In Donbas, Ukrainians hold out as Russia besieges, bargains for their land
The next morning, he awoke with his legs crushed under the rubble of his apartment in the eastern town of Bilozerske. A Russian glide bomb had smashed into a neighboring building, sending a shock wave toward him. He dragged himself downstairs, where medics rushed him to a hospital in Kramatorsk, the fortified Ukrainian city that Russia still hopes to seize.
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Bloomberg
a minute ago
- Bloomberg
Zelenskiy Should Not Make Concessions: William Taylor
William Taylor, former US Ambassador to Ukraine, voices his thoughts on what security guarantees the US can give Ukraine to help the country against Russian President Vladimir Putin and whether or not Ukraine may cede territory as part of a peace deal. He speaks with Tyler Kendall and Michael Shepard on the late edition of Bloomberg's "Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)
Associated Press
a minute ago
- Associated Press
FACT FOCUS: Trump says he has ended seven wars. That's not accurate
President Donald Trump has projected himself as a peacemaker since returning to the White House in January, touting his efforts to end global conflicts. In meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders Monday, Trump repeated that he has been instrumental in stopping multiple wars but didn't specify which. 'I've done six wars, I've ended six wars, Trump said in the Oval Office with Zelenskyy. He later added: 'If you look at the six deals I settled this year, they were all at war. I didn't do any ceasefires.' He raised that figure Tuesday, telling 'Fox & Friends' that 'we ended seven wars.' But although Trump helped mediate relations among many of these nations, experts say his impact isn't as clear cut as he claims. Here's a closer look at the conflicts. Israel and Iran Trump is credited with ending the 12-day war. Israel launched attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear program and military leadership in June, saying it wanted to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon — which Tehran has denied it was trying to do. Trump negotiated a ceasefire between Israel and Iran just after directing American warplanes to strike Iran's Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites. He publicly harangued both countries into maintaining the ceasefire. Evelyn Farkas, executive director of Arizona State University's McCain Institute, said Trump should get credit for ending the war. 'There's always a chance it could flare up again if Iran restarts its nuclear weapons program, but nonetheless, they were engaged in a hot war with one another,' she said. 'And it didn't have any real end in sight before President Trump got involved and gave them an ultimatum.' Lawrence Haas, a senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the American Foreign Policy Council who is an expert on Israel-Iran tensions, agreed the U.S. was instrumental in securing the ceasefire. But he characterized it as a 'temporary respite' from the ongoing 'day-to-day cold war' between the two foes that often involves flare-ups. Egypt and Ethiopia This could be described as tensions at best, and peace efforts — which don't directly involve the U.S. — have stalled. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River has caused friction between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan since the power-generating project was announced more than a decade ago. In July, Ethiopia declared the project complete, with an inauguration set for September. Egypt and Sudan oppose the dam. Although the vast majority of the water that flows down the Nile originates in Ethiopia, Egyptian agriculture relies on the river almost entirely. Sudan, meanwhile, fears flooding and wants to protect its own power-generating dams. During his first term, Trump tried to broker a deal between Ethiopia and Egypt but couldn't get them to agree. He suspended aid to Ethiopia over the dispute. In July, he posted on Truth Social that he helped the 'fight over the massive dam (and) there is peace at least for now.' However, the disagreement persists, and negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have stalled. 'It would be a gross overstatement to say that these countries are at war,' said Haas. 'I mean, they're just not.' India and Pakistan The April killing of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir pushed India and Pakistan closer to war than they had been in years, but a ceasefire was reached. Trump has claimed that the U.S. brokered the ceasefire, which he said came about in part because he offered trade concessions. Pakistan thanked Trump, recommending him for the Nobel Peace Prize. But India has denied Trump's claims, saying there was no conversation between the U.S. and India on trade in regards to the ceasefire. Although India has downplayed the Trump administration's role in the ceasefire, Haas and Farkas believe the U.S. deserves some credit for helping stop the fighting. 