Tag: ukraine

Trump Says Ukraine ‘Will Be Crushed Very Shortly’ Without Peace Deal

US President Donald Trump in a recent interview with conservative show host Glenn Beck expressed doubt whether the White House can actually achieve a comprehensive peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump has made Ukraine peace the top foreign policy priority of the early part of his administration, and on the campaign trail and within his first hundred days expressed continual confidence that the US can successfully mediate, but this confidence appears to be fading with each passing week.

In the interview he noted his belief – not for the first time – that Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to making a deal on Ukraine, and is actually easier to deal with than Zelensky.

“When Zelenskyy was in the Oval Office. I was talking about getting it done, and he starts screaming, ‘but we need security’, meaning security, after the fact, I said, ‘security’? I don’t even know if we can get this deal done,” Trump told Beck.

That’s when he expressed rare doubt, saying he’s not sure “if we can get this deal done.”

Referencing Zelensky, Trump continued: “He’s asking for more, just more and more and more. And he doesn’t have the cards. He doesn’t have the cards, so hopefully he’s going to get it done,” Trump said. 

And in reference to Putin, Trump explained, “I think he had the idea of going all the way through” if Trump were not in the Oval Office. “I think he’s [Putin] willing to make a deal. And I would say thus far, he’s been easier to deal with than Zelensky,” Trump added.

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Moscow accuses Ukrainian troops of killing civilians seeking food

The Russian Investigative Committee has collected new evidence and gathered accounts of alleged war crimes committed during the Ukrainian invasion of Kursk Region, including killings of civilians looking for food and murders during widespread looting.

The agency highlighted a handful of new cases over the week, sharing the accounts of those who survived the Ukrainian occupation. A woman from the village of Plekhovo testified that Ukrainian troops murdered her son in early September 2024, as he tried to retrieve some food from his house.

“According to the mother’s testimony, the man’s body was found with multiple gunshot wounds and his hands tied,” Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said. The woman also testified that the Ukrainians went on a looting spree immediately after entering the region in early August last year, breaking into homes and garages to steal people’s belongings, as well as their cars.

A similar incident was reported by a resident of Bondarevka, a village near the town of Sudzha. The woman told investigators that Ukrainian forces killed a local man who had gone to get some bread. The civilian was gunned down as he rode his bike in the street, according to the eyewitness.

A resident of Dmitryukov, a small village to the southeast of the city of Sudzha, testified that his father was killed by Ukrainian troops, who demanded his car, threatening to burn the vehicle and his house down. Although the man surrendered his vehicle, the Ukrainians still shot and killed him.

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Putin announces 3-day ceasefire in May to mark 80 years since WW2 victory

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine next month to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War Two.

The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run from the start of May 8 to the end of May 10.

“All military actions are suspended for this period. Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example,” it said in a statement.

“In the event of violations by the Ukrainian side, Russia’s armed forces will give an adequate and effective response.”

There was no immediate response from Kyiv to the unilateral truce announcement – the second by Putin in quick succession, following a 30-hour Easter ceasefire that each side accused the other of violating countless times.

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Zelensky admits Ukraine can’t reclaim Crimea by force

Ukraine does not possess the military might necessary to retake Crimea by force, Vladimir Zelensky has conceded. The peninsula joined Russia in 2014 following a referendum.

The vote was held in the wake of a Western-backed coup in Kiev earlier that year and amid fears of forced Ukrainization of the predominantly Russian-speaking region. Ukraine has continued to claim sovereignty over Crimea, repeatedly vowing to take it back.

On Friday, Interfax-Ukraine quoted Zelensky as saying that “it’s true what President Trump says… that Ukraine does not have enough weapons to regain control of the Crimean Peninsula by force.”

The Ukrainian leader expressed hope however that further sanctions and diplomatic pressure on Russia would be conducive to future discussions over “territorial issues,” but only after Kiev and Moscow have sealed a ceasefire.

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Suspect in killing of Russian general pleads guilty and claims he was paid by Ukraine, Russia says

A man suspected of killing a Russian general with a car bomb pleaded guilty to terrorism charges and said he was paid by the Ukrainian Security Service, Russian authorities said Sunday.

The Investigative Committee said Ignat Kuzin admitted he was paid to kill Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff of the Russian armed forces.

Moskalik was killed Friday by a bomb in his car in Balashikha, just outside Moscow.

Ukrainian authorities did not comment on the attack, the second in four months targeting a top Russian military officer that Moscow has blamed on Ukraine amid the conflict between the neighboring countries.

