Ukraine awaits crucial vote on sensitive anti-corruption bill
On Wednesday, July 30, about 1,000 demonstrators – fewer than the week before – gathered outside Kyiv's Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater, shouting and singing to keep up pressure on the government. Many young people that evening also called out the country's lawmakers, who are expected to vote on legislation considered crucial for Ukraine's future on Thursday, July 31. The bill aims to overturn the measures against the anti-corruption agencies that were passed just eight days earlier.
Zelensky, faced with the severity of the political crisis the law provoked, had no choice but to backtrack on July 24. The new bill therefore seeks to restore the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), after both agencies were placed under the authority of Ukraine's prosecutor general, a close ally of the president, on July 22. According to Ukraine's anti-corruption organizations, this restructuring was a way for the presidency to control the agencies' work, access their files and influence their investigations.
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France 24
21 minutes ago
- France 24
Trump says Putin meeting over Ukraine war likely to happen 'very soon'
Donald Trump said Wednesday he could meet with Vladimir Putin"very soon," following what the US president described as highly productive talks in Moscow between his special envoy and the Russian leader. The potential summit was discussed in a call between Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky that, according to a senior source in Kyiv, included NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the leaders of Britain, Germany and Finland. "There's a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon," Trump told reporters at the White House, when asked when he would meet the Ukrainian and Russian leaders. He gave no indication where the meeting with Putin might take place. It would be the first US-Russia leadership summit since former president Joe Biden met with his counterpart in Geneva in June 2021. The New York Times and CNN, citing people familiar with the plan, said Trump plans to sit down with Putin as early as next week, and then wants a three-way meeting with the Russian leader and Zelensky. Trump's phone call with Zelensky came after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian leadership in Moscow earlier in the day for talks described by the Kremlin as "productive" -- with Trump's deadline looming to impose fresh sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine. "Great progress was made!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that afterward he had briefed some European allies. "Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come," he said. Minutes later, however, a senior US official said that "secondary sanctions" were still expected to be implemented in two days' time. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Witkoff was returning with a ceasefire proposal from Moscow that would have to be discussed with Ukraine and Washington's European allies. He also cast caution on the timeline for a Trump-Putin meeting, saying there was "a lot of work ahead," adding it could be "weeks maybe." Long process Trump, who had boasted he could end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office, has given Russia until Friday to make progress towards peace or face new penalties. Three rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul have failed to make headway on a ceasefire, with the two sides far apart in their demands. Russia has escalated drone and missile attacks against its neighbor, a US and European Union ally, to a record high and accelerated its advance on the ground. 01:36 "A quite useful and constructive conversation took place," Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists, including AFP, after the three-hour meeting with Witkoff. The two men exchanged "signals" on their positions, Ushakov said, without elaborating. Zelensky confirmed his call with Trump and confirmed European leaders had taken part, although he did not name them. Sanctions threat Trump has voiced increasing frustration with Putin in recent weeks over Russia's unrelenting offensive. The White House has not officially outlined what action it would take against Russia, but Trump told reporters it plans to impose "a lot more secondary sanctions" targeting Russia's key trade partners, possibly targeting China. Earlier in the day he had ordered steeper tariffs on Indian goods over New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil. Without explicitly naming Trump, the Kremlin on Tuesday slammed "threats" to hike tariffs on Russia's trading partners as "illegitimate." Russia's campaign against Ukraine since February 2022 has killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed swaths of the country and forced millions to flee their homes. Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede more territory and renounce US and EU support if it wants the fighting to stop. Kyiv is calling for an immediate ceasefire, and Zelensky last week urged his allies to push for "regime change" in Moscow. Nuclear rhetoric The Witkoff visit came as Moscow-Washington tensions are running high. Trump said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be moved following an online row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, and that they were now "in the region." Moscow then said that it was ending a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear-capable intermediate-range missiles, suggesting that it could deploy such weapons in response to what it alleged were similar US deployments within striking distance of Russia. Ukrainian emergency services reported on Wednesday that at least two people were killed and 12 others wounded in Russian shelling of a holiday camp in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
Trump tells European leaders he will meet with Putin and Zelenskyy
