Marc Champion: Donald Trump thinks Ukraine negotiations are all about him, and it makes him an easy mark for Vladimir Putin
In the 1963 war movie The Great Escape, 76 prisoners make it out of their camp in what begins with hope and elation, but ends with all but a handful killed or recaptured.
Monday's meeting between the US and its worried Ukrainian and European allies felt a little like those first exhilarating moments of escape, as the meeting passed off better than anyone could have expected in the wake of Russia's clear diplomatic win in Alaska.
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The Journal
2 hours ago
- The Journal
Any talks on Ukraine's security without Russia would be 'a road to nowhere', Kremlin says
RUSSIA HAS SAID it has to be part of any discussion on security guarantees for Ukraine and played down the likelihood of an imminent summit with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, tempering hopes for a quick deal to end the war. It comes after a meeting between Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump and a host of European leaders at the White House on Monday, three days after the Republican's landmark encounter with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Trump called Putin during the talks in Washington, later claiming that the Russian leader had agreed to meet Zelenskyy and accepted that there will be Western security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any agreement to end the war. But Russia has not confirmed this. Speaking today, Moscow's long-serving foreign minister Sergei Lavrov downplayed the meeting in Washington, describing it as a 'clumsy' attempt to change the US president's position on Ukraine. Lavrov cast doubt on an imminent meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, saying that any summit between them 'must be prepared in the most meticulous way' so it does not lead to a 'deterioration' of the situation surrounding the conflict. He also warned that 'seriously discussing security guarantees without the Russian Federation is a utopia, a road to nowhere'. Trump, who has fiercely criticised the billions in support that this predecessor Joe Biden sent to Ukraine, earlier said European nations were 'willing to put people on the ground' to secure any settlement. Advertisement He ruled out sending US troops but suggested the country might provide air support. Russia has long said it will never tolerate the presence of any Western troops in Ukraine. Meanwhile, NATO military chiefs meanwhile held a virtual summit on security guarantees for Ukraine, the latest in a flurry of global diplomacy aimed at brokering an end to the nearly three-and-a-half year conflict. 'On Ukraine, we confirmed our support. Priority continues to be a just, credible and durable peace,' the chair of the alliance's military committee, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, wrote on X after the meeting. Moscow signed the Budapest Memorandum in 1994, which was aimed at ensuring security for Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan in exchange for them giving up numerous nuclear weapons left from the Soviet era. But Russia violated that first by taking Crimea in 2014, and then by starting a full-scale offensive in 2022, which has killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes. On Tuesday, top US officer Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held talks with European military chiefs on the 'best options for a potential Ukraine peace deal'. Fresh Russian strikes In eastern Ukraine, far from the diplomatic deliberations, Russian forces claimed fresh advances on the ground and Ukrainian officials reported more deaths from Russian attacks. Russia's defence ministry said on Telegram that its troops had captured the villages of Sukhetske and Pankivka in the embattled Donetsk region. They are near a section of the front where the Russian army broke through Ukrainian defences last week, between the logistics hub of Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka. Related Reads Putin and Zelenskyy agree to meet directly in a 'neutral country' in the coming weeks What parts of Ukraine could Vladimir Putin ask for in exchange for an end to the war? Trump tells Zelenskyy and European leaders that Putin 'accepts' security guarantees for Ukraine 'Our units are engaged in heavy defensive battles against superior Russian forces,' said Ukraine's commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky. Last night, a drone strike on Okhtyrka in the Sumy region injured 14 people. A family with wounded children – 5 months, 4 years, and 6 years old – sought assistance after the attack. In Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, a glide bomb strike damaged five apartment buildings, and at… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 20, 2025 Six civilians were killed by Russian attacks across eastern and southern Ukraine today, local authorities said. One person died in Russia's western Bryansk region as a result of a Ukrainian drone strike, the local governor said. Russia's aerial attacks on the northeastern town of Okhtyrka in the Sumy region wounded at least 14 people, including three children, according to regional governor Oleg Grygorov. Zelenskyy said these latest strikes showed 'the need to put pressure on Moscow', including through sanctions, 'until diplomacy is fully effective'. 'Together with the United States, Europe, and all those who seek peace, we are working every day to guarantee security. We need strong security guarantees to ensure a truly reliable and lasting,' he said. With reporting from © AFP 2025 Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
5 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Russia says must be part of Ukraine security guarantees talks
Russia said it had to be part of any discussion on security guarantees for Ukraine and downplayed the likelihood of an imminent summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, tempering hopes for a quick peace deal. NATO military chiefs were meanwhile scheduled to hold a virtual summit on security guarantees for Ukraine, the latest in a flurry of global diplomacy aimed at brokering an end to the nearly three-and-a-half year conflict. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that "seriously discussing security guarantees without the Russian Federation is a utopia, a road to nowhere". Russia signed the Budapest Memorandum in 1994, which was aimed at ensuring security for Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan in exchange for them giving up numerous nuclear weapons left from the Soviet era. But Russia violated that first by taking Crimea in 2014, and then by starting a full-scale offensive in 2022, which has killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes. Yesterday, top US officer Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held talks with European military chiefs on the "best options for a potential Ukraine peace deal," a US defence official said, In eastern Ukraine, far from the diplomatic deliberations, Russian forces claimed fresh advances on the ground and Ukrainian officials reported more deaths from Russian attacks. Diplomatic flurry US President Donald Trump brought Mr Zelensky and European leaders to the White House Monday, three days after his landmark encounter with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Russia's long-serving foreign minister downplayed the meeting between Mr Trump and European leaders at the White House, describing it as a "clumsy" attempt to change the US president's position on Ukraine. Mr Trump, long a fierce critic of the billions of dollars in US support to Ukraine, earlier said European nations were "willing to put people on the ground" to secure any settlement. He ruled out sending US troops but suggested the country might provide air support. Russia has long said it will never tolerate the presence of any Western troops in Ukraine. While Mr Trump said Mr Putin had agreed to meet Mr Zelensky and accept some Western security guarantees for Ukraine, Russia has not confirmed this. Mr Lavrov also cast doubt on an imminent meeting between the sworn enemies, saying that any summit between Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky "must be prepared in the most meticulous way" so it does not lead to a "deterioration" of the situation surrounding the conflict. Fresh Russian strikes Russia's defence ministry said Wednesday that its troops had captured the villages of Sukhetske and Pankivka in the embattled Donetsk region. They are near a section of the front where the Russian army broke through Ukrainian defences last week, between the logistics hub of Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka. "Our units are engaged in heavy defensive battles against superior Russian forces," said Ukraine's commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky. Six civilians were killed by Russian attacks across eastern and southern Ukraine Wednesday, local authorities said. One person died in Russia's western Bryansk region as a result of a Ukrainian drone strike, the local governor said. Russia's aerial attacks on the northeastern town of Okhtyrka in the Sumy region wounded at least 14 people, including three children, according to regional governor Oleg Grygorov.
