European leaders, Zelenskyy set to talk with Trump ahead of Putin summit
Merz has convened a series of virtual meetings for Wednesday in an attempt to have the voice of European and Ukraine's leaders heard ahead of the summit in Alaska, where Trump and Putin are expected to discuss a path toward ending Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy and the Europeans have been sidelined from that summit. German government spokesperson Steffen Meyer said the intention of Wednesday's meetings was to 'make clear the position of the Europeans.'
Zelenskyy is due to meet with European leaders first, in preparation for a virtual call with Trump and Vice President JD Vance about an hour later. A call between leaders of countries involved in the 'coalition of the willing' — those who are prepared to help police any future peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv — will take place last.
Story continues below advertisement
The Ukrainian leader on Wednesday said his government has had over 30 conversations with partners ahead of the summit in Alaska, but reiterated his doubt that Putin would negotiate in good faith.
Writing on his official Telegram channel, Zelenskyy said there was 'currently no sign that the Russians are preparing to end the war,' and urged Ukraine's partners in the United States and Europe to coordinate efforts and 'force Russia to peace.'
'Pressure must be applied on Russia for an honest peace. We must take the experience of Ukraine and our partners to prevent deception by Russia,' Zelenskyy said.
The stakes for Europe
Trump has said he wants to see whether Putin is serious about ending the war, now in its fourth year, describing Friday's summit as 'a feel-out meeting' where he can assess the Russian leader's intentions.
Story continues below advertisement
Yet Trump has disappointed allies in Europe by saying Ukraine will have to give up some Russian-held territory. He has also said Russia must accept land swaps, although it was unclear what Putin might be expected to surrender.
Get daily National news
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
European allies have pushed for Ukraine's involvement in any peace talks, fearful that discussions that exclude Kyiv could otherwise favor Moscow.
1:55
Trump keeps expectations low for Ukraine talks with Putin
Trump on Monday ducked repeated chances to say that he would push for Zelenskyy to take part in his discussions with Putin, and was dismissive of Zelenskyy and his need to be part of an effort to seek peace. Trump said that following Friday's summit, a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders could be arranged, or that it could also be a meeting with 'Putin and Zelenskyy and me.'
The Europeans and Ukraine are wary that Putin, who has waged the biggest land war in Europe since 1945 and used Russia's energy might to try to intimidate the European Union, might secure favorable concessions and set the outlines of a peace deal without them.
Story continues below advertisement
The overarching fear of many European countries is that Putin will set his sights on one of them next if he wins in Ukraine.
Land concessions a non-starter for Kyiv
Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30 per cent of the Donetsk region that it still controls as part of a ceasefire deal, a proposal the leader categorically rejected.
Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would not give up any territory it controls, saying that would be unconstitutional and would serve only as a springboard for a future Russian invasion.
He said diplomatic discussions led by the U.S. focusing on ending the war have not addressed key Ukrainian demands, including security guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression and including Europe in negotiations.
2:13
Trump says Putin 'very respectful' for coming to Alaska to talk Ukraine peace deal
Three weeks after Trump returned to office, his administration took the leverage of Ukraine's NATO membership off the table — something that Putin has demanded — and signaled that the EU and Ukraine must handle security in Europe now while America focuses its attention elsewhere.
Story continues below advertisement
Senior EU officials believe that Trump may be satisfied with simply securing a ceasefire in Ukraine, and is probably more interested in broader U.S. geostrategic interests and great power politics, aiming to ramp up business with Russia and rehabilitate Putin.
Russian advances in Donbas
Russian forces on the ground in Ukraine have been closing in on a key territorial grab around the city of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donbas region comprises Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland that Putin has long coveted.
Military analysts using open-source information to monitor the battles have said Ukraine's ability to fend off those advances could be critical: Losing Pokrovsk would hand Russia an important victory ahead of the summit and could complicate Ukrainian supply lines to the Donetsk region, where the Kremlin has focused the bulk of military efforts.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces struck an oil pumping station in Russia's Bryansk region overnight on Wednesday, according to a statement from Ukraine's General Staff.
Story continues below advertisement
Ukrainian drones struck the Unecha station which supplies the Russian army, the statement said, adding that damage and a large fire was reported in the area around the pumping station.
Unecha transports oil to two pipelines with an annual capacity to pump 60 million tons. The operation was carried out by units of the Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine's army and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Defense Ministry, the statement said.
—Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
11 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sexual violence in conflicts worldwide increased by 25% last year, UN says
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Sexual violence in conflicts worldwide increased by 25% last year, with the highest number of cases in the Central African Republic, Congo, Haiti, Somalia and South Sudan, according to a U.N. report released Thursday. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' annual report said more than 4,600 people survived sexual violence in 2024, with armed groups carrying out the majority of the abuse but some by government forces. He stressed that the U.N.-verified figures don't reflect the global scale and prevalence of these crimes. The report's blacklist names 63 government and non-government parties in a dozen countries suspected of committing or being responsible for rape and other forms of sexual violence in conflict, including Hamas militants, whose attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked the war in Gaza. Over 70% of those listed have appeared on the report's blacklist annex for five years or more without creating steps to prevent the violence, the U.N. chief said. U.N. warns Israel and Russia about allegations For the first time, the report includes two parties that have been notified the U.N. has 'credible information' that could put them on next year's blacklist if they don't take preventive actions: Israel's military and security forces over allegations of sexual abuse of Palestinians primarily in prisons and detention, and Russian forces and affiliated armed groups against Ukrainian prisoners of war. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon, who circulated a letter Tuesday from Guterres about the country's forces being put on notice, said the allegations 'are steeped in biased publications.' 'The U.N. must focus on the shocking war crimes and sexual violence of Hamas and the release of all hostages,' he said. Russia's U.N. mission said it had no comment on the secretary-general's warning. The 34-page report said 'conflict-related sexual violence' refers to rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, forced sterilization, forced marriage and other forms of sexual violence. The majority of victims are women and girls. 'In 2024, proliferating and escalating conflicts were marked by widespread conflict-related sexual violence, amid record levels of displacement and increased militarization,' Guterres said. 'Sexual violence continued to be used as a tactic of war, torture, terrorism and political repression, while multiple and overlapping political, security and humanitarian crises deepened.' The toll of sexual violence in conflict The U.N. says women and girls were attacked in their homes, on roads and while trying to earn a living, with victims ranging in age from 1 to 75. Reports of summary executions of victims after rape persisted in Congo and Myanmar, it said. In an increasing number of places, the report said armed groups 'used sexual violence as a tactic to gain and consolidate control over territory and lucrative natural resources.' Women and girls perceived to be associated with rival armed groups were targeted with sexual violence in the Central African Republic, Congo and Haiti, it said. In detention facilities, the report said sexual violence was perpetrated 'including as a form of torture,' reportedly in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Libya, Myanmar, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. 'Most of the reported incidents against men and boys occurred in detention, consistent with previous years, and included rape, threats of rape and the electrocution and beating of genitals,' the report said. U.N. report details where abuse is occurring The U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic documented cases of rape, gang rape, forced marriage and sexual slavery affecting 215 women, 191 girls and seven men. In mineral-rich eastern Congo, the peacekeeping mission documented nearly 800 cases last year, including rape, gang rape, sexual slavery and forced marriage, 'often accompanied by extreme physical violence,' the report said. The number of cases involving the M23 rebel group, now controlling the main city Goma, rose from 43 in 2022 to 152 in 2024, it said. In Sudan, where civil war is raging, the report said that groups providing services to victims of sexual violence recorded 221 rape cases against 147 girls and 74 boys since the beginning of 2024, 'with 16% of survivors under five years of age, including four one-year-olds.' ___
Winnipeg Free Press
11 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
In Washington police takeover, federal agents and National Guard take on new tasks
They typically investigate drug lords, weapons traffickers or cyber criminals. This week, though, federal agents are fanning out across the nation's capital as part of President Donald Trump's efforts to clamp down on crime in the city. The sometimes-masked agents joined members of the National Guard as well as the United States Park Police, whose responsibilities include protecting the country's monuments and managing crowds during demonstrations. Soldiers in fatigues kept watch near Union Station, while officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration patrolled along the National Mall. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives helped question a couple in northwest Washington who were parked illegally and eating McDonald's takeout. Trump said Monday that he's taking over Washington's police department in hopes of reducing crime, even as city officials stressed that crime is already falling. The District of Columbia's status as a congressionally established federal district allows the president to take control, although he's limited to 30 days under statute unless he gets approval from Congress. Amid the takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department, or MPD, here's a list of some of the federal agencies involved and what they typically do: The National Guard THIS WEEK: The Pentagon said that 800 Guard members have been activated for missions in Washington that include monument security, community safety patrols and beautification efforts. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said the troops won't be armed and declined to give more details on what the safety patrols or beautification efforts would entail. The White House said Thursday that Guard members aren't making arrests but are 'protecting federal assets, providing a safe environment for law enforcement officers to make arrests, and deterring violent crime with a visible law enforcement presence.' THE BACKSTORY: The National Guard serves as the primary combat reserve of the Army and Air Force, according to its website. But it also responds when 'disaster strikes in the homeland' to protect life and property in communities. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) THIS WEEK: DEA agents have also fanned out across Washington, working with police on traffic stops and other enforcement efforts. The agency has touted this week that its agents have helped to recover guns and drugs. THE BACKSTORY: The agency typically enforces the nation's controlled substances laws and regulations, while going after drug cartels, gangs and traffickers in the U.S. and abroad. For example, a DEA-led investigation scored a record seizure of fentanyl in May, 'dismantling one of the largest and most dangerous drug trafficking organizations in U.S. history,' the agency said in a news release. The DEA also operates a little-known research lab in northern Virginia that's working to analyze seized narcotics to find ways to stop the supply. Its chemists identify the ever-evolving tactics employed by cartels to manufacture drugs flowing into the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) THIS WEEK: Agents with Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, could be seen on Wednesday alongside MPD officers as they conducted traffic checks at a checkpoint along 14th Street in northwest Washington. THE BACKSTORY: HSI investigates a wide variety of crimes on a global scale – at home, abroad and online – with hundreds of offices across the country and abroad. Those crimes include 'illegal movement of people, goods, money, contraband, weapons and sensitive technology into, out of and through the United States,' the agency says on its website. In the last few months, as the Trump administration has ramped up its immigration enforcement efforts across the U.S., HSI agents have been out on raids and involved in immigration arrests at courthouses and other sites around the country. HSI agents also investigate a vast array of crime, including cyber and financial crimes and intellectual property offenses. United States Park Police THIS WEEK: United States Park Police have been seen helping with traffic stops this week in the district and are a regular presence in Washington. D.C. The federal agency is actually one of the nation's oldest, being founded in 1791 by George Washington. THE BACKSTORY: The police are part of the National Park Service and has jurisdiction in all federal parks, with offices in Washington, New York and San Francisco, according to the agency's website. Before this week's takeover, it already had the authority to make an arrest in the District of Columbia. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) THIS WEEK: ATF agents have been helping out with traffic stops. THE BACKSTORY: The agency primarily focuses on the illegal use of guns and explosives, bombings and acts of terrorism, and the trafficking of illicit liquor or contraband tobacco.
