Ukraine's daring drone attack on Russian air bases
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
4 hours ago
- Sky News AU
President Trump is the only president ‘this century' who has held Russia ‘in check': Leavitt
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has discussed US President Donald Trump's efforts to mediate the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 'We finally have movement after years of deadly gridlock,' Ms Leavitt said. 'President Trump is the only president this century, Republican or Democrat, who has held Russia in check.'
SBS Australia
5 hours ago
- SBS Australia
The countries that could host a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin
United States President Donald Trump's ambitions to broker a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine have been hailed as a "major step forward" after a historic meeting with European leaders. As fighting continues, multiple countries have offered to host a peace summit between Russia and Ukraine, even offering Russian President Vladimir Putin immunity from the International Criminal Court (ICC) charges he faces. While face-to-face negotiations between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could be a significant milestone, details on such a meeting remain vague, and Russia has not officially committed. Trump has said he is looking to plan a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, followed by a trilateral summit that he would also attend. The US president said on Tuesday that Putin and Zelenskyy were "in the process of setting up" a meeting to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Where could a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting be held? Several countries have been put forth as possible venues for a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, including Switzerland and Austria. Both countries have said they would be willing to allow Putin to travel there for peace talks, despite there being an arrest warrant for the Russian president by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Putin is wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes, with the Russian president accused of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children. Russia denies the charge. Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis told a press conference that Putin would be allowed into Switzerland for the purposes of a peace conference, but not for private reasons. Cassis said Switzerland was prepared to host a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, emphasising the neutral country's suitability. French President Emmanuel Macron is also pushing for the Swiss city of Geneva to host the talks. French President Emmanuel Macron has suggested Geneva in Switzerland as a location for talks between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin. Source: AAP / Pool / CNP / Sipa USA /Aaron Schwartz Austria, meanwhile, has offered its capital, Vienna, as a location, saying it would contact the ICC "to make it possible" for Putin to attend. "Our capital has a long tradition as a place of dialogue," he said in a statement, referencing Vienna hosting several international organisations. Other options that have been suggested include countries where the ICC warrant wouldn't matter. A White House official said Trump had discussed Hungary's capital, Budapest, as a venue with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Tuesday. Istanbul in Türkiye, where delegations for the two countries most recently took place, has also been mentioned, a senior administration official said. Hungary is one of the few European places that Putin could visit without fear of arrest on ICC charges. Orbán maintains close ties with Putin. Last year, the Hungarian prime minister said his country would withdraw from the ICC as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — whom the ICC issued an arrest warrant for in November — visited the country. Netanyahu also faces accusations that he is responsible for war crimes relating to the war in Gaza. Israel has rejected the accusations, saying they're fuelled by antisemitism. Türkiye is not an ICC member. Agence France-Presse reported Putin proposed holding a summit with Zelenskyy in Moscow, according to three sources familiar with a call between Trump and the Russian leader. One source said Zelenskyy immediately said no to meeting in the capital of his country's invader. Albanese speaks with 'coalition of the willing' Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined a call with Ukrainian allies overnight, welcoming "ongoing efforts" towards an enduring peace. Albanese joined a call with some of Ukraine's allies — the "coalition of the willing" — to discuss additional sanctions against Russia. "Australia continues to stand with Ukraine," Albanese wrote on X. The call was hosted by United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer and attended by other world leaders, some of whom also attended White House talks with Trump and Zelenskyy. It was agreed that meetings between European nations and the US would take place to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, as Russia reportedly launched its largest attack yet this month. Russian attacks escalate, Trump clarifies security guarantees Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles in an overnight attack on Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said. The energy ministry said the strikes caused big fires at energy facilities in the central Poltava region, home to Ukraine's only oil refinery. However, Russia also returned the bodies of 1,000 dead Ukrainian soldiers on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said. Russia received 19 bodies of its own soldiers in return, according to the state-run TASS news agency. Trump said he ruled out putting US troops on the ground in Ukraine but said the US might provide air support as part of a deal to end the war in Ukraine. A day after Trump pledged security guarantees to help end the war at a White House summit, the path to peace remained uncertain as the US and allies prepared to work out what military support for Ukraine might include. "When it comes to security, (Europeans) are willing to put people on the ground. We're willing to help them with things, especially, probably ... by air," Trump said in an interview with Fox News. — With additional reporting by Reuters and Agence France-Presse
ABC News
9 hours ago
- ABC News
Donald Trump rules out sending US troops to Ukraine as its allies consider security guarantees
US President Donald Trump has ruled out sending American ground troops into Ukraine, as the war-torn nation's allies build a "reassurance force" that could be deployed under a possible peace agreement. Monday's White House peace talks have triggered a flurry of further meetings about how to give security guarantees to Ukraine under any prospective deal with Russia. Leaders from "coalition of the willing" nations — which include Australia — held a virtual meeting and would "prepare for the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities ended", the office of British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said. They were also considering further sanctions on Russia, his office said. NATO military leaders are expected to meet on Wednesday. Mr Trump was meanwhile asked on Fox News about "assurances" that there "won't be American boots on the ground defending that border". He said: "Well, you have my assurance, and I'm the president." But he suggested the US could provide support from the air. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt later said that was an "option and a possibility". "I won't, certainly, rule out anything as far as military options that the president has at his disposal," she said. US officials were also working to set up a bilateral meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin "as soon as possible", Ms Leavitt said. It followed a phone conversation between the US and Russian presidents on Monday, after which Mr Trump said he had begun arranging the meeting. On Tuesday, he said he told Mr Putin: "We're going to set up a meeting with President Zelenskyy, and you and he will meet, and then after that meeting if everything works out OK, I'll meet and we'll wrap it up." But Mr Putin is yet to publicly commit to the bilateral meeting, and the Kremlin only said he and Mr Trump discussed "the prospect of exploring opportunities for drawing higher-ranking officials" into direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations. Mr Trump told Fox News: "I hope President Putin is going to be good — if he's not, it's going to be a rough situation. "And I hope that Zelenskyy, President Zelenskyy, will do what he has to do. He has to show some flexibility also." After the meeting of Ukraine's allies, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia welcomed the "ongoing efforts towards achieving a just and enduring peace, including yesterday's discussions with Washington". ABC/wires