The Irish Sun
7 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Why is Putin so scared of meeting Zelensky? How showdown with hero Vlad dismissed as a ‘Nazi comic' exposes his FAILURE
VLADIMIR Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky have only met in person once before. The next time they set eyes on each other, it could expose the Russian tyrant as a fraud and a failure before the eyes of his people. 5 Zelensky and Putin attend a meeting on Ukraine with French President and German Chancelor at the Elysee Palace in 2019 Credit: AFP 5 Within three years of the meeting, their two countries would be locked in a full-scale war Credit: Reuters 5 In the days since Trump's separate meetings with the two leaders, Moscow has been quick to pour cold water on the prospect of a Putin-Zelensky summit Credit: Reuters When they first met, Zelensky was the freshly elected President of Ukraine, who soared to office with a landslide win - despite having no political experience. His past career was as an actor and comedian - rising to international fame with his role as an accidental president in the Ukrainian show Servant of the People. The contrast with the stony-faced macho image cultivated by Vladimir Putin could not have been more stark as they say down in 2019 for a summit in France. The pair did not shake hands at the tense, fruitless meeting. Within three years, their two countries would be locked in Europe's bloodiest war since 1945. Putin forced to 'accept failure' Donald Trump's renewed drive to bring the war to a close could bring a once unthinkable second meeting between Zelensky and Putin to reality. However, in the days since Trump's separate meetings with the two leaders, Moscow has been quick to pour cold water on the prospect. Zelensky, whose first language is Russian and performed in Moscow during Putin's rise to power, has said he is "ready" for a meeting with Vlad. But the very act of meeting with Zelensky could undermine Putin and the entire rationale for his war in the eyes of Russia. Scheming Putin WON'T draw a line under Ukraine - here's why he won't give up the Donbas Orysia Lutsevich, director of Chatham House's Russia and Eurasia program, told CNN that Putin "will have to accept the failure of sitting down with a President he considers a joke from a country that doesn't exist". Undermines Russia's war aims When the Russian despot ordered tanks to assault Kyiv in February 2022, his warped justification was based on claims that Ukraine was a fake country run by Nazis. Zelensky's Jewish identity makes the claim patently absurd, but for Putin to sit down with him would be a tacit admission of how ludicrous the claim was. For Vlad to meet Volod for talks, they would be sat there as two Presidents of legitimate, sovereign nations - something that the Kremlin's narrative could not possibly abide. And so long as Ukraine remains armed and sovereign, concession to Zelensky would prove Putin's war goals a failure. Russia has shown little indication of making major concessions so far, with the handover of vast swathes of Ukrainian territory to Moscow still Putin's core condition for peace. But to avoid Trump's wrath if talks fall through, Putin will want to shift the blame to Zelensky. Loggerheads over location His suggestion that the trilateral summit be held in Moscow - a predictably unacceptable proposal for Ukraine - could have been a calculated move to weasel out. And had the meeting been held in Russia's capital against the odds, Putin would have hailed it as a diplomatic coup for the Kremlin - and a chance to humiliate Ukraine's war leader. But Vlad's surrogates have taken to the airwaves to dampen expectations around a summit. Russia' Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said a meeting would have to be prepared "gradually... starting with the expert level and thereafter going through all the required steps". Lavrov added today that not involving Russia in discussions around Ukraine's security guarantees is a "road to nowhere". Disputes around the proposed location for the summit have also presented headaches for diplomats. While a Moscow meeting between the pair remains unlikely, other venues have also proved controversial. Suggestions for it to be held in Budapest were lambasted by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. He said: "Not everyone may remember this, but in 1994 Ukraine already got assurances of territorial integrity from the US, Russia and the UK. "In Budapest. Maybe I'm superstitious, but this time I would try to find another place." Switzerland, Qatar and Austria have been floated as other prospective venues. But Putin will be wary of a European location - where most states would be obliged to arrest him under an ICC warrant. 5 Disputes around the proposed location for a summit have presented headaches for diplomats Credit: EPA
