Witkoff declines to blame Russia for starting war in Ukraine
Special envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Russia should not necessarily be blamed for sparking the war in Ukraine — a position that aligns with President Donald Trump’s recent strikes against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the three-year anniversary of the fighting looms.
“The war didn’t need to happen — it was provoked. It doesn’t necessarily mean it was provoked by the Russians,” Witkoff said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
Witkoff suggested that Ukraine’s desire to join NATO instigated the war.
“There were all kinds of conversations back then about Ukraine joining NATO. ... That didn’t need to happen,” he said. “It basically became a threat to the Russians and so we have to deal with that fact.”
Witkoff’s remarks to host Jake Tapper follow his return from Saudi Arabia, where he along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and national security adviser Mike Waltz, oversaw negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict last week. These discussions did not include any Ukrainian officials, who say they were not invited to the meetings. Ukraine said it would not accept a deal imposed on them, particularly one that concedes Russian-occupied territory.
Last week, Trump further raised fears about the United States cozying up to Russia with a tirade of attacks on Zelenskyy. In a post to the social media platform Truth Social, Trump argued that the U.S. was swindled into spending billions to aid Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion and called Zelenskyy a “Dictator without Elections” who “better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”
When asked about the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s comments on Saturday about Trump feeling he could get Russia to agree to a deal as soon as this week, Witkoff expressed confidence in that idea.
“Our conversations in Saudi Arabia with the secretary of state and with the national security adviser were, in my view, positive, constructive and clearly momentum-building. So, I would say that I’m optimistic and positive, just as the president is that we can get something done rather quickly.”
He added: “Deals only work, Jake, when they’re good for all the parties and that’s that’s the pathway that we’re on here.”
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Ukraine is too powerful to be sold out, Polish official says
Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski of Poland said that Ukraine is too strong to be sold out by foreign powers.
“The best guarantee for Ukraine is the almost million-man army, which is manning the foxholes and heroically resisting Russian aggression,” he said on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” in an interview that aired Sunday.
Talking to Zakaria, Sikorski referred to what is often described as the worst diplomatic sellout in history, the decision by Britain and France to accede to Adolf Hitler’s territorial demands on Czechoslovakia in Munich in 1938.
That deal is often referenced when people want to describe what they consider to be an act of appeasement, sometimes accompanied by a photo of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain holding up the agreement of the deal that was supposed to bring “peace in our time.” War started a year later with Germany’s invasion of Poland.
Sikorski told Zakaria he was not worried about a similar sellout of Ukraine by American negotiators or anyone else.
“It’s Ukraine that decides whether she wants to fight or not,” he said, adding: “You know what happened in Munich in ’38? Czechoslovakia was dictated to, but that was because Czechoslovakia wasn’t ready to fight alone and didn’t have allies. Ukraine is fighting and rather successfully defeated the Russians at sea, for example, and has allies. We in Europe have said that we will continue to support Ukraine come what may.”
Zakaria asked Sikorski if he was concerned about the rhetoric of President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other members of the second Trump administration.
In recent weeks, Trump has taken positions that seem very much in line with Russia’s, including labeling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator and suggesting Ukraine started the war. (Zelenskyy, who has said he will not accept a deal imposed on his country, on Sunday said he would resign if it would bring peace or a NATO membership for Ukraine.)
Sikorski said he thought the Trump team was still finding its way.
“I think every new administration always takes a bit of time to find its feet and to assess the full information from intelligence agencies and so on, and is talking to allies,” he said. Sikorski met with new Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Friday.
The Polish official also told Zakaria that Ukraine has proved to be stronger and more resilient than anyone could have predicted when the war started in February 2022.
“Ukraine, remember, has 110 brigades in the field,” he said. “They’ve destroyed most of Russia’s tanks. They produced 1.5 million drones last year. They are going to produce 4.5 million drones this year. If you’d asked me three years ago where Ukraine and Russia would be in this war in three years’ time, I don’t think either of us would have guessed that Russia would only capture 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory.”
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TYLKO U NAS. Dr Kawa: Polska nie może się stać zakładnikiem ukraińskiej sprawy w relacjach z USA. To wymaga dużej roztropności
Myślę, że Trump musiał rozmawiać z Dudą o praworządności. To jest teraz w USA bardzo nośny temat. Widać to było po tym, jak potraktowano Sikorskiego” - mówi w rozmowie z portalem wPolityce.pl dr Marek Kawa. Amerykanista podkreśla, że w sprawie negocjacji pokojowych Trump stara się teraz grać na wielu fortepianach, a Polska powinna w tej sytuacji postępować bardzo roztropnie. „Nie możemy stać się zakładnikiem ukraińskiej sprawy. Jeżeli Europa chce ws. bezpieczeństwa jechać na gapę, to Trump chce, aby działo się to na amerykańskich warunkach” - ocenia ekspert.
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Polska nie może się tu stać zakładnikiem ukraińskiej sprawy. Uważam, że bardziej trafimy do Trumpa, podnosząc kwestię łamania praworządności i prowadzonej w Polsce walki z opozycją, niż mówiąc o kwestii ukraińskiej. On nie ma teraz interesu, aby słuchać o sprawach Ukrainy, być może dlatego rozmowa z prezydentem Dudą trwała tak krótko. Bardziej przekonująco brzmią dla niego słowa o trwającej w Polsce politycznej wendecie, o której mówił na CPAC Mateusz Morawiecki. To współbrzmi z narracją administracji Trumpa dotyczącą Europy. Obecna władza w Polsce jest identyfikowana z niemieckimi interesami, z pewnym kondominium niemiecko-francuskim. Konserwatywne środowiska w USA mają złą opinię o Zełenskim. Chodzi o to, żebyśmy się nie dali wplątać w rozgrywkę Zełenskiego, który oczywiście walczy o przetrwanie i wykorzysta tu wszystkie narzędzia i będzie chciał posłużyć także nami. Musimy zachować roztropność. Prezydent Duda pojechał tam przecież rozmawiać głównie o Polsce, żeby usłyszeć, że w kwestiach pewnych gwarancji bezpieczeństwa nic się nie zmieniło
— podkreśla amerykanista, który nie ma wątpliwości, że kwestie łamania praworządności stały się przedmiotem wymiany zdań pomiędzy obu prezydentami.
Myślę, że Trump musiał rozmawiać z Dudą o praworządności. To jest teraz w USA bardzo nośny temat. Można to było zaobserwować choćby po tym, jak potraktowano min. Radosława Sikorskiego, który stał przy barierkach z kieliszkiem i nie brylował. Polska prawica i obecna administracja USA mają tu wspólny interes, widać to, od czasu konferencji w Monachium. Trump chce mieć Europę ewidentnie na swoją modłę i chce ją do pewnych rzeczy zmusić. Taki jest przywilej silniejszego. Jeżeli Europa chce jechać na gapę, to na amerykańskich warunkach. Albo niech przestanie jechać na gapę. Trump chce mieć sojuszników, którzy są mu bliscy i grają w tej samej drużynie, a nie w drużynie z Chińczykami. W tej grze polska prawica może odegrać ważną rolę i tego kierunku należy się trzymać. Trzeba oczywiście dbać o nasze bezpieczeństwo, a nie histeryzować, skoro otrzymaliśmy od Trumpa takie zapewnienia
— podsumowuje dr Marek Kawa.
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Why the British army is so unprepared to send troops to Ukraine.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that Britain is “ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary”.
While reports suggest these would be “peacekeeping” forces, the reality is that true peacekeepers must be impartial. British troops placed to support Ukraine could certainly be seen as “partial”. And the positioning of British forces in Ukraine would fit the Russian narrative that casts Nato as the aggressor.
Ukraine is not a member of Nato, but the goal of Nato membership is enshrined in its constitution. British forces involved in any sort of fighting in Ukraine would not enable article 5, which states that each member will regard an attack on any other member as an attack on themselves and assist it, to be invoked.
Additionally, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that European troops deployed to Ukraine should not be covered under article 5.
The weakness with Starmer’s idea is that Britain does not have the wherewithal to provide enough troops, supplies and weapons to act as a real deterrent. This isn’t too dissimilar from the state of British forces when faced with war in Europe more than a century ago.
In 1914 Lord Kitchener, then secretary of state for war, speaking of the cabinet’s decision to go to war in Europe, thundered, “Did they remember, when they went headlong into a war like this, that they were without an army, and without any preparation to equip one?”
Small numbers would be nothing more than a “speed-bump” against a large attack, as the British Expeditionary Force was in 1914 and again in 1940. Poor preparation, small numbers and limited equipment meant their deployment was more an indication of Britain’s support, rather than real capability to fight a long war against a peer enemy.
Britain is again in this position. Years of spending cuts have removed the ability of British forces to prosecute a war against a peer adversary for an extended time. The number of troops has fallen from 100,000 full-time trained personnel in 2000, to approximately 70,000 today.
Britain also does not have the capacity to manufacture at the levels required for a modern war. Much will be needed for immediate capital investment, such as manufacturing capacity for arms and ammunition. Longer-term investment will be required for arms production, as will the reinstatement of supporting infrastructure, such as airfields and storage facilities abandoned after the end of the cold war, both within Britain and across Europe.
There is no solution to the immediate problem except increasing the money available for defence. But Britain, and many other Nato members, have been unwilling to increase spending on defence, even though the current capabilities have been run down to such an extent that European nations cannot field a capable force.
Defence spending
US president Donald Trump has called for Nato countries to up their defence spending to 5% of GDP from the current Nato target of 2%. This would be very difficult to achieve in Britain’s current financial situation without spending cuts elsewhere.
While it has been reported that defence chiefs are pushing for a rise to 2.65% of GDP, Starmer indicated he would resist pressure to increase spending above 2.5%.
The last time the UK spent more than 5% of its GDP on defence was in the height of the cold war. The current international situation has already begun to shift into two distinct blocs similar to the east-west split between 1945 and 1991. However, the bipolar balance of the cold war has been replaced with an increasing instability, as displayed by Russian aggression in Georgia and Ukraine.
Replacing lost capacity is almost always more expensive than maintaining it. Had the governments of past decades maintained the capabilities of the armed forces, the overall cost would most likely have been lower than the amount the nation will now have to invest to obtain the same level of defence.
Each defence review since 1957 has led to cuts to the defence budget in real terms. Reductions in the military budget continue because, previously, nothing presented a sufficient sub-nuclear threat to the nation deemed significant enough to reverse them. Those cuts are now so deep that the nation is on the edge of being unable to defend itself, let alone project military power abroad in any significant capacity.
The prime minister wrote: “We have got to show we are truly serious about our own defence and bearing our own burden.” This assertion is quickly undermined by the indication that he won’t increase spending anytime soon.
None of the western members of Nato have shown any willingness to significantly increase their defence spending. Great Britain expects to spend £56.4 billion for 2024-25, amounting to approximately 2.3% of GDP. But this includes £0.65 billion in pensions and benefits, and £0.22 billion in “arms-length bodies” that do not contribute to the defence establishment in any practical terms.
Britain and Nato have had clear warning since 2014 to correct the deficiencies of their defences. All have chosen to ignore the developing threat from Russia. The impression is that not only are we hoping for the best, but we are planning for the best too.
Lord Tedder, chief of the air staff after the second world war, wrote, “It is at the outset of war that time is the supreme factor.” Three years into the war in Ukraine, and it is clear that Nato missed the opportunity to strengthen its defences in the early stages. It now faces a significant increase in defence spending simply to make up the shortfall from previous decades.
German election: Conservatives projected to win with far-right AfD in second.
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Chancellor Scholz reacts to projected election results in Germany | DW News
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Olaf Scholz concedes defeat as Germany's Conservative Party storms country's election - with far-right AfD coming in close second
Germany's hard right AfD has surged to second place in the snap election with the conservative opposition emerging as the largest party overall.
The exit poll suggests the conservative CDU has topped today's ballot securing 28.5 per cent of the vote while the AfD have taken 20 per cent which is the strongest showing for a far-right party in Germany's post war era.
The AfD are already celebrating the result with their leader Alice Weidel claiming that the anti-migrant party was now 'firmly anchored' in mainstream German politics.
Meanwhile the governing centre-left SPD has slumped to third place in what looks set to be a disastrous result for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's party.
The party are already describing the result as a 'historic defeat' which if the exit poll is to be believed could see the SPD's vote share drop to its lowest since the 19th century.
Following a campaign rocked by a series of violent attacks, and frequent interventions from President Trump's administration, the CDU looks set to return to government after four years in opposition.
Their leader, Friedrich Merz, is now on track to be the next chancellor despite not having any previous government experience.
Merz, 69, has promised to provide greater leadership than Chancellor Olaf Scholz and to liaise more with key allies, restoring Germany to the heart of Europe.
The leader of the AfD, Alice Weidel, waves a German flag at the party's headquarters. The party have taken 20 per cent which is the strongest showing for a far-right party in Germany's post war era
The victorious leader of the CDU Friedrich Merz looks set to be the country's next leader
Current Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Meanwhile, the governing centre-left SPD has slumped to third place in what looks set to be a disastrous result for Scholz's party
A brash economic liberal who has shifted the CDU to the right, he is considered the antithesis of former conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, who led Germany for 16 years.
Germany's politicians will now look to the tricky task of forming a coalition government which can often take weeks if not months.
Those negotiations are certain to be even harder after a campaign which exposed sharp divisions over migration and the prospect of a much larger collection of AfD MPs in the bundestag.
The result suggests a remarkable surge for the AfD which has jumped from fifth place in 2021 to second place rising its share of the vote by ten points.
However, the party is unlikely to be in government due to the firewall in German politics where moderate parties refuse to work with any hard right parties since the Second World War.
Despite this, Wiedel has already said tonight that she is open to discussing a role in government with the CDU.
'We extend our hand to offer cooperation with the CDU. Otherwise change won't be possible in Germany,' she said.
Some analysts believe the party's strong showing tonight could pave the way for an AfD win in 2029.
AfD deputy parliamentary leader Beatrix von Storch told The Mail: ‘So many people have voted here for us and expressed their political will, so it is outrageous that they are not able to have their view represented here, but it is of course quite clear that it is only a question time before other parties will change their position of keeping us out.’
‘I can’t see the next coalition government lasting longer than two years, and after this we will then do very well because are just fed up of not being listened to and we are the only party who are responding to the fears and the anger of the German people right now concerned mass illegal migration.’
Federal spokesperson Stephan Brandner added: ‘Back then we were called everything: nationalist, racist, you name it.
‘But the truth is we are responding to the public. If you want a serious response to the massive problems in our county then it’s only us really offering it, and that’s why we will win outright at some point.’
Among Germany's smaller parties it looks set to be a bruising night for the Scholz's former and current coalition partners with the Greens taking 13.5 per cent of the vote and liberal centrist FDP look set to just miss the 5 per cent threshold needed to enter parliament - taking 4.9 per cent of the vote.
It was the FDP who brought down the government in November when they dramatically pulled out of the coalition during a dispute over the budget.
Weidel and AfD party members react to the exit poll. The result suggests a remarkable surge for the AfD which has jumped from fifth place in 2021 to second place rising its share of the vote by ten points
Supporters of Die Linke celebrate the exit poll result. The party appears to have seen a late surge to 8.5 per cent
Elsewhere, the far-left Die Linke - which was formed by former communists from East Germany - appears to have seen a late surge to 8.5 per cent seeing off a challenge to the party from the newly formed economically left-wing, socially conservative Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance.
Coalition talks could leave Scholz in a caretaker role for months, delaying urgently needed policies to revive Europe's largest economy after two consecutive years of contraction and as companies struggle against global rivals.
It would also create a leadership vacuum in the heart of Europe even as it deals with a host of challenges including U.S. President Donald Trump threatening a trade war and attempting to fast-track a ceasefire deal for Ukraine without European involvement.
Germany, which has an export-oriented economy and long relied on the United States for its security, is particularly vulnerable.
Since the last election in 2021 the once mighty German economy, which steered the EU through the Euro crisis, has stagnated since the start of the Ukraine war with Scholz's government struggling to revitalise Europe's largest economy.
Germans are now more pessimistic about their living standards now than at any time since the financial crisis in 2008.
On top of this, the country is dealing with creaking infrastructure due to lack of investment in public services such as trains - which are now the most delayed in the whole of Europe.
Germany has also struggled to modernise in recent years with many offices still reliant on fax machine.
Coalition talks could leave Scholz in a caretaker role for months, delaying urgently needed policies to revive Europe's largest economy after two consecutive years of contraction and as companies struggle against global rivals
German Economy and Climate Minister and top candidate for the Greens party Robert Habeck reacts after exit poll results are announced
Attitudes towards migration have also hardened, a profound shift in German public sentiment since its 'Refugees Welcome' culture during Europe's migrant crisis in 2015, that the AfD has both driven and harnessed.
Tonight's exit poll has also revealed dramatic shifts in how different age groups vote with young people appearing to rush to the extreme ends of the political spectrum.
Die Linke won among 18 to 24-year-olds with the AfD in second. Meanwhile, the AfD came top among 25 to 35-year -olds and the CDU is first among older voters.
Sunday's election came after the collapse last November of Scholz's coalition of his Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and pro-market Free Democrats (FDP) in a row over budget spending.
The election campaign has been dominated by fierce exchanges over the perception that irregular immigration is out of control, fueled by a series of attacks in which the suspected perpetrators were of migrant origin.
It has also been overshadowed by the unusually forceful show of solidarity by members of the Trump administration - including Vice President JD Vance and tech billionaire Elon Musk - for the anti-migrant AfD, and broadsides against European leaders.
The 12-year old AfD party took second place for the first time in a national election, according to the exit polls.
To be sure, the AfD is unlikely to govern for now as all mainstream parties have ruled out working with it, though some analysts believe its strength could pave the way for an AfD win in 2029.
Support for the AfD, along with a small but significant vote share for the far left and the decline of Germany's big-tent parties, is increasingly complicating the formation of coalitions and governance.
EU allies are cautiously hopeful the elections might deliver a more coherent government able to help drive forward policy at home and in the bloc.
Election posters for the CDU and FDP in Munich. Following a campaign rocked by a series of violent attacks, and frequent interventions from President Trump's administration, the CDU looks set to return to government after four years in opposition
The AFD logo projected onto a building during the party's election event in Berlin
Some also hope Merz will reform the 'debt brake', a constitutional mechanism to limit government borrowing that critics say has strangled new investment.
The most expected outcome of this election is a coalition of Merz's CDU with the SPD in an uneasy 'grand coalition.'
Other coalition options include the 'Kenya coalition' - named for the colours on the Kenyan flag, which could see the Greens join the government.
Or if the FDP enter parliament they might form a government with the CDU and Greens in a so-called 'Jamaica coalition'.
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С интересом и понятными ожиданиями, Dimitriy.
Starmer sends warning to Putin on third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
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Starmer warns Trump that Ukraine MUST be involved in peace talks as he braces for showdown in Washington... telling Kyiv summit marking three years since Putin invasion that US president has created an 'opportunity'
European premiers lined up at the event in Kyiv this morning.
Keir Starmer put on a united front with Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders today as they marked the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Ahead of a potentially stormy showdown with Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, the PM told a summit that Kyiv must be involved in peace talks for a deal to 'endure'.
He pleaded for 'unity' insisting Vladimir Putin does not hold 'all the cards' and had seen his military and economy downgraded,
But speaking by video-link Sir Keir said that Mr Trump's dramatic shift had 'changed the conversation' and created an 'opprtunity' for a breakthrough.
The gathering comes amid mounting alarm in Western states about America's move to launch negotiations with Putin and sideline Nato. Mr Zelensky has also so far been shut out of the discussions, with Mr Trump even branding him a 'dictator'.
Sir Keir reiterated Britain's 'ironclad' backing for Kyiv in a series of chats with allies over the weekend as he make the case for safeguards to protect the country's sovereignty.
