WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Trump says Putin and Zelenskiy want peace; phone calls kick off talks to end Ukraine war

Donald Trump said both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed a desire for peace in separate phone calls with him on Wednesday, and Trump ordered top U.S. officials to begin talks on ending the war in Ukraine.

The conversations came after Trump's defense secretary earlier said Kyiv would have to give up its long-held goals of joining the NATO military alliance and regaining all of its territory seized by Russia, signaling a dramatic shift in Washington's approach to the conflict.

After speaking with Putin for more than an hour, Trump said the Russian leader, who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, wants the war to end and they discussed "getting a ceasefire in the not-too-distant future."

"He wants it to end. He doesn't want to end it and then go back to fighting six months later," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

"I think we're on the way to getting peace. I think President Putin wants peace, President Zelenskiy wants peace and I want peace. I just want to see people stop getting killed," he added.

Trump has long said he would quickly end the war in Ukraine, without spelling out exactly how he would accomplish this.

The Kremlin earlier said Putin and Trump had agreed to meet, and Putin had invited Trump to visit Moscow. Trump said their first meeting would "probably" take place soon in Saudi Arabia.

In a post on his social media platform, he said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, national security adviser Michael Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff would lead negotiations on ending the war.

Trump and Zelenskiy spoke after Trump's call with Putin, and Zelenskiy's office said the conversation lasted for about an hour.

"I had a meaningful conversation with @POTUS. We... talked about opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together ...and Ukraine's technological capabilities... including drones and other advanced industries," Zelenskiy wrote on X.

No Ukraine peace talks have been held since the early months of the conflict, now approaching its third anniversary. Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, oversaw billions of dollars of military and other aid to Kyiv and had no direct contact with Putin after Russia's invasion.

Russia occupies around a fifth of Ukraine and has demanded Kyiv cede more territory and be rendered permanently neutral under any peace deal.

Ukraine demands Russia withdraw from captured territory and says it must receive NATO membership or equivalent security guarantees to prevent Moscow from attacking again.

European powers, including Britain, France and Germany, said on Wednesday they had to be part of any future negotiations on the fate of Ukraine, underscoring that only a fair accord with security guarantees would ensure lasting peace. They said they were ready to enhance support for Ukraine and put it in a position of strength.

'ILLUSIONARY GOAL'

Earlier on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered the new administration's bluntest statement so far on its approach to the war, saying Kyiv could not realistically hope to return to previous borders or join NATO.

"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 at NATO headquarters in Brussels. "Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering."

Russia in 2014 annexed Crimea, which Ukraine and many Western countries consider to be occupied Ukrainian territory.

Hegseth said any durable peace must include "robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again". But he said U.S. troops would not be deployed to Ukraine as part of such guarantees.

Zelenskiy, hoping to keep Trump interested in continuing to support his country, has lately proposed a deal under which the United States would invest in minerals in Ukraine.

Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in Kyiv on Wednesday on the first visit by a member of Trump's cabinet, said such a mineral deal could serve as a "security shield" for Ukraine after the war.

Trump also said Rubio and Vice President JD Vance will hold talks about the war on Friday in Munich, where Ukrainian officials were expected to attend an annual security conference.

The new diplomacy followed a U.S.-Russia prisoner swap that got under way on Tuesday, which the Kremlin said could help build trust between the two countries.

Russia on Tuesday freed American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, who was serving a 14-year sentence in a Russian prison, in exchange for a Russian cybercrime boss imprisoned in the U.S., according to a official.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Moscow confirms massive strike on Ukrainian military plants

Russia has launched a major missile strike on Ukrainian military drone production plants, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry confirmed that Russian forces had carried out a “group missile strike on workshops of Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises producing unmanned aerial vehicles and FPV drones.”

“The goals of the strikes have been accomplished, all designated facilities have been hit,” officials added.

According to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, the wave of strikes resulted in one death, four injuries and infrastructure damage.

Ukraine’s air force said that Kiev, Sumy, Poltava, and Chernigov regions, as well as the city of Krivoy Rog, were affected by the strikes. It noted that the attack involved Iskander-M ballistic missiles and more than 120 drones, and claimed that Ukrainian forces shot down six Iskanders and 71 UAVs.

According to media reports, Kiev was one of the hardest-hit cities. Russian Telegram channels cited eyewitnesses reporting a 16 explosions across the city. Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reported fires in several districts, including one in the industrial zone in the northern part of the capital.

Officials in Chernigov Region reported a drone strike on critical infrastructure, resulting in two injuries and a fire.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chairman of the Security Council, also weighed in on the strikes, mocking Zelensky’s claim that Kiev’s large-scale incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region sought to achieve “peace through strength.”

“Peace through strength, you say? Sometimes this concept really works. For example, when it showcases the real, not the imaginary balance of power. Like today in Kiev, after our missile and UAV strikes,” he said.

However, Medvedev voiced doubts that the latest attack would be able to “clear the minds of those illegitimate buffoons” who he said “talk nonsense on camera about exchanging territories. For such people, the only way to heal is to feel Russian again.”

Earlier this week, Zelensky signaled that he intends to use the areas Ukraine has occupied in Russia’s Kursk Region as leverage in possible negotiations with Moscow to return some of the territory claimed by Kiev.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has dismissed the idea out of hand, saying that “Neonazis rampaging in Kursk Region will receive land without any swap, measured a meter wide, two long, and roughly a meter and a half deep.” 

Reuters/RT