Latest news with #Ukraine-supporting
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Turkey Foreign Minister Hosts Hamas Leadership For Talks On Gaza Ceasefire, Humanitarian Situation
'Will Cross That Bridge When...' Jaishankar Responds to 500% US Tariff Threat Over Russia Bill External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addressed growing concerns over Senator Lindsey Graham's proposed U.S. sanctions bill, which threatens a 500% tariff on countries importing Russian oil. With over 80 Senate co-sponsors, the bill may become veto-proof. Jaishankar confirmed India's embassy and ambassador are in active contact with Graham, and emphasized India's energy and security interests. He clarified that India will deal with the situation 'if and when it comes.' The proposed bill has sparked global concern, with potential carve-outs for Ukraine-supporting nations. As India continues energy imports from Russia, this development could test India-US ties. Stay tuned for key updates on this unfolding diplomatic flashpoint.#jaishankar #indiausrelations #russiaoil #lindseygrahambill #indiandiplomacy #modigovernment #usindia #energysecurity #russiaukrainewar #geopolitics #toi #toibharat #bharat #trending #breakingnews #indianews 9.8K views | 1 hour ago
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Italy says no plans to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine
Italy will not send troops to a potential United Nations peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office said following a meeting of her right-wing coalition government on Wednesday. "There are no plans for national participation in any possible military force on the ground," the statement said, underscoring a unified stance within the coalition. Meloni convened the talks ahead of a summit of Ukraine-supporting nations in Paris on Thursday, where she called for "solid and effective security guarantees" for Kiev, working alongside European partners and the United States. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani later floated the idea of a new NATO mechanism — possibly an "Article 5b" — to safeguard European security and protect Ukraine. NATO's existing Article 5 enshrines the alliance's collective defence principle, treating an attack on one member as an attack on all. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and Defence Minister Guido Crosetto also attended the meeting chaired by Meloni. Salvini, who has previously taken a more Russia-friendly stance than his coalition partners, offered no public comments. Meloni, in power for two and a half years, has consistently backed Europe's support for Ukraine, though Rome has sent mixed signals in recent weeks over relations with the United States. Meanwhile, Tajani rejected recent US criticism of European nations as "freeloaders," insisting Italy was doing its part. "I won't take that word lying down," he said, noting that Italian naval forces are protecting merchant ships in the Red Sea and have shot down several Houthi drones.
USA Today
24-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Whiplash: Trump's U-turn on Ukraine war after 3 years of US support
Whiplash: Trump's U-turn on Ukraine war after 3 years of US support Show Caption Hide Caption Donald Trump says Ukraine 'should have never started' war President Donald Trump suggested Ukraine "should have never started" the war in Ukraine. WASHINGTON – Talk about a U-turn. When Vladimir Putin's Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, Joe Biden rallied the world. The U.S. and its partners isolated Russia and poured tens of billions of dollars in arms, cash and loans into Volodymyr Zelenskyy's battered country – even as Putin refused to yield. 'America stands up to bullies. We stand up for freedom. This is who we are,' Biden said from the White House. That was then. The Biden administration's position of 'nothing about Ukraine, without Ukraine' has been tossed aside by President Donald Trump and his advisors. Trump has lashed out at Ukraine, blaming its leaders for Putin's invasion and cutting Kyiv out of early negotiations with Russia – to the shock of America's allies. His taunting of Zelenskyy, who he called 'dictator,' was rebuked by European leaders and peeved Ukraine-supporting lawmakers in the U.S. "I'm just here to try and get peace," Trump said this month. "I don't care so much about anything other than I want to stop having millions of people killed." More: Mike Pence criticizes President Trump for saying Ukraine started war with Russia Who started it? The president's team says he deserves credit for shifting the conversation to how the war ends after more than a year of grim stalemate on the battlefront. But his repetition of Russian talking points about who's to blame for the war has put the U.S. national security establishment in an uncomfortable position. Trump national security adviser Michael Waltz would not say whether Trump believes Putin or Zelenskyy is more responsible for the Russian invasion at a White House briefing Thursday. Waltz pointedly underscored Trump's frustration with the Ukrainian president, who said Trump was living in a "disinformation" bubble informed by the aggressor's narrative. "There has been ongoing fighting on both sides. It is World War I-style trench warfare," Waltz said. "Some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, frankly, and – and insults to President Trump – were unacceptable," he added. In a floor speech later that day, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the ranking member on the Foreign Relations committee, said Ukraine still has bipartisan support. More: Zelenskyy says he would step down if Ukraine can join NATO, blasts Trump mineral pitch "Vladimir Putin is responsible for this. He's responsible for the bodies in Bucha and for thousands across Ukraine,' Shaheen said, recalling the 2022 massacre of hundreds of Ukrainian townspeople by Russia's 234th Guards Air Assault Regiment. 