But he is walking a tightrope as he tries to maintain the 'Special Relationship' with Mr Trump, who has taken an axe to long-standing alliances. After topping German elections overnight, the next Chancellor Freidrich Merz attacked interference from the US and warned that Europe could no longer rely on the superpower.
Sir Keir said Mr Trump had 'changed the global conversation over the last few weeks'.
'It has created an opportunity. Now we must get the fundamentals right,' Sir Keir added.
He went on: 'If we want peace to endure, Ukraine must have a seat at the table, and any settlement must be based on a sovereign Ukraine backed up with strong security guarantees.
'The UK is ready and willing to support this with troops on the ground, with other Europeans and with the right conditions in place, and ultimately, a US backstop will be vital to deter Russia from launching another invasion in just a few years' time.
'So we will do everything we can to get the best outcome for Ukraine and for us all.'
Sir Keir said the UK and its allies must 'keep dialling up the economic pressure to get Putin to a point where he is ready not just to talk, but to make concessions'.
Speaking via video link to a conference of global leaders in Kyiv, the Prime Minister added: 'So today, we're announcing the UK's largest packet of sanctions since the early days of the war, going after Russia's shadow fleet and going after companies in China and elsewhere who are sending military components.
'Later today, I will be discussing further steps with the G7 and I'm clear that the G7 should be ready to take on more risk, including the oil price cap, sanctioning Russia's oil giants and going after the banks that are enabling the evasion of sanctions.'
Touring broadcast studios this morning, security minister Dan Jarvis was asked how Sir Keir would address Mr Trump's claims that Mr Zelensky is a dictator.
He told Sky News: 'President Zelensky was democratically elected, and I'm sure that the Prime Minister will have very good and constructive conversations with the president.
'We have shared interests in a range of different areas, not least in terms of our national security.
'We're three years on now from Putin's illegal invasion. This is a very important opportunity to have conversations about how we can draw that conflict to a conclusion.'
Asked whether the Home Office's new package of sanctions against Russian elites was irrelevant if America did not follow suit, Mr Jarvis said: 'It certainly isn't irrelevant. What it is is a tightening of the screw, applying more pressure to Russia.'
Meanwhile, the Home Office announced a move to widen travel sanctions for Kremlin-linked elites in a bid to heap more pressure on Russia as the war enters its fourth year.
Local and federal politicians as well as managers or directors of large Russian companies will face exclusion from the UK under the rules, which come on top of existing travel bans on high-profile business figures such as Roman Abramovich.
Defence Secretary John Healey said: 'Keeping the Ukrainians in their fight and as strong as possible at any negotiating table is critical not only for them, but for the security of the UK.
'These new measures send a powerful message that we will do what it takes to turn the tables on Putin's aggression.'
Security minister Dan Jarvis said the expanded criteria for sanctions would 'slam the door shut to the oligarchs who have enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people whilst bankrolling' the war.
'My message to Putin's friends in Moscow is simple: you are not welcome in the UK,' he said.
The Prime Minister will seek to position the UK as a bridge between Europe and America on his visit next week as tensions simmer after Mr Trump hit out at Mr Zelensky and White House officials met Kremlin counterparts to discuss ending the war.
Yesterday No10 said Sir Keir had agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron - who will meet the US president in Washington today - that they will show 'united leadership' in support of Kyiv.
He also held a call with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau, who is set to chair the joint call.
The readout said they both believed 'working together alongside other international leaders was essential to achieve lasting peace and security in Ukraine'.
The PM also held his second discussion in three days with the Ukrainian president, promising he would be 'progressing important discussions' about Kyiv's security on his visit to Washington.
He reiterated that Ukraine must be at the heart of any negotiations to end the war and that safeguarding its sovereignty was essential to deter future aggression from Russia.
Sir Keir's visit will mark a critical moment in his leadership as he seeks to balance support for Kyiv with keeping the US onside after Mr Trump called Mr Zelensky a 'dictator' and suggested Ukraine had 'started' the war.
The Ukrainian leader later accused Mr Trump of living in a 'disinformation space' after US-Kremlin talks about bringing the conflict to an end.
Mr Zelensky has said he would be ready to give up his presidency if doing so would achieve lasting peace for his country under the security umbrella of Nato - something the US has effectively ruled out.
Some European leaders and opposition figures have openly condemned Mr Trump's remarks about Ukraine and Sir Keir has faced pressure to challenge the president when he visits Washington.
The Prime Minister has backed Mr Zelensky as a 'democratically elected leader', but avoided directly criticising the US president.
At the weekend, Sir Keir and his Cabinet warned that a weak peace deal would cause damage far beyond Ukraine, saying that including a US security guarantee to deter Russia from attacking again is in Washington's own interest.
Speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow yesterday, Sir Keir said: 'Nobody wants the bloodshed to continue, least of all the Ukrainians.
'But after everything that they have suffered, after everything they have fought for, there can be no discussion about Ukraine without Ukraine, and the people of Ukraine must have a long-term, secure future.'
Sir Keir is also facing pressure to use the trip to confirm a timeline to raise UK defence spending to 2.5 per cent of national income amid US demands that Europe shoulder the overwhelming burden of security on the continent.
Ministers had previously suggested a path towards reaching the target would be set out in the spring following the strategic defence review.
Mr Trump used a wide-ranging speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (Cpac) in Washington on Saturday to say 'we're pretty close to a deal'.
'We better be close to a deal because that has been a horrible situation,' he added.
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Boris Johnson: Zelenskyy is no dictator and Trump likely hears a lot of nonsense | DW News
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Europe meets to discuss the unimaginable on third anniversary of Ukraine war - fighting Russia without US support: Zelensky hosts emergency meeting after offering to QUIT as president.
World leaders are meeting in the Ukrainian capital today to mark three years since Russia's illegal invasion of the country, in a show of support by some of Kyiv's most important backers as the United States threatens to pull its support.
The three-year mark of the war came at a sensitive moment for Kyiv as Volodymyr Zelensky navigates a rapidly changing international environment upended by Donald Trump's major shift of US policy and warming relations with Moscow.
Washington has been accused of freezing Kyiv out of negotiations with Moscow, with Trump last week justifying doing so by wrongly calling Zelensky 'a dictator without elections' - despite votes only being halted in the war-torn country due to martial law.
The Ukrainian President yesterday conceded that he was willing to step down of it meant securing peace for his country, suggesting that he could do so in exchange for Ukraine's entry into NATO or other security guarantees.
But Ukraine's allies have sought to rally around the President, with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau among those flocking to Kyiv today to show their support and hold emergency talks.
The high-profile visitors, who also included European Council president Antonio Costa as well as the prime ministers of Northern European countries and Spain, were greeted at the train station by Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha and the Zelensky's chief of staff Andrii Yermak.
Europe was in Kyiv 'because Ukraine is in Europe,' von der Leyen wrote on X, adding: 'In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. It's Europe's destiny.'
Sir Keir Starmer is not among those visiting the country but is set to join world leaders in a call hosted by Zelensky later today, and has this morning reiterated the UK government's support for Kyiv.
'Three years on from Putin's barbaric full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we face a once in a generation moment for our collective security and values,' he wrote on X. 'We continue to stand with Ukraine for a just and lasting peace.'
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrives at a train station on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives at a train station on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Trudeau joined several European leaders in Kyiv in a show of support for Ukraine on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion
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Former PM Boris Johnson Shares His Advice for What Keir Starmer Should Do
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Ukraine-Russia latest: Starmer reins in Trump criticism in plea for US ‘backstop’ on anniversary of war
Foreign leaders join Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv to mark the three-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion
UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has refrained from criticising Donald Trump as he urged the US to provide a “backstop” to protect Ukraine in any peace agreement.
Virtually addressing a Kyiv summit marking the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Sir Keir offered a slight rebuke to Mr Trump as he insisted that “Russia does not hold all the cards in this war”, but also claimed that the US president’s intervention has “changed the global conversation” and “created an opportunity”.
Warning that Ukraine must have a seat at the table and strong security guarantees in any settlement, Sir Keir repeated his call for a US backstop that “will be vital to deter Russia from launching another invasion in just a few years’ time”.
The prime minister’s remarks came as he prepares to visit Washington and convince Mr Trump to back Ukraine, after the US president and his allies launched a series of extraordinary attacks on Ukraine’s leadership last week, after leaving Kyiv out of talks with Russia.
Kyiv and the White House are now in the final stages of negotiations in a deal for Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, Ukraines deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna said.
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Finland commits €4.5M to Ukraine’s reconstruction
Finland will provide €4.5 million to Ukraine through the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU) for 2025–2027. The funding aims to strengthen Ukraine’s social and public infrastructure, support essential services, and aid reconstruction in areas affected by war.
The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the contribution on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Ville Tavio, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, emphasised that rebuilding Ukraine is essential for achieving lasting peace.
"Supporting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and key services is crucial as the war continues to test the country’s capacity and unity," Tavio said.
Finland previously contributed €4.3 million to the PFRU between 2022 and 2024. During that period, the fund implemented 577 projects, helping two million people access essential services, launching media initiatives, and providing mental health support in war-affected regions.
The PFRU is backed by nine countries and focuses on restoring stability in Ukraine, particularly in liberated areas. The fund also supports vulnerable groups, including war veterans and victims of conflict-related violence.
Finland remains a strong supporter of Ukraine. In January, it approved a €188 million aid package and continues to participate in European initiatives such as the Armoured Coalition and the Czech-led ammunition procurement programme, for which it allocated €30 million in March.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb visited Kyiv on Monday to mark the anniversary of the invasion, reinforcing Finland’s commitment to Ukraine’s defence and reconstruction.
Fury over 'US interference' in German elections: New chancellor says comments from Washington were 'as bad as anything coming from Russia' as AfD finishes second following support from Elon Musk
Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has slammed US interference in the German elections, calling it 'as drastic, dramatic and shameful as that from Moscow' as the AfD surges into second place.
Merz, who is set to be the next German Chancellor after his conservative CDU took 28.5 per cent of the vote, last night criticised election interference by the US after tech billionaire Elon Musk and the Trump administration voiced support for the AfD.
He also called for independence from the US, telling a roundtable discussion that he plans to 'strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that we can achieve real independence from the US step by step'.
Meanwhile, the AfD have taken 20.8 per cent of ballots cast which is the strongest showing for a far-right party in Germany's post war era.
The AfD celebrated the result, with their leader Alice Weidel claiming that the anti-migrant party was now 'firmly anchored' in mainstream German politics.
US President Donald Trump has called the election result 'a great day for Germany' in a Truth Social post. He didn't name a party in his post.
'Looks like the conservative party in Germany has won the very big and highly anticipated election,' he wrote.
However, Trump ally Elon Musk endorsed AfD before the election, and US Vice President JD Vance met with AfD co-leader Alice Weidel on the sidelines of a recent conference in Germany.
'Much like the USA, the people of Germany got tired of the no common sense agenda, especially on energy and immigration, that has prevailed for so many years,' Trump wrote in a post that was entirely in capital letters.
Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has slammed US interference in the German elections, calling it 'as drastic, dramatic and shameful as that from Moscow'
Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD), gestures as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk appears on screen during a central election campaign event of the AfD in Halle (Saale), Germany, January 25, 2025
The AfD's result was hailed by Hungary's Viktor Orban, who wrote on X: 'The people of Germany voted for change in immense numbers. I want to congratulate Alice Weidel on doubling AfD's share of the votes. Good luck and God bless Germany!'
The governing centre-left SPD has slumped to third place in a disastrous result for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's party.
The party described the result as a 'historic defeat' which saw the SPD's vote share drop to its lowest since the 19th century with 16.4 per cent.
Following a campaign rocked by a series of violent attacks, and frequent interventions from President Trump's administration, the CDU and its Bavarian sister party CSU will return to government after four years in opposition.
Their leader Merz is now on track to be the next chancellor and has vowed to move quickly to try to form a coalition, adding he aims to have a government in place by Easter.
But time is pressing for Europe's ailing largest economy, with society split over migration and its security caught between a confrontational US and an assertive Russia and China.
The most likely outcome of the election is a coalition of the conservative bloc and the SPD, who came in third, after the AfD surged to a historic second place.
Merz's conservatives won 208 seats in the 630-seat Bundestag, while the AfD won 152.
The three parties in the former governing coalition lost seats, with the center-left Social Democrats falling to 120 seats and the Greens to 85. The Left party got 64 seats.
Those coalition negotiations are certain to be even harder after a campaign which exposed sharp divisions over migration and the prospect of a much larger collection of AfD MPs in the bundestag.
The result suggests a remarkable surge for the AfD which has jumped from fifth place in 2021 to second place rising its share of the vote by ten points.
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However, the party is unlikely to be in government due to the 'firewall' in German politics where moderate parties refuse to work with any hard right parties since the Second World War.
Despite this, Weidel has already said last night that she is open to discussing a role in government with the CDU.
'We extend our hand to offer cooperation with the CDU. Otherwise change won't be possible in Germany,' she said.
The most expected outcome of this election is a coalition of Merz's CDU with the SPD in an uneasy 'grand coalition.'
Another option is the 'Kenya coalition' - named for the colours on the Kenyan flag, which could see the Greens join the government.
'From our point of view, (talks) can start very, very quickly,' said senior conservative CDU politician Jens Spahn about starting coalition talks.
'The first talks should certainly be held this week, in the next few days. We see the situation in the world, Ukraine, Russia, the United States,' he said. 'German leadership is needed.'
Merz, 69, has promised to provide greater leadership than Chancellor Olaf Scholz and to liaise more with key allies, restoring Germany to the heart of Europe.
A brash economic liberal who has shifted the CDU to the right, he is considered the antithesis of former conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, who led Germany for 16 years.
Germany's politicians will now look to the tricky task of forming a coalition government which can often take weeks if not months.
'For the mainstream parties, there are two likely coalition scenarios: a so-called Grand Coalition between CDU/CSU and SPD, the social democratic party that had led the previous failing government,' Dr Katrin Schreiter, senior lecturer in German and History at king's College London, told MailOnline.
'While they agree in principle on the question of defence and military build-up, their approaches differ greatly when it comes to resolving Germany's economic difficulties versus social justice, and the financing of the increased military spending the country has been facing since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
'This picture would only become more complicated were the Green party to join them in a coalition government, as its position on climate change complicate the country's budget problems even further.'
Meanwhile, world leaders have congratulated Merz and the CDU on the election victory.
French president Emmanuel Macron said: 'I just spoke with Friedrich Merz to congratulate him on his victory in the German elections. I also had an exchange with Olaf Scholz to tell him of my friendship this evening.
'We are more determined than ever to do great things together for France and for Germany and to work towards a strong and sovereign Europe. In this period of uncertainty, we are united to face the great challenges of the world and our continent.'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Germany's conservative leader Friedrich Merz on his party's 'clear election victory' and expressed hope of visiting him despite an arrest warrant, his office said Monday.
'Prime Minister Netanyahu had a warm conversation last night with Friedrich Merz and congratulated him on his win,' his office said a statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also congratulated Merz's victory, writing on X: 'A clear voice from the voters, and we see how important this is for Europe.
'We look forward to continuing our joint work with Germany to protect lives, bring real peace closer to Ukraine, and strengthen Europe.
'Europe must be able to defend itself, develop its industries, and achieve the necessary results. Europe needs shared successes, and those successes will bring even greater unity to Europe.'
'We look forward to successful cooperation for a safe, stronger and united Europe. It is crucial to strengthen our support for Ukraine,' Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said.
Newly-elected Irish Prime MInister Micheal Martin added: 'Congratulations Friedrich Merz on the CDU/CSU's strong performance in the German election. I look forward to working closely with you on the EU Council, and on the challenges and opportunities for Europe in the years ahead.'
Meanwhile, some believe the AfD's strong showing on Sunday could pave the way for a win in 2029.
AfD deputy parliamentary leader Beatrix von Storch told The Mail: 'So many people have voted here for us and expressed their political will, so it is outrageous that they are not able to have their view represented here, but it is of course quite clear that it is only a question time before other parties will change their position of keeping us out.'
'I can't see the next coalition government lasting longer than two years, and after this we will then do very well because are just fed up of not being listened to and we are the only party who are responding to the fears and the anger of the German people right now concerned mass illegal migration.'
Federal spokesperson Stephan Brandner added: 'Back then we were called everything: nationalist, racist, you name it.
'But the truth is we are responding to the public. If you want a serious response to the massive problems in our county then it's only us really offering it, and that's why we will win outright at some point.'
AfD leader Alice Weidel today said she was aiming for her AfD to become the strongest party in the country.
Weidel, who led the AfD as its candidate to be chancellor in the election campaign, said she believed the party could 'overtake the CDU within the next few years for the next election... to become the strongest force' in Germany.
The anti-immigration AfD remains a pariah for many German voters amid guilt over the country's Nazi past and has been labelled as right-wing extremist in some chapters of the party by German security services.
However, the party enjoyed a surge of support in the run-up to the election, partly due to vocal endorsement from senior figures in the administration of US President Donald Trump.
'We are a people's party,' Weidel said on Monday. She also highlighted the fact that the AfD had done 'very well' among young voters, hailing this as an 'indicator that we are the party of the future'.
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С интересом и понятными ожиданиями, Dimitriy.
‘Defensive and uncertain’: Chris Kenny slams PM for reaction to Chinese warships.
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Australians should be ‘very worried’ about China’s live fire drills.
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China accuses Australia of 'hyping up' live fire drills in international waters | 9 News Australia.
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Live-fire drills by ‘extremely capable’ Chinese warships rattle New Zealand and Australia
New Zealand raised fresh concerns Monday over nearby live-fire drills conducted by Chinese warships armed with “extremely capable” weapons, an unprecedented show of firepower last week that analysts say are part of Beijing’s ongoing plan to build a blue-water navy with global reach.
A Chinese Navy formation held two live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand on Friday and Saturday, prompting passenger planes to change course mid-flight and rattling officials in both countries.
Judith Collins, the defense minister of New Zealand, said such drills were unprecedented in those waters.
“We’ve certainly never seen a task force or task group of this capability undertaking that sort of work. So it is certainly a change,” Collins told public broadcaster Radio New Zealand (RNZ) on Monday.
“The weapons they have are extremely capable. One has 112 vertical launch cells and has reported anti-ship ballistic missile range of 540 nautical miles,” she said.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships, consisting of a frigate, a cruiser and a replenishment vessel, had been sailing down the coast of Australia since mid-February, according to the Australian Defense Force.
The cruiser Zunyi, a Type 055 destroyer, is by far the most capable PLA Navy surface combatant in service – capable of firing ballistic missiles and reportedly hypersonic missiles too, said Collin Koh, research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
“Its presence so far south in the Tasman Sea – and as part of a full-fledged combat flotilla – is really considered unusual and rather unprecedented,” he added. “In recent years, the PLA Navy has shifted from near seas to far seas. They’re increasingly training themselves up to be a true blue-water navy.”
Chinese state media have suggested that Western countries should get used to such military exercises in their nearby waters.
Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert, told nationalist tabloid the Global Times that the PLA Navy will increasingly conduct exercises not only near China’s shores but also in international waters.
As drills like these will become more frequent, some countries should adjust to this trend, Song told the newspaper.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday that while China’s drills complied with international law, Beijing “could have given more notice.”
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she sought an explanation from her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi when the two met in Johannesburg on Saturday on the sidelines of a G20 foreign ministers gathering.
China’s Defense Ministry slammed Australia on Sunday for “hyping up” the drills and making “unreasonable accusations.”
Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the ministry, said China had issued safety notices in advance and that the exercises conducted in international waters complied with international law and did not affect aviation safety.
But Collins said China’s warning was given at too short notice.
“There was a warning to civil aviation flights, that was basically a very short amount of notice, a couple of hours, as opposed to what we would consider best practice, which is 12-24 hours’ notice, so that aircraft are not having to be diverted when they’re on the wing,” she told RNZ.
Collins added that the ships were currently about 280 nautical miles east of Tasmania and had slightly changed their formations, while being closely monitored by a New Zealand navy frigate.