'I think that President Trump played a constructive role from all accounts, but it may not have been decisive. And again, I'm not sure whether you would define that as a full-blown war,' Farkas said. Serbia and Kosovo The White House lists the conflict between these countries as one Trump resolved, but there has been no threat of a war between the two neighbors during Trump's second term, nor any significant contribution from Trump this year to improve their relations. Kosovo is a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008. Tensions have persisted ever since, but never to the point of war, mostly because NATO-led peacekeepers have been deployed in Kosovo, which has been recognized by more than 100 countries. During his first term, Trump negotiated a wide-ranging deal between Serbia and Kosovo, but much of what was agreed on was never carried out. Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo Trump has played a key role in peace efforts between the African neighbors, but he's hardly alone and the conflict is far from over. Eastern Congo, rich in minerals, has been battered by fighting with more than 100 armed groups. The most potent is the M23 rebel group backed by neighboring Rwanda, which claims it is protecting its territorial interests and that some of those who participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide fled to Congo and are working with the Congolese army. The Trump administration's efforts paid off in June, when the Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers signed a peace deal at the White House. The M23, however, wasn't directly involved in the U.S.-facilitated negotiations and said it couldn't abide by the terms of an agreement that didn't involve it. The final step to peace was meant to be a separate Qatar-facilitated deal between Congo and M23 that would bring about a permanent ceasefire. But with the fighting still raging, Monday's deadline for the Qatar-led deal was missed and there have been no public signs of major talks between Congo and M23 on the final terms. Armenia and Azerbaijan Trump this month hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House, where they signed a deal aimed at ending a decades-long conflict between the two nations. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called the signed document a 'significant milestone,' and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hailed Trump for performing 'a miracle.' The two countries signed agreements intended to reopen key transportation routes and reaffirm Armenia's and Azerbaijan's commitment to signing a peace treaty. The treaty's text was initialed by the countries' foreign ministers at that meeting, which indicates preliminary approval. But the two countries have yet to sign and ratify the deal. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a bitter conflict over territory since the early 1990s, when ethnic Armenian forces took control of the Karabakh province, known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh, and nearby territories. In 2020, Azerbaijan's military recaptured broad swaths of territory. Russia brokered a truce and deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to the region. In September 2023, Azerbaijani forces launched a lightning blitz to retake remaining portions. The two countries have worked toward normalizing ties and signing a peace treaty ever since. Cambodia and Thailand Officials from Thailand and Cambodia credit Trump with pushing the Asian neighbors to agree to a ceasefire in this summer's brief border conflict. Cambodia and Thailand have clashed in the past over their shared border. The latest fighting began in July after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Tensions had been growing since May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thai politics. Both countries agreed in late July to an unconditional ceasefire during a meeting in Malaysia. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim pressed for the pact, but there was little headway until Trump intervened. Trump said on social media that he warned the Thai and Cambodian leaders that the U.S. would not move forward with trade agreements if the hostilities continued. Both countries faced economic difficulties and neither had reached tariff deals with the U.S., though most of their Southeast Asian neighbors had. According to Ken Lohatepanont, a political analyst and University of Michigan doctoral candidate, 'President Trump's decision to condition a successful conclusion to these talks on a ceasefire likely played a significant role in ensuring that both sides came to the negotiating table when they did.' ___ Associated Press reporters Jon Gambrell, Grant Peck, Dasha Litvinova, Fay Abuelgasim, Rajesh Roy, and Dusan Stojanovic contributed. ___ Find AP Fact Checks here:
Newsweek
a minute ago
- Newsweek
Zelensky's Red Line for Putin Peace Talks
