Latest news with #USUkraine
CNN
2 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
In Ukraine, a dark cloud lifts. Until Trump's next move
Moments after the chaotic Oval Office press event between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, I thought I heard a collective sigh of relief rise above the Kyiv skyline. 'There is some good news: they didn't fight,' was Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zelezhnyak's reaction on X. A head-on collision along the lines of the February Oval Office shouting match had been averted. 'I expected much worse,' another MP, Oleksandr Merezhko, told CNN. 'The tone has changed. Trump wasn't negative. The impression is that the presidents have gotten used to each other.' Maryan Zablotsky, another parliament member and deputy head of the parliamentary US-Ukraine group, said, 'I'm very impressed by the support of our European partners. They all gathered so quickly. Some interrupted their vacations.' This is all in sharp contrast with the dark mood in the aftermath of the Alaska summit. After witnessing the red carpet rolled out for Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday; the jet flyover; the ride in the presidential limousine, many Ukrainians feared the American president's bromance with the wily old KGB agent had reignited. Add to that the angry early Monday morning Truth Social posts by Trump – in which he claimed Zelensky could 'end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight' – followed soon after by another post blasting the so-called 'fake media's' coverage of his Ukraine peace efforts, and it seemed the American leader was in an ominously sour mood in the hours before the meeting. But when Trump emerged from the White House and greeted Zelensky with a broad smile and a hearty handshake, the dark cloud of dread suddenly vanished. In the rather chaotic encounter with journalists in the Oval Office, both Trump and Zelensky avoided stepping on any rhetorical land mines. All was good. It speaks volumes that with this US administration the optics of such events are the focus of so much attention. As far as substance goes, however, there are still more questions than answers. 'How can you negotiate peace without a truce, without a ceasefire, when the situation on the front line is changing?' asked Merezhko. 'If the situation is changing, it's difficult to negotiate.' Overnight Thursday Russia fired more than 140 drones, and three ballistic missiles, at Ukraine – killing at least 10 people, including an 18-month-old baby and a 15-year-old boy. A peace agreement still seems very far away from Kyiv. Earlier Monday, CNN attended a funeral for David Chichkan, a popular Kyiv artist-turned-soldier, killed by a Russian drone earlier this month on the eastern front. Hundreds of friends, relatives, admirers, and fellow soldiers took a knee as his coffin was slowly carried onto Independence Square, Ukrainian and army flags fluttered in the cool morning breeze. Mourners embraced one another, some quietly weeping. There, we heard only frustration and resentment toward an American administration seen as fickle and unreliable. 'After thousands of people have died in this war, it feels like we're just being sold out now,' said mourner Oleksandra Grygorenko. Like so many here, she is repelled at the suggestion that the cost of peace with Russia could be the loss of large chunks of Ukrainian land. Having watched the events in the White House, front line veteran Maria Berlinska said, 'In essence, we are being offered temporary peace at the cost of our interests. Give up your land, hand over millions of people in the occupied territories to Russia, and then maybe you'll get a long respite.' The next step is a summit involving Trump, Putin and Zelensky. It was floated that perhaps it could happen by Friday. Previous attempts to coax Putin to the table have failed. Zelensky says he's ready to meet. Will it even happen? And hovering over the entire Trump-led diplomatic push to end the war is the worry that the quixotic American president will change his mind yet again. Journalist Kristina Berdynskykh put it this way: 'I have a prediction: Everything will go great at the White House. Between Zelensky and Trump. Between Trump and the Europeans. Between Zelensky, Trump, and the Europeans. And then Trump will call Putin, and everything will change a hundred times again.'