New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is scheduled to visit China on Tuesday at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Blue-water ambitions
Under leader Xi Jinping, China has built the world’s largest naval fleet, boasting a battle force of more than 370 ships and submarines, according to the Pentagon’s latest annual report on the Chinese military.
It’s also expanded in scope and reach, operating not just in regional waters but projecting power in open oceans thousands of miles from China.
The expansion of China’s global maritime presence first started in the Indian Ocean, where the PLA Navy have been carrying out counter-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden since 2008.
“Along the way, they would conduct whatever far sea training that they need…to give their crew the exposure and to validate the capabilities of the hardware they have produced over the years,” said Koh, the maritime expert in Singapore.
Then, in 2015, Chinese naval ships were spotted for the first time in the Bering Sea off the coast of the US state of Alaska.
And while it is increasingly common for Chinese naval ships – such as space tracking ships or icebreakers on their way to the Antartica – to traverse the South Pacific in recent years, the presence of a full- fledged combat flotilla this far south is rather unprecedented, Koh said.
The latest live-fire drills in the South Pacific are “like adding another feather in the cap,” Koh said.
“While the PLA Navy at present still cannot be compared to the US Navy in terms of global reach and the ability to conduct full-fledged blue water operations… clearly the PLA Navy’s trajectory right now is moving towards that.”
And the presence of the flotilla signals growing operational confidence of the PLA Navy, in not just sailing there but also conducting live fire exercises, as well as weapons training, Koh said.
“They have become more confident to assert or even show military muscle in the region, despite the sort of disquiet that comes from Australia and New Zealand about Chinese intent and their growing influence in their backyard,” Koh said.
Anti-monarchy protesters to bring huge T-rex puppet to Westminster Abbey
Anti-monarchy group Republic is set to deploy a 15-foot dinosaur mascot, “Chuck the Rex,” at the Commonwealth Day service in London next month.
The towering Tyrannosaurus rex puppet, sporting a golden crown, is intended to symbolize what the group calls the “antiquated monarchy,” a “relic of a bygone age,” fit only for a museum, according to Republic.
Chuck, complete with his own social media presence on X (@ChuckTheRex), will be the face of the protest.
Protesters will bring Chuck along when they gather at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on March 10.
The King is head of the Commonwealth, and the annual celebratory event is a key moment in the royal calendar.
“Unlike Charles, Chuck knows he’s out of place and out of time,” Republic said.
“He wants to get out and about and have a roaring time highlighting the need for a modern, democratic alternative to the monarchy.”
Charles missed the service last year while he was away from public-facing duties after being diagnosed with cancer.
The King is also sovereign of 14 Commonwealth realms in addition to the UK, while the Commonwealth as a whole is a voluntary association of 56 independent nations, almost all of which were formerly under British rule.
Chuck the Rex – Republic’s new dinosaur protest puppet (Rikki Blue/Republic/PA)
A number of the realms including Jamaica, the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have expressed interest in becoming republics.
Meanwhile, an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times into the Prince of Wales’s Duchy of Cornwall and the King’s Duchy of Lancaster last November found the landed estates have struck rental agreements worth millions of pounds with the armed forces, the NHS and state schools.
Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic which campaigns for an elected head of state, said: “There is growing opposition to the royals, and growing disinterest in them.
“There is also lasting residual anger at their profiteering from charities and public services.
“The Duchies are not their private property, those profits should be going back to local communities.
“It’s no wonder that while support is falling in the UK, Commonwealth citizens are increasingly looking to ditch the monarchy.”
He added: “This is why we’re protesting Commonwealth Day on March 10 – to challenge the monarchy here in the UK, and support Commonwealth nations becoming republics.
“Britain is not a nation of royalists. These continuing protests will keep pushing that message and will embolden a growing movement.”
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С интересом и понятными ожиданиями, Dimitriy.
Keir Starmer's mission impossible? Fears grow over PM's trip to visit Trump after Macron's awkward visit and President hurls another insult at former ally Justin Trudeau
Keir Starmer will address MPs today as he braces for a crucial trip to meet Donald Trump and try to repair Western ties.
The PM will make a statement on 'defence and security' amid mounting concerns that he is facing mission impossible at the White House.
It comes after the US took an axe to decades-old alliances at the UN last night - voting with Russia, China and North Korea on resolutions about Ukraine.
The president also used an awkward meeting with Emmanuel Macron in Washington to suggest it will be for Europe to provide security in Ukraine if he strikes a peace deal with Moscow, three years after Putin's full-scale invasion.
Mr Trump launched a fresh jibe at another erstwhile ally, calling Canadian premier Justin Trudeau 'governor' in a reference to his claim that the country should become a US state.
In another worrying sign for Sir Keir, Mr Trump reiterated his intention of imposing 'reciprocal' tariffs over VAT - even though it is a sales tax rather than being levied on imports alone.
However, there was a glimmer of hope as America and Ukraine look to be closing in on a deal to develop rare earth minerals. Supporters say that could incentivise the US to defend Kyiv's sovereignty.
Keir Starmer (pictured at a Ukraine reception in Downing Street last night) is gathering his Cabinet today as he braces for a crucial trip to meet Donald Trump and try to repair Western ties
Sir Keir is expected to have a call with Mr Macron to get tips on how to deal with Mr Trump before his own turn in the Oval Office on Thursday.
European alarm has been mounting over the US direction since Mr Trump's bombshell phone conversation with Vladimir Putin, unilaterally opening peace talks without involving Ukraine.
The US president has branded Volodymyr Zelensky a 'dictator', even elections have only been suspended while Russia occupies around a fifth of the country.
Last night the US joined Russia in voting against a European-drafted UN resolution supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity and condemning Moscow's aggression. It was passed by the General Assembly (UNGA).
A US-drafted resolution at the UN Security Council was then supported by Russia and China, as it backed an end to the conflict but did not include any criticism of Moscow.
The UK and France abstained after attempts to amend the wording were vetoed.
Britain's UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward warned the council: 'If Russia is allowed to win, we will live in a world where might is right, where borders can be redrawn by force, where aggressors think they can act with impunity.'
Denmark's deputy foreign minister Lotte Machon stressed peace negotiations should involve 'nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, nothing about European security without Europe'.
The UK marked the third anniversary of Russia's invasion yesterday by unveiling new sanctions packages.
The Foreign Office announced 107 new designations that include 40 'shadow fleet' ships and 14 'new kleptocrats', including Russian billionaire Roman Trotsenko, as part of the largest sanctions package since 2022.
North Korean officials involved in sending troops to fight for Russia, Kyrgyz bank OJSC Keremet and companies in China, Turkey and India that supply tools and goods to Russia's military, were also listed.
Boris Johnson sounded optimism about progress on a minerals deal this morning, saying the US will only benefit when there is a 'free, sovereign and secure Ukraine'.
The former PM told LBC that Ukrainians had 'kept their cool' and 'negotiated very hard' with US President Donald Trump after initially rejecting a deal that led to an 'awful ratcheting up of the rhetoric against Ukraine'.
Fears have been fuelled that the PM is facing mission impossible at the White House after the US took an axe to decades-old alliances - voting with Russia, China and North Korea on UN resolutions about Ukraine
US ambassador Dorothy Camille Shea speaks at the UN Security Council. A US-drafted resolution was supported by Russia and China, as it backed an end to the conflict but did not include any criticism of Moscow
'I've obviously seen some drafts. I've seen the latest one today. It contains some very good commitments by the US to the freedom, sovereignty and security of Ukraine … It commits the fund that the Ukraine and the US will set up to long-term investment in the security of Ukraine. There's good stuff in it.'
He suggested the US would not benefit from the deal unless lasting peace in Ukraine was secured.
'There's no way America is going to get its hands on any proceeds from Ukrainian minerals until there is a free, sovereign and secure Ukraine. That is a massive, massive prize, and I think, worth going for.'
The deal is about Mr Trump needing to show 'the wackos who seem to support Putin … that he's got something in exchange for American support and long term American support for Ukraine'.
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NATO scrambles warplanes in Poland as Putin uses nuke-capable strategic bombers to pound neighbouring Ukraine
NATO was forced to scramble its warplanes in Poland today as Vladimir Putin used strategic bombers and missiles to attack neighbouring Ukraine - even as Vladimir Putin insists he wants peace 'as soon as possible'.
Putin's air force deployed Tu-95MS nuclear-capable strategic bombers to pound targets across Ukraine, causing panic in Kyiv as residents rushed for the metro underground shelters.
Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Sumy, as well as in several towns across the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv. Drones were also used by Russia, with several people reportedly suffering injuries.
Warsaw's armed forces operation command headquarters ordered NATO jets to patrol Polish airspace as Russian bombers and missiles soared over Ukraine amid fears they could approach the Polish border.
'Attention, due to the activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, striking targets located, in particular, in the west of Ukraine, military aviation has begun to operate in the airspace of Poland,' the command headquarters said.
Ground-based air defences and radar reconnaissance systems were also 'put on alert'.
It comes just one day after a US B-52 bomber flew a sortie less than 50 miles from the Russian border in a show of strength on the third anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine.
The B-52 jet, which is described as providing the US with 'immediate nuclear and conventional global strike capability', flew from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire to the frontline NATO state and was flanked by F35s and F-A18 fighters.
The planes jetted in formation over soldiers and tanks as a military parade of over 1,000 troops from NATO and the Estonia's Defense Forces took place in the Estonian capital of Tallinn.
February 24 marked three years since Russian troops invaded Ukraine, and is also Estonian Independence Day. The Baltic state has been a member of NATO for 21 years.
Putin used Tu-95MS nuclear-capable strategic bombers, causing panic in Kyiv as residents rushed for the metro underground shelters
On 24 February, the Finnish Air Force trained together with a B-52 Stratofortress bomber and F-35s in Estonian airspace
The training session was concluded with a flyover above Tallinn in honour of Estonia's Independence Day
The three-year anniversary of Russia's invasion yesterday arrived at a sensitive moment for Kyiv as Volodymyr Zelensky navigates a rapidly changing international environment upended by Donald Trump's major shift of US policy and warming relations with Moscow.
Recent weeks have seen a flurry of diplomacy with US and Russian delegates pressing on with ceasefire negotiations designed to bring about a swift end to the conflict.
But these negotiations have been held in the absence of Ukrainian representatives.
Washington has therefore been accused of freezing Ukraine out of negotiations with Russia, with Trump last week justifying doing so by wrongly calling Zelensky 'a dictator without elections' - despite votes only being halted in the war-torn country due to martial law.
Then yesterday, the US sided with Russia in two votes at the United Nations to avoid condemnation of Moscow's campaign against Ukraine, signalling a seismic shift away from decades of Western cooperation regarding Russia.
'The US is taking a much more balanced position which is really aimed at trying to resolve the Ukraine conflict. We welcome this,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Ukrainian President Zelensky meanwhile continues campaigning for a favourable peace deal for his nation.
Perhaps recognising Trump's apparent distaste for his presidency, on Sunday he said was willing to step down in exchange for Ukraine's entry into NATO or other security guarantees.
But Vladimir Putin will only end the Ukraine war when there is a deal that 'suits' Russia, its foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday.
Meanwhile, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov accused Europe and the UK of prolonging the fighting in response to a fresh package of sanctions levelled by Brussels - hours before Russian bombers began pounding Ukraine early this morning.
A dozen leaders from Europe and Canada descended on Ukraine's capital to mark the third anniversary of Russia's invasion yesterday, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
But Donald Trump opted to remain in Washington as he hosted French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House.
Macron told his American counterpart that 'peace must not mean a surrender of Ukraine', as Trump prepares to host Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday.
Putin's air force deployed Tu-95MS nuclear-capable strategic bombers to pound targets across Ukraine, causing panic in Kyiv as residents rushed for the metro underground shelters
World leaders and dignitaries are in Kyiv today to commemorate the three-year anniversary of war
This morning's scrambling of NATO jets over Poland came amid fears Russia was unleashing missiles close to the Polish border as Moscow's forces continued their aerial assault of Ukraine.
At least two Tu-95MS bombers were reported taking off from Russia's Olenya air base in the Arctic.
All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts starting at around 0350 GMT after the country's air force warned of the oncoming Russian attack.
The Ukrainian military said it shot down six out of seven missiles and 133 out of 213 drones, while another 79 drones did not reach their targets.
Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday that the attack targeted military airfield infrastructure and achieved its goals.
This morning's attacks come just weeks after another similar round of strikes that saw NATO's F-16 and F-35 warplanes scrambled when Russia fired of low-flying Kalibr missiles at Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
'Due to the attack of the Russian Federation, which is striking objects located on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aviation has started operating in our airspace,' reported Warsaw's Armed Forces Operational Command on February 11.
The operational commander 'deployed all available forces and means'.
'Duty pairs of fighters have been put into the air, and ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance assets have been put on the highest alert.
Vladimir Putin's air force deployed Tu-95MS strategic nuclear bombers over Ukraine this morning
America today flew B-52 bomber jets less than 50 miles from the Russian border in a show of strength on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
The B-52 jets are nuclear capable and were flown less than 50 miles from Russia, over eastern Estonia
A Norwegian Air Force F-16 fighter jet (file image). NATO scrambled the jets to its Eastern flank following Russia's attack on Ukraine
'The measures taken are aimed at ensuring security in the territories bordering the threatened areas.
'The Armed Forces Operational Command is monitoring the current situation, and its subordinate forces and means remain fully prepared for an immediate response.'
Polish Military Radar monitoring channel reported 'high activity of NATO aircraft near the Polish-Ukrainian border due to a missile attack.
'In the zone of operations there are certainly also our F-16 aircraft and very possibly F-16 USAF or F-35 Norwegian forces stationed in Krzesiny.'
One target was reported to be Mirhorod air base in Poltava region, home of Ukraine's 831st tactical aviation brigade.
The Russian army attacked Naftogaz's production facilities in the Poltava region, the company reported.
Ukraine's energy minister Herman Halushchenko imposed emergency blackouts.
'At night, the enemy attacked the gas infrastructure,' he said.
'In order to minimise the possible consequences for the energy system, the operator of the transmission system urgently applies measures of emergency electricity restrictions.
'As soon as the security situation will be allowed, the consequences will be specified…..while the danger lasts, stay in shelters.'
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China threatens reprisals after the UK slaps sanctions on Beijing-backed firms supplying military kit for Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine
China threatened to hit back at the UK after Beijing-backed firms were hit with sanctions for supplying materiel for Russia's brutal invasion and occupation of Ukraine.
Britain yesterday launched a major wave of sanctions targeting supporting those who aided at Vladimir Putin's bloody war effort, on the third anniversary of the conflict.
As well as targeting Putin's Russian cronies and their operations, the sanctions also targeted companies in friendly countries providing Moscow with military components.
North Korean officials involved in sending troops to fight for Russia, Kyrgyz bank OJSC Keremet, and companies in China, Turkey and India that supply tools and goods to Russia's military, were also listed.
The Chinese firms are involved in military electronics and supplying machine tools to Russian defence manufacturers.
But last night a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in London warned the Communist regime would take 'necessary measures to defend their lawful rights and interests'.
'China exercises strict export control over dual-use articles in accordance with laws and regulations, he added.
'We never fan the flames or seek selfish gains, and we will certainly not accept being the scapegoat in any way.'
As well as targeting Putin's Russian cronies and their operations, the sanctions also targeted companies in friendly countries providing Moscow with military components.
In remarks to a gathering of Ukraine's allies, Sir Keir also said: 'We must keep dialling up the economic pressure to get Putin to a point where he is ready not just to talk, but to make concessions.'
It comes as he prepares to visit Washington later this week for talks with new US president Donald Trump, who is threatening to force Ukraine into a peace agreement that favours Russia.
Mr Trotsenko, 54, is one of the wealthiest men in Russia, having cashed in after the fall of Communist. He has a fortune estimated at £2.2billion.
He owns Aeon Corporation, which owns airports and river ports, and Moscow's Federation Tower, one of the tallest skyscrapers in Europe.
Others targeted by the sanctions include North Korean Defence Minister No Kwang Chol and other North Korean generals and senior officials behind sending 'cannon fodder' troops to fight in Ukraine.
The shadow fleet is comprised of vessels controlled by Kremlin-linked firms but registered in neutral countries. They are used to transport oil and goods in defiance of sanctions.
In a separate move the Home Office unveiled new travel bans on Kremlin-linked elites in a bid to heap more pressure on Russia as the war enters its fourth year.
Local and federal politicians as well as managers or directors of large Russian companies will face exclusion from the UK under the rules, which come on top of existing travel bans on high-profile business figures such as Roman Abramovich.
The Prime Minister said US President Donald Trump has 'changed the global conversation' around Ukraine, but that this provided an 'opportunity', as world leaders marked the third anniversary of Russia's invasion.
He repeated calls for Ukraine to have a seat at the table for any peace talks, and for a US 'backstop' to any peace agreement, which he is expected to discuss with Mr Trump when he visits Washington later this week.
Sir Keir added that Russian President Mr Putin 'does not hold all the cards in this war', pointing to Ukraine's continued 'courage to defend their country' and the prospect of tightened sanctions hitting the Russian economy.
Sir Keir said he would urge the G7 to take on more risk in relation to the oil price cap, sanctioning Russian oil giants and going after banks that enable sanctions evasion.
Others targeted by the sanctions include North Korean Defence Minister No Kwang Chol (pictured) and other North Korean generals and senior officials behind sending 'cannon fodder' troops to fight in Ukraine.
Later on Monday Sir Keir will join a call with leaders of the G7 group of wealthy democracies, including Mr Trump, whose overtures to the Russian president have alarmed Ukraine's allies.
He told the Kyiv meeting: 'President Trump has changed the global conversation over the last few weeks, and it has created an opportunity. Now we must get the fundamentals right.
'If we want peace to endure, Ukraine must have a seat at the table, and any settlement must be based on a sovereign Ukraine backed up with strong security guarantees.
'The UK is ready and willing to support this with troops on the ground, with other Europeans and with the right conditions in place and, ultimately, a US backstop will be vital to deter Russia from launching another invasion in just a few years' time.'
Downing Street clarified that Sir Keir meant the US president had changed the global conversation around Ukraine 'for the better'.
'He's brought about these talks that could bring lasting peace in Ukraine, which is what we all want to see,' the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
French President Emmanuel Macron is in Washington for talks with Mr Trump ahead of Sir Keir's visit.
Mr Trump's talks with Russia, his description of Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky as a 'dictator', and claim that Kyiv started the war, have shattered the transatlantic alliance on the issue.
The Prime Minister held his second call in three days with Mr Zelensky on Sunday, saying he would be 'progressing important discussions' about Kyiv's security on his visit to Washington.
Portraits of Winston Churchill have been pulled from the walls of Parliament 'since Labour's election victory'
Portraits of Winston Churchill and other renowned British Prime Ministers have been taken down from the walls of Parliament following Labour's 2024 election win.
After winning 412 seats in the House of Commons, Sir Keir Starmer and Labour returned to government for the first time in 14 years in July 2024 following the general election.
Starmer had promised to implement a host of changes if elected, but one of the first things on the Labour agenda was seemingly a rearrangement of Parliament's decorations, The Telegraph have revealed.
Just days after Starmer's July 4 election win, five portraits of William Gladstone, the four-time Conservative Prime Minister, were taken down from Parliament's walls, along with five photos of former Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell.
And a few days later the new Government too removed portraits of the Duke of Wellington among a host of other famous British figures, before taking down 'drawings, prints and photographs of Winston Churchill.'
Five images of the former Prime Minister were dragged down from the parliamentary estate including one photo from Portcullis House, Parliament's main office building, showing Churchill standing at the Cenotaph in 1945, according to the Telegraph.
Portraits of many famous British figures have been taken down since Labour won the election, including pictures of Winston Churchill
Any new Government has pick of the Parliamentary Art Collection, which holds more than 26,000 portraits, drawings and pictures from which the buildings can be decorated.