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Ukrainian President Zelensky may have some red lines on concessions as he considers negotiations to reach an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, analysts told Newsweek. Why It Matters Zelensky met with President Donald Trump and other European leaders at the White House on Monday to discuss potential peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. World leaders have for years sought to reach a deal to end the bloody conflict, but Zelensky and Putin have remained divided on key points to reach a ceasefire to end the conflict. What To Know Security guarantees from the West, Ukrainian membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and territorial issues are among the key obstacles to a peace deal. Putin has pushed for maximalist concessions from Ukraine, including Russian control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and no NATO membership for Ukraine. Those terms, however, would be difficult for Zelensky to accept. While Ukrainian support for continuing the war has dropped, according to some polls, Ukrainian leadership is unlikely to end the war under Putin's conditions, foreign policy analysts told Newsweek. Matthew Pauly, a historian at Michigan State University, told Newsweek that Zelensky may "concede temporary Russian control of occupied Ukrainian land, including Crimea," but that he "will not and cannot accede to the legal recognition of Russian annexation." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to reporters in Brussels, Belgium, on August 17, 2025. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to reporters in Brussels, Belgium, on August 17, 2025."Any proposal for a 'land swap' is a misnomer," he said. "Russia is not proposing giving up Russian land, but rather Ukrainian land that it illegally occupies. It is demanding gains that it has not achieved on the battlefield. As Zelensky quite rightly argues, Russia seeks to deceptively secure through negotiations what it has been unsuccessful in gaining on the battlefield over the course of twelve years." When it comes to security guarantees, the details are critical, Pauly said. "A security guarantee 'like NATO' sounds good, but the devil is in the details. Why not just be granted NATO membership then?" he said. NATO membership and maintaining Ukrainian land are at the "core of Ukraine's right to self-determination and sovereignty as a nation" and are unlikely to be concessions Zelensky is willing to make, Mai'a Cross, an international affairs professor at Northeastern University, told Newsweek. "While Ukraine may not join NATO any time soon, especially while the war is still ongoing, it will want to leave this option open down the road, as it should. This is also in the interest of the EU who will want to ensure that Russia does not threaten Ukraine again if there is eventually an end to this war," she said. What Concessions Would Ukrainians Support? Zelensky remains popular at home and has to "balance various sides" as he works to bring the war to a close, Dani Belo, director of the Global Policy Horizons Research Lab at Webster University, told Newsweek. While the U.S. wants to reach a ceasefire "as soon as possible," European nations would like to maintain deterrence against Moscow, he said. "Concurrently, from Kyiv's perspective, maintaining the military campaign against Russia comes at the cost of Ukrainians' lives, the economy, and democracy. Nobody knows what Zelensky will choose, but he will have to consider these interests," Belo said. Pauly said most Ukrainians may be able to accept "the temporary loss of Ukrainian land" but not Ukrainian sovereignty. "Ukraine has built up a network of defenses on land in the eastern part of the country that Russia is now demanding. Forfeiture of this land would expose Ukraine in the same way Czechoslovakia was fatally harmed by the handing over of the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany in 1938," he said. Robert B. Murrett, professor of practice of international affairs at Syracuse University, told Newsweek many Ukrainians feel "resentment" and "fury" over the war, and that the Ukrainian public would likely not be willing to accept forfeiting NATO membership or land from the Donetsk or Luhansk regions. Crimea, however, "was never in the cards for being returned to Ukraine," he said. Still, Zelensky admitting that could be a mistake as "you don't want to give up your negotiating positions before you actually negotiate," he said. What People Are Saying Historian Matthew Pauly told Newsweek: "It is imperative that the burden of surrender does not fall on the victim when the aggressor demonstrates no significant concessions. Russia's insistence on a peace agreement rather than a ceasefire appears to be a strategic maneuver designed to prolong hostilities and allow Russia to continue bombing Ukrainian cities." Mark Storella, former ambassador to Zambia and professor of diplomacy at Boston University, told Newsweek: "The fundamental issue everyone is wrestling with is whether Putin wants peace on any terms short of his maximalist demands to swallow big chunks of Ukraine territory and turn Ukraine into a vassal state of Russia. Unless Russia is losing on the battlefield or it's economy is crumbling, Russia will accept peace only if it gets Putin's demands or if Putin sees it as a step toward eventual complete capitulation by Ukraine over time." What Happens Next Trump is pushing for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin to discuss peace talks. Whether either side is willing to make some concessions, or whether the war will continue for the near future, is yet to be seen.
