Latest news with #YuriUshakov
CNN
28-05-2025
- General
- CNN
Top Kremlin aide says Trump ‘not sufficiently informed' about Ukraine after US president lashes out at Putin
A top Kremlin aide has accused Donald Trump of being 'not sufficiently informed' about the situation in Ukraine after the US president said Russian leader Vladimir Putin was 'playing with fire.' Putin aide Yuri Ushakov was reacting to Trump's Truth Social post on Tuesday, in which the president said: 'What Vladimir Putin doesn't realize is that if it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He's playing with fire!' Ushakov, a former Russian ambassador to Washington who was part of the negotiating team that Moscow sent to Saudi Arabia to meet US officials earlier this year, then questioned the accuracy of the information Trump receives. 'Trump says a lot of things. Naturally, we read and monitor all of this. But in many ways, we have come to the conclusion that Trump is not sufficiently informed about what is really happening in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian confrontation,' Ushakov told Russian state TV channel Russia-1. Ushakov said that Trump appeared to be unaware of what he called 'the increasingly frequent massive terrorist attacks Ukraine is carrying out against peaceful Russian cities,' and suggested Trump only sees Russia's strikes, reiterating Moscow's false claim that it is 'striking exclusively at military infrastructure or the military-industrial complex.' Ushakov's remark – made to a favored Kremlin correspondent – came just after Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the Trump statements during a call with reporters. Far from striking only military targets, Russia has recently intensified its aerial campaign against civilian targets in Ukrainian cities. Dozens of civilians have been killed by Russian drone and missile strikes against residential areas in the past few weeks. According to a tally compiled by CNN using Ukrainian Air Force data, four of the five largest drone attacks launched by Russia since the beginning of the full-scale war all came over the past two weeks. At least 14 civilians, including three children from one family, were killed in Russian air attacks over the weekend. The funeral for the three siblings – 8-year-old Stanislav Martynyuk, his sister Tamara, 12, and Roman, 17 – was held in their hometown of Korostyshiv in central Ukraine on Wednesday. Hundreds of people, many in tears, filled the town square as their three white coffins were brought in. A local music school, where the trio studied, rang the 'last bell' for them, a nod to the traditional long bell sounded for the graduating class at the end of their last school year. After Russia launched the attack that killed the Martynyuk children, its largest ever aerial assault on Ukraine, Trump accused the Russian leader of having gone 'absolutely CRAZY.' 'I've always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I'm not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever,' Trump posted on Truth Social. The spat between Trump and Moscow escalated on Tuesday when the former Russian president and prime minister-turned-security-official Dmitry Medvedev responded to Trump's threat by saying: 'I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!' Medvedev served as the head of state when Putin had to step down to become prime minister due to a constitutional limit on the number of presidential terms one can serve – a limit that has since been lifted, guaranteeing the possibility that Putin can be president for life. As the former prime minister and president of Russia, Medvedev was once among the most influential Russian officials, but he has become an increasingly fringe figure in recent years, known mostly for social media outpourings of hate and propaganda. Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg called Medvedev's comments 'reckless.' 'Stoking fears of WW III is an unfortunate, reckless comment,' he said on X, adding that the United States is still waiting for Russia's ceasefire proposal. CNN's Kostya Gak, Kylie Atwood, Kristen Holmes, Kevin Liptak, Matthew Chance and Kit Maher contributed reporting.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky meets Merz and warns 50,000 Russian troops gathering near Sumy
Putin foreign policy aide: Trump not informed about what is really happening in Ukraine Vladimir Putin's foreign policy aide has claimed that Donald Trump doesn't know the reality of the war in Ukraine. Yuri Ushakov, one of Putin's key officials in peace talks, issued the comments after Trump suggested Putin was 'playing with fire'. 'We've come to the conclusion that Trump is not sufficiently informed about what is really happening in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian confrontation,' he told Russian state media. Tom Watling28 May 2025 12:30 Putin wants written statement ruling out Ukraine's Nato membership, sources say President Vladimir Putin's conditions for ending the war in Ukraine include a demand that Western leaders pledge in writing to stop enlarging Nato eastwards and lift a chunk of sanctions on Russia, according to three Russian sources with knowledge of the negotiations who spoke with Reuters. US president Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the deadliest European conflict since World War Two and has shown increasing frustration with Putin in recent days, warning on Tuesday the Russian leader was 'playing with fire' by refusing to engage in ceasefire talks with Kyiv as his forces made gains on the battlefield. After speaking to Trump for more than two hours last week, Putin said that he had agreed to work with Ukraine on a memorandum that would establish the contours of a peace accord, including the timing of a ceasefire. Russia says it is currently drafting its version of the memorandum and cannot estimate how long that will take. Kyiv and European governments have accused Moscow of stalling while its troops advance in eastern Ukraine. 'Putin is ready to make peace but not at any price,' said one senior Russian source with knowledge of top-level Kremlin thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The three Russian sources said Putin wants a 'written' pledge by major Western powers not to enlarge the US-led Nato alliance eastwards - shorthand for formally ruling out membership to Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova and other former Soviet republics. Russia also wants Ukraine to be neutral, some Western sanctions lifted, a resolution of the issue of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the West, and protection for Russian speakers in Ukraine, the three sources said. The first source said that, if Putin realises he is unable to reach a peace deal on his own terms, he will seek to show the Ukrainians and the Europeans by military victories that 'peace tomorrow will be even more painful'. Tom Watling28 May 2025 12:09 Kremlin on Trump's 'playing with fire' comments: National interests paramount for Putin Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments about US president Donald Trump's remark that Vladimir Putin was 'playing with fire' by refusing to engage in ceasefire talks with Kyiv, said the national interest was paramount for the Russian leader. He also said in a conference call with reporters on Wednesday that a possible meeting of Putin with Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky should take place only following preparations and talks. Tom Watling28 May 2025 11:46 Zelensky says Moscow proposed 'impossible' Belarus location for next talks Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier Moscow proposed Belarus, a close ally of Russia, as the next location for peace talks. According to Reuters, he described such a meeting place as 'impossible for Ukraine'. Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has told an international security conference preparations for the next direct talks are underway, and will occur in the near future. However, Russia is yet to deliver a memorandum to Ukraine outlining its terms for a ceasefire after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv occurred in Istanbul earlier this month. Angus Thompson28 May 2025 11:20 Merz welcomes Zelensky to Berlin Volodymyr Zelensky has been warmly welcomed to Berlin by German chancellor Friedrich Merz this morning. After arriving at the Chancellery, the pair stood for a welcoming ceremony in which national anthems were played and the Ukrainian leader was treated to full military honours ahead of talks. The pair will later front the media for a press conference. 28 May 2025 11:19 Russian backlash over Merz's long-range missile comments Earlier in the week German chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested European leaders had granted Ukraine fresh capabilities to fire long-range weapons at Russia before Berlin corrected that the decision had been made months before. Mr Merz said there were no longer any range restrictions on the weapons supplied to Ukraine by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, and that Ukraine could now do "long range fire". Moscow seized on the comments, with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov telling a press conference on Tuesday the remarks indicated the calibre of people who had risen to power in leading European countries. "[Mr Merz] said yesterday with such pretentiousness that from now on and forever there are no restrictions on the range of strikes," Mr Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow. Lavrov said other German officials appeared to have contradicted the chancellor and that such contradictory signals suggested to Moscow that European powers had long ago decided to allow Ukraine to make long-range strikes deep into Russia with European missiles but that the decision "was kept secret". Angus Thompson28 May 2025 10:45 Could Germany take a larger role in supporting Ukraine? Volodymyr Zelensky is set to be welcomed to Berlin with full military honours later this morning as he meets with new German chancellor Friedrich Merz. The meeting is being staged against a backdrop of wavering support for Ukraine from the Trump administration and comments from Mr Merz before he took the chancellorship that Germany needed to ween itself off American security. Mr Merz, a conservative who took office this month, has vowed to take more of a leadership role in ensuring support for Ukraine than his Social Democrat predecessor Olaf Scholz. Zelensky said on Tuesday he was grateful to Mr Merz for previously coming to Kyiv, but there were "things that we could not discuss because we did not have a long one-on-one. And we agreed that the time will come when I will come to Berlin and we will talk about it." With Reuters Angus Thompson28 May 2025 10:30 Zelensky arrives in Berlin for peace talks with Merz Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Berlin for peace talks with German chancellor Friedrich Merz. Mr Zelensky is in Germany to shore up continued support for Ukraine's defence against Russia's invasion, with Mr Merz among Europe's strongest backers of Ukraine. Mr Merz said on Tuesday he believed the war would drag on because of Russia's reluctance to negotiate. "Wars typically end because of economic or military exhaustion on one side or on both sides and in this war we are obviously still far from reaching that (situation)", Mr Merz said at a joint press conference with Finish prime minister Petteri Orpo in Turku, Finland. "So we may have to prepare for a longer duration.' With Reuters Angus Thompson28 May 2025 10:13 Homes burn near Moscow after drone strikes These images show the aftermath of what Russian authorities say are the result of a Ukrainian drone attack that has taken out homes near Moscow. Firefighters work to douse the structures, fully ablaze after the strike, as both sides continue to trade fire, with Russia claiming to have downed nearly 300 Ukrainian drones overnight. Angus Thompson28 May 2025 10:00 Zelensky ready for meeting between 'Trump, Putin and me', report says Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is ready for a three-way meeting with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, according to a report by Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne. "We are ready to meet at the level of leaders. The American side knows this, and the Russian side knows this. We are ready for the 'Trump, Putin, and me' format, and we are ready for the Trump-Putin, Trump-Zelensky format, and then the three of us," Zelensky said. The report comes after Zelensky challenged the Russian president to meet him in Istanbul for direct talks earlier this month, a dare shunned by Putin, who instead sent a junior delegation to negotiate with Ukrainian officials. His latest comments also follow a phone call between Trump and Putin last week, which came after the US president vowed to meet Putin 'as soon as we can' and Moscow asserting peace could only be achieved through direct talks between the US and Russia. Angus Thompson
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Putin Offers Help To U.S. In Negotiating A Nuclear Deal With Moscow's Ally Iran
During a two-hour phone conversation today, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed support for progress in U.S.-Iran nuclear talks and offered Russia's assistance on the issue, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. Putin also welcomed the outcomes of U.S. President Donald Trump's recent visit to the Middle East. While the leaders discussed various international matters, the ongoing war in Ukraine remained the central topic of the call. Watch their post-call statements for more. Read More
Hindustan Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
After offering direct talks to Zelensky, Putin Aide's jibe: ‘Ukraine has to…'
A major diplomatic development has emerged as Russian President Vladimir Putin's aide, Yuri Ushakov, announced that Russia is ready for direct, no-preconditions peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul starting May 15. Putin's proposal, delivered in a late-night televised address, calls for immediate negotiations without preconditions, presenting it as an 'olive branch' to Kyiv. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has responded cautiously, insisting that a full and reliable ceasefire must be established before any direct talks can take place. Watch for more
Al Arabiya
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Kremlin says proposed peace talks will take into account 2022 draft deal, Ifax reports
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Sunday that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine proposed by President Vladimir Putin will take into account the situation on the ground as well as the negotiations of 2022, the Interfax news agency reported. Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine on May 15 in Istanbul. Developing