Following news of Labour's re-decoration, a spokesman for UK Parliament told The Telegraph: 'There are more than 26,000 items within Parliament’s Collections, and there are regular movements, for example due to maintenance works in an area, changes to the occupancy of spaces and conservation needs.'
The collection underwent an audit following 2020's Black Lives Matter movement, and it is thought that many of the photos removed were chosen because of their links to Britain's colonial past.
Portraits of Lord Salisbury, poet John Milton, Charles I, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were also removed.
It was reported by MailOnline in 2023 that nearly 200 artworks had gone missing from the huge parliamentary collection.
Paintings, drawings, century-old photographs and even a life-size sculpture are among the pieces that could not be located.
It was not made clear whether any of the pieces were stolen, but a Freedom of Information request from Mail Online revealed that 199 pieces could not be located.
An 1801 portrait of William Pitt the Younger, a 19th Century sketch of William Gladstone and a six-foot high sculpture of Queen Victoria were amongst the pictures missing.
At the time, a spokesperson for the House of Commons said: 'Parliament is continuing to address collection objects historically identified as missing or not located through ongoing audits and regular reviews across the estate.
'The number of objects catalogued as missing or not located is only true at the time of request and may differ over time.
'Parliament has an ongoing programme to address the matter, through comprehensive and regular audits, recently resulting in a 5 per cent reduction in objects identified as missing since 2021.'
_________________
С интересом и понятными ожиданиями, Dimitriy.
Keir Starmer’s plan to send British troops to Ukraine divides opinion
Readers are split on the prime minister’s proposals for a European ‘reassurance force’, debating Britain's military readiness, war escalation risks, and the UK’s duty to counter Russia
Sir Keir Starmer’s proposal to deploy British troops to Ukraine as part of a European “reassurance force” has sparked strong reactions among Independent readers.
The plan, developed with France, would see troops stationed in key locations — such as cities, ports, and nuclear sites — focusing on intelligence gathering and airspace monitoring rather than frontline combat.
However, Kremlin officials have condemned the proposal, warning that any Nato presence in Ukraine would be seen as a direct threat
Many readers opposed Sir Keir’s idea, arguing that Britain’s military is already overstretched and underfunded. Some insisted that no deployment should take place without a major increase in defence spending, while others feared that even a limited presence could escalate tensions and risk a wider war.
Some readers supported sending troops, believing Britain must stand against Russian aggression. A few even called for the UK to take a more aggressive stance rather than waiting for US intervention.
Others suggested alternative solutions, including a UN-led peacekeeping force instead of a Nato deployment.
Here’s what you had to say:
Tone-deaf betrayal
How dare Starmer offer up our servicemen and women, without agreeing to rapidly and massively increase defence spending? A complete tone-deaf betrayal. With the right resources, our military can do what is required to defend the UK and Europe. So I vote “no” without the proper funding.
Sirstan
Europe must take a bold stand
This is not 1939. Starmer is not Churchill. It is not Britain alone that is at threat but the whole of Europe.
As such, it is Europe that has to take a bold and strong stand, bravely and collectively.
The current United States administration is completely and wholeheartedly prepared to throw Ukraine... and, by extension, Europe...to the wolves, in order to break or at least weaken the Russia/China alliance. To what end.. .to the end that Trump can "make America Great again" by holding on to its military supremacy... no matter who it disposes of along the way.
This is not a time for Braun and muscle on Britain's and Europe's behalf but a time for Blitzkrieg fast thinking and action.
Ukraine and Europe are being sidelined by the world's two military superpowers.
China will, at least to some extent, be sidelined too.
Britain, Europe, and China, put your thinking caps on FAST... and consider where a dictator-style US/Russia-run world is going to leave you.
ClintCox
No to gallivanting abroad
No – why do we feel the need to go gallivanting off to foreign places to fight with Johnny Foreigner? We do NOT have an empire anymore and I don't understand why our Prime Ministers continually want to come across as strong by sending British young men off to war.
WednesdayOwl
Increased defence spending is required
Agree 100 per cent with those who say no deployment without an immediate and large increase in UK defence spending. How can the PM promise UK forces (and remember, if he promises, say, 5000 troops, he'll need 15000, due to the rotation of operations–training–R&R/Leave), where are these troops going to come from?
All UK armed forces are understaffed and overstretched. The UK Government (and all European Nato countries) need to take action this day – to demonstrate to Russia and the US that we take our security seriously and are willing to pay for it!
Pablo
Expand defence spending to counter Putin
No, absolutely not. We need to expand our DEFENCE spending because Putin is a threat. The UK and other Nato countries need to move away from American influence, as Trump sees traditional allies as their weakness. So be it.
Putting UK troops on the ground in Ukraine will not achieve anything, except bring forward a larger Europe-wide conflict before we are fully prepared for one.
Chuckiethebrave
Are British troops even allowed in Ukraine?
No, absolutely not. Though perhaps we should be considering if British troops would even be allowed in Ukraine. When things finally arrive at the negotiating table, the Russians will have a strong hand, and they will be making certain demands. The UK and the EU might not be in any position to deny these demands.
5of9
One false move could trigger WW3
Absolutely not. One false move by either party – through a misunderstood command, a rogue operative, or a technical glitch –could launch us into WW3.
Qbsaul
UN should lead peace talks
Any peacekeeping efforts should be solely under the umbrella of the United Nations. Further, it should be the UN that presides over peace talks and not Donald Trump.
We all know that Trump hero worships Putin as a strong man, and that his involvement in the Ukraine peace process is only as a means to massage his ego and elevate himself to world statesmanship. Trump's only interest in Ukraine is what he can get out of the deal. He has his eye on 500 billion dollars' worth of rare earth minerals. He has no interest in Ukraine's sovereign rights, or the protection of its people. Trump is not fit to lead any peace talk, and Zelensky is right to reject his 'demands'.
Putin knows that he has Trump wrapped around his finger, and he knows how to manipulate Trump's quirks. Trump is compromised from the start.
For the benefit of the Ukrainian people, who remain sovereign, the UN should preside over peace negotiations, and it should be UN peacekeepers who patrol and uphold any demilitarized zone. In that respect, and only in that, should the UK send troops to Ukraine.
KMMagnusson
Send forces to Ukraine now
I'm in favour of sending UK and other Nato and non-Nato forces to Ukraine now, to fight the Russians. The UK signed the Budapest Memorandum and should be leading the fighting with Ukraine against the Russian invader.
Additionally, Russia used chemical weapons on UK soil in Salisbury. They deserve a good kicking for that war crime, and the perpetrators, including Putin, need bringing to justice with extreme prejudice. If you let one country get away with that, they will all be doing it to us, thinking we are a soft touch.
No use waiting for the Americans – they're always late to the party. It's time to kick ass and take names!
Davina
No Nato troops in Ukraine
The US, Russia, and Ukraine should agree on a deal that ensures no Nato troops will ever be stationed in Ukraine. In the Donbass and Crimea regions, a UN force should ensure that the region is neutral, with neither Russian nor Ukrainian forces in the area. The UK could be part of that force performing the UN mandate. The UN should support the civil administration of the regions until determination elections can be held in 10 years or so. Demilitarisation and clearance of ordnance in the Donbass region will take decades; this should be led by the UN.
Mp
First step toward major war
Whether the deployment of British or Nato forces to Ukraine is the right choice or not is not for me to say;
However, what I will say is that it's the first step towards a major war with Russia...
Ne22
Overstated Russian threat
The so-called threat from Russia is overstated and people are getting into a state of paranoia and hysteria. Calm down and carry on! There are lots of vested interests here.
As for the deployment of British troops to Ukraine, no, no, no, to coin a phrase from Mrs Thatcher. We need calm heads now and not be influenced by the paranoid Eastern European leaders. People must learn to live with their neighbour, especially when he is a large and more powerful neighbour.
Maxthehunter
UN peacekeeping force, not Nato
For me, if we are asked to form part of a larger UN (not Nato) peacekeeping force, then absolutely. Yes.
This cannot be a Nato-led force, simply because Russia could never do a deal on those terms.
However, if no deal can be done, then at some stage we and the rest of the European countries will have to decide when we step in. We cannot have a situation in which an angry Russia – especially not with enlarged territory and resources – lurks with malicious intent on our borders. Europe has to defend itself.
Jolly Swagman
Battlefield changes demand adaptation
Until the negotiations between Trump and Putin are concluded and the fate of Ukraine decided, who knows what can or should be possible?
The Russian invasion and subsequent war have shown how the battlefield has changed, and the UK, along with its European allies, needs to adapt.
The changes in military capability, weapons, and tactics also mean Europe cannot rely on large-scale troop transportation from the US in the event of war.
The US has its own problems; we have ours.
...
Цитата:
‘Trump has no affection for Ukraine’: Soldiers remove US patches in anger at president
Cloth patches have been worn by Ukrainian soldiers as a sign of solidarity with the US, but members of the military are angered by Donald Trump’s overtures to Russia
Ukrainian soldiers are removing stars and stripes cloth patches from their uniforms once worn as a tribute to the US (Askold Krushelnycky)
Ukrainian soldiers are removing stars and stripes cloth patches from their uniforms once worn as a tribute to the US as anger grows at Donald Trump.
On the third anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war, a high-ranking officer who rejoined Ukraine’s military in the first days of the full-blown invasion admitted there was widespread disappointment with the US president among comrades of all ranks.
The soldier, who uses the callsign Black, said the badges had been frequently worn by Ukrainian soldiers as a sign of gratitude and solidarity with the US.
At the hardest moments of the war, support from the US was not only of great importance as a supplier of weapons and a vital economic prop, but also a huge morale-booster.
But Washington’s apparent rapport with Putin amid a stream of accusations against Ukraine by Trump are changing perceptions about the US.
Black said: “We thought of Americans as comrades even though the US did not have boots on the ground here. Everyone in the military is assessing how Ukraine would fare even if there was a total cessation of American weapons.”
Some attribute Trump’s hostility to Ukraine as revenge for President Volodymyr Zelensky refusing to fall in with Trump’s demands during his first presidency to concoct political dirt against Joe Biden. That led to Trump’s first impeachment, a humiliation he has never forgotten.
Volvo is the call sign of a military doctor in charge of an evacuation unit close to the frontlines in Kupiansk, in the eastern Kharkiv region, scene of constant intense battle since the Feb 2022 invasion.
He said: “We know Trump has no affection for Ukraine. Trump loves himself. His actions are not for America’s benefit, everything he does is for himself.”
Others, like Yura, a former airborne soldier who served in Ukraine’s forces after Putin’s 2014 incursion and again after the 2022 invasion, have tried to find more positive explanations: “Perhaps he is trying to make Putin trust him before he presents a plan that will be good for Ukraine.”
Sanych, a career army officer, has fought against the Russians since the 2014 invasion in various capacities including as deputy of a volunteer battalion deployed before the 2022 incursion near Mariupol.
Now of retirement age, he commands one of the units of pick-up trucks mounting large calibre machine-guns scattered around Kyiv and its outskirts whose job it is to knock out Russian drones.
The Independent talked to him after he had spent the early hours of Sunday morning taking aim at some of the 267 Shahed drones Russia launched against Ukraine. He said they managed to shoot a drone which came down in a field.
He also was considering taking off an American flag badge from his medical kit. “It’s not an easy thing to do. I like America and I think of Americans as our allies and brothers in arms.
“Things would be harder without the US then with them. But today we have become a much stronger society than three years ago and we will not be beaten.”
Black said that America starved Kyiv of weapons previously for seven months in 2023-24 and that had shown Ukraine that it must manufacture its own supplies instead of relying on someone else.
Yuri Sak, adviser to the minister of strategic industries said: “No other nation in the world wants to end this war more than us, Ukrainians. But we know there is only one way to end it and achieve a just peace and that is through force.
“Putin also knows this and that’s why he is trying to provoke rifts among and inside our allies. If our unity cracks, we will be weak and he wins. So we must focus on what unites us, and don’t dwell too much on what divides us.
“Our unity is Kremlin’s worst nightmare. If we preserve our unity - we can end this war in 2025.”
He said the government is concentrating resources on developing its own weapons including 2.4 million aerial drones last year, with more planned for 2025 including robotic ground weapons.
Ukraine has also developed three different types of missiles capable of striking 1,000 kilometres deep inside Russian territory and is working on a ballistic missile capable of reaching even further with a bigger payload.
Black said Trump cannot force Ukrainians into a peace arrangement that does not take Ukraine’s long term security into account.
“We are not going to give up and will continue to fight with any means at our disposal,” he said. “We have no choice, because we understand that if we surrender, we disappear.”
Miecznik – Poland’s ambitious adaptation of the Arrowhead 140 frigate
In this guest article, Kamil Sadowski examines the Miecznik (Swordfish) programme which will see the Polish Navy introduce new frigates based on the Arrowhead 140 design, the basis of the Royal Navy’s Type 31. While sharing a common hull, Miecznik is more extensively equipped than its British cousin, although both share the potential to be enhanced by carrying off-board uncrewed systems.
Overview
The new generation of warships will be highly capable, multi-role frigates designed to replace the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates currently in service with the Polish Navy. The Miecznik first-of-class, ORP Wicher (Gale), is under construction in Gdynia and due to be launched in 2026. Two further ships ORP Burza (Storm) and ORP Huragan (Hurricane) are on order and the Polish Navy has an option with Babcock to build a further 5 ships.
The AH140 is derived from the Iver Huitfeldt-class of the Royal Danish Navy, a design that has already proven itself as a cost-effective, capable warship. Its modular structure and spacious layout allow for extensive combat system integration. The base platform is relatively simple, but its flexibility provides significant potential for adaptation to specific operational needs. While the general specifications for Poland’s new warships align with the role of a multi-purpose frigate, the Polish Navy has placed particular emphasis on Anti-Air Warfare (AAW) and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW).
Combat Systems
The sensor suite is provided by Thales, delivering the majority of the ship’s key combat capabilities. This includes primary and secondary multi-function radars, a panoramic electro-optical system, and an underwater detection suite comprising a hull-mounted sonar and a towed array sonar. Exception is the electronic warfare system, supplied by Rohde & Schwarz, which is a modified variant of the KORA system. Other additional systems include a laser warning system, navigation radars, and a diver detection sonar.
The primary anti-air weapon is the MBDA SeaCeptor fire control system with CAMM family missiles. The Miecznik will feature a two-tiered missile engagement zone, with short-range coverage provided by CAMM (Common Anti-Air Modular Missile) missiles, while medium-range coverage will be delivered by the future CAMM-MR. The Medium range CAMM variant is being developed as part of the Future Common Missile (FCM) programme, a joint UK-Polish venture.
CAMM-MR, will be dual packed in some of the 32 Mk 41 VLS cells (Image: MBDA).
CAMM-MR is designed to be cost-effective, with a range exceeding 100 km. The cost savings and reduced missile diameter, which allow for dual-packing, result in a smaller warhead compared to single-packed missiles of similar length. However, from a warship’s perspective, the ability to carry a larger number of missiles is a significant advantage, given the limited space available for VLS cells. Furthermore, low-cost missile solutions have become increasingly relevant with the growing presence of maritime uncrewed systems.
Adversary long-endurance UAVs, primarily conducting reconnaissance and targeting operations, do not pose a direct threat themselves, but they contribute to over-the-horizon targeting for enemy forces. Engaging such targets must take economic considerations into account. Within a naval task group, where multiple surface combatants with low-cost, medium-range effectors are present, an economic engagement strategy can be employed. This means that target identification and weapon allocation can be planned collectively to optimise air defence resources while ensuring that the most cost-effective weapon is used against each threat.
The inner-layer defence of the Miecznik will be provided by the 76mm Leonardo naval gun, a system already in service with the Polish Navy. The Miecznik will receive the Strales variant, which offers greater precision and guided ammunitions. Additionally, the ship will be fitted with two 35mm guns, equipped with programmable ammunition, developed by the Polish defence industry (PIT-RADWAR). Self-defence will be further enhanced by the Terma C-Guard decoy launching system, which consists of eight fixed 130mm launchers, compatible with a wide range of infrared (IR), radar cross-section (RCS), and acoustic countermeasures.
For surface strike operations beyond the horizon, the Miecznik will be armed with eight Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) from Kongsberg, with an option to install an additional eight launchers if required. NS missiles have been in service with Poland’s land-based coastal defence units since 2015.
Miecznik is also an effective ASW platform, equipped with bow-mounted and towed array sonars. Like its Oliver Hazard Perry-class predecessors, two dual-tube launchers for MU-90 lightweight torpedoes are carried. The MU-90 system is also integrated with Poland’s maritime aviation assets, including the new AW-101 ASW/CSAR helicopters, which are just beginning to enter service. A future MU-90HK variant is under development, which will offer dual functionality as both an anti-submarine torpedo and an anti-torpedo torpedo (ATT).
Weapon and sensors integration is managed by the Thales TACTICOS Combat Management System (CMS). The Miecznik will be the third class of warship in the Polish Navy to be fitted with this system, which will streamline crew training and improve interoperability across the fleet.
Uncrewed enhancement
Although the Miecznik and Type 31 differ in combat system configuration, they share the same potential for uncrewed systems integration. The AH140 design includes four boat bays, providing a significant capability for USV embarkation. Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) are increasingly seen as one of the most promising organic warship assets, offering extended endurance, modular mission adaptability, and the ability to operate in high-risk areas.
The Miecznik’s large aviation deck also provides space for uncrewed aerial systems, allowing it to accommodate rotary-wing UAVs, which can augment the ship’s reconnaissance and ASW capabilities. The effectiveness of UAVs is closely linked to their maximum take-off weight, but ongoing advancements in maritime drone technology indicate that their combat applications will continue to expand.
UASs and USVs are increasingly being viewed as key enablers for naval operations, particularly for force protection, infrastructure security, and neutralising adversary uncrewed platforms or asymmetric threats.
In the near future, we may see Type 31 frigates operating alongside organic uncrewed platforms such as ACRIMS USV and PROTEUS rotary wing UAS, both configured for ASW missions. This would allow warships to function as ‘carriers’ for ASW capabilities, even if they lack traditional sonar or ASW weaponry, thanks to embarked uncrewed systems. While these assets cannot fully replace traditional ASW frigates, they offer cost-effective, mission-specific capabilities, particularly in littoral operations, infrastructure defence, and seabed warfare.
Navies today no longer have the luxury of maintaining large fleets to cover all operational areas. Modern warships such as frigates are highly capable, but limited in number, making it increasingly essential to enhance their reach through deployable off-board systems.
Uncrewed platforms provide relatively low-cost yet effective force multipliers that can be deployed in numbers in high-risk environments. Whether seen as an advantage or a threat, their presence is reshaping naval strategy, making the AH140 one of the most effective options for an adaptable warship with the potential to operate alongside a new generation of autonomous systems.
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Ruszyła budowa polskiej armii dronów. A co z wojskami antydronowymi?
Doświadczenia z wojny w Ukrainie zweryfikowały poglądy co do wykorzystania w boju dronów, które wcześniej długo lekceważone, są obecnie ważnym orężem, jak artyleria czy samoloty. Budowa wojsk dronowych to także priorytet polskiej armii. Będzie trzeba rozwiązać wiele problemów.
• Na Zachodzie długo traktowano drony jak zabawki. Amerykanie pracowali nad dużymi bezzałogowymi statkami powietrznymi, a nie licznymi małymi dronami. Teraz wszyscy starają się nadrobić zaległości.
• Wojna w Ukrainie pokazała, jak potężną bronią mogą być nawet niewielkie drony, które kosztują niedużo, a mogą zniszczyć cele warte fortunę.
• Zachwyt nad dronowym orężem sprawił, że opóźniono prace nad systemami antydronowymi. Te, które dało NATO Ukrainie, są rozpracowane przez Rosjan. A potrzeba ich równie wiele.