'And he's got to be held accountable. We cannot let him get away with this." The full civilian toll isn't known. Ukraine does not release casualty figures and lacks access to Russian-occupied areas of the country – about 20% of its territory. Zelenskyy said he is willing to step down to join NATO, blasts Trump Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said he would step down if it meant Ukraine could join NATO. He also blasted Trump's mineral reserves proposal. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 40,838 civilians had been killed or wounded in Ukraine as of December 2024, including 2,500 children. Kyiv estimates 20,000 Ukrainian kids have been forcibly taken to Russia – the International Criminal Court has charged Putin with approving their abductions – with only a fraction returned. In addition to the Black Sea region of Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014, Moscow controls large swathes of Ukraine. In a surprise move last year, Ukraine seized territory in the western region of Kursk. Russia said last week it's retaken much of that territory and now controls 75% of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of eastern Ukraine, in additon to almost all of the Luhansk region. Trump sparks panic Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth alarmed U.S. allies earlier this month when he said in a speech that 'returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective' and that eventual NATO membership for Ukraine - a pillar of Kyiv's security strategy - is not "a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement." Trump said later Hegseth was "probably" right about NATO membership. "I'm backing Ukraine," the president told reporters. "I'm approving, but I do want security for our money." The comments came after a call with Putin, in which Trump said they discussed the 'great benefit that we will someday have in working together' and raised an in-person meeting in Saudi Arabia. The call was the first known conversation between a U.S. president and Putin since the war began. His team then traveled to Riyadh to meet with Russian officials, including foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who is under U.S. sanctions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio touted 'the incredible opportunities that exist to partner with the Russians, geopolitically on issues of common interest and, frankly, economically.' The talks incensed Ukraine. Zelenskyy postponed a trip of his own to Saudi Arabia that was due to follow. More: Zelenskyy: Trump is trapped in Russian 'disinformation' bubble "We want no one to decide anything behind our backs," he said. "No decision can be made without Ukraine on how to end the war in Ukraine." Trump responded tersely. 'You've been there for three years. You should have ended it. Three years. You should have never started it,' he said. 'You could have made a deal.' Relations sour between Trump and Zelenskyy Trump's complicated history with Zelenskyy dates back to an infamous 2019 phone call the leaders shared two months after the former comedian was sworn in as Ukraine's president. From the White House, Trump asked Zelenskyy to investigate Biden, then Trump's top rival for the presidency, his son Hunter – who had served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company – and a discredited conspiracy theory involving a hack on the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 election that U.S. prosecutors say was done by Russian agents. The phone call led to Trump's first impeachment trial. He was accused by House Democrats of withholding military aid to Ukraine and dangling a White House visit in front of Zelenskyy in a quid pro quo, a charge he denied. Trump eventually provided Ukraine with weapons. He was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate in February 2020. Zelenskyy did not visit the White House until after Biden took office. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, leading to the protracted war. Trump has repeatedly derided Zelenskyy in the years since, most recently calling him a "dictator" and demanding elections in Ukraine despite the ongoing invasion. Ukraine's constitution bars elections while the country is under martial law. Tensions flared last fall ahead of the U.S. election when Zelenskyy visited an ammunition plant in Pennsylvania, a major U.S. battleground state, and said Trump, who'd boasted he could end the war in a single day, didn't know how to conclude the war. Zelenskyy sought to bring the temperature down at a New York meeting immediately afterward. The leaders spoke by phone after the election and met in Paris in December alongside French President Emmanuel Macron. (Macron is due in Washington on Monday where, he said on social media, he will warn Trump against appearing weak to Putin.) A tit-for-tat broke out anew after after Trump hit out at Zelenskyy for refusing a deal to provide the U.S. with access to its mineral resources in exchange for aid. The Ukrainian leader returned fire, saying Trump was buying into disinformation. Trump demanded $500 billion in Ukraine's minerals as repayment for U.S. assistance, but Zelenskyy retorted that American aid hasn't come close to that enormous figure. In meeting with US, Russia said NATO must disavow promise to Ukraine Russian officials said NATO must disavow a 2008 promise to allow Ukraine to enter the organization in order to end the war. Former U.S. officials say the spat has hurt both leaders. "Trump needs Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy needs Trump,' Charles Kupchan, a former senior director for European affairs at the National Security Council said recently on a call with reporters. 'This kind of mutual insult game only plays into the hands of Russia at a time when the Trump administration should be doing everything to increase Ukraine's leverage, not undermine it," he said. Kupchan, who supports direct talks with the Russians, added: "I appreciate what Trump is trying to do. In practice, it is a big hot mess.'
