Trump greets Putin with a red carpet. Ukrainians feel betrayed.
Natalya Lypei, 66, a Kyiv resident, did a double-take. But the images flashing on her phone screen were real: U.S. President Donald Trump greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin warmly and clapped as the Russian leader approached him, after having been escorted into the country by four American fighter jets.
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Los Angeles Times
14 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
West Virginia sends hundreds of National Guard members to D.C. at Trump team's request
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of West Virginia National Guard members will deploy across the nation's capital as part of the Trump administration's assumption of control over policing in the District of Columbia in what it says is part of a nationwide crackdown on crime on homelessness. The move comes as federal agents and National Guard troops have begun to appear across the heavily Democratic city after Trump's executive order on Monday federalizing local police forces and activating about 800 D.C. National Guard troops. By adding outside troops to join the existing National Guard deployment and federal law enforcement officers temporarily assigned to Washington, President Trump is exercising even tighter control over the city. It's a power play that the president has justified as an emergency response to crime and homelessness, even though district officials have noted that violent crime is lower than it was during Trump's first term in office. A protest against Trump's intervention drew scores to Washington's Dupont Circle on Saturday afternoon before a march to the White House, about a mile and a half away. Demonstrators assembled behind a banner that said, 'No fascist takeover of D.C.,' and some in the crowd held signs that said, 'No military occupation.' Trump was at his Virginia golf club after Friday's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Gov. Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, announced Saturday that he was sending a contingent of 300 to 400 National Guard members. 'West Virginia is proud to stand with President Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation's capital,' Morrisey said. Morgan Taylor, one of the organizers of Saturday's protest, said demonstrators who turned out on a hot summer day were hoping to spark enough backlash to Trump's actions that the administration would be forced to pull back. 'It's hot, but I'm glad to be here. It's good to see all these people out here,' she said. 'I can't believe that this is happening in this country at this time.' Protesters said they are concerned about what they view as Trump's overreach, arguing that he had used crime as a pretext to impose his will on Washington. John Finnigan, 55, was taking an afternoon bike ride when he ran into the protest in downtown Washington. A real estate construction manager who has lived in the capital for 27 years, he said that Trump's moves were 'ridiculous' because 'crime is at a 30-year low here.' 'Hopefully some of the mayors and some of the residents will get out in front of it and try and make it harder for it to happen in other cities,' Finnigan said. Jamie Dickstein, a 24-year-old teacher, said she was 'very uncomfortable and worried' for the safety of her students given the 'unmarked officers of all types' now roaming Washington and detaining people. Dickstein said she turned out to protest with friends and relatives to 'prevent a continuous domino effect going forward with other cities.' The West Virginia National Guard activation suggests the administration sees the need for additional manpower, after Trump played down the need for Washington to hire more police officers. Maj. Gen. James Seward, West Virginia's adjutant general — a chief aide to the governor and commanding general of the National Guard — said in a statement that members of the Guard 'stand ready to support our partners in the National Capital Region' and that the Guard's 'unique capabilities and preparedness make it an invaluable partner in this important undertaking.' Federal agents have appeared in some of the city's most highly trafficked neighborhoods, garnering a mix of praise, resistance and alarm from local residents and leaders across the country. City leaders, who are obligated to cooperate with the president's order under the federal laws that direct the district's local governance, have sought to work with the administration, though they have bristled at the scope of the president's takeover. On Friday, the administration reversed course on an order that aimed to place the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration as an 'emergency police commissioner' after the district's top lawyer sued to contest. After a court hearing, Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, issued a memo that directed D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement regardless of any city law. District officials say they are evaluating how to best comply. In his order Monday, Trump declared an emergency, citing the 'city government's failure to maintain public order.' He said that impeded the 'federal government's ability to operate efficiently to address the nation's broader interests without fear of our workers being subjected to rampant violence.' In a letter to city residents, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, wrote that 'our limited self-government has never faced the type of test we are facing right now.' She added that if Washingtonians stick together, 'we will show the entire nation what it looks like to fight for American democracy — even when we don't have full access to it.' Brown and Pesoli write for the Associated Press. AP writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.