Global News
41 minutes ago
- Global News
Canada's counter-tariffs ‘pulled the rug out from' CUSMA, U.S. envoy says
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra says Canada is jeopardizing the future of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) — also known as USMCA — on free trade due to Canadian counter-tariffs on certain American products. 'Canada is the country that has pulled the rug out from USMCA,' Hoekstra said in an exclusive interview with Global News on Thursday. 'They also started putting tariffs on CUSMA products … We haven't done that, but Canada has decided 'That's fair game. We will call into question CUSMA.'' Back in March, Ottawa placed a 25 per cent tariff on $29.8 billion in U.S. products, including some imports that fall under the free trade agreement such as orange juice, motorcycles and appliances. That was in response to tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump that have continued to escalate. Story continues below advertisement So far, Trump has imposed a 35 per cent tariff on all non-free trade Canadian goods, a 50 per cent levy on Canadian steel, aluminum and copper, and is threatening to bring in more tariffs on Canadian pharmaceuticals. 1:07 Retaliatory tariffs should have 'minimum impact' on Canadians, Carney says Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney hinted at unilaterally removing some tariffs on U.S. goods if it could improve ongoing negotiations and help Canadian businesses. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'We look at what we can do for our industry that's most effective. In some cases that will be to remove tariffs,' he said. Hoekstra also said personal attacks from Canadian politicians against the U.S. president are another irritant. 'Some Canadian politicians have decided that they will attack the president personally, they will attack people on his economic team, his negotiating team,' Hoekstra told Global News. Story continues below advertisement 'They will attack them personally, not on the policy, but them personally. Again, that is a Canadian decision. All we do is respond to it.' Trump has routinely attacked Canadians, spending much of the winter calling on Canada to be annexed as the 51st state and routinely referring to then-prime minister Justin Trudeau as 'governor.' 3:53 'Tariffs up, elbows down': Poilievre blasts Carney over lack of trade deals Another key irritant for Hoekstra is the Canadian government reviewing the $74-billion contract to buy 88 F-35 fighter jets from U.S. company Lockheed Martin. 'There's two countries that have been relatively harsh against the United States, and that's China and Canada,' Hoekstra said. Earlier this week, the U.S. and China extended their tariff deal deadline for another 90 days until Nov. 10. But Canada has had no pause and Hoekstra doesn't see a deal within reach soon. Story continues below advertisement 'I think on both sides, the negotiators feel that they haven't made enough progress and that there's enough significant issues out there that are going to take a lot of work,' he said. 0:42 Ford calls Trump 'probably the most disliked politician in the world in Canada' Ontario Premier Doug Ford warned last week that even if Canada signs a deal with the U.S., he is worried Trump will not honour any free trade commitments. 'At any given time, President Trump — not that he even follows the rules — he could pull the carpet out from underneath us on CUSMA tomorrow with one signature,' Ford said. Ford also warned he thinks Trump wants to renegotiate the free trade deal as soon as November, ahead of the scheduled start date of next year. Hoekstra did not rule out the U.S. pushing for earlier renegotiations. Story continues below advertisement 'Lots of things could happen in the future,' he said. 'I don't know what the decision will be. That will be the president's decision, his team's decision.' When asked by Global News last week if Canada was not responding with further retaliation to increasing U.S. tariffs because it could hurt future free trade deal renegotiations, Carney emphasized the importance of Canada preserving its North American free trade deal. 'We're very conscious that there are a couple of negotiations in sequence and the extent to which those negotiations can be brought together or inform each other that's in the interest of all parties,' he said.