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Putin Announces Kursk Region Fully Liberated From Ukrainians

Russia’s top military leaders as well as President Vladimir Putin have on Saturday declared the full liberation of Russia’s Kursk region, after Ukrainian forces invaded and occupied huge swathes of it starting last August.

The final fight was for the village of Gornal, which lies on the Ukrainian border. Fighting on the vicinity of the settlement became fierce earlier this month, and the tide was definitely in Moscow forces’ favor after the capture of a key monastery complex. Russian forces accused the Ukrainian army of using the monastery as a military forward operating position.

Putin in a Saturday video address thanked Russian service members “who took part in defeating the neo-Nazi groups” who for over six months held hundreds of square kilometers of sovereign Russian territory. He declared the utter ‘failure’ of the invasion attempt.

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Is Walking Away From Ukraine The Best Option For Trump And The US?

This week Vice President JD Vance reiterated the Trump Administration’s position that “walking away from Ukraine” and the peace negotiations after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded that Crimea be “liberated” as part of the terms.  Zelensky argued that the “war against the entire free Europe” began with Crimea and must end with the return of Crimea. 

Vance’s frustration with Zelensky is understandable. As he noted, Ukraine is in no position to demand anything given their precarious position on the battlefield.  Russia’s attrition tactics have been highly effective in countering western arms and intel support on the eastern front while also whittling down Ukrainian troop strength.  They have also retaken almost all of the gains made by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region while they amass troops to take Sumy to the south. 

Furthermore, Vladimir Putin’s latest missile salvo on Kyiv proves that the Kremlin has actually been holding back, and heavy bombardment of the capital is entirely possible.  Ukraine does not have the ability to defend against such an attack should it occur.

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Dutch King Says Country Must Prepare For War, Pushes For Drone Development

As EU leaders rally for a prolonged conflict in Ukraine and push the idea of a European military no longer dependent on America, the Netherlands’ monarch has joined the chorus. 

“We may have taken it a bit too much for granted that we would always have freedom and peace,” King Willem-Alexander said at the Lieutenant General Best Barracks, writes De Telegraaf. 

“Unfortunately, Ukraine and other conflicts prove that this is no longer the case. And that we really have to prepare ourselves to continue living in peace and security. If you are not prepared, then you are not doing well,” he said.

Such a rearmament means the Netherlands must rebuild its defense industry, the monarch continued, adding, “It really needs to be able to start producing for a conflict again.”

The country, he said, must “arm itself to the teeth” to remain safe.

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Zelensky demands ‘at least’ Israel-style support from US

Kiev expects Washington to provide long-term security assistance modeled on the US relationship with Israel, Vladimir Zelensky has said, after Ukraine’s European backers reportedly rejected several points of US President Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan.

Washington presented its draft deal to end the hostilities between Kiev and Moscow during talks in Paris last week. At a follow-up meeting in London on Wednesday – which was downgraded at the last minute after Zelensky publicly rejected key US suggestions – Ukrainian officials and their NATO European counterparts reportedly put forward a counterproposal.

Speaking to journalists on Friday, Zelensky insisted that any future peace deal with Moscow must be backed by sustained US military, financial, and political support.

“Discussions in London have focused on security guarantees from the United States. We hope them to be at least as robust as those provided to Israel. Additionally, we anticipate support from our European partners and are actively developing the infrastructure necessary for these guarantees,” Zelensky said.

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UK to scrap plans for Ukraine troop deployment – The Times

The UK has ditched plans to deploy a military contingent to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, The Times has reported, citing anonymous sources.

The defense chiefs from a number of European NATO states had in recent weeks been discussing sending military personnel to Ukraine, under a so-called “coalition of the willing.” Russia has strongly objected to the prospect of Western troops appearing in the neighboring country under any pretext.

In an article on Thursday, The Times quoted an unnamed source as saying that the “risks are too high and the forces inadequate for” a deployment that had been previously under consideration. According to the publication, “it was France who wanted a more muscular approach.”

Instead of coalition forces guarding key Ukrainian cities, ports, and nuclear power plants, the grouping now envisages more emphasis on Western military instructors training Ukrainian troops in the west of the country, who would “‘reassure’ by being there but aren’t a deterrence or protection force,” The Times reported, citing an anonymous source.

The softened vision for a Western military presence in Ukraine does, however, reportedly include the coalition’s aircraft patrolling Ukraine’s airspace and Türkiye providing maritime cover.

Additionally, Paris and London want the flow of Western weaponry to Ukraine to continue uninterrupted, according to The Times.

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