Ukrainians in Cumbria mark third anniversary of Russian invasion
The war has killed tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, and destroyed swathes of Ukraine.It began when Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022 following its earlier annexation of Ukrainian territory.Ms Stoica added: "It's an opportunity for us to commemorate the people who died for our freedom."
'Hard to adapt'
The UK welcomed many displaced people under the government's Homes for Ukraine scheme.Now closed, it allowed Ukrainian nationals and their immediate family members to apply for permission to come to the country if they had an approved sponsor.Among those in Carlisle on Sunday to have used it was Olga Leintovea, who has two teenage sons."It was very hard for them to adapt," she said. "It took a while, but now we are more or less settled."I work in a school, they go to school, so at least we are here safe."
Ms Leintovea said recent remarks by US President Donald Trump around peace talks had proved worrying.Mr Trump last week called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator", blamed Ukraine for starting the war and said he believed Russia had "the cards" in any peace talks because it has "taken a lot of territory"."It's heart-breaking to hear that after all the support we've had from the Western world," Ms Leintovea said."Of course it's frustrating for us. That's why we need to be united - all Ukrainains, all Europeans - to stand for freedom and for peace."
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Metro
28 minutes ago
- Metro
Trump may think he's the ultimate salesman
Yesterday, Volodymyr Zelensky turned up to the White House in a black suit and a spine of steel. In a meeting with European leaders and President Trump, he showed more poise and patience than most leaders manage in peacetime, let alone in his position. The valiant leader had already been publicly humiliated in the Oval Office earlier this year, but still kept his cool while Trump did what Trump does in Washington. But let's be clear about what it was. For all of the Ukrainian leader's flattery (with non-stop 'thank yous' and a letter from his wife to the First Lady) and Europe's strongly worded statements, the day amounted to a full-court press to push Ukraine into a meeting with Putin and a deal that, while not explicitly spelled out yesterday, would almost certainly see land handed to Russia. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here. It is not good enough – and it's time for the UK and our allies to say so. Trump floated another call with Putin and teased a three-way sit-down. European leaders were marched in like human guardrails – having initially been kept outside by the petulant President. The optics were polite; the ask was not. The pressure is still coming from Trump for Ukraine to engage with Putin, who should be required to give up any hopes of 'land swaps' before talks begin. Otherwise, that is not peace. That is defeat with nicer lighting. Hours before the handshakes yesterday, Russian strikes killed families in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. You do not reward that with a pen stroke that amputates a sovereign country. Do you think Ukraine should give up land to Russia? You make the next strike less likely by raising the cost of aggression until Moscow cannot pay it. That is the job. Everything else is theatre. There is no world in which Putin settles for parcels of land. Give him paper and he will eat it. Give him land and he will ask for more. We already knew Trump was delusional – he underlined it by claiming Putin wants to make a deal to make the US President happy. That level of misconception inspires no confidence in any future summitry. Trump says he has since begun the arrangements for a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, then a trilateral with himself. Fine – wars end when enemies meet. But the self-styled salesman is still flogging a shortcut to peace that does not exist. Meanwhile, Europe turned up in force – Starmer, Macron, Merz, Meloni, Stubb, von der Leyen, Rutte – and that matters, for now. Keir Starmer, who has led our country's support for Ukraine with clarity and confidence, said there was 'real progress' and a 'real sense of unity' yesterday. Great. But that has been the case since Day One. The presence of Starmer, Macron and co is useful only if they say the quiet part out loud, in front of the cameras and behind closed doors: there will be no deal that gives Russia an inch of Ukraine. They need to say cleanly, publicly, repeatedly: If the price of Trump's 'reasonable chance' of peace is Ukrainian territory, the answer is no. Forget flattering Trump. Box him in. Give Ukraine what they need to shut down the sky – layered air defence, ammunition without drama, long-range strikes to put Russian logistics at risk every night. Seize frozen Russian sovereign assets and wire them to Ukrainian air defence and reconstruction. That is what 'security guarantees' actually mean. Anything less is a press release. And finally, cut the coyness about how this ends. It ends when Russia leaves. All of it. That is the baseline, not the maximalist position. The only negotiation is about sequencing and verification, not whether Ukraine keeps its territory like a contestant keeps a prize. If Moscow wants a photo-op to claim victory at home, fine – give them a nothingburger with an embossed seal. But give Ukraine the protection. That is the bargain – optics for them, outcomes for us. As practically every leader has said, yesterday was a 'good step forward.' But now go and read the casualty sheets. Watch the footage from Kharkiv. Count the children abducted, the cities utterly cratered and the power grids attacked as winter approaches. Ukraine is holding. Their resistance has been heroic and their people have more courage than the rest of us combined. Our job now is to make sure they can hold until Russia understands there is no profit in continuing. Then, we – as in Ukraine, Europe and the US – must take back Ukrainian land and rebuild it. Yesterday's test was not whether Zelensky smiled in a suit. It is whether Europe and the United States can say, in public, that territorial concessions are off the table. There is only one way wars like this ever end: when the aggressor is forced to accept what he cannot change. If yesterday's Washington show delivers that, good. But the signs are bleak. More Trending Trump values theatre above all else, and Ukrainians have buried too many of their people to be cast in another play. This has gone on long enough – and the message from yesterday should have been that this is Putin's last chance to back down. If not, it's up to all us together – Britain, Europe and America – to secure Ukraine's victory. And it'll take more than suits and smiles to make that happen. Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Share your views in the comments below. MORE: Lisa Nandy's 'protect the dolls' T-shirt left a sour taste in my mouth MORE: Fact check: Donald Trump boasts he's ended 'six wars in six months' but has he? MORE: Russian troops troll Zelensky by flying US flag on mission into Ukraine
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
What could happen if Zelensky and Putin actually meet?
