US may not be able to create scenario to end war in Ukraine, Rubio says
'If peace is not going to be possible here and this is just going to continue on as a war, people will continue to die by the thousands ... we may unfortunately wind up there, but we don't want to wind up there,' Rubio said in an interview with the 'Face the Nation' show. REUTERS
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Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
European leaders rush to Washington in urgent bid to save Ukraine from territorial losses
LONDON, Aug 18 — European leaders will join Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet Donald Trump in Washington, they said on Sunday, seeking to shore up Zelenskiy's position as the US president presses Ukraine to accept a quick peace deal to end Europe's deadliest war in 80 years. Trump is leaning on Zelenskiy to strike an agreement after he met Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in Alaska and emerged more aligned with Moscow on seeking a peace deal instead of a ceasefire first. Trump and Zelenskiy will meet on Monday. 'If peace is not going to be possible here and this is just going to continue on as a war, people will continue to die by the thousands... we may unfortunately wind up there, but we don't want to wind up there,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with CBS' 'Face the Nation.' Trump on Sunday promised 'BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA' in a social media post without specifying what this might be. Sources briefed on Moscow's thinking told Reuters the US and Russian leaders have discussed proposals for Russia to relinquish tiny pockets of occupied Ukraine in exchange for Kyiv ceding a swathe of fortified land in the east and freezing the front lines elsewhere. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's envoy to international organisations in Vienna, said Russia agreed that any peace agreement on Ukraine must provide security guarantees to Kyiv. 'Many leaders of #EU states emphasise that a future peace agreement should provide reliable security assurances or guarantees for Ukraine,' Ulyanov said on social media platform X. 'Russia agrees with that. But it has equal right to expect that Moscow will also get efficient security guarantees.' Top Trump officials hinted that the fate of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region – which is already mostly under Russian control – was on the line, while some sort of defensive pact was also on the table. 'We were able to win the following concession, that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection,' Trump envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday, suggesting this would be in lieu of Ukraine seeking NATO membership. He said it was 'the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.' Article 5 of Natos founding treaty enshrines the principle of collective defence, in which an attack on any member is considered an attack on all. That pledge may not be enough to sway Kyiv to sign over Donbas. Ukraine's borders were already meant to be guaranteed when Ukraine surrendered a nuclear arsenal in 1994, which proved to be little deterrent when Russia absorbed Crimea in 2014 and launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. The war has killed or wounded more than 1 million people. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a meeting of allies on Sunday to bolster Zelenskiy's hand, hoping in particular to lock down robust security guarantees for Ukraine that would include a US role. The Europeans are eager to help Zelenskiy avoid a repeat of his last Oval Office meeting in February when Trump and Vice President JD Vance gave the Ukrainian leader a public dressing-down, accusing him of being ungrateful and disrespectful. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also travel to Washington, as will Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who has played rounds of golf with Trump this year, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, an admirer of many Trump policies. European show of unity European leaders at the Sunday meeting projected unity, welcoming US talk of a security guarantee but stressing no discussions over territory could take place without Kyiv's involvement and clear arrangements to safeguard the rest of Ukraine's land. Some called for an immediate ceasefire, which Trump originally said he was trying to secure during his summit with Putin. Trump later changed course and agreed with the Russians that peace negotiations could come without a ceasefire, an idea dismissed by some of Ukraine's European allies. 'You cannot negotiate peace under falling bombs,' Poland's foreign ministry said in a statement. A joint communique released by Britain, France and Germany after the meeting said their leaders were ready 'to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased, and to help secure Ukraine's skies and seas and regenerate Ukraine's armed forces.' Some European countries, led by Britain and France, have been working since last year on such a plan, but others in the region remain reluctant to become involved militarily. Zelenskiy said on X there had been 'clear support for Ukraine's independence and sovereignty' at the meeting. 'Everyone agrees that borders must not be changed by force.' He said any prospective security guarantees 'must really be very practical, delivering protection on land, in the air, and at sea, and must be developed with Europe's participation.' Rubio said both Russia and Ukraine would need to make concessions to reach a peace deal and security guarantees for Ukraine would be discussed on Monday. He also said there must be additional consequences for Russia if no deal was reached. 'I'm not saying we're on the verge of a peace deal, but I am saying that we saw movement, enough movement to justify a follow-up meeting with Zelenskiy and the Europeans, enough movement for us to dedicate even more time to this,' Rubio told broadcaster CBS. Putin briefed his close ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, about the Alaska talks, and also spoke with Kazakhstan's president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Trump said on Friday Ukraine should make a deal to end the war because 'Russia is a very big power, and they're not.' After the Alaska summit, Trump phoned Zelenskiy and told him the Kremlin chief had offered to freeze most front lines if Ukraine ceded all of Donetsk, a source familiar with the matter said. Zelenskiy rejected the demand. — Reuters
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Former lawmaker granted asylum in Australia
Pro-democracy activist Ted Hui has been granted asylum in Australia, the former lawmaker said, more than four years after he left Hong Kong, where he faces criminal charges over the 2019 pro-democracy protests. Hui on Saturday said he received written notice from the Australian Department of Home Affairs on Friday approving his claim and that his wife, children and parents were also granted visas. The Hong Kong government said in a statement that it was 'against the harbouring of criminals in any form by any country'. China's foreign ministry did not respond to questions about the decision. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Beijing last month as part of his administration's years-long push to improve ties with China. A former Democratic Party lawmaker, Hui left Hong Kong in late 2020 after facing criminal charges over the 2019 pro-democracy protests. In 2023, Hong Kong accused him and seven others of national security offences, including incitement to secession, and put HK$1mil bounties on their heads. Meanwhile, fellow Hong Kong activist Tony Chung yesterday said he had been granted asylum by Britain, in a post on his X account. He was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison in late 2021 after being convicted of secession and money laundering. Pro-democracy businessman Jimmy Lai is on trial in Hong Kong on charges related to a national security law imposed by Beijing and alleged sedition. — Reuters
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Russia strikes Kharkiv with ballistic missile, injures 11, Ukraine says
KHARKIV (Reuters) -Russia hit a residential area in Kharkiv with a ballistic missile, injuring at least 11 people, Ukrainian authorities said late on Sunday, as the U.S. president presses Kyiv to accept a quick deal to end the war that Moscow had started. Among the injured in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, was a 13-year-old girl, Oleh Synehubov, governor of the broader Kharkiv region said on the Telegram messaging app. Kharkiv, which lies in northeastern Ukraine near the border with Russia, has been the target of regular Russian drone and missile attacks since the start of the war that Moscow launched with a full-scale invasion in February 2022. "The blast wave shattered windows in nearby apartment buildings," Ukraine's State Emergency Service said on Telegram. It added that some residents had to be evacuated. Reuters' witnesses saw medics attending to residents on a street and rescuers inspecting damage in residential buildings. A 57-year-old woman was injured in Russia's guided aerial bomb strike on the northeastern region of Sumy that also damaged at least a dozen residential houses and an educational institution building, regional authorities said. "The enemy continues to deliberately target civilian infrastructure in the Sumy region — treacherously, at night," Oleh Hryhorov, head of the regional administration in Sumy, said on Telegram. Reuters could not independently verify what weapons Russia used. There was no immediate comment from Moscow. Both sides deny targeting civilians in their strikes, but thousands of people have died, the vast majority of them Ukrainian. President Donald Trump, who hosted President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday for bilateral talks aimed at ending the war, has urged Kyiv to make a deal with Moscow, stating, "Russia is a very big power, and they're not." (Additional reporting by Bogdan Kobuchey in Kyiv and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne, Writing by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; editing by Diane Craft)