CNN
3 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
In Ukraine, a dark cloud lifts. Until Trump's next move
Moments after the chaotic Oval Office press event between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, I thought I heard a collective sigh of relief rise above the Kyiv skyline. 'There is some good news: they didn't fight,' was Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zelezhnyak's reaction on X. A head-on collision along the lines of the February Oval Office shouting match had been averted. 'I expected much worse,' another MP, Oleksandr Merezhko, told CNN. 'The tone has changed. Trump wasn't negative. The impression is that the presidents have gotten used to each other.' Maryan Zablotsky, another parliament member and deputy head of the parliamentary US-Ukraine group, said, 'I'm very impressed by the support of our European partners. They all gathered so quickly. Some interrupted their vacations.' This is all in sharp contrast with the dark mood in the aftermath of the Alaska summit. After witnessing the red carpet rolled out for Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday; the jet flyover; the ride in the presidential limousine, many Ukrainians feared the American president's bromance with the wily old KGB agent had reignited. Add to that the angry early Monday morning Truth Social posts by Trump – in which he claimed Zelensky could 'end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight' – followed soon after by another post blasting the so-called 'fake media's' coverage of his Ukraine peace efforts, and it seemed the American leader was in an ominously sour mood in the hours before the meeting. But when Trump emerged from the White House and greeted Zelensky with a broad smile and a hearty handshake, the dark cloud of dread suddenly vanished. In the rather chaotic encounter with journalists in the Oval Office, both Trump and Zelensky avoided stepping on any rhetorical land mines. All was good. It speaks volumes that with this US administration the optics of such events are the focus of so much attention. As far as substance goes, however, there are still more questions than answers. 'How can you negotiate peace without a truce, without a ceasefire, when the situation on the front line is changing?' asked Merezhko. 'If the situation is changing, it's difficult to negotiate.' Overnight Thursday Russia fired more than 140 drones, and three ballistic missiles, at Ukraine – killing at least 10 people, including an 18-month-old baby and a 15-year-old boy. A peace agreement still seems very far away from Kyiv. Earlier Monday, CNN attended a funeral for David Chichkan, a popular Kyiv artist-turned-soldier, killed by a Russian drone earlier this month on the eastern front. Hundreds of friends, relatives, admirers, and fellow soldiers took a knee as his coffin was slowly carried onto Independence Square, Ukrainian and army flags fluttered in the cool morning breeze. Mourners embraced one another, some quietly weeping. There, we heard only frustration and resentment toward an American administration seen as fickle and unreliable. 'After thousands of people have died in this war, it feels like we're just being sold out now,' said mourner Oleksandra Grygorenko. Like so many here, she is repelled at the suggestion that the cost of peace with Russia could be the loss of large chunks of Ukrainian land. Having watched the events in the White House, front line veteran Maria Berlinska said, 'In essence, we are being offered temporary peace at the cost of our interests. Give up your land, hand over millions of people in the occupied territories to Russia, and then maybe you'll get a long respite.' The next step is a summit involving Trump, Putin and Zelensky. It was floated that perhaps it could happen by Friday. Previous attempts to coax Putin to the table have failed. Zelensky says he's ready to meet. Will it even happen? And hovering over the entire Trump-led diplomatic push to end the war is the worry that the quixotic American president will change his mind yet again. Journalist Kristina Berdynskykh put it this way: 'I have a prediction: Everything will go great at the White House. Between Zelensky and Trump. Between Trump and the Europeans. Between Zelensky, Trump, and the Europeans. And then Trump will call Putin, and everything will change a hundred times again.'
CNN
7 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Video: President Trump greets Zelensky at the White House
President Donald Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House ahead of their bilateral meeting.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Trump to meet with Zelenskyy Monday to continue Ukraine-Russia peace talks
Watch U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday in hopes to continue ending Russia's war on Ukraine.
Al Jazeera
08-05-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Ukraine's parliament ratifies landmark minerals deal with US
Ukrainian legislators have unanimously voted to ratify a minerals deal with the United States in the hope of securing military assistance to deter future Russian aggression. The country's parliament gave its assent to the agreement, which grants the US priority access to Ukrainian minerals and sets up an investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction, with 338 members voting in favour and none against it. Ukraine's First Vice Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Thursday that the deal, which stops short of offering security guarantees but has raised hopes of revived US support, was 'the foundation of a new model of interaction with a key strategic partner'. The Ukrainian Parliament has ratified the historic Economic Partnership Agreement between Ukraine and the United States. This document is not merely a legal construct — it is the foundation of a new model of interaction with a key strategic partner. — Yulia Svyrydenko (@Svyrydenko_Y) May 8, 2025The deal, signed by the US and Ukraine at the end of April, was approved despite legislators' concerns over a lack of detail regarding issues such as how the reconstruction fund will be governed and how contributions will be made. In a news conference earlier that day, Svyrydenko had sought to assuage these concerns, indicating the deal would be operational in a few weeks. 'We have managed to ensure that the agreement is equitable. The key principle is that management is 50-50. Neither side has an advantage, there is no dictatorship from either side, and decisions are taken by consensus,' she said. Svyrydenko underlined on X that the deal has no 'debt provisions', absolving Ukraine from earlier US demands that it cover the repayment of billions of dollars in military aid supplied by Washington since Russia invaded in February 2022. Ukraine managed to obtain the concession despite getting off to a bad start in negotiations back in February, when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy clashed with US President Donald Trump during a testy Oval Office sit-down. Kyiv was initially hoping the US would provide security guarantees to help deter future Russian attacks, in exchange for preferential access to Ukraine's mineral resources. But Washington refused, instead arguing that boosting its business interests in Ukraine would itself act as a bulwark against Russia.