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have stalled, but there are hopes the two countries could soon sit down and discuss matters face to face. Yesterday's meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump at the White House was hailed as making 'real progress'. But the elephant in the room is a potential faceoff between Vladimir Putin and Zelensky. The pair last met in person in 2019, speaking about how to stop fighting in eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops had been trying to take land since 2014. Putin and Zelensky met in Paris, but the meeting didn't lead to any long-term peace in the regions. The stakes have never been higher after Russia illegally invaded Ukraine in February 2022, sparking a war which has killed more than 70,000 Ukrainian civilians. If the meeting comes to fruition, body language expert Judi James said the interaction could play out like a long-awaited boxing match. Zelensky and Putin's last face-to-face meeting in 2019 showed two very different leaders from the ones we know today. Judi James told Metro: 'Zelensky was a fresh-faced, slim, youthful-looking man back then, in his suit and tie, and there was a series of body language rituals that made him look like the nervous and amenable junior at the table. 'Zelensky is now a changed man. He looks like a sturdy wartime leader now with his more muscular build and his warrior stance. His terrible spat with Vance and Trump showed he is no longer in a 'compliant youth' role. He was not intimidated by Trump, although this week showed he is able to play the game in terms of diplomacy.' Ian Garner, Assistant Professor at the Pilecki Institute in Warsaw, specialises in Russian war studies. He told Metro that anything is possible, but a potential meeting between Zelensky and Putin would face hurdles before ever coming to fruition. He said: 'The Europeans, in particular, would want to be present so that they can keep pushing forward the idea that Russia is the aggressor in the war and that Russia has to make concessions, as well as Ukraine.' James said if Putin and Zelensky do meet in the coming months, they would have 'invisible armies of war dead behind them'. She explained: 'From the 'ring walk' to the face-to-face poses and the handshake that will be a symbolic 'touching of the gloves', this meeting is therefore likely to have a similar body language format as a boxing match, although hopefully with no prolonged stare-off.' But the man who has the most influence in the negotiations – Donald Trump – will also likely want to be at the centre of attention in the discussions, Garner adds. Keir Giles, a Russia expert at Chatham House, told Metro: 'Speculation about the possibility of the two meeting is just another example of how media reporting and the statements of European leaders are very different from expert assessments of what is actually realistic. 'Nobody who has been listening to Putin and watching the course of the war anticipates that a meeting between him and Zelensky is realistic unless pressure is brought by Trump on Putin in a manner that has not been seen to date.' If the meeting happens, Giles thinks it will take place at the White House, according to Trump's claims. 'But Putin has been reluctant to meet Zelensky and legitimise his presidency. However, if it were to happen, then Putin would find Zelensky a much tougher customer than Trump. 'Putin would find that he is unable to intimidate Zelensky in the same way that he has other leaders. And he has limited negotiating space to try to get his way with Zelensky because his armed forces have already spent years trying to destroy Ukraine and failing.' The conversation between Putin and Zelensky would be interesting to watch, Garner said, mainly because Putin is not a confrontational leader. 'He will stick to his script. Even if the script bears no relationship with reality, he's very level-headed, and he's very cold. When he speaks in Russian, he speaks with this incredibly even pace. That's how he engages with world leaders; that's how he's always done his negotiations,' he said. Zelensky, however, is a bit more of a 'chameleon'. Garner explained: 'He's a performer in the sense that he usually tries to shift the way he behaves based on what his audience wants most. I do think he made a mistake in the Oval Office back in February with that big blow-up confrontation, and he knows that he made that mistake. 'Look at the way that he behaved with Trump yesterday. During a future meeting with Putin, Zelensky would be very well prepared. He will have his script. But I wouldn't be surprised to see him throw a couple of jabs at Putin.' Judi James said: 'One of the most important factors of this meeting will be the staging and the choreography. Putin needs to not look like a superior senior as he did in Paris. 'Someone, possibly Trump, needs to be an immaculate and inclusive host. Every gesture from the host needs to be impartial. Last time they had a round table, but seemed to play it by ear from there, but this meeting will need a top-level psychologist to apply some forensic analysis of layout, seating, positioning of furniture and the photographers. 