Global tensions remained high ahead of crunch talks between the US and Ukraine this week – as Russia continued to make significant territorial gains in the war
Global tensions remained high ahead of crunch talks between the US and Ukraine this week – as Russia continued to make significant territorial gains in the war.
Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet the Crown Prince, with peace talks expected to take place on Tuesday between Ukrainian ministers and their US counterparts. The Ukrainian President today said that Russia “has carried out hundreds of attacks” in the last week, as his country struggles with the impact of US support being withdrawn. He repeated his plea for a peace deal, saying: “We continue our efforts to bring a just peace closer.”
Relations with the US remained unsteady as Donald Trump used an interview to repeat his claim that Mr Zelensky was not “grateful” for US aid. Asked about his bust-up with Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office, the US president told Fox News that Ukraine’s leader had taken money from Joe Biden “like candy from a baby”.
Mr Trump also lamented the amount of money spent around the world on nuclear weapons, adding that the US and Russia have “by far the most”. “The level of destruction is beyond anything you could even imagine,” he said. “It’s just bad that everyone has to spend all this money on something that if it’s used it’s probably the end of the world.”
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden refused to say it was “wrong” for the US to have withdrawn satellite images and other information from Ukraine, as the Government continues to try to stay on side with Mr Trump. He said: “It’s their decision. It’s not something that we’ve done.”
The senior minister said the UK wants European countries to “step up” to support Ukraine but admitted countries cannot be “dragooned” into the so-called Coalition of the Willing and they have to “make their own decision”.
In a phone call on Saturday Keir Starmer welcomed a commitment from Australia’s PM Anthony Albanese to consider contributing to the coalition. It is unconfirmed how many countries have given support to the plan, but officials from 20 nations, largely from Europe and the Commonwealth, last week engaged in discussions over peace in Ukraine.
It is understood not all the countries interested in the plan would necessarily provide troops to a peacekeeping force but they could contribute in other ways. Defence chiefs from countries involved in the coalition, which is led by the UK and France, will meet in Paris on Tuesday to discuss what forces are available to go into Ukraine if needed.
Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK “is committed to leading from the front to secure our future”. Elsewhere Mr McFadden confirmed the UK was not considering conscription amid concerns over dwindling numbers in our armed forces. Top Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak met with the UK’s National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell in Kyiv on Saturday where he said the pair “exchanged views on key issues on the path to achieving peace”.
Over the weekend Vladimir Putin’s soldiers advanced on thousands of Ukrainians trying to hold onto the Kursk region in Russia, raising fears that Ukraine will be forced into a full retreat in the area. Moscow’s progress in the Kursk region – which was stormed by Ukrainians last summer – is a blow to Kyiv, which had hoped to try to swap the area for Russian-occupied territory in peace talks.
It comes after a tumultuous week which saw the US withdraw military aid, intelligence sharing, satellite images and other information from Ukraine. Europe is also scrambling to find alternatives to Elon Musk’s Starlink broadband satellite network amid fears it could also be switched off. It comes after the tech billionaire, who works for the Trump administration, yesterday(SUN) warned the “entire frontline” in Ukraine would collapse if he chose to turn off his Starlink internet system.