Dziś już żadna armia nie powinna lekceważyć dronów. Posługują się nimi również w dużych ilościach różnego rodzaju ugrupowania wojskowe i terrorystyczne. Działania bezzałogowców zaskakująco szybko z wojen przyszłości, które jeszcze niedawno znaliśmy tylko z filmów, wdarły się w naszą rzeczywistość.
Mówiąc o budowie armii dronów należy przypomnieć, że nie dotyczy to tylko dronów powietrznych, ale również autonomicznych systemów nawodnych i podwodnych, jak i naziemnych
. Taką właśnie armię dronów chce zbudować Polska. To nowa inicjatywa, która coraz bardziej zyskuje na znaczeniu.
Wicepremier i minister obrony narodowej Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz zapowiedział utworzenie wojsk dronowych kilka miesięcy temu.
Od 1 stycznia 2025 r. wojska dronowe funkcjonują już, jako realna część Wojska Polskiego
. Szef MON podkreślił, że budowa wojsk dronowych jest absolutnym priorytetem.
- Kilka miesięcy temu zapowiedziałem utworzenie wojsk dronowych. To się staje faktem - od 1 stycznia wojska dronowe już jako nie plan, ale jako realna część Wojska Polskiego zafunkcjonują - zadeklarował swego czasu Kosiniak-Kamysz, podczas podpisania umowy na zakup amerykańskich dronów MQ-9B SkyGuardian.
Choć harmonogram budowy armii dronów nie jest jeszcze znany, Polska zawarła już wiele umów, które wpisują się w budowę budowy armii dronów i są częścią większej strategii modernizacji i rozbudowy polskich sił zbrojnych, w szczególności w zakresie bezzałogowych statków powietrznych. Do końca 2024 r. na systemy bezzałogowe podpisano ponad 100 umów.
Już wcześniej Wojsko Polskie nabyło różne typy bezzałogowych statków powietrznych. Wśród nich znalazły się sławne niegdyś drony Bayraktar TB2 wyposażone w pociski przeciwpancerne. Zamówiliśmy 4 zestawy tych bezzałogowców, łącznie 24 drony u tureckiego producenta w 2021 r., a ich dostawy rozpoczęły się w 2022 r. Ostatni, czwarty z nich przekazano siłom zbrojnym w ubiegłym roku.
Programy dronowe ślimaczą się od wielu lat i ich końca wciąż nie widać
W grudniu 2024 r. Agencja Uzbrojenia podpisała z amerykańską spółka General Atomics umowę na dostawę dronów MQ-9B SkyGuardian, które mają zostać dostarczone w pierwszym kwartale 2027 r. Drony te o rozpiętości skrzydeł 24 m i długości prawie 22 m mogą osiągnąć pułap 15 km, ich prędkość maksymalna to około 480 km/h i mogą być bez przerwy w powietrzu przez około 20 godzin lotu. Za kilka maszyn (dokładna liczba nie jest znana) zapłacimy około 310 mln dol. (ok. 1,2 mld zł).
[/b]Wojsko zamierza też nabyć bezzałogowe systemy powietrzne klasy MALE w ramach programu Zefir[/b]. Trwają też odrębne działania w ramach programu Gryf, mające na celu wprowadzenie wariantu o krótszym zasięgu. W przypadku Marynarki Wojennej RP istnieją odrębne działania mające na celu zakup dronów wiropłatowych w ramach programu Albatros.
Problem w tym, że te programy ślimaczą się od wielu lat i ich końca wciąż nie widać. Problematyczny kontrakt na bezzałogowe statki powietrzne na 30 dronów rozpoznawczych krótkiego zasięgu w programie Orlik za około 790 mln zł, jaki poprzedni rząd przyznał w 2018 r. państwowej spółce PGZ, stał się modelowym przykładem nieefektywnego postępowania przetargowego.
Miały być w 2021 r., nie ma ich do dziś.
Pośród polskich dostawców dronów powietrznych dla naszego wojska decydujące znaczenie odgrywa Grupa WB, choć bezzałogowce, to nie jedyny obszar ich innowacyjnych, zbrojeniowych projektów.
W 2023 r. w Kielcach, podczas Międzynarodowego Salonu Przemysłu Obronnego podpisano umowę ramową na dostawy około 1700 bezzałogowców FlyEye. Na bazie tej umowy podpisano umowę wykonawczą w listopadzie 2024 r.
Zgodnie z umową wojsko miało pozyskać 13 zestawów dronów BSP FlyEye, produkowanych przez Grupę WB. Każdy zestaw składa się z czterech maszyn, co daje łącznie 52 drony. Wartość umowy wyniosła 97,5 mln zł. Dostawy zrealizowano w 2024 r.
Również w minionym roku do wojska trafiło 7 zestawów dronów FlyEye 3.6 wraz ze stacją kontroli, niezbędnym dodatkowym wyposażeniem, usługą szkolenia oraz wsparcia, na które umowę popisano w kwietniu 2024 r.
Wojska dronowe są przyszłością polskiej armii
Pod koniec grudnia 2024 r.
Agencja Uzbrojenia podpisała umowę z WB Electronics na 12 systemów dronów Force Protection o wartości 117 milionów euro (122 milionów dolarów)
. Każdy system będzie obejmował osiem dronów rozpoznawczych klasy mini FlyEye, 20 dronów klasy mikro X-Fronter, X-FRONTER, skalowalny, modułowy bezzałogowy statek powietrzny pionowego startu i lądowania przeznaczony m.in. do prowadzenia rozpoznania obrazowego oraz i 44 systemy rozpoznania radioelektronicznego FP-SPECTRE.
- Drony te będą "oczami i uszami" polskiej armii w obliczu nasilających się zagrożeń regionalnych. Oczekuje się, że pierwsze jednostki Force Protection zostaną dostarczone w przyszłym roku - zapowiedział wiceminister obrony narodowej Paweł Bejda.
Przypomnijmy, że Grupa WB dostarczyła wojsku również amunicje krążącą Warmate.
Tylko 100 sztuk, zamiast deklarowanych za byłego rządu 1 tys. sztuk
. Teraz MON planuje dalszy zakup tych dronów kamikadze.
Wojsko Polskie ma też jeden z najbardziej zaawansowanych systemów bezzałogowców powietrznych. To rozpoznawczo-uderzeniowy Gladius, opracowany również przez Grupę WB, przeznaczony do precyzyjnego rażenia ważnych celów na odległościach ponad 100 km od miejsca startu.
Jak oświadczył wicepremier i szef MON Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, wojska dronowe są przyszłością polskiej armii, przyszłością wszystkich rodzajów sił zbrojnych i będą w nich setki tysięcy dronów:
• latających,
• naziemnych,
• nawodnych
• podwodnych.
- Ukraina w zeszłym roku wyprodukowała 1,5 miliona dronów, w tym roku chcą wyprodukować 4,5 miliona dronów
. Ja bym marzył, żeby ta nasza dolina lotnicza na Podkarpaciu była też doliną dronów - powiedział Sikorski.
Powstają wojska dronowe, powinny również powstać wojska przeciwdronowe
Oczywiście to dopiero początek budowy armii dronów. Wciąż mamy ich zbyt mało, by chwalić się armią dronową. To co najwyżej dopiero pierwsze bataliony. Szefa MON mówił o wieloletnich kontraktach wyprodukowania dziesiątek, setek tysięcy dronów w momencie, kiedy taka potrzeba zajdzie. Gen. Waldemar Skrzypczak, były dowódca wojsk lądowych i wiceminister MON twierdzi, że to bardzo potrzebna decyzja.
- Drony mają przyszłość i trzeba takie wojska skonstruować jak najszybciej. Powstanie wojsk dronowych to odpowiedź na zapotrzebowanie pola walki. Przy czym tu nie chodzi o to, żeby to były dywizje, pułki dronowe, ale żeby drony były na każdym szczeblu działania wojsk, którym te drony będą potrzebne - mówi nam gen. Skrzypczak.
- Powiedziałbym nawet więcej. Trzeba szukać takich rozwiązań, które pozwolą te drony wykorzystywać w zasadzie we wszystkich rodzajach sił zbrojnych. Nie tylko w wojskach lądowych, ale i w marynarce wojennej, w siłach powietrznych, oczywiście w wojskach specjalnych i w WOT, bo tam na pewno one będą potrzebne - dodaje generał.
Zauważa jednocześnie, że jak na razie informacji ze strony ministerstwa, co do szczegółów, jak będzie zbudowana polska armia dronowa jest niewiele.
- Warto by było, żeby powstała doktryna dronowa, która pokaże, gdzie i w jakim zakresie wykorzystuje się drony i do jakiej walki
. Bo jak nie będzie doktryny, to znowu będziemy latali sobie na poligonach, będziemy się dronami bawili, niekoniecznie doskonaląc umiejętności niezbędne na polu walki. Dlatego powinna powstać doktryna, która się wkomponowuje w sztukę operacyjną i w taktykę użycia dronów w ramach działań bojowych pododdziałów - uważa gen. Skrzypczak.
Dodaje, że skoro powstają wojska dronowe, powinny również powstać wojska przeciwdronowe, podobnie, jak i strategia przeciwdronowa.
Żeby mieć wojska dronowe i móc je skutecznie wykorzystać, trzeba też mieć osłonę antydronową. Jeśli chodzi o kwestie związane z systemami antydronowymi, to wydaje się, że ten obszar zaniedbano - uważa Waldemar Skrzypczak.
MON zapowiedziało masowy zakup systemów antydronowych
Przypomnijmy, że obecnie wojsko polskie dysponuje zaledwie kilkunastoma systemami antydronowymi SKYctrl S, produkcji gdyńskiej spółki Advanced Protection Systems (APS), które wojsko zakupiło za 150 mln zł. Obecnie wykorzystywane są m.in. do ochrony polskich wyrzutni Patriot.
Firma APS oferuje swoje radary FIELDctrl 3D MIMO do precyzyjnego wykrywania bardzo małych obiektów, ich natychmiastowej klasyfikacji (rozróżnia np. rodzaj dronów i ptaki), ich śledzenie oraz ich neutralizację oddzielnie, lub w kompletnych systemach antydronowych, łącznie z systemem dowodzenia i kierowania C2.
Do zwalczania dronów firma proponuje zarówno efektory: klasy "soft-kill", czyli zakłócacze-jammery, która sama produkuje, jak również "hard-kill", które obejmują systemy neutralizacji lufowej (wykorzystują wieżyczkę lub laserowej). Jammery APS w lekkich, przenośnych zestawach SKYctrl S, są wykorzystywane bojowo na Ukrainie i cieszą się tam bardzo dobrą opinią.
Na Ukrainie walczą też systemy antydronowe Hawk firmy Hertz News Techlogies. To kompleksowe rozwiązanie wykorzystuje różnorodne sensory, efektory i fuzje danych, dla zapewnienia skutecznej ochrony z powietrza. Jest w stanie wykryć drona, zanim on wejdzie strefę chronioną i sprowadzić go na ziemię bądź zneutralizować w powietrzu.
Tymczasem słyszymy, że nasze siły zbrojne, jeśli chodzi o broń antydronową, są w awangardzie sił natowskich jeżeli chodzi o rozwój systemów antydronowych. Lepiej nie myśleć, jak jest pod tym względem w innych państwach NATO. Wiemy, że wszystkie amerykańskie systemy antydronowe wróciły z Ukrainy ponownie na deski kreślarskie.
Masowy zakup systemów antydronowych zapowiedziało niedawno MON dla budowanej Tarczy Wschód
, która ma bronić naszą wschodnia granicę również przed obcymi dronami. A przekraczają już od dawna, głównie do przemytu, więcej niż nam się wydaje. Na razie co do konkretów w tej sprawie panuje cisza.
- Po doświadczeniach z Ukrainy widać wyraźnie, że Rosjanie potrafią pokonywać systemy antydronowe, którymi dysponuje NATO i które przekazało Ukrainie. Musimy więcej i szybciej korzystać z doświadczeń pola walki z Ukrainy. Moim zdaniem wykorzystujemy te doświadczenia wciąż w niewielkim stopniu. Nie wdraża się tego w doktrynach i szkoleniach Wojska Polskiego - twierdzi Skrzypczak.
Czy aby znowu nie szykują się zakupy z zagranicy
Opracowywane i produkowane w Polsce rozwiązania, mogłyby bardzo szybko rozwiązać problem obrony antydronowej w Siłach Zbrojnych RP. Wystarczy tylko zakupić je w dużej liczbie. Zwłaszcza, że takie systemy są też niezbędne również w całym kraju - np. przy ochronie infrastruktury krytycznej.
- Obecnie zdecydowana większość tego rodzaju obiektów nie jest w ogóle chroniona od płotu w wzwyż. Sytuacja przypomina w pewnym sensie tę z przeszłości, w zakresie cyberbezpieczeństwa. Kiedy trzeba było wprowadzić systemy antydostępowe, chroniące wrażliwe dane komputerowe, wielu decydentów zastanawiało się po co? Wielu uznało, że nie warto wydawać pieniędzy, skoro mamy programy antywirusowe. Szybko zaczęli tego żałować. Oby nie było podobnie w przypadku braku ochrony infrastruktury krytycznej z powietrza - obawia się Jacek Duliński szef marketingu firmy APS.
Wojsko ma zatem duży komfort.
Ma do dyspozycji polskie firmy, od których może kupić sprawdzone w walce drony, jak i systemy antydronowe
. Do tego spółki je produkujące pracują nad wykorzystaniem w swoich systemach broni laserowej, jak i rozproszonej energii do zwalczania dronów.
Stąd zaniepokojenie, jakie wywołała zasłyszana przez nas informacja, że Straż Graniczna przymierza się do postępowania w sprawie zakupów systemów antydronowych, do których zaproszono trzy firmy zagraniczne (w tym z Izraela) i tylko jedną polską.
Do tego nie były to te najważniejsze w Polsce, które takie systemy produkują. Czy aby znowu nie szykują się zakupy z zagranicy w sytuacji, kiedy
polskie firmy mają bogate oferty tych systemów
, tyle że więcej kupują je państwa świata, niż Wojsko Polskie.
Było to tym bardziej dziwne, gdyż to Izrael właśnie w Polsce szuka jammerów - zagłuszaczy, produkowanych przez nasze firmy, które chce zakupić. Zapytaliśmy ile jest prawdy w tych zasłyszeniach informacjach ppłk. Andrzeja Juźwiaka, rzecznika prasowego Komendanta Głównego Straży Granicznej.
- Nie mam i nie potwierdzam takich informacji. Dodam, że kwestia Tarczy Wschód jest poza właściwością Straży Granicznej - odpowiedział krótko ppłk Juźwiak.
Wydaje się, że powodem tego zamieszania mogła być Międzynarodowa Konferencja Obrony i Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego IMPROVATE Homeland Security and Defence Conference, która odbędzie się 25 lutego, podczas której m.in. izraelskie firmy z sektora obrony i bezpieczeństwa wewnętrznego zaprezentują swoje rozwiązania proponowane dla polskich Sił Zbrojnych czy Straży Granicznej. O tym, jakie to były prezentacje, poinformujemy wkrótce naszych czytelników.
M. Macron lifted a haw-he-haw Gallic eyebrow as Trump grimaced like a tortoise: QUENTIN LETTS watches the French President enter Donald's lair
The French word for it is 'flagornerie'. Means 'laying it on with a trowel'. And there is no man better for it than the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who can make the most blatant exercise in sucking-up sound ornate and pretty and somehow rather exquisitely Louis Quatorze.
M Macron, brave chap, became the first European leader to enter the Trump lair since Big Donald's re-election. The most pressing matter was Ukraine.
'After speaking with President Trump,' said Macron, flashing his sideburns and lifting a haw-he-haw Gallic eyebrow, 'I fully believe there is a path forward.'
The Frenchman was confident enough of his charm offensive that he stuck a hand in his pocket. They always do that when they think their chatting-up is starting to work.
Old Trump stood beside him at the White House press conference, grimacing like a tortoise, either from concentration or from ennui, for 'cher Emmanuel' had rather been going on for a while. Things looked a bit sticky when Mr Trump started tapping his left index finger against his lectern.
The US President had opened proceedings in his habitual self-polishing manner, claiming that the war would never have happened if he had been in power at the time and that 'I have been elected to restore common sense to the world'.
He added: 'My greatest legacy will be as a peacemaker and as a unifier.' I have a suspicion he only says this sort of thing to annoy Hillary Clinton.
Having slandered Ukraine's President Zelensky as a dictator just a few days ago, Mr Trump now focused his ire on the Biden administration. Zelensky was back in favour and was possibly going to visit soon to sign an agreement on mineral rights. '
Mr Macron, brave chap, became the first European leader to enter the Trump lair since Big Donald's re-election (pictured together in the Oval Office)
Mr Trump's final words to the French President were: 'Say hello to your beautiful wife' (pictured together in the Oval Office)
We'll fix it all up,' said Mr Trump. 'All I know is deals.' He added: 'Stop the killing now.' Yeah, baby, and let me make a killing instead!
M Macron sprayed his host with treacle, calling him 'dear Donald' and reminding him 'you know how much friendship I have shown you'.
There was more than one 'I thank you, Mr President' and a couple of 'I say this with great sinceritys'. M Macron repeatedly stressed that the Europeans would soon be doing a lot more of the heavy-lifting on defending the Continent from the Russians. Mr Trump heard this without expression. Perhaps he will only believe it when it happens.
'No one wants to live in a world where it is the law of the strongest,' averred M Macron. Mr Trump gave one of his little sideways shrugs at that, as if he could perfectly live with such a scenario.
When the event ended the two men embraced and Mr Trump's final words were: 'Say hello to your beautiful wife'. Words no one ever said to Ted Heath.
Earlier the two presidents shook hands outside the White House and M Macron discovered afterwards, perhaps to his surprise, that he still had some shoulder ligaments intact.
Trump-Macron handshakes are like no other. Over the years they have become a battle for supremacy, more a form of arm-wrestling and power-patting (when politicians try to 'own' the other party by patting them) than courteous greeting.
US president Donald Trump and French president Emmanuel Macron shake hands in the Oval Office on Monday
Who can forget the 29-second classic cruncher in 2017 when Mr Trump tugged so hard that his French counterpart was left balancing on one foot? In Paris last year M Macron went for a double air-kiss and ended up shaking Mr Trump's right elbow.
This time Mr Trump pulled in M Macron firmly. The Frenchman fought back by trying to retrieve his ground but Mr Trump was having none of that and yanked him sharply a second time. It was like seeing a water-skier being hauled out of the shallows by a powerful speed-boat.
The French president waved his spare (or only remaining) hand at the cameras. A greeting or a desperate signal for medical attention?
When Sir Keir Starmer visits Washington later this week he may be advised to give is right hand a liberal application of Vaseline. Lord Mandelson should have a tub.
_________________
С интересом и понятными ожиданиями, Dimitriy.
Kremlin contradicts Trump's claim on peacekeeping forces in Ukraine
The Kremlin emphasized Tuesday that Russia had not dropped its opposition to peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, contradicting a claim that President Trump made a day earlier.
Why it matters:
Trump is pushing to reach a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the three-year war. Peacekeeping forces are seen as a key component for any peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine.
Driving the news:
During a White House meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron Monday, Trump told reporters that he had "specifically asked" Russian President Putin about the prospect of deploying European peacekeeping forces to Ukraine following a peace deal.
• "He has no problem with it," Trump said of Putin's acceptance of the proposal.
• When asked about Trump's claim Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov referred reporters to an earlier statement on the matter from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Reuters reported.
• Lavrov told reporters last week that the deployment of peacekeeping troops from NATO countries would be unacceptable to Russia, and would be perceived as a "direct threat" to Russian sovereignty.
• Citing Lavrov's previous comment on the issue, Peskov said he had "nothing to add" on the matter, per Reuters.
