when Meloni pushed the idea of offering security guarantees to Ukraine \u2014 an idea she claims she was the first to come up with. Instead, Macron argued for a European stability force in Ukraine. Meloni replied, \u201cRussia has 1.3 million soldiers. How many must we send to do the job?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Corriere reported, adding that Meloni proposed Rome as the location for a Trump-Zelensky-Putin meeting, while Macron prefers Geneva. The newspaper quotes unnamed Meloni aides stating the Italian prime minister does not rate Euro-leader video conferences highly, believing little is decided and Macron seizes the occasion to show \u201che is the true leader of Europe\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>China calls for \u2018fair, lasting and binding\u2019 peace deal<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">China has called for \u201call parties\u201d involved in peace talks in Washington aimed at ending Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine to reach an agreement \u201cas soon as possible\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cWe hope that all parties and stakeholders will participate in the peace talks in a timely manner and reach a fair, lasting, binding and acceptable peace agreement to all parties as soon as possible,\u201d the foreign ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, said at a news conference on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Germany fears \u2018overstretching\u2019 its armed forces<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/topic\/germany\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Germany<\/a> probably cannot deploy any troops to secure a peace deal in Ukraine without \u201coverstretching\u201d its own armed forces, the country\u2019s foreign minister has said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Johann Wadephul, who is closely aligned with the chancellor Friedrich Merz, said the German military was already building up a 5,000-strong brigade in Lithuania and needed to concentrate on defending Nato territory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">It is understood that Berlin is sceptical about sending soldiers into Ukraine on training missions and participating in any air policing mission over the west of the country, after both ideas were floated as potential security guarantees by British officials.<\/p>\n<p>Today is \u2018the big day\u2019, says Russia<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"President Putin with Kirill Dmitriev in 2018. Now head of Russia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund, Dmitriev is one of the country\u2019s lead negotiators\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/4bbec5d5-7c4a-4785-9e26-bf81728151cb.jpg\" class=\"responsive-sc-1nnon4d-0 bAbKns\"\/><\/p>\n<p>President Putin with Kirill Dmitriev in 2018. Now head of Russia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund, Dmitriev is one of the country\u2019s lead negotiators<\/p>\n<p>SPUTNIK\/MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV\/KREMLIN\/REUTERS<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">President Trump is \u201cpushing for the real solution\u201d in his talks with President Zelensky and European leaders today, one of Russia\u2019s lead negotiators has said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Kirill Dmitriev, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/world\/russia-ukraine-war\/article\/russian-delegation-putin-alaska-6l526ffq9\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">who joined Putin in Alaska last week<\/a> and who has previously taken part in talks in Washington, described Monday as \u201cthe big day\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cLet problem solving and peace prevail,\u201d he wrote on X, along with an emoji of a dove.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Born in Kyiv during the Soviet era, Dmitriev studied at school in the Ukrainian capital as a teenager. A former teacher has said he gave the impression of being \u201cdelighted\u201d when Ukraine gained independence from Moscow in 1991. He now serves as head of Russia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund.<\/p>\n<p>UK \u2018would recognise\u2019 Kremlin-controlled Ukrainian land, if Kyiv agrees to it<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">A minister has denied that Ukraine giving up territory to Russia as part of any peace deal would be rewarding Russian aggression.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Stephen Kinnock, a health minister, told Times Radio the UK would recognise parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia officially becoming part of Putin\u2019s country, if Ukraine agreed to it. He denied it was a change in policy from the government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cThere has to be a just and durable peace, and that has to be backed up by very strong security guarantees \u2014 ironclad security guarantees \u2014 and that\u2019s why the European leaders are in Washington today,\u201d Kinnock said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cIt\u2019s very good that President Zelensky is going to meet with President Trump today, and he\u2019s going with the full backing of European leaders, and President Zelensky has made it clear that if the terms of any agreement are not acceptable to him, he will not accept them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Zelensky must not be forced into deal\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">President Zelensky must not be forced to accept a peace deal if he is not happy with the terms, the government has said before the arrival of European leaders in Washington later today.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Speaking to Times Radio, Stephen Kinnock, a health minister, said that at the White House Sir Keir Starmer would make it \u201cabsolutely clear that any decisions taken about Ukrainian territory must be taken with the agreement of the Ukrainian government and President Zelensky\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">It was reported that during the Alaska summit between Trump and Putin on Friday the Russian leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/world\/russia-ukraine-war\/article\/putin-demands-ukraine-surrender-the-donbas-as-price-of-peace-cjr0hsl5j\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">demanded control of the entire Donbas region<\/a>, even though Ukraine controls a meaningful share of it. Zelensky has said many times that he would never accept such a deal as it could create a launching pad for future Russian attacks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cThe government\u2019s been very consistent that decisions about Ukrainian territory are a matter for the Ukrainian government, for President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people,\u201d Kinnock said.