'Last time Zelensky sat with his back to the press and had to turn for an unserious-looking photo. Given the history of Putin and Zelensky, though, plus Putin's skills at subtle body language power-play, someone needs to be able to spot the subtlest of signals and cope with tensions and tricks before they destroy any hair-fine balance.' Besides the obvious – a ceasefire – land is the main focus of chats between Russia and Ukraine. Garner explains: 'We know what Putin wants, and we know what Putin won't give up, and that's the land. And I'd be astonished if he makes any really meaningful security guarantees to Ukraine or permits America to make meaningful security guarantees to Ukraine, but Zelensky might be a little bit more flexible. More Trending 'The reason is that Zelensky, unlike Putin, is not a dictator. He's a democratic leader, and what he brings to the negotiating table will be closer to what at least a broad section of the Ukrainian population wants.' A potential ceasefire, which could involve security guarantees from Western powers, such as NATO, will be unlikely, Garner says. 'It's hard to see Putin agreeing to anything that would involve any foreign troops in Ukraine. The more weapons, the less likely that Putin will agree to it.' Giles agrees: 'We've already seen that even though the objectives of the two sides are completely incompatible and there's no room for agreement, there are other aspects of the war where it is valuable to have face-to-face talks, such as, for example, prisoner exchanges.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Five key takeaways from Zelensky's crunch talks with Donald Trump at the White House MORE: Fact check: Donald Trump boasts he's ended 'six wars in six months' but has he? MORE: Russian troops troll Zelensky by flying US flag on mission into Ukraine
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
What is the coalition of the willing?
Here, the PA news agency looks at who is in the coalition and what they can achieve: – What is the coalition of the willing? At least 31 countries have signed up to help defend a peace deal in Ukraine, once one is struck, in an effort to ward off a future attack by Russia. The UK is among those 'willing', with the Government prepared to put 'boots on the ground and planes in the air', Sir Keir said when he unveiled plans for the coalition at London's Lancaster House in March. But it is not the first of its kind. Former US president Bill Clinton suggested in 1994 that sanctions could be imposed by a 'so-called coalition of the willing', to quell North Korea's nuclear ambitions, and his successor George W Bush announced a similar alliance in the early-2000s to disarm the then-Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. – Who has signed up? Leaders from the UK, France, Germany, Finland and Italy have all indicated their willingness to defend a peace deal in Ukraine. They joined Donald Trump, who has not signed up to the coalition, and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House this month. A total 31 countries are in the coalition, according to the Government's National Security Strategy 2025. Beyond Europe, it has attracted support from the Canadian and Australian prime ministers Mark Carney and Anthony Albanese. – Will British troops go to Ukraine? After Sir Keir's commitment to put 'boots on the ground and planes in the air together with others' to militarily defend a peace deal, No 10 unveiled its support for a Multinational Force Ukraine, in an effort to help regenerate Ukraine's own armed forces. Military chiefs have previously met in Paris to agree a strategy for the force, and to coordinate plans with the EU, Nato, the US and more than 200 planners from 30 international partners. And in Washington, European leaders discussed early-stage proposals for a security guarantee, similar to Nato's article five principle – that an attack one member is an attack on the entire bloc. – What has the coalition achieved? 'The coalition of the willing has been successful in advocating for Ukraine and communicating with Trump and the US administration during its outreach to Russia,' says Edward Arnold from the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think tank. 'Moreover, it has undertaken lengthy military planning and has established a leadership and command structure. However, much remains uncertain, especially the nature of any agreed ceasefire or whether a broader peace process is on the cards.' But the US's commitment is 'far from certain', he told the PA news agency, and warned that 'European planners cannot progress the planning until the US position is agreed'. – What is Nato's role? Nato's Mark Rutte has attended meetings of the coalition of the willing, and Mr Trump appeared pleased with his efforts at their meeting when he described the secretary general as 'a great, great political leader'. But Mr Arnold warned that an article five-style mutual defence deal could amount to 'de facto' membership of the bloc for Ukraine, something which Russian president Vladimir Putin 'is unlikely to agree to'. He said: ''Nato article five-style' guarantees are being talked about but Nato is a unique alliance which is not able to be replicated for Ukraine. 'Moreover, if any coalition of the willing member signed a mutual defence clause with Ukraine, and then Ukraine was attacked further, that could conceivably draw that Nato member into direct conflict with Russia, thereby potentially triggering article five.' Sir Keir has welcomed 'some sort of article five-style guarantees', which he said 'fits' with some of the coalition's work, and Mr Trump who met Mr Putin in an Alaska summit claimed Moscow will 'accept' multinational efforts to guarantee Ukraine's security.