Zoom out:
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sparked controversy earlier this month by ruling out the possibility of a U.S.-led peacekeeping mission for Ukraine and throwing cold water on the prospect of Ukraine's NATO ascension.
• Instead, the Trump administration has pressed Ukraine to sign a minerals deal in a purported effort to secure a return on the U.S.'s wartime aid to in Ukraine.
• In an interview Monday, Putin said he would be willing to allow the U.S. access to the rare earth minerals in Russian-occupied Ukraine.
Цитата:
Macron says alongside Trump peace "must not mean a surrender of Ukraine"
President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed during a White House meeting on Monday to deploy European peacekeeping forces to Ukraine following a peace deal with Russia to end the war.
The big picture:
While the meeting on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine was cordial, the peacekeepers deployment was about the only significant plan the two world leaders agreed on during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office.
What they're saying:
Trump said during a briefing he believed the war could end "soon" and said he and his representatives had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and "they want to do something."
• The war could end "within weeks... if we're smart," Trump told reporters. "If we're not smart, it'll keep going and we'll keep losing."
• Macron said: "We want peace, peace swiftly, but we don't want an agreement that is weak.
• "Peace must not mean a surrender of Ukraine, it must not mean a ceasefire without guarantees."
Meanwhile,
Trump declined to call Putin a "dictator" after describing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as that last week and said he planned to meet with the Russian leader soon.
• Macron said Russia "is the aggressor" and noted "President Putin violated the peace."
Zoom in:
At one point, Macron moved to correct Trump after the U.S. president said, "Europe is loaning the money to Ukraine, they're getting their money back."
• Macron responded: "No, in fact, to be frank, we paid. We paid 60% of the total effort. It was like the US: loans, guarantees, grants."
Цитата:
What's behind Trump's views on Ukraine and Russia
President Trump sparked criticism and suspicion last week when he falsely blamed Ukraine for invading Russia. But his offhand remark reflected a belief his advisers say is real: that NATO helped "provoke" the conflict years ago.
Why it matters:
Trump's view of Ukraine is key to understanding why he has turned 80 years of U.S. foreign policy on its ear by criticizing NATO, opposing its expansion there, and cutting European partners out of peace talks.
• Critics on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean accuse Trump of kowtowing to Russian President Vladimir Putin, embracing the dictator's disinformation, excusing his aggression and putting Ukraine in too much of a vise.
The big picture:
Trump's approach to the war represents a rejection of the reflexively pro-European trans-Atlanticism of past presidents — especially Barack Obama, Joe Biden and George W. Bush. It's also rooted in Trump's longstanding desire to normalize ties with Russia.
• Another sign of how Trump is dramatically changing U.S. policy came Monday, when the U.S. broke with European allies by declining to support a United Nations resolution that condemned Russia and demanded it withdraw from Ukraine.
• Ukraine also is at the heart of strained relations between the U.S. and Russia. It was at the center of Trump's first impeachment in 2019, and played a key role in the investigation of ties between Russia and Trump's campaign that began in 2016.
Zoom in:
Trump advisers, put on the defensive over his comment about who started the Russia-Ukraine war, privately have fumed that the media is focusing too much on Trump's misstatement and too little on how the West antagonized Putin in the years before he invaded Ukraine.
They point to two dates
that shaped Trump's view of NATO and Ukraine:
•
April 3, 2008:
NATO declared that one day Ukraine would join the alliance. It troubled Putin, who sees the former "Near Abroad" Soviet republic as more of an extension of Russia. And he doesn't want it to be part of a military alliance that was formed in opposition to the Soviet Union.
•
Feb. 22, 2014:
Pro-Putin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled for Russia after violent protests in Kyiv erupted as he was backing away from moving closer to the European Union. Five days later, Putin invaded and then annexed Crimea. To justify the aggression, his government had released a secretly recorded and embarrassing phone call between State Department officials that showed the depth of U.S. involvement in Ukraine.
• "When [Trump] is talking about who started the Ukraine war, this is what he was talking about," a senior adviser to the president said. "Yes, he got his wires crossed. The larger point still stands."
Trump's special envoy
in the Russia talks, Steve Witkoff, obliquely referred to both of those dates Sunday in discussing the controversy.
• "The war didn't need to happen. It was provoked. It doesn't necessarily mean it was provoked by the Russians. There were all kinds of conversations back then about Ukraine joining NATO. The president has spoken about this. That didn't need to happen. It basically became a threat to the Russians," Witkoff told CNN's Jake Tapper.
What they're saying:
The condemnation of Witkoff swiftly followed on social media.
• "How embarrassing for Witkoff to be forced to repeat old refuted anti-American leftist propaganda about NATO being a threat to Russia," Gary Kasparov, a Russian chess legend and leading anti-Putin activist, wrote on X. "Russia invaded Ukraine. By Putin's choice, under no threat at all from Ukraine or NATO."
• "Yes the war didn't need to happen. Putin didn't have to invade Ukraine. He most certainly was not provoked. So embarrassing to see a U.S. government official echoing this Putin propaganda," Michael McFaul, Ambassador to Russia during the first Russian invasion of Ukraine, said on X.
Trump's advisers
are unmoved.
• They say his critics won't accept that Trump campaigned to end the war, that Putin isn't leaving the Ukrainian territories he has seized, and that Ukraine doesn't have the manpower to resist for much longer.
• "This is a longstanding problem inherited by Donald Trump," said Michael Caputo, a longtime Trump adviser and creator of "The Ukraine Hoax," a MAGA documentary. [He's no relation to this reporter.]
• "The Clinton-Bush-Obama-Biden foreign policy for years played Ukraine as a pawn against Russia in a globalist game that ended up in deadly war," Caputo said. "And the America First movement wants it over."
Reality check:
Experts such as Gerard Toal agree with Putin critics that Russia's two invasions were unjust. But, Toal said, it's "a matter of reasonable debate" to accept the view of some academics who believe the West and Russia "co-created" the deterioration of relations, starting in 2008 with talk of NATO expanding closer to Russia.
• "That was a humiliation for Putin," Toal, author of a book about newly independent states near Russia, told Axios.
• "This was a red line for Putin and for the Russians ... this was on their border and was seen as a direct security threat to Russia."
Defence Secretary denies Trump is sole cause of defence budget boost.
Цитата:
Live: Starmer faces Badenoch at PMQs ahead of crunch US talks with Trump
Цитата:
SIR KEIR STARMER: Putin's aggression threatens us at home. Our national security must now become a whole society effort.
Sir Keir Starmer visits the Tapa Nato forward operating base in Estonia close to the Russian border
In my first week as Prime Minister, I travelled to Washington for a summit to mark 75 years of the Nato alliance. My message was simple. That the Government I lead will always put our country’s security first.
It is something I have reflected on in the past few weeks. We have entered a new era for Britain’s national security. A new era of global insecurity ushered in by Vladimir Putin’s vicious, full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
I remember the Berlin Wall coming down as a young man. It felt like our whole continent was uniting behind our values of freedom and democracy. If you had told me back then that one day we would see Russian tanks rolling into European cities again, I would never have believed you.
Yet that is of course exactly what happened three years ago. It has made the world a more dangerous place. Russia, North Korea, Iran – we now face enemies who would happily extinguish the light of democracy given the chance. And they are increasingly prepared to work together to threaten our interests.
This is the crucial point. Putin’s aggression does not stop at Ukraine’s borders. It threatens us here at home. After all, it is only seven years since he launched a chemical weapons attack in Salisbury, the heart of Middle England. Russian spy ships menace our waters. Planes intrude in our airspace. Cyber attacks are launched on the NHS, threatening lives.
We cannot hide from this threat. I know that working people have already felt the impact of Russian brutality through rising bills and prices. But unless Ukraine is properly protected from Putin, then Europe will only become more unstable. That will hurt us even more.
Besides, as our history shows time and again, tyrants like Putin only respond to strength. So that is how we must meet the test of this new era – with strength.
That starts with our alliances. I do not believe, as some people argue, that Britain must make a choice between Europe and America. On national security, the US is our most important ally. Turning away from that relationship would be against our history and our fundamental national interest.
Yet President Trump is right to argue that European nations must take greater responsibility for our security. Britain should play a leading role in this. So today I am announcing the biggest increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War.
We will deliver on our manifesto commitment to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by the end of this Parliament. But in light of the grave threats we face, we will now meet this target earlier, in 2027.
Given the gravity of the threat we face, however, the blunt truth is we must go further even than this. Taking more responsibility for our security is not a short-term challenge. It is generational. So, subject to economic conditions, we will also set a clear ambition for defence spending to rise to 3 per cent of GDP in the next Parliament.
This is an opportunity. Higher defence spending will help to grow the economy and raise living standards in every region, the defining mission of our Plan for Change. In fact, it holds the promise of an industrial renaissance. The first test of our defence policy will always be whether it keeps the country safe. But the second now becomes whether it delivers economic security for working people.
We need universities contributing more to defence research. Procurement deployed to boost our supply chains. Defence spending translated into British jobs, British growth, British skills and British innovation. In short, national security must now become a ‘whole-society’ effort. We will make sure that it does.
This can only be funded through real choices. As ever, Tory claims that they had a plan for higher defence spending simply don’t add up. They wanted to spend the money. But they weren’t prepared to confront the decisions that would require.
This Government will. We will fund higher military spending by reducing the overseas development budget from 0.5 per cent of national income to 0.3 per cent.
This is not an announcement I make lightly. Britain has a proud tradition as a force for good in the world. We will continue to play a role where we can be most effective, such as in war-torn areas like Sudan, Ukraine and Gaza.
But the realities of our dangerous new era mean that hard power must now take precedence. The national security of our country must always come first.
That is what I told the country during the election. It is what I will tell President Trump later this week. And is what I am delivering today to make Britain secure at home and strong abroad.
We will meet tyranny and violence with resolve and strength.
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Is hard power more important than soft power? | James O'Brien on LBC
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Keir Starmer Announces Foreign Aid Cut to Increase Defence Spending.
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Is the UK Prime Minister spending more on defence because of President Trump? | BBC Newscast
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Can Starmer charm Trump? PM heads for the US TODAY armed with defence spending boost as Western alliance hangs in the balance - despite glimmer of hope with Ukraine 'agreeing minerals deal'
Keir Starmer is heading for the US armed with a defence spending boost today as Western alliances hang in the balance.
The PM will fly to Washington as he braces for a crucial meeting tomorrow where he will urge Donald Trump to stand by Nato and Ukraine.
In a hopeful sign, Kyiv and America look to be on the brink of agreeing a deal to exploit mineral resources - which could encourage Mr Trump to maintain support.
Writing in the Mail, Sir Keir trumpeted his vow to hike military spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027.
The premier dismissed Labour complaints about slashing the foreign aid budget to fund the move, saying the world is entering an 'era of hard power' and capabilities had to be ramped up.
He argued that the deteriorating world order posed a 'generational' challenge and Britain 'cannot hide' from the growing threat posed by Russia and other hostile states.
'The national security of our country must always come first.'
Sir Keir has set an ambition of spending 3 per cent of GDP on defence 'in the next Parliament'.
But it is not clear how that would be paid for, with the foreign aid budget now set to fall from 0.5 per cent of national income to 0.3 per cent.
Although Sir Keir claimed his commitment will mean £13.4billion a year extra for defence from 2027, in fact it is more like £6billion in real terms.
The step was welcomed by the Trump administration, with defense secretary Pete Hegseth saying it was 'a strong step from an enduring partner'.
However, Mr Trump has argued that European states should be spending 5 per cent of GDP on defence - far more than the US does.
And many critics warned said the boost will not be enough.
Former defence secretary Ben Wallace said it was a 'staggering desertion of leadership'.
Aid charities also vented fury at the cut, with Labour former Cabinet minister David Miliband saying it was a 'blow to Britain's proud reputation as a global humanitarian and development leader'.
There has been huge pressure - including from a Mail campaign - to invest more in the UK's security.
Alarm has been growing in Europe over how reliable an ally America will be under Mr Trump.
Earlier this week the US took an axe to decades-old alliances at the UN - voting with Russia, China and North Korea on resolutions about Ukraine.
It is thought to be the first time since 1945 that America has sided with Russia at the international body on an issue of European security.
The president used an awkward meeting with Emmanuel Macron in Washington on Monday to suggest it will be for Europe to provide guarantees in Ukraine if he strikes a peace deal with Moscow, three years after Putin 's full-scale invasion.
Mr Trump also jibed at another erstwhile ally, calling Canadian premier Justin Trudeau 'governor' in a reference to his claim that the country should become a US state.
Mr Trump reiterated his intention of imposing 'reciprocal' tariffs on the EU and UK over VAT - even though it is a sales tax rather than being levied on imports alone.
Sir Keir and Mr Macron held a phone debrief on the latter's visit last night, and European leaders are expected to hold a summit in the UK on Sunday to take stock of events.
In a round of interviews this morning, Defence Secretary John Healey denied the UK had been too weak in its approach to Mr Trump.
He told Times Radio: 'I think the UK has been really firm about the sort of principles and what's required.
'We're recognising and we share President Trump's aims to bring a durable peace and an end to the Ukraine conflict.
'He's pledged to bring Putin to the negotiating table.
'There's some way to go on that, and in the end, the US is the only force strong enough to put pressure on Putin to negotiate, and the only strongest force to stand behind any long-term peace to make sure that it doesn't become a pretext for Putin to regroup, re-arm, reload, and then re-invade.'
Chilling moment humanoid robot 'attacks' crowd and has to be dragged away at Chinese festival
This is the chilling moment a humanoid robot appeared to attack a crowd at a Chinese festival.
Video footage taken on February 9 shows the human-shaped robot, adorned with a bright jacket, appearing to lunge at a group of people behind a barricade at the Spring Festival Gala in Tianjin, northeast China.
Its erratic movements forced the festival's security to drag it back from the crowd, over fears it may harm someone.
The event organisers reportedly described the incident as a 'simple robot failure.'
They added that the robot had passed previous safety tests, and that additional measures would be put in place to make sure this wouldn't happen again.
Many have expressed deep fears over the rising influence of machines in human lives.
In December, a Tesla engineer was attacked by a robot during a brutal and bloody malfunction at the company's Giga Texas factory near Austin.
Two witnesses watched in horror as their fellow employee was attacked by the machine designed to grab and move freshly cast aluminium car parts.
The robot had pinned the man, who was then programming software for two disabled Tesla robots nearby, before sinking its metal claws into the worker's back and arm, leaving a 'trail of blood' along the factory surface.
The incident - which left the victim with an 'open wound' on his left hand - was revealed in a 2021 injury report filed to Travis county and federal regulators, which has been reviewed by DailyMail.com.
And in November, a man was crushed to death by a robot in South Korea after it failed to differentiate him from a box of vegetables.
The victim, a robotics company worker in his 40s, was inspecting the machine's sensor at a distribution centre for agricultural produce in South Gyeongsang in the early hours of the morning.
The machine, which was lifting boxes of peppers onto a pallet, grabbed the man with its arm and pushed him against the conveyer belt, crushing his face and chest.
The robot appears to have malfunctioned and identified the man as a box, police sources said.
The victim was transferred to the hospital but died later, according to the South Korean Yonhap news agency.
An official from the Donggoseong Export Agricultural Complex, which owns the plant, called for a 'precise and safe' system to be established in a statement after the incident.
The victim had reportedly filled in to conduct tests originally planned for November 6.
They were pushed back two days due to reported problems with the robot's sensor.
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С интересом и понятными ожиданиями, Dimitriy.
21.30
Кандидат в президенты Румынии Кэлин Джорджеску получил подписку о невыезде на 60 дней в рамках судебного контроля, передает телеканал Realitatea TV.
Ему также запретили размещать контент в соцсетях.
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19.59
Право руля!
Европейский оплот свободы и демократии продолжает радовать нас выдающимися успехами. Мало было отменить в Румынии «неправильные» результаты выборов президента, так сегодня ещё и арестовали того самого неугодного кандидата — Кэлина Джорджеску.
Повод для задержания великолепен со всех сторон: Джорджеску обвиняется в «причастности к организации с фашистским характером» и фальсификации заявлений об источниках финансирования избирательной кампании. Найден ли у обвиняемого при себе портрет Путина и удостоверение сотрудника КГБ — не сообщается. Но тут же главное — искать тщательнее, тогда и не такое можно обнаружить, сами понимаете.
Напомню, что ранее на президентских выборах в Румынии кандидат правого толка Джорджеску вышел в лидеры по числу голосов, после чего эти результаты были аннулированы Конституционным судом. Что значит — на каком основании? Выскочил, значит, как пишет неполживая пресса, «из ниоткуда», дерзил в адрес НАТО, называл Путина патриотом своей страны и, что самое страшное, не верил в победу Украинушки. Российское вмешательство налицо! Отменить!
От такого лихого захода впечатлились все, ведь никаких доказательств российского вмешательства найти, как обычно, не удалось. А вице-президент США Вэнс в своей недавней мюнхенской речи даже сделал особый акцент на румынском примере европейского беспредела.
Ведь на фоне растущего недовольства результатами бездумной санкционной политики и снижения уровня жизни европейских граждан люди предпочитают избирать политиков, которые способны поставить во главу угла национальные интересы своих стран, а не хотелки киевских наркоманов. И особо сильны подобные настроения в восточной части Европы, которая чем дальше, тем явственнее даёт правый крен. Однако «мудрое» руководство евроцветника уже, похоже, закусило удила и теперь неспособно внимать предостережениям даже своего старшего покровителя — США. Арест Джорджеску и стремление не допустить неугодного кандидата к выборам любой ценой мне тут видятся показательным выступлением против смены повестки Штатами.
Подобное положение вещей не может не приводить в ужас на ладан дышащий ЕС с его «выдающимися» руководителями с рейтингами на уровне плинтуса. Ведь они, как постельные клопы, впились в дебелые телеса старушки Европы и не преследуют никаких иных задач, кроме сохранения своей власти.
Не удивлюсь, если результатом подобной упёртости станет повышение уровня напряжённости в отношениях с США со всеми негативными последствиями вплоть до торговых войн (видимо, подобных последствий после конфронтации с Россией для экономики Европы оказалось недостаточно).
Такими темпами вместо изоляции РФ можно ненароком изолировать самих себя. Но я считаю, нет повода для беспокойства, ведь главное, что у Европы останется Украина — вместе идти ко дну гораздо веселее!
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19.30
Пишут, что сейчас в Румынии проходят десятки обысков у сторонников политика. У соратника и личного охранника Джорджеску Горациу Потра в доме нашли 10 миллионов долларов наличными, а также оружие. Он ездил в Москву в 2024 году, его также подозревают в связях с РФ.
И сегодня же арестовали вроде Милорада додика (глава сербской республики)
Всего утром 26 февраля в Румынии прошли обыски по 47 адресам.
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18.57
Задержанному Джорджеску предъявили шесть обвинений, ему грозит до 20 лет тюрьмы.
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Updated 9:43 AM EST, Wed February 26, 2025
Pro-Russia Romanian presidential candidate questioned by prosecutors, his team says
Calin Georgescu speaks to the media in Izvorani, Romania, on November 26.
Calin Georgescu, a far-right presidential candidate in Romania, has been taken in for questioning by police as part of an investigation into his campaign, which last year prompted the country’s constitutional court to cancel an election.
Georgescu was pulled over for questioning by police on Wednesday as he was about to file his new candidacy for the new presidential election, set for May, his communications team announced.
“Where is democracy, where are the partners who must defend democracy?” his team asked in a post on Facebook, in an apparent appeal to Trump administration officials who have recently voiced support for Georgescu.
Georgescu, a former soil scientist who was virtually unknown before last year’s presidential election, unexpectedly won the first round of the vote in Romania, a NATO member that shares a border with Ukraine.
During his TikTok-fueled campaign, Georgescu was critical of NATO, skeptical about Western support for Ukraine and warm towards Vladimir Putin, calling the Russian president a “patriot.”
Before the second-round vote, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election, saying its decision was motivated by fears of foreign interference.
