European leaders call for protection of Ukrainian, European security interests at Trump-Putin talks
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Straits Times
12 minutes ago
- Straits Times
What does Ukraine's constitution say about territorial changes?
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A drone view shows the ruins of residential buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, August 7, 2025. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo KYIV - Territorial questions are certain to be a key area of focus when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders meet U.S. President Donald Trump for talks on Monday to map out a possible peace deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Russia occupies around a fifth of Ukraine and the U.S. president has said "land-swapping" and changes to territory will be crucial for any settlement. Two sources briefed on Russian thinking said on Saturday that Putin and Trump have discussed a proposal requiring Ukraine to fully withdraw troops from the Ukrainian-controlled parts of the eastern Donetsk region. UKRAINE'S CONSTITUTION ON THE ISSUE OF TERRITORY Any changes to Ukraine's territory would have to be settled in Ukraine by a referendum, according to the country's constitution. "Issues of altering the territory of Ukraine are resolved exclusively by an All-Ukrainian referendum," Article 73 says. The question can be put to a referendum by popular initiative if the signatures of three million eligible Ukrainian voters are gathered from at least two thirds of the country's regions, it says. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Jobs, infrastructure and homes at the core of Singapore's resilience: Economists Business New online tools by SkillsFuture Singapore help companies plan and curate staff training Life Chinese EV brand Nio to be launched in Singapore in first quarter of 2026 Asia 2 firefighters die in building fire at Osaka's Dotonbori tourist district Singapore Driver hurt after car turns turtle in Upper Thomson accident Sport National tennis player Shaheed Alam serves up charity event to benefit migrant workers Life New Blackpink album scheduled for November, YG Entertainment confirms Singapore Jail for driver of 11-tonne garbage truck that ran over cyclist in Woodlands UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT STANCE Ukraine, like its European allies, strongly opposes the idea of legally recognising any Ukrainian territory as Russian. But it has tacitly acknowledged it will almost certainly have to accept some de facto territorial losses. Zelenskiy has said talks to end the war should take the current front line as their starting point and cannot begin by Kyiv having to withdraw its troops from parts of its own sovereign territory that Russia does not control. He has said he does not have a mandate to give away any of the country's territory, and that tracts of state land cannot be traded around as if they were his private property. Zelenskiy has also said that if Kyiv withdrew troops from the heavily fortified eastern Donetsk region, it would open up Ukraine to the threat of Russian advances deeper into less well-defended Ukrainian territory. TRUMP'S STANCE The U.S. president has publicly criticized Zelenskiy for saying he could not violate the constitution by agreeing to give away territory. "I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelenskiy was saying: 'Well, I have to get constitutional approval'. I mean, he has got approval to go into war, kill everybody but he needs approval to do a land swap. Because there will be some land swapping going on", he told the press on August 11. UKRAINIANS' VIEW A clear majority of Ukrainians want a negotiated settlement, according to opinion polls, but they also oppose recognising Ukrainian land as Russian. The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology says that an opinion poll it conducted in June showed that 68% of those questioned oppose the idea of officially recognising "some parts" of occupied land as Russian, while 24% are open to this. The same survey showed that 78% are against the idea of giving up on land that Kyiv's troops still control. The pollster did not survey opinions in areas occupied by Russia. REUTERS
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Trump targets mail-in ballots ahead of 2026 US elections
WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump said on Monday (Aug 18) he would lead a "movement" against mail-in balloting as he sought to eliminate a voting method used by nearly a third of the country ahead of next year's midterm elections. Trump - who has spent years railing against postal ballots, even though they have benefited his Republicans and he has voted by mail - said he would sign an executive order to help bring "honesty" to the midterms. "I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we're at it, Highly Inaccurate, Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES," he posted on his website, Truth Social. Mail-in and absentee ballots can be counted after Election Day in 18 states, so long as they're postmarked on or before that date, and just over 30 per cent of those cast in the 2024 election were submitted by mail. There is no evidence that postal voting is less secure than other methods, and pro-democracy groups say ending it could disenfranchise millions of Americans with disabilities and other difficulties turning out in person. But Trump repeatedly spread misinformation about the practice as he campaigned in 2020 and 2024. After his defeat in 2020, he falsely claimed that tens of thousands of fraudulent mail-in ballots had helped Democrat Joe Biden beat him. Trump said on Friday his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who US investigators found interfered on the Republican's behalf in the 2016 election, agreed with him that letting voters send in ballots by mail risked election integrity. "You know, Vladimir Putin said something, one of the most interesting things," Trump told Fox News. The International IDEA data shows there are 34 countries worldwide allowing in-country postal voting, including Germany, Britain, Denmark and US neighbour Canada. Trump issued an executive order in March directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to "take all necessary action" against states counting absentee or mail-in ballots received after the election, even if they were postmarked by Election Day. A judge ruled that Trump lacked the authority to impose state election rules and blocked the edict. Despite his criticism, Trump cast mail ballots twice in Florida in the 2020 primary elections and used absentee ballots in New York in 2018 and 2017. But he voted in person in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. And there was a brief about-face in 2024 when he announced the launch of a "Swamp The Vote USA" drive to encourage postal ballots, which analysts saw as a pragmatic acceptance of the reality that postal ballots are how many of his supporters vote.
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Russia-Ukraine war: Professor David Dunn on Ukraine-EU-US talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be meeting Donald Trump, after the US leader's meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin last week produced no clear results. Their meeting will be closely watched, with EU leaders flanking the Ukrainian leader. Jill Neubronner talks to Professor David Dunn, Chair of International Politics at the University of Birmingham.