The Independent
13-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump has just sabotaged Ukraine's bargaining power with Russia - whose side is he on?
The Trump administration has just sliced away key negotiating options for Ukraine, giving the invading Russians a catastrophic advantage even before any so-called peace talks can begin. Now, in any future negotiations, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky 's position will be weaker. On Wednesday, Ukraine's military capacity was immediately undermined in the medium term by Pete Hegseth telling his fellow Nato defence ministers that "Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine'. Shortly after Hesgeth's press conference, President Donald Trump said he had spoken to the Russian president Vladimir Putin about starting negotiations to end the war and would 'inform' Zelensky about the conversation. The US has provided about $120 billion to Ukraine, about half of that military aid, and the rest of Nato has matched that military spend too. But in ruling out any future funding increase from the US for Ukraine, Hegseth is sending a signal to the Kremlin that the US is backing away. Zelensky has argued that any future settlement with Russia, which currently controls about 22 per cent of his country, would depend on 150,000-200,000 foreign troops as a guarantee against another invasion. He recently insisted that this could only be achieved with American involvement. Hegseth has ruled that out. There would be no American boots on the ground in Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force. 'To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be US troops deployed to Ukraine,' he said. There was no need to spell this out before talks with Russia. Part of Zelensky's negotiating tactic would have been the mere suggestion that US troops could be on Ukrainian soil. That would have given the Russians pause for thought. But if foreign troops from Europe, Canada, and other Ukraine-supporting nations were deployed they would have brought the full weight of the Nato alliance with them. Not any more. "If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-Nato mission and they should not be covered under Article 5," Hegseth said. Article 5 is the all for one and one for all clause in the Nato foundation document that says that an attack on a Nato member is an attack on all of them. It has only been invoked once, when the US was attacked by al-Qaeda on 9/11. Now, Putin need no longer fear that Nato's full might will be brought to bear against him if he bombs British troops in Ukraine. That fear was a key part of Zelensky's future platform. It was also a profoundly important part of the power of Nato as an alliance. And now that power has evaporated. Mark Rutte, the Kremlin will already have noted, ducked the question entirely when he was asked by Sky News, before the Hegseth statements, whether the US could be counted upon to come to the aid of a Nato ally if it was attacked. The Nato secretary general waffled about the need for more defence spending across Nato but didn't once say what would have once been automatic: that the US would always come to the aid of a Nato member under attack. That's a further boost to the Russian position in future negotiations. Part of Zelensky's platform for peace has been that Ukraine should, eventually, get Nato membership. That way, in his view, Russia would think twice about invading again. That's gone too now. And so has Ukraine's demand that Russia, which invaded in 2014 and seized some of the eastern Donbas region as well as Crimea, withdraw back to its own borders. That demand, which has the backing of the international community and is demanded by international law, is an 'illusory' position, the US defence secretary said. 'We hear your concerns on stepping up for Ukraine, and we hear your concerns on stepping up for European security,' the UK's defence secretary John Healey said in response. But so far none of the Nato defence ministers appear to have grasped the major strategic shift that the Trump administration has now embarked upon. This week Trump said that Ukraine 'may be Russian some day'. That begs the question: whose side is he really on?
