Grandfather of new MI6 chief was a Nazi spy: reports
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Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump rules out US troops on the ground in any Ukraine peace deal
London: US President Donald Trump has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine in a potential peace deal with Russia, placing a strict limit on America's role and putting the onus on European nations to enforce any truce. Trump offered US Air Force support to the peace plan but assured American voters he would not put 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine – a key issue for those in his MAGA movement who oppose a bigger commitment to the European war. The comment came a day after Trump left the option open when asked twice if he would send ground troops, signalling the caution in the White House about how to ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin honours any peace deal. European leaders are preparing to impose more sanctions on Russia to encourage Putin to end the war, while they step up plans for a 'coalition of the willing' to offer security to Ukraine, which was backed with a message of support from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday night. Trump has promised to 'coordinate' the security guarantees that European countries will offer to Ukraine to support any peace deal, given their concerns Putin would breach a deal and trigger future conflict, but his assurance about troops puts another limit on the US role. In an interview on Fox News, the president also revealed that he hoped his efforts to see peace in Ukraine would help him after he died. 'I want to try and get to heaven, if possible,' Trump said. 'I'm hearing I'm not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.'
Perth Now
10 hours ago
- Perth Now
NATO holds meeting on security guarantees for Ukraine
NATO defence chiefs are due to hold a virtual meeting, a senior alliance official says, as countries pushing for an end to Russia's war on Ukraine devise possible future security guarantees for Kyiv that could help forge a peace agreement. Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of NATO's Military Committee, said that 32 defence chiefs from across the alliance would hold a video conference as a US-led diplomatic push seeks to end the fighting. US General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's supreme allied commander Europe, would take part in the talks, Dragone said on social platform X. US President Donald Trump met last Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and on Monday hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and prominent European leaders at the White House. Neither meeting delivered concrete progress. Trump is trying to steer Putin and Zelenskiy towards a settlement more than three years after Russia invaded its neighbour, but there are major obstacles. They include Ukraine's demands for Western-backed military assurances to ensure Russia will not mount another invasion in coming years. "We need strong security guarantees to ensure a truly secure and lasting peace," Zelenskiy said in a Telegram post on Wednesday after Russian missile and drone strikes hit six regions of Ukraine overnight. Kyiv's European allies are looking to set up a force that could backstop any peace agreement, and a coalition of 30 countries, including European nations, Japan and Australia, have signed up to support the initiative. Military chiefs are figuring out how that security force might work. The role that the US might play in is unclear. Trump on Tuesday ruled out sending US troops to help defend Ukraine against Russia. Russia has repeatedly said that it would not accept NATO troops in Ukraine. Attacks on civilian areas in Sumy and Odesa overnight into Wednesday injured 15 people, including a family with three small children, Ukrainian authorities said. Russian strikes also targeted ports and fuel and energy infrastructure, officials said. Zelenskiy said the strikes "only confirm the need for pressure on Moscow, the need to introduce new sanctions and tariffs until diplomacy works to its full potential". Trump said on Monday he had begun arrangements for a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy, although the Kremlin has not publicly confirmed such a possibility and no venue was suggested. French President Emmanuel Macron has said the summit could happen in Europe and proposed the Swiss city of Geneva. Putin's ability to travel abroad is limited, however, because he is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on a warrant dating back to March 2023 for alleged involvement in the abduction of Ukrainian children. More than 100 countries are ICC signatories and have a legal obligation to arrest the Russian leader on their soil. Switzerland intends to ask the ICC to exempt it from sanctions in order to allow Putin in for a summit, according to a senior official in The Hague with direct knowledge of the request. The official was not authorised to speak about the proceedings and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Age
16 hours ago
- The Age
White House love-in moved war in right direction – but potential dealbreaker looms
Washington: If the purpose of the European mission to the White House was to prevent Donald Trump tilting in favour of Russia's Vladimir Putin after their Alaskan adventure, then it may broadly be considered a success, even if the tangible outcomes are difficult to discern. The visitors were warmly welcomed, including Volodymyr Zelensky, whose last trip to the Oval Office ended catastrophically. This time, it ended with laughter and a strong handshake. The Ukrainian president called it the best of his meetings with Trump so far. Likewise, the Europeans showered Trump with gratitude for hosting them and expending his time and energy on trying to solve the war. They praised him for being the only person who could co-ordinate with Putin and get him to the negotiating table. That is now what Trump intends to do. He has signalled a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, followed by three-way talks that he would join, which, according to Zelensky, is the sequencing Russia offered. Zelensky says he's happy to do so. No date or location is set. On the central question of how to protect Ukraine from a future invasion if a deal is reached, the Europeans appeared to extract from Trump a vague commitment to US involvement – though you wouldn't want to place any bets on it. In a social media post, he was clear: Europe would lead any peacekeeping force. At best, the US would play a 'co-ordinating' role, whatever that means. The Financial Times reported the Ukrainians were essentially proposing to buy US security guarantees by promising to purchase $US100 billion ($154 billion) of American weaponry, financed by Europe, likely to include the Patriot air defence systems Zelensky wants and needs. And Trump noted: 'We're not giving [away] anything. We're selling weapons.' There was chatter about 'NATO-like' security guarantees that would bind signatories to come to Ukraine's aid if Putin – or someone else – tried it on again. This is in lieu of letting Kyiv into NATO, which remains very much off the table. The situation has echoes of the memorandum signed in Budapest in 1994, when Ukraine agreed to relinquish its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal in return for security 'assurances' from Russia, the US and the United Kingdom. However, Ukraine did not get what it initially sought – a guarantee of military intervention if its territorial sovereignty was breached. Rather, the signatories agreed to respect Ukraine's borders and refrain from using military or economic force against it – a commitment Russia violated years later.