<\/p>\n<p>Death toll in Kharkiv rises to 5<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The death toll from a Russian drone attack on a five-storey apartment block in Kharkiv has increased to five, including two children, with 20 people wounded, Ukrainian authorities said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The pre-dawn attack reduced part of the building to rubble and sparked fires on at least three floors, the region\u2019s governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said on Telegram.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cThe number of victims from the enemy UAV attack in Kharkiv has risen to 20,\u201d wrote Synegubov. \u201cFive people died, including two children. The fifth victim is a woman, her details are being clarified.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Ukraine\u2019s state emergency service posted videos showing rescuers attempting to break through the rubble to reach a trapped resident, while another showed a floor in flames.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Whole world is looking to Washington\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The German foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, called for increased pressure on Russia and to push Moscow into concessions toward a \u201cjust and lasting peace\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Wadephul spoke in Tokyo before President Trump\u2019s meeting with President Zelensky and European leaders, including the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cIt is probably not an exaggeration to say the whole world is looking to Washington,\u201d he said at a press briefing alongside the Japanese foreign minister, Takeshi Iwaya, on Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cFirm security guarantees are central\u201d because \u201cUkraine must be able to defend itself effectively even after a ceasefire and peace agreement,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Wadephul also pushed for more aid for Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>Without Nato membership, security guarantees \u2018are an illusion\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Ukrainian politicians have baulked at President Trump\u2019s proposal of security guarantees, warning that America failed to make good on the last defence assurance it gave to Kyiv after the end of the Cold War.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy, said on Sunday that the US and European allies were \u201cpotentially prepared to be able to give Article 5 security guarantees\u201d to Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Under Nato\u2019s Article 5 contingency, if a member is attacked each member of the alliance will consider this an attack on all of them. Ukraine would not however be a Nato state under this arrangement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Solomiia Bobrovska, a member of the Ukrainian parliament\u2019s defence and intelligence committee, said that without Nato membership the guarantees were \u201cnothing \u2026 a big illusion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">She told The Times that the guarantees appeared to be a repeat of the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, when the nascent independent Ukrainian state agreed to give up its Soviet-era nuclear weapons in exchange for promises of security from Russia, the US and Britain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The lack of specificity in that agreement allowed Russia to attack Ukraine in 2014 without reprisal, critics say. \u201cNo one can explain how it would work,\u201d Bobrovska, deputy head of Ukraine\u2019s delegation to Nato, said of the present proposal. \u201cWe have had this before in our history, 30 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In pictures: aftermath of Russian strike on Kharkiv<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A man is rescued from the debris after a Russian drone strike on a residential area of Kharkiv\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/c264ebf0-c865-4391-9742-4a607eb593cf.jpg\" class=\"responsive-sc-1nnon4d-0 bAbKns\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A man is rescued from the debris after a Russian drone strike on a residential area of Kharkiv<\/p>\n<p>SOFIIA GATILOVA\/REUTERS<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/0cf03450-d610-4e8b-aba8-071ebb21a6b9.jpg\" class=\"responsive-sc-1nnon4d-0 bAbKns\"\/><\/p>\n<p>PRESS SERVICE OF THE STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE OF UKRAINE IN KHARKIV\/REUTERS<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/5a9d50fb-5a6b-4bfa-bca4-f33a989c1c64.jpg\" class=\"responsive-sc-1nnon4d-0 bAbKns\"\/>Russian \u2018war machine\u2019 continues despite peace talks<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Ukraine\u2019s foreign minister has said that Russia has continued to kill civilians despite peace efforts before the meeting between President Zelensky and President Trump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cRussia is a murderous war machine that Ukraine is holding back. And it must be stopped through transatlantic unity and pressure,\u201d Andrii Sybiha wrote on X about Russia\u2019s overnight attack on Kharkiv. \u201cMoscow must stop the killing in order to advance diplomacy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">A Russian drone strike on a residential area in Kharkiv killed three people, including a child, and injured 17 people, according to Ukrainian authorities.<\/p>\n<p>Trump: It\u2019s up to Zelensky to end war<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Trump has said it is up to President Zelensky to end the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cPresident Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,\u201d the US president wrote on this Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cRemember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Shortly after Trump\u2019s comment, Zelensky said in a post on X: \u201cWe all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably. And peace must be lasting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cNot like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our east, part of Donbas, and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack. Or when Ukraine was given so-called \u2018security guarantees\u2019 in 1994, but they didn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky\u2019s hope to \u2018compel Russia to peace\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">President Zelensky has said he hoped Ukraine\u2019s \u201cshared strength\u201d with the US and European counterparts would compel Russia to peace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cI am grateful to the president of the United States for the invitation. We all equally want to end this war swiftly and reliably,\u201d Zelensky wrote on Telegram after arriving in the American capital on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cAnd I hope that our shared strength with America and with our European friends will compel Russia to real peace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump drops ceasefire demand<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">President Trump has dropped his demand for a ceasefire in Ukraine because so much progress had been achieved in negotiations with Russia, his special envoy Steve Witkoff has claimed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Trump had insisted before his meeting with President Putin in Alaska that he would walk out if Russia did not agree to a ceasefire, and he faced widespread criticism in the United States over the weekend for apparently backing down from this demand.