Declassified intelligence documents from Romania’s top security council revealed evidence of “aggressive hybrid Russian attacks” and suggested the wave of TikTok videos supporting Georgescu “could have been coordinated by a state actor.”
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15.52
Не прошло и недели от этого интервью Джеорджеску до момента ареста сегодня.
Trump tells Europe it's up to you to protect Ukraine because 'they are your next-door neighbour' and warns Kyiv 'you can FORGET about NATO'
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday it was up to Europe to offer security guarantees to Ukraine, declining to make US promises as part of a deal for Ukraine's natural resources.
'I'm not going to make security guarantees beyond very much,' Trump said during his first cabinet meeting since his inauguration last month.
'We're going to have Europe do that because... Europe is their next-door neighbor, but we're going to make sure everything goes well.'
He also defiantly stated that the war-torn country 'could forget about' joining NATO as he pinned the blame of the war on the alliance, telling reporters: 'You can forget about it. That's probably the reason the whole thing started.'
Trump then returned back to the discussion of a critical minerals deal with Ukraine, after telling his cabinet that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy will visit the US on Friday to sign a 'very big agreement'.
'The deal we're making brings us great wealth,' Trump said. 'We get back the money that we spent, and we hope that we're going to be able to settle this up.'
The US leader went on to say it is a 'great deal for Ukraine too', suggesting there will be 'automatic security' because 'nobody's going to be messing around with people when we're there'.
When quizzed on dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump branded him as 'cunning' while claiming he had 'no intention of settling this war'.
'He's a very smart guy, he's a very cunning person,' Trump told reporters.
'I've dealt with some really bad people but I will tell you as far as this is concerned, he had no intention, in my opinion, of settling this war.
'I think he wanted the whole thing when I got elected, we spoke, and I think we're going to have a deal.'
Trump went on to say that if he didn't get elected: 'I believe he [Putin] would have just continued to go through Ukraine'.
He added: 'Over a period of time, a lot of people would have been killed.'
Yesterday Trump addressed the issue of sanctions against Russia during a press conference at the White House, stating that there are currently no discussions regarding their removal.
However, he acknowledged that it may be a possibility in the future.
When asked whether sanctions on Russia were being considered as part of negotiations to resolve the war against Ukraine, Trump responded: 'No, we haven't lifted any sanctions on anybody […] I guess it will be at some point, but right now we [haven't agreed to lift sanctions on anybody].'
It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today said a framework economic deal with the United States is ready - but security guarantees that Kyiv views as vital remain to be decided.
A senior Ukrainian official said late Tuesday that Kyiv had agreed on the terms of the deal, which would see the United States jointly develop Ukraine's mineral resources, and that Zelensky could sign it on Friday in Washington.
A full agreement could hinge on talks in Washington as early as Friday.
'I would like to have this visit very much,' Zelensky told reporters on Wednesday.
'This is just a start, a framework, it can be a big success. The success will depend on our conversation with President Trump,' he added.
But there is confusion as to whether Zelensky will actually be visiting Washington after a White House official raised doubts about whether an invitation to meet Trump would make sense given Zelensky's comments that a minerals deal is not complete.
'If the Ukrainian leader says the deal isn't finalized, I don't see why an invitation would make sense,' the official told Reuters.
'There's an expectation that his coming is to recognize a final position (on the minerals deal) and he is not at a final position in his own words in this new wording.'
Zelensky admitted that a major issue could scupper the agreement, saying that Ukraine needed to know where the United States stands on its continued military support.
He said he expects to have a wide-ranging substantive conversation with US President Donald Trump during a visit to Washington. 'I want to coordinate with the US,' Zelensky said.
Zelensky said that the main topics that he wants to discuss with Trump are whether the US plans to halt military aid and, if so, whether Ukraine would be able to purchase weapons directly from America.
Ukraine hopes the deal will improve relations with the Trump administration, which have soured in a war of words between Trump and Zelensky.
Zelensky said that revenues from the resources deal would be deposited in a fund co-owned by Ukraine and the United States, and that Kyiv would not be 'a debtor' over aid provided under the Biden administration.
'This would be unfair to us,' Zelensky said.
He also said he would ask Trump whether Washington would halt aid altogether, and if so, whether Ukraine could still buy weapons from the United States.
Kyiv also wants security guarantees, though the current draft of the deal does not place any specific security commitments on the United States, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.
Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed that Ukraine and America have reached preliminary agreement on a broad economic deal that includes US access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals amid its war with Russia.
Shmyhal said on Ukrainian public television that after days of negotiations, Ukraine and the US will sign the preliminary agreement, but with further details of a full agreement - including US security guarantees that Kyiv officials view as vital - still to be worked out.
Starmer can only hope slashing aid to boost defence wins Trump’s favour
PM’s Washington trip clear impetus for abrupt news of budget switch to meet defence commitment by 2027
Before Keir Starmer’s meeting with Donald Trump on Thursday, the prime minister thought it necessary to offer the president a gift. Britain’s defence spending will increase by 0.17 percentage points to 2.5% of GDP by April 2027, he told MPs in a hastily arranged Commons statement. The money, he added, would be taken directly from the overseas aid budget, whose level will be cut by nearly half to 0.3%.
The last measure is a remarkable turn for a Labour government. Uncomfortably, it comes at a time when Donald Trump wants to shut down perhaps the entire $40bn US aid budget – and at a stroke eliminates a signature commitment from the Blair-Brown years. It was back in 2004, when Tony Blair was prime minister, that Labour first committed to increasing aid spending to 0.7% of GDP.
The figure was eventually achieved under David Cameron in 2013, though it was cut to 0.5% during the pandemic. Now it is to be slashed again under Labour, amid a soft Trumpian observation by the prime minister to MPs that “in recent years, the development budget was redirected towards asylum”, though this may prove to be the hardest part of the aid budget to squeeze.
Cutting aid was “not an announcement I am happy to make”, Starmer emphasised, though the manoeuvre was probably deemed to be the easiest way to promise an immediate cash injection into defence without raising more politically troubling questions over tax and borrowing.
This year, 2024-25, the UK will spend £66.3bn on defence, according to the Ministry of Defence. According to estimates produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank, by 2027 the shift in spending to 2.5% of GDP would amount to a straight switch of £5.3bn from the aid budget to defence.
Starmer, however, told MPs the increase would amount to £13.4bn extra for defence, slightly confusing the number crunchers at the thinktank. No document was released by Labour with details of the spending commitment – a notable contrast to last April when the then prime minister, Rishi Sunak, set out defence budgets year on year until 2030 as an election loomed. Another clue, perhaps, the decision was taken quickly.
“Our best guess,” wrote Ben Zaranko of the IFS, “is that it’s the extra spending relative to a world where defence spending stayed flat in cash terms. That is, we’ll be spending £13.4bn more in 2027-28 than if the defence budget were frozen between now and then.” It was in other words, a figure that can best be described as exaggerated, or as Zaranko put it: “It’s not a nonsense number. But …”
Subsequent briefings showed that the IFS’s hunch was correct. The defence budget is expected to be £79.7bn in 2027-28 on current Treasury forecasts, defence sources indicated, £13.4bn more than the year’s £66.3bn.
Nevertheless, even at the more accurate lower figure, an extra £5.3bn for defence in real terms should be a significant amount. But while overseas aid programmes may have to be axed, it is not obvious what extra capability in defence it will buy. Starmer did not have any suggestions for MPs, deferring that to the continuing strategic defence review, which will now merge into a national security strategy and finish by June.
Defence, meanwhile, continues to struggle with overspending and unrealistic ambition. Service heads have been privately warning for months that political commitments, including Labour’s Nato-first strategy plus the multi-country Aukus nuclear-powered submarine programme and the Gcap combat air initiatives, cannot be afforded. There is a £16.9bn deficit of unfunded commitments in the MoD’s 10-year equipment plan, and defence insiders warn of a £3bn shortfall on next year’s budget.
Nevertheless, though the prime minister’s announcement was budgetary, the realities of the moment are immediate and political. Starmer needs Trump’s help. A fissure has opened up between the US and Europe at bewildering speed this month, with Trump seemingly intent on imposing a peace on Ukraine in a private dialogue with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and insisting that European militaries police whatever agreement he tries to come up with.
Though Britain and France have indicated they are willing to help lead the creation of a multinational “reassurance force” to protect Ukraine’s critical infrastructure – if that is what emerges from the US-Russia talks – Starmer says it is not viable without the backstop of US air power, held in reserve to strike out if Russia were to try to attack Ukraine and its peacekeepers again.
It is a moment where Britain wants and needs transatlantic support. Though there was no immediate comment from Trump, who has endlessly called for European nations to increase their defence budgets, his secretary of defence, Pete Hegseth, was upbeat after he was briefed on the news. “A strong step from an enduring partner,” the Pentagon chief said, and with so much at stake in Ukraine, the hope now is that goodwill from the notoriously unpredictable White House can last the week.
Does Ukraine REALLY have trillions in minerals? Country 'isn't known to hold ANY reserves of main rare earths', according to US Geological Survey - and Trump's presidency may be over before mines can open
Donald Trump's claim that the mineral deal he hopes to sign with Ukraine might be worth a trillion dollars has been called into question due to a US Geological Survey stating that Ukraine 'isn't known to hold any reserves of main rare earths'.
The Ukrainian Geological Survey last year claimed that the war-torn country had reserves of rare minerals - but US scientists made no mention of such sought-after earths in their own US Geological Survey four years ago.
'What Ukraine has is scorched earth; what it doesn't have is rare earths,' Bloomberg's regional expert Javier Blas said.
Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion for electric vehicles, cell phones, missile systems, and other electronics. There are no viable substitutes.
According to the Institute of Geology, Ukraine possesses rare earth elements such as lanthanum and cerium, used in TVs and lighting; neodymium, used in wind turbines and EV batteries; and erbium and yttrium, whose applications range from nuclear power to lasers.
The EU-funded research also indicates that Ukraine has scandium reserves, but detailed data are classified.
Zelenskiy said in an interview earlier this month that Russia had occupied about half of Ukraine's rare earth deposits.
Mining analysts and economists say that Ukraine has no commercial operational rare earth mines, and projects to extract minerals could take years to develop and require large up-front investment.
This would mean that Trump's presidency would likely be over before he could see the fruit of the minerals deal.
Zelensky has praised the deal but simultaneously hit the brakes on the agreement as he said today: 'This is just a start, a framework, it can be a big success. The success will depend on our conversation with President Trump.'
But the deal may not be the colonial-style asset grab it appears to be at first, as Ukraine last mapped its rare earth metals decades ago, mostly between the 1960s and 1980s when it was still part of the Soviet Union.
The former director general of the Ukrainian Geological Survey even admitted that there was no modern assessment of rare earth reserves in Ukraine and that existing mapping had relied on old exploration methods, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
And even the deposits visible on this mapping would be difficult to develop as some require either advanced technology and a consistent energy grid for extraction or are behind the frontline on Russian-occupied territory, according to industry experts who spoke to S&P Global.
'Unfortunately, there is no modern assessment' of rare earth reserves in Ukraine, Roman Opimakh, former director general of the Ukrainian Geological Survey, told Commodity Insights. 'And there is still restriction to make this information public.'
There are six rare earth reserves in Ukraine, but only the Novopoltavske field in the Zaporizhzhia region reportedly appears to be a viable option.
A $300 million investment would be needed to extract the rare earth and phosphate deposit there, according to 'Ukraine: Mining Investment Opportunities,' a report by the Ukrainian Geological Survey and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine.
But the field presents 'relatively difficult' hydrogeological and mining conditions, which only China, the US and Russia would have the proven capacity to 'commercially recover' rare earth elements from, Federico Gay, a principal lithium analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, told S&P.
China, with whom Trump has threatened a trade war, is the world's largest producer of rare earths and many other critical minerals.
The US Geological Survey considers 50 minerals to be critical, including several types of rare earths, nickel and lithium. Critical minerals are essential for industries such as defence, high-tech appliances, aerospace and green energy.
Ukraine has deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals identified by the European Union as critical, according to Economy Ministry data. This includes industrial and construction materials, ferroalloy, precious and non-ferrous metals, and some rare earth elements.
Ukraine also has significant reserves of coal; however, most of these are now under the control of Russia in occupied territory. Zelenskiy also said that Ukraine had Europe's largest reserves of titanium and uranium.
According to the World Economic Forum, Ukraine is also a key potential supplier of lithium, beryllium, manganese, gallium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite and nickel.
The State Geological Service said Ukraine has one of Europe's largest confirmed reserves, estimated at 500,000 metric tons, of lithium - vital for batteries, ceramics, and glass.
Titanium reserves are mostly located in northwestern and central Ukraine, while lithium is in the centre, east and southeast.
Ukraine's reserves of graphite, a key component in electric vehicle batteries and nuclear reactors, represent 20 per cent of global resources. The deposits are in the centre and west.
Oleksiy Sobolev, first deputy economy minister, said in January that the government was working on deals with Western allies including the United States, Britain, France and Italy on projects related to exploiting critical materials.
The government estimates the sector's total investment potential at about $12-15 billion by 2033.
The State Geological Service said the government was preparing about 100 sites to be jointly licensed and developed but provided no further details.
Although Ukraine has a highly qualified and relatively inexpensive labour force and developed infrastructure, investors highlight a number of barriers to investment.
These include inefficient and complex regulatory processes as well as difficulty accessing geological data and obtaining land plots.
Such projects would take years to develop and require considerable up-front investment, they said.
As the US and Ukraine are edging closer to agreeing on a minerals deal, there is confusion as to whether Zelensky will be visiting Washington to meet Trump on Friday.
The Ukrainian said he would 'like to have this visit very much', but a White House official raised doubts about whether an invitation to meet Trump would make sense given Zelensky's comments that a minerals deal is not complete.
'If the Ukrainian leader says the deal isn't finalized, I don't see why an invitation would make sense,' the official told Reuters.
'There's an expectation that his coming is to recognize a final position (on the minerals deal) and he is not at a final position in his own words in this new wording.'
Trump repeatedly said that Ukraine needed to repay the United States for the billions it received in military aid under the Biden administration and asked for access to the rare mineral deposits in the country.
The draft of the deal does not include his contentious proposal to give the US £395billion worth of profits from Ukraine's rare earth minerals as compensation for its wartime assistance, according to a Kyiv official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Instead, it indicates that the US and Ukraine should develop state-owned resources in the war-torn country like minerals, oil, and gas together with revenues diverted to a joint US-Ukrainian fund.
The US 'would own the maximum financial interest in the fund allowed under American law, though not necessarily all', according to the New York Times.
One official said the deal had better terms of investments and another one said that Kyiv secured favorable amendments and viewed the outcome as 'positive.'
IN FULL: Keir Starmer speech at UK embassy in Washington DC.
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UK PM Starmer to meet Trump in Washington for high-stakes talks on Ukraine war
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UK PM Keir Starmer says US needs security role in Ukraine ahead of Donald Trump meet | BBC News
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Don't let Putin start ANOTHER war: Warning from Keir Starmer as he prepares to tell Trump how US military threat is the only way to stop Russians 'coming again'
Keir Starmer will today warn Donald Trump he risks plunging Europe into war unless he agrees a long-term ‘security backstop’ for Ukraine.
The Prime Minister faces the biggest diplomatic challenge of his premiership this afternoon when he visits the White House to urge President Trump not to abandon Ukraine and Europe to Vladimir Putin.
Speaking to reporters while travelling to Washington last night, Sir Keir confirmed he is ready to send thousands of British troops to keep the peace in Ukraine if President Trump secures a truce in the three-year-old war.
But he warned it would be an impossible mission unless the United States provides a military ‘backstop’ to British and European forces.
The PM said Putin would inevitably ‘come again’ unless the West is united in securing Ukraine’s future - potentially plunging the continent into war.
‘The reason I say the backstop is so important is that the security guarantee has to be sufficient to deter Putin from coming again,’ he said.
‘My concern is if there is a ceasefire without a backstop, it will simply give him the opportunity to wait and to come again because his ambition in relation to Ukraine is pretty obvious, I think, for all to see.’
He added: ‘I’m considering how we preserve peace in Europe and how we get a lasting peace in Ukraine.'
Sir Keir Starmer confirmed he is ready to send thousands of British troops to keep the peace in Ukraine
Donald Trump indicated he was not interested in signing off a major US military initiative to hold the peace in Ukraine
'And I’m absolutely convinced that we need a lasting peace, not a ceasefire, and for that to happen we need security guarantees.
'Precisely what that layers up to, what that looks like, is obviously a subject of intense discussion.
'We will play our part and I’ve been clear that we will need a US backstop of some sort.’
The PM’s visit to the White House today is part of a frantic European effort to persuade President Trump not to switch sides and abandon Ukraine and Europe.
The diplomatic push began with a visit by Emmanuel Macron to the White House on Monday and will continue when President Zelensky visits Washington tomorrow to discuss what security guarantees the US is prepared to offer in return for a share of UK’s valuable rare minerals.
All three leaders are expected to review progress at an emergency summit on European security in London on Sunday.
But the scale of the challenge was underlined last night when President Trump indicated he was not interested in providing a signing off a major US military initiative to hold the peace in Ukraine.
Speaking while Sir Keir was still in the air over the Atlantic, Mr Trump said: ‘I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much.
'We’re going to have Europe do that, because we’re talking about Europe as the next door neighbour.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy struck a cautious note after President Trump said his country could ‘forget about’ joining Nato.
‘But we’re going to make sure everything goes well and as you know, we’ll be really partnering with Ukraine in terms of rare earth. We very much need rare earth. They have great rare earth.’
President Zelensky also struck a cautious note after Mr Trump said his country could ‘forget about’ joining Nato.
The Ukrainian president said the proposed deal on rare minerals ‘may be part of future security guarantees, but I want to understand the broader vision. What awaits Ukraine?’
The PM faces a diplomatic tightrope as he tries to avoid antagonising a President whose claim that President Zelensky is a ‘dictator’ and recent statements on issues like Nato and Gaza have horrified and alarmed senior ministers.
Yesterday he pointedly referred to President Zelensky as Ukraine’s ‘democratically elected’ leader.
And Downing Street said he would push Mr Trump to agree that Ukraine’s leader must be involved in any peace talks on the future of his country.
But government sources acknowledged he is anxious to avoid a public row with the President, whose return to the White House last month has upended the post-war world order.
On Tuesday he dramatically announced plans to divert billions of pounds from the aid budget to the military to help placate President Trump, who has told Nato countries they need to increase defence spending massively if they want US military support to continue.
President Trump delivers remarks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday
Today, he is expected to play to Mr Trump’s affection for the Royal Family by offering him the honour of another state visit later this year.
Sir Keir last night insisted that he ‘trusts’ President Trump, and said there was ‘no issue between us’ in wanting peace for Ukraine.
‘The President is clearly committed to Nato, clearly committed to the special relationship,’ he said. ‘He wants peace in Ukraine, we all want peace in Ukraine, not least the Ukrainians.’
Last night he insisted he understood the ‘gravity’ of committing British troops to serve as peacekeepers in Ukraine but said it was in the national interest.
‘I want a lasting peace, and I don’t think that will happen if there isn’t an effective deterrence to Putin,’ he said, adding: ‘I understand the gravity of the situation but this is about ensuring that we all enjoy peace. It’s about the security and defence not just of Ukraine and Europe but our own security and defence.’
The PM said the public should be ‘reassured’ by his decision to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, adding: ‘What we’re doing is to ensure their safety, their security and defence of our country.’
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday claimed Britain and France were ‘heating up the conflict’ by offering to send peacekeeping troops.
President Trump with Queen Elizabeth II, inspecting the Guard of Honour at Windsor Castle in 2018
But Sir Keir angrily rejected the claim, saying: ‘There’s one aggressor here and that’s Russia, in clear breach of the UN charter. Russia can end this conflict tomorrow by withdrawing and stopping their aggression.