US President Donald Trump intends to meet face-to-face with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, possibly as early as next week, the New York Times reported on Wednesday quoting two people familiar with the plan. After those talks, Trump will reportedly hold a three-way including himself, Putin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump announced those plans in a call with Zelenskyy and European leaders on Wednesday evening, sources said. The meetings would include only those three presidents and will not include any European representatives. The European leaders in the call on Wednesday appeared to accept what Trump said, one of the people familiar with the call said. That comes after Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Wednesday that Russia appeared to be more inclined to a ceasefire after US special envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Moscow. "The pressure on them works. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details – neither us nor the US," he said. Speaking about Witkoff's talks with Putin in Moscow, Trump called the meeting "highly productive" in a post on his Truth Social platform and claimed that "great progress was made" without going into details. "Everyone agrees this war must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he posted. But a White House official quoted by the Reuters news agency said that while the meeting went well and the "Russians are eager to continue engaging," the secondary sanctions Trump had threatened to impose on Russia were still expected to be implemented on Friday. Witkoff in Moscow Earlier on Wednesday, Putin held talks with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow, days before the White House's revised deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or potentially face severe economic penalties. Trump's deadline for Putin to make peace in Ukraine ends on Friday, revised down from the initial 50 days he set. Washington has threatened "severe tariffs" and other economic penalties if the fighting doesn't stop. However, Trump himself has doubted the effectiveness of sanctions, saying Sunday that Russia has proven to be "pretty good at avoiding sanctions." The Kremlin has insisted that international sanctions imposed since the full-scale invasion have had a limited impact. But Ukraine maintains sanctions are taking their toll on Moscow's war machine and wants Western allies to ramp them up. Trump has also expressed increasing frustration with Putin over Russia's escalating strikes on civilian areas of Ukraine. The meeting between Putin and Witkoff lasted about three hours. Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said that Putin and Witkoff had a "useful and constructive conversation" that focused on the Ukrainian war and "prospects for possible development of strategic cooperation between the US and Russia." Before those talks, Witkoff took a walk through Zaryadye Park, close to the Kremlin, with Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president's envoy for investment and economic cooperation. Dmitriev said later on the social media platform X that 'dialogue will prevail.' Dmitriev played a key role in three rounds of direct talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in recent months, as well as discussions between Russian and US officials. Those negotiations made no progress on ending the three-year war following Russia's but did facilitate POW exchanges between the two sides.
LeMonde
6 hours ago
- LeMonde
Trump says Putin-Witkoff talks 'highly productive' but sanctions still due
President Donald Trump on Wednesday, August 6 hailed talks between his envoy and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine as "highly productive," but US officials said sanctions would still be imposed on Moscow's trading partners. Trump, who had boasted he could end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office, has given Russia until Friday to make progress towards peace or face new penalties. US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin for what the Kremlin said were "constructive" talks two days ahead of the US deadline for Russia. Trump said on his Truth Social platform that "great progress was made" during the meeting – but minutes later a senior US official said that "secondary sanctions" were still expected to be implemented on Friday. Three rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul have failed to make headway on a ceasefire, with the two sides far apart in their demands. Russia has escalated drone and missile attacks against its pro-Western neighbor to a record high and accelerated its advance on the ground. "A quite useful and constructive conversation took place," Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists, including AFP, after the three-hour meeting. Putin and Witkoff exchanged "signals" on their positions, Ushakov said, without elaborating. The Kremlin released a video of Putin shaking hands with Witkoff at the start of the meeting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said later on Wednesday that he had spoken by phone with Trump after Witkoff visited Moscow. "European leaders were on the call, and I am grateful to each of them for their support," he added on social media, without saying which leaders took part in the call. Sanctions threat The White House has not officially outlined what action it would take against Russia, but Trump has previously threatened to impose "secondary tariffs" targeting Russia's key trade partners, such as China and India. On Wednesday, Trump ordered steeper tariffs on Indian goods over New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil. The move would aim to stifle Russian exports, but would risk significant international disruption. Trump said on Tuesday that he would await the outcome of the Moscow talks before ordering any economic sanctions. "We're going to see what happens," he told reporters. "We'll make that determination at that time." Without explicitly naming Trump, the Kremlin on Tuesday slammed "threats" to hike tariffs on Russia's trading partners as "illegitimate."