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Witkoff, who was present at the meeting, claimed Trump \u201cpivoted\u201d to seeking a peace deal after Putin made significant concessions in their meeting regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/article\/putin-demands-ukraine-surrender-the-donbas-as-price-of-peace-cjr0hsl5j\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">land swaps<\/a> and Nato-style security guarantees for Ukraine, Witkoff told CNN.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cThe thesis of a ceasefire is that you\u2019d be discussing all of these issues that we resolved in Alaska,\u201d he said. \u201cWe cut through all kinds of issues that would have to be discussed and agreed to during a ceasefire period.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u2022 <b>Read in full: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/world\/russia-ukraine-war\/article\/trump-dropped-ceasefire-demand-because-so-much-progress-was-made-x5v3mwxnm\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Trump dropped ceasefire demand \u2018because so much progress was made\u2019<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Russia and Ukraine scramble to stake claims in Donetsk region<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Russian shelling burnt houses in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, at the weekend\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/c6acccc1-e6a2-47f3-bc40-62290af1235c.png\" class=\"responsive-sc-1nnon4d-0 bAbKns\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Russian shelling burnt houses in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, at the weekend<\/p>\n<p>DIEGO HERRERA CARCEDO\/ANADOLU VIA GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Russia claimed on Sunday that its forces captured the villages of Popiv Yar and Ivano-Darivka in the Donetsk region, as it was accused of exaggerating its gains in the strategically crucial region before a potential freezing of the front line.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Ukraine, for its part, has been accused of underplaying its losses in Donetsk, the fiercest and most deadly front line in Ukraine, which has been thrown into the spotlight as it becomes a central bargaining chip in negotiations to end the war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Both sides are in a race to secure what they can before a possible cessation of hostilities. President Putin reportedly expects <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/topic\/ukraine\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ukrainian<\/a> troops to withdraw from the parts of Donetsk it still controls in return for peace \u2014 an idea seemly backed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/article\/investing-in-corn-and-wheat-could-fuel-our-cars-and-pensions-l7p6nvpcs\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">President Trump<\/a>, but so far shunned by the Ukrainian president.<\/p>\n<p>Russian strikes on Kharkiv kill three, including child<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">A Russian overnight drone strike on a residential area in Kharkiv killed three people, including a child, and injured 17 people, according to Ukrainian authorities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The attack killed the two-year-old boy early on Monday, Oleh Synehubov, the governor of the wider Kharkiv region, said on Telegram. The number of the injured from the Kharkiv attack was \u201ccontinuously increasing\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The city\u2019s mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram: \u201cAs of now, three people died, including a small child. Another 17 people have been wounded, including six children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The city near the Russian border was also hit hours earlier by a ballistic missile that injured at least 11 people, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Two people were injured in Russia\u2019s strikes on the adjacent region of Sumy that damaged at least a dozen homes and an educational institution, authorities said.<\/p>\n<p>European leaders to attend Zelensky-Trump peace talks<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">President Zelensky will be supported by seven European leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, at talks with President Trump in Washington on Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The Ukrainian leader and the \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d want to hear details of Nato-style security guarantees pledged by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/topic\/donald-trump\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trump<\/a> to respond to future Russian aggression before abandoning any territory to Moscow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Starmer will join President Macron of France, Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, and Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, with the aim of avoiding a repeat of the public browbeating Zelensky received from Trump and JD Vance, the vice-president, at an Oval Office meeting in February.<\/p>\n<p id=\"last-paragraph\" class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">They will also be joined by Mark Rutte, Nato secretary-general, Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, and President Stubb of Finland, who has struck up a rapport with Trump over rounds of golf.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ukraine\u2019s foreign minister said that Hungary \u201ccan now send complaints\u201d to Moscow, not Kyiv, after his Hungarian counterpart&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7655],"tags":[28609,62499,2998,332,24668,5598,6093,1757,24666,9987,771,21151],"class_list":{"0":"post-353956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-russia","8":"tag-end","9":"tag-its","10":"tag-latest","11":"tag-russia","12":"tag-says","13":"tag-the","14":"tag-to","15":"tag-trump","16":"tag-ukraine-russia","17":"tag-up","18":"tag-war","19":"tag-zelensky"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115049328378428177","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}