'All the discussion that follows, about talks, about security guarantees, has to be seen in that context. They are the aggressor. They have invaded and occupied a sovereign country in Europe, and they bear full responsibility for the conflict.’
The PM will also use today’s visit to urge President Trump to spare the UK from swingeing tariffs on exports.
Last night he argued that the trading relationship between the two countries was ‘pretty balanced in terms of surplus and deficit’.
Downing Street said he would also push for closer cooperation on artificial intelligence, including collaboration on ‘moonshot’ projects like finding a cure for cancer.
Speaking ahead of the visit, the PM said there were ‘huge opportunities for us to deepen our special relationship, deliver growth and security, and improve the lives of working people in both our great nations.’
Следующая статья приводится а.п. без сокращений текста.
Знакомясь с этим «замечательным» образцом англосаксонской пропаганды следует помнить, что фашистский режим Украины для Лондона – родное дитя.
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As peace deal nears, what has Putin won after three years of slaughter... and what has he lost? NATO divided, swathes of Ukrainian territory claimed - but the military alliance is LARGER and Russian army humbled
The three-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine this week brought with it renewed hope that a long-awaited peace may soon follow.
But the road to a ceasefire is proving almost as contentious as the war itself.
Direct talks between the US and Russia - held without Ukrainian representatives - have fuelled fears that Kyiv's future is being decided elsewhere, particularly given the evident rift between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump.
European leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, have scrambled to Washington to present their own plans and convince the US President that Europe must also have a say in negotiations.
Trump himself has declared that Moscow 'has the cards' in the talks, but is set to host his Ukrainian counterpart to discuss potential security promises for Kyiv - if Zelensky is prepared to hand over some of his nation's mineral wealth.
Amid the diplomatic jockeying, a smug Vladimir Putin is likely sitting in the Kremlin rubbing his hands in anticipation.
If a ceasefire were to freeze the conflict in place, Russia would retain control of nearly a fifth of Ukraine's land, including key industrial and agricultural regions.
In the past three years, Putin has also deepened ties with non-Western powers, tested and refined military technology and all but ensured Ukraine will not be granted NATO membership for the foreseeable future.
But these victories come at a price. His armed forces have been hollowed out, the economy is heading for crisis, and NATO's border with Russia has more than doubled in size.
Now, as diplomats toil away in embassies and war-weary soldiers fight on, let's examine what exactly Putin's murderous rampage in Ukraine has achieved for the Kremlin - and what Russia has had to sacrifice in return.
Amid the diplomatic jockeying over Ukraine, a smug Vladimir Putin is likely sitting in the Kremlin rubbing his hands in anticipation
WINS
Territorial gains
Above all else, any ceasefire agreement that freezes the conflict in place as it stands will see Russia lock down its claim to almost 20% of Ukraine's total landmass.
Beyond Crimea, which was annexed in 2014 and is now wholly under Russian control, five Ukrainian regions are now partially occupied by Putin's forces.
Four of them - Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia - were unilaterally annexed by Russia in September 2022 and declared part of the Russian Federation - even as war continued to rage.
In 2025, Luhansk has been almost completely subsumed, while somewhere between 70%-80% of the Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are now under Russian control.
The Russian-installed authorities are working to 'russify' these Ukrainian regions, issuing Russian passports, broadcasting Russian media and taking payments in roubles, rather than the Ukrainian hryvnia.
Russian troops have also occupied a very small portion of Ukraine's Kharkiv region.
It is unclear exactly how much of this land Kyiv will be forced to relinquish, but the US has signalled Ukraine is set to lose much of its territory under a ceasefire deal.
US Defence Secretary Hegseth openly declared earlier this month that Ukraine regaining its pre-2014 borders as part of a peace deal was 'unrealistic'.
'We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,' Hegseth told a meeting of Ukrainian officials and more than 40 allies in Brussels.
'Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,' he added.
The Kremlin has also stated that Ukraine would have to give up a small amount of territory its forces managed to seize in Russia's Kursk region as part of any peace deal.
Natural resources and industry
In conquering Ukraine's Eastern flank, Russia has also seized a large portion of Ukraine's natural resources and mineral wealth.
Luhansk and Donetsk constitute the Donbas region of Ukraine, which has long been the nation's industrial heartland.
The Donbas contains the bulk of Ukraine's coal deposits along with a significant quantity of coveted rare minerals.
All told, about 40% of Ukraine's metal resources and up to 90% of Ukraine's coal have been brought under Russian control, according to estimates by Ukrainian think-tanks We Build Ukraine and the National Institute of Strategic Studies, citing data up to the first half of 2024.
Since then, Russian troops have only continued to advance steadily and in January, Ukraine closed its only coking coal mine outside the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk, which Moscow's forces are trying to capture.
Russia has also occupied at least two Ukrainian lithium deposits during the war - one in Donetsk and another in the Zaporizhzhia region in the southeast - and is now pushing to take a third near Shevchenko in the Donetsk region.
Along with these highly valuable natural resources come the majority of Ukrainian industrial facilities required to extract, refine and export the coveted materials.
In addition, huge swathes of Ukraine's most arable land are located across the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, roughly three-quarters of which are controlled by Russia.
Volodymyr Zelensky is said to be on the cusp of signing a deal with the US that would see Ukraine offer up future revenues on some of the resources it still controls in exchange for as yet unspecified security guarantees and financial commitments.
But with Russian-US relations warming significantly, there is speculation Putin could offer Washington preferential oil, gas and mineral deals following a favourable ceasefire agreement.
This could even see Moscow provide Washington with minerals gleaned from Ukraine's occupied territory.
Ukraine will not join NATO
Ukraine has repeatedly said it cannot agree to a ceasefire without ironclad security guarantees from its Western partners to prevent future Russian aggression.
Zelensky has long campaigned for Ukraine to accede to NATO, which would see Kyiv protected by the alliance's collective defence commitments laid out in its treaty's famous 'Article 5'.
But this prospect is one of Moscow's undisputable 'red lines', and with Trump in the White House, Ukraine's ambition to earn membership to the transatlantic security bloc is all but lost.
'The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,' Hegseth told Ukrainian delegates and European defence chiefs earlier this month.
He later gave a half-hearted caveat, adding that in regard to the likelihood of Ukraine's future NATO membership, 'everything is on the table'.
But NATO operates on a unanimous voting system, meaning that the US can bar Ukraine from joining the bloc even if the other 31 member nations are in favour.
While Washington's commitment to upholding Ukraine's future security following a ceasefire remains in question, Europe is expected to shoulder the majority of the burden.
Britain and France are said to have hatched a plan to deploy a peacekeeping force to Ukraine that would be stationed at key infrastructure sites around the country, allowing Ukraine's own armed forces to focus on border security and patrolling a demilitarised zone implemented along the frontlines.
Their presence would in theory deter Russian aggression, and their safety would be guaranteed with additional NATO troops and air power reinforcing the alliance's eastern flank.
The US would also support its European allies with air support, and air and naval reconnaissance.
Domestic support, and non-Western political and economic ties
As the war in Ukraine approached the three-year mark, Putin's approval ratings were soaring.
Polling conducted by the Levada Centre - widely seen as Russia's most credible sociological research body - put Putin's approval rating in January at 87%.
Three years ago - one month prior to the invasion of Ukraine, his rating lingered at 69%.
Despite the horrors of the conflict, Putin's warmongering has triggered a noticeable increase in his popularity. His approval rating has not dipped below 80% since November 2022.
Meanwhile, one of the pillars of the Kremlin's foreign policy is centred around dismantling the so-called 'unipolar' world order in which the US and the West enjoy outsized political and economic dominance, particularly in established international forums and institutions.
Instead, Moscow is pushing for 'multipolarity' - an order in which global affairs are influenced and directed by several states with diverging interests, thereby distributing power more evenly.
Through its war in Ukraine, Russia has demonstrated to the world that it can tolerate Western sanctions, resist efforts to isolate it from the international community and operate independently of the Western economic and political sphere.
Moscow has also doubled down on efforts to strengthen ties with other powers, particularly China, India, Iran and North Korea, positioning itself as a potential leader of the so-called 'Global South and Global East'.
Technological development, warfighting capabilities
Russia's armed forces will derive significant benefits from their experiences in Ukraine, despite heavy losses.
Moscow's military is now acutely aware of the logistical and operational challenges of large-scale modern warfare.
They have refined their approach to fighting, developed new tactics and discovered the effectiveness and limitations of their military technology. In turn, Putin's troops and military scientists have learned more about the capabilities of advanced Western weapon systems used by Ukraine.
Meanwhile, they have deployed, tested and developed advanced modern warfighting technology of their own - particularly when it comes to drones and drone countermeasures.
LOSSES
Casualties and materiel losses
Exact numbers are impossible to come by, but Russian casualties after three years of war in Ukraine are believed to be extremely high.
Even the most conservative estimates suggest a minimum of 700,000 Russians have been killed or injured since February 2022, with that figure increasing as high as 1.2 million, according to some analyses.
Trump declared earlier this year that almost 1 million Russian soldiers had been lost - presumably, he meant killed and wounded.
The shocking attrition rate can be attributed to a number of factors, chief among which is the Russian armed forces' approach to the war.
In many cases, Russian commanders resorted to World War I-style tactics - battering Ukrainian positions with artillery before sending thousands upon thousands of people to wear down defensive lines, seizing ground metre by blood-soaked metre.
Furthermore, Moscow was reluctant to deploy its elite units to the front and risk losing large quantities of highly trained troops.
When Russia's initial invasion force had incurred heavy losses, much of the heavy lifting was done by private military companies - primarily the infamous Wagner Group - along with battalions comprised of prisoners liberated from their cells and sent to the frontline, and reservist conscripts.
Several of these units were often poorly trained, inexperienced and woefully underequipped.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's armed forces, equipped with Western weaponry and using drone warfare to great effect, have obliterated huge quantities of Russian armour and heavy weaponry.
More than 20,000 tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery batteries and mobile launchers have been reduced to scrap since February 2024, along with hundreds of military aircraft shot down by Ukrainian defences.
NATO expansion
Russia may have succeeded in scuppering Ukraine's NATO ambitions.
But in waging war across the border, Putin triggered an expansion of the Western-led security bloc further north.
Finland and Sweden reversed decades of neutrality in 2022 when they applied for NATO membership within months of Russian tanks rolling into Ukraine.
Finland became the bloc's 31st member in April 2023, and Sweden joined less than a year later in March 2024, bringing the total number of NATO nations to 32.
The accession of Finland in particular constituted a significant blow to Putin and the Kremlin's rhetoric that it would not accept an eastward advancement of NATO or Western military influence.
Finland and Russia share a border stretching some 840 miles, thereby doubling the length of NATO's pre-existing border with Russia.
Impending economic crisis
Though Trump himself has said Moscow 'has the cards' in the ceasefire negotiations, a continuance of war in Ukraine would likely wreak havoc on the ailing Russian economy.
According to Oleg Vyugin, former deputy chairman of Russia's central bank, Russia must stop inflating military spending.
If Moscow opts to maintain its current spending habits to fuel war, it will pay the price with years of slow growth, high inflation and falling living standards - all of which carry political risks.
Though government spending usually stimulates growth, non-regenerative spending on missiles at the expense of civilian sectors has caused serious economic overheating.
Interest rates in Russia are soaring at 21% and inflation cannot be tamed, while the central bank projects a slowdown in economic growth.
In other words, the Russian economy is headed for stagflation.
'For economic reasons, Russia is interested in negotiating a diplomatic end to the conflict,' Vyugin said earlier this month.
'(This) will avoid further increasing the redistribution of limited resources for unproductive purposes. It's the only way to avoid stagflation.'
Although Russia's military industrial complex is benefitting greatly from war, civilian corporate sectors are not so lucky.
A report by Russia's Interfax news agency late last year found there had been a 26% increase in business bankruptcies in the first three-quarters of 2024 vs the same period in 2023.
Strengthened Ukrainian identity
When he ordered Russian troops to bear down on Kyiv in February 2022, Putin said one of the primary goals of his so-called 'special military operation' was to 'demilitarise and denazify' Ukraine.
This statement was ridiculed from the outset by Ukraine and the West.
Zelensky is a democratically elected Jew, and there are no discernable far-right elements in the Ukrainian government.
The 'denazification' of Ukraine was therefore taken to mean the degradation of Ukrainian identity and elements within the country set on breaking free of Russia's post-Soviet sphere of influence.
On these accounts, Putin's war in Ukraine has proven to be an abject failure.
Russian authorities have made consolidated efforts to undermine Ukrainian identity in the eastern regions now under their control, and there are widespread reports of forcible deportation of Ukrainian citizens to Russia.
But beyond the occupied territory, the Ukrainian identity and desire to affirm Ukraine's independence is arguably stronger than ever.
Polls conducted by the respected Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies have shown that Ukrainian national pride has soared since Russia's invasion in tandem with anti-Russian sentiments.
Surveys in May 2023 found that self-identification with the Ukrainian cultural tradition among ethnic Ukrainians increased from 66% in 2006 to 83%. Conversely, identification with the Russian cultural tradition decreased from an already paltry 6% to 0.2%.
What's more, 83% of Ukrainians associated Russia with 'backwardness and devolution'. In 2017, only 51% reported such association.
Meanwhile, though Ukraine's weary military has suffered significant losses of its own, its armed forces are now well-trained and well-armed and have successfully held back a much larger and more powerful adversary.
They are also likely to be supported by ongoing training, military aid and financing by NATO nations, up to and perhaps including the United States, for years to come.
Reduction in Russia's influence abroad and damage to reputation
Though Russia may have strengthened its relations with non-Western states, there is no doubt that its reputation as a world-leading military power now lies in tatters.
Moscow's inability to conquer Kyiv in the early days of the war, the huge human and materiel losses it has sustained at the hands of Ukraine and its reliance on other countries for large quantities of ammunition and drones to fill the gaps in its domestic supply suggest Russia's armed forces can no longer rival those of China or America.
This is also evidenced by a reduction in Russia's capacity to project power beyond Ukraine.
A notable example of this is Syria, where Russia conducted a brutal military intervention in 2015 to prop up the failing presidency of Bashar al-Assad.
Assad's regime was only able to survive thanks to Russia's punishing bombardments of rebel positions, and Russia was granted military facilities in Latakia and Tartus as a result.
But having been preoccupied in Ukraine from 2022, Russia was powerless to prevent Assad being overthrown by Islamist rebel group HTS late last year.
HTS mounted a lightning offensive and ousted Assad in less than two weeks, facing little resistance from Assad's divided forces and no pushback from Russian military assets stationed on Syria's west coast.
Now, Russia is in desperate talks with Syria's new government to hang onto the Khmeimim airbase and its naval port in Tartus - Russia's only warm-water port in the world.
Venäjän varjolaivasto lisää onnettomuusriskiä Itämerellä – Krista Mikkonen: Kuntien torjuntavalmius varmistettava
Ympäristövaliokunnan puheenjohtaja Krista Mikkosen (vihr.) mukaan esimerkiksi kyky tehokaaseen öljyntorjuntaan on nyt erityisen tärkeää.
Eduskunnan ympäristövaliokunta paneutui varjolaivaston aiheuttamiin riskeihin Itämerelle ja sen ympäristölle. Valiokunta kuuli aiheesta useita asiantuntijoita, muun muassa Suomen ympäristökeskuksesta ja rajavartiolaitokselta.
Ympäristövaliokunnan puheenjohtaja Krista Mikkosen (vihr.) mukaan ympäristöriskit ovat lisääntyneet voimakkaasti sen jälkeen, kun Venäjä siirsi siihen kohdistuvien pakotteiden myötä öljykuljetuksensa varjolaivastoilleen.
– Nämä alukset ovat huonokuntoisia ja miehistön koulutustaso on heikko. Riskitilanteet ovat kasvaneet merkittävästi. Tämän takia on erityisen tärkeää huolehtia siitä, että meillä on kyky torjuntaan, mikäli onnettomuus tapahtuu.
Asiantuntijoita kuultuaan ympäristövaliokunta katsoo, että viranomaisilla on tilanne hallinnassa. Lainsäädännössä on kuitenkin vielä parantamisen varaa.
Mikkosen mukaan keskeistä on huolehtia siitä, että resurssit vahinkojen torjuntaan ja ennaltaehkäisyyn ovat kunnossa.
– Rajavartiolaitos on vastuussa merellä tapahtuvasta onnettomuudesta sekä sen ehkäisystä ja torjunnasta, ja pelastuslaitokset ja kunnat huolehtivat rannoille tulleista vahingoista. Nyt kun riskitasot ovat merkittävästi kohonneet, meidän täytyy varmistaa näiden olevan kunnossa, Mikkonen painottaa.
Merellä tapahtuva öljyvuotojen torjunta on poliitikkojen mukaan hyvällä tasolla ja öljyntorjuntakalustoa on riittävästi. Mikäli pahin tapahtuisi, yhteistyötä tehdään myös muiden Itämeren valtioiden kanssa.
Mikäli vuoto tapahtuisi ja öljy pääsisi valumaan rannikolle asti, tilanne on hankalampi. Rannikon kunnilla on hyvin erilaiset valmiudet vastata tämäntyyppisiin uhkiin. Mikkosen mukaan vastuunjakoa pitää tarkentaa.
– Lainsäädännöllisesti pitää pohtia, kuka on vastuutaho ja miten varmistetaan, että asiat sujuvat ja torjuntatyöhön päästään mahdollisimman nopeasti.
Kunnat hankkivat torjuntaa myös ostopalveluna, ja kolmannella sektorilla esimerkiksi ympäristöjärjestö WWF kouluttaa vapaaehtoisia öljyntorjuntaan.
– Kolmannen sektorin rooli varsinkin jälkitorjunnassa on valtava. WWF on kouluttanut kymmenen tuhatta ihmistä torjuntatyöhön. Täytyy varmistaa, että myös järjestöillä on riittävät resurssit. Järjestöthän toimivat näissä tilanteissa viranomaisten alaisuudessa.
Vaikka öljyntorjuntaan on varauduttu, ympäristövaliokunnan kuulemien asiantuntijoiden mukaan täysin oma lukunsa ovat kuitenkin muut kemikaalit. Itämerelläkin seilaa laivoja, joiden lastina voi olla esimerkiksi biopolttoaineita, lannoitteita sekä teollisuudessa tarvittavia kemikaaleja, kuten esimerkiksi happoja ja lipeitä.
Muiden kemikaaliriskien torjumiseksi hallitus valmistelee parhaillaan lainsäädäntöä.
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Владимир Нерюев, заместитель генерального директора коммуникационного агентства Аура поделился мнением, какие изменения произошли или произойдут в профессии PR-специалиста.
Генеральный директор агентства мобильного маркетинга Mobisharks (входит в ГК Kokoc Group) — об эффективном мобильном маркетинге и примерах успешных стратегий.
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Антитрендами наружной рекламы в текущем году стали прямолинейность и чрезмерная перегруженность сообщений. Наружная реклама продолжает показывать рост: число рекламных конструкций за последний год увеличилось более чем на 2 тысячи.
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Деловая программа 28-й международной специализированной выставки технологий и услуг для производителей и заказчиков рекламы «Реклама-2021» открылась десятым юбилейным форумом «Матрица рекламы». Его организовали КВК «Империя» и «Экспоцентр».
28 марта в Центральном доме художника состоялась 25-ая выставка маркетинговых коммуникаций «Дизайн и реклама NEXT». Одним из самых ярких её событий стал День социальной рекламы, который организовала Ассоциация директоров по коммуникациям и корпоративным медиа России (АКМР) совместно с АНО «Лаборатория социальной рекламы» и оргкомитетом LIME.
На VII Международном форуме «Матрица рекламы», прошедшем в ЦВК «Экспоцентр» в рамках международной выставки «Реклама-2018», большой интерес у профессиональной аудитории вызвала VI Конференция «Интернет-реклама».
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