The Hill
14 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump-Putin summit receives mixed reactions from European leaders, US lawmakers
The high-stakes summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin garnered mixed reactions from U.S. lawmakers and European leaders. Trump, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff, huddled with Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and top foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, for nearly three hours at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska on Friday. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský welcomed the president's effort to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which has been raging for well over three years, but slammed the Russian leader's remarks following the closed-door meeting in Alaska. 'From Putin, we heard the same propagandistic nonsense about the 'roots of the conflict' that his state television promotes. The problem is Russian imperialism, not Ukraine's desire to live freely,' Lipavský said in a Friday post on social media platform X. European Union's (EU) foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said Saturday morning that Trump's effort to stop the conflict in Eastern Europe is 'vital,' but argued that Russia has no intention of ending the war 'anytime soon.' 'The U.S. holds the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. The EU will work with Ukraine and the U.S. so that Russia's aggression does not succeed and that any peace is sustainable,' Kallas wrote on X. 'Moscow won't end the war until it realizes it can't continue. So Europe will continue to back Ukraine, including by working on a 19th Russia sanctions package.' Trump said Friday evening that both sides made progress, but a ceasefire agreement was not struck. Neither the president nor Putin relayed any details about the agreements when addressing reporters after the huddle. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a Trump ally who has a warm relationship with the Kremlin leader, argued the world is a safer place as a result of the summit. 'For years we have watched the two biggest nuclear powers dismantle the framework of their cooperation and shoot unfriendly messages back and forth. That has now come to an end. Today the world is a safer place than it was yesterday,' Orban wrote Saturday morning on X. 'May every weekend be at least this good!' Trump briefed EU leaders — dubbed the 'Coalition of the Willing — and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a Saturday call after the meeting. The European politicians hailed the president's push to end the war, but emphasized that Ukraine needs 'ironclad' security guarantees in order to 'effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.' The coalition is made up of French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with Trump on Monday at the White House. The president said Saturday on Truth Social that the 'best way' to end the war is to 'go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.' Ukraine's leader indicated his support for a trilateral meeting between himself, Trump and Putin. 'President Trump informed about his meeting with the Russian leader and the main points of their discussion,' Zelensky said Saturday on X. 'It is important that America's strength has an impact on the development of the situation.' During the Saturday joint call, Trump told European leaders and Zelensky that he wants to broker a trilateral meeting as soon as next Friday, Axios reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Reaction to the summit was also mixed among some U.S. lawmakers. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), one of the staunchest Ukraine supporters in the House, said Friday that 'time will tell what ultimately manifests' from Friday's meeting between U.S. and Russian delegations. 'I commend and credit President Trump's peace through strength policies which forced Putin to come to America to discuss a possible cease-fire, which Ukraine has already and repeatedly agreed to,' Fitzpatrick said Friday on X. 'Ukraine's sovereignty and freedom are not bargaining chips; they are principles that must be defended. No path to peace is credible without their voice,' the Pennsylvania Republican added. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a supporter of Ukraine and Trump ally, predicted Friday night that if the trilateral meeting between the president, Putin and Zelensky takes place, the conflict could end before Christmas. 'Make no mistake, this war is a war of aggression by Putin against Ukraine. However, I have always said Ukraine will not evict every Russian soldier and Putin is not going to take Kyiv,' Graham said. 'The key to ending this war honorably and justly is to create an infrastructure of deterrence that Biden and Obama failed to do — which will prevent a third invasion.' Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he supports 'active' diplomacy and argued that peacemaking has to be done 'responsibly' or it 'risks' the security of Europeans, Ukrainians and Americans. 'I didn't care for the red-carpet treatment Putin was afforded or the signal Trump sent by welcoming him with applause. And I think everyone was a bit surprised by the lack of detail and unorthodox post-meeting press conference,' Reed said in a statement on Saturday,' adding that the U.S. should team up with allies to impose new sanctions on Russia to 'intensify the economic pressure.' Trump said during the call with European and NATO officials that he is open to offering U.S. security guarantees to Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing European officials familiar with the matter. The president told European leaders that the Russian president will not halt the military offensive while peace discussions are underway, according to the report. But Putin is open to, as part of a potential peace settlement, having Western security forces in Ukraine to ensure the truce would last, the Journal reported, citing four officials briefed on the matter. Macron signaled the U.S.'s openness to contributing to Ukraine's security guarantees on X. The French leader said Saturday that 'any lasting peace must be accompanied by unwavering security guarantees. I welcome, in this regard, the readiness of the United States to contribute. We will work on this with them and with all our partners in the Coalition of the Willing, with whom we will meet again soon, to make concrete progress.' Still, Putin is reportedly demanding that Ukraine pull back from Luhansk and Donetsk regions as a condition to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Financial Times (FT) reported, citing four sources with direct knowledge of the Friday meeting, that Putin would halt the rest of the front lines if this request is fulfilled. The Russian leader would freeze the front lines in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions and would refrain from new offensives to conquer more Ukrainian land in exchange for Luhansk and Donetsk, the FT reported. Russia controls about 70 percent of Donetsk. Zelensky has previously said he is not willing to give up Donetsk, but he is open to negotiating the territorial divides, one of the main sticking points, with the president at the White House, the FT reported.
15 minutes ago
What's next for Ukraine and Russia?
Matt Duss, the executive vice-president of the Center for International Policy, breaks down the implications of Friday's meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
