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Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Trump and Putin have other issues to discuss than Ukraine
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are meeting on the far side of the world, and Europe is not invited. Ukraine will obviously be on the Anchorage summit's agenda, but it may not even be the top item. Instead the two leaders could choose to find common ground over arms control and nuclear security. Getting Russia to rejoin the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty which Moscow abandoned soon after its invasion of Ukraine would be one positive trust-building breakthrough. Another is dividing up the mineral wealth of the Arctic. Mr Trump has taken pains to lower expectations of a Ukraine ceasefire, instead describing the Anchorage summit as 'a feel-out meeting' to see what Putin 'has in mind'. If the US president feels that Putin is offering a 'fair deal' he promised to 'reveal it to the European Union leaders and to Nato leaders and also to President Zelensky'. It's significant that Mr Zelensky is last on Trump's list of the stakeholders in the conflict. Understandably, both the Ukrainian president and European leaders are angry and insulted in equal measure by Trump's high-handedness. A statement published on Tuesday and signed by all European leaders (except, predictably, Hungary's Viktor Orban) insisted that 'the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine'. Mr Zelensky also refused to trade land for peace. That's unfortunate for the prospects of the Anchorage talks, because making peace over Ukraine's head and trading land is precisely what Mr Trump has in mind. Twice now he has mentioned that territory will be swapped as part of a future peace deal. 'There will be some changes in land,' he told reporters on Monday. 'Russia has taken some very prime territory. They've taken largely ocean – in real estate we call it ocean front property. That's always the most valuable property.' What Trump means by this is a mystery to anyone who has access to a map of the front lines in Ukraine. Russia has occupied all of southern Ukraine's sea coast up to the left bank of the great Dnipro River at Kherson. That includes most of the Kherson region, half of Zaporizhzhia, about three quarters of Donetsk and pretty much all of Luhansk. Back in September 2022 Putin solemnly had these four regions written into his country's constitution as the newest members of the Russian Federation. The Kremlin's official demand is that Kyiv surrender the as-yet unconquered parts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk as the price of peace. That's obviously ridiculous, and even the hardest-line Russian nationalists know that such a voluntary surrender of land, cities and populations will never happen. The only realistic scenario for a ceasefire and an eventual peace deal is the partition of Ukraine along whatever the line of control is at the moment the guns fall silent. But we can be sure that the Kremlin will be at pains to describe that as a major concession. Then there's the question of informal de facto recognition versus legally binding de jure recognition of Ukraine's new borders. The Kremlin demands that Kyiv formally acknowledge its lost regions as part of Russia. Zelensky has adamantly refused to do so. But many long-frozen international conflicts – such as the division of Korea in 1952 or Cyprus in 1974 – depend on a diplomatic fiction where the two sides do not recognise each others' existence. The legal status of a partitioned Ukraine is likely to be a major sticking point in future negotiations. What is Trump talking about when he speaks of land swaps? It's possible he's referring to tiny pieces of the Kharkiv and Sumy regions that Russia has taken, which could conceivably be swapped for equally tiny pieces of Donetsk or the final unoccupied sliver of Luhansk. But these are minuscule corrections - and have little obvious connection to Trump's cryptic ramblings about seaside real estate. It's also worth unpacking what Mr Zelensky means when he refuses to 'trade land for peace'. In the West, those words are often mistakenly taken to mean that the president demands all his lost Ukrainian lands back, and intends eventually to roll back the Russians to their pre-war borders. But that's not what he is speaking of. Rather, Zelensky is rejecting the Kremlin's demand to surrender yet more land as the price of peace. And he is also refusing to give legal recognition to the occupation. But everyone in Kyiv's presidential administration realises that the lands already under Russian control are, for the time being at least, irrecoverable. On Tuesday the Ukrainian president announced that Kyiv's intelligence services have reported that Russian troops are actively preparing for a major new assault in Donbas. Putin 'is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war,' tweeted Mr Zelensky. Indeed in recent days Russian forces around the strategic town of Pokrovsk have been taking as much as nine square kilometres a day.
Russia Today
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
IAEA chief condemns strikes on Zaporozhye power plant
Attacks on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP), Europe's largest facility of its kind, are 'unacceptable,' Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has stated. His remark came shortly after Russian authorities in the eponymous region reported multiple drone strikes on the ZNPP, blaming the Ukrainian military. Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of targeting the facility in the past. The power plant was brought under Russian control in March 2022, shortly after which the region's residents voted in a referendum to join Russia, which Ukraine has dismissed as a sham. Around the same time, the IAEA deployed a monitoring mission to the ZNPP, which has remained in-situ to date. Speaking to reporters at Khrabrovo Airport in Russia's Kaliningrad Region on Friday, Grossi insisted that 'any attack on any nuclear power plant, in particular [the] Zaporozhye [NPP], is absolutely unacceptable.' He stopped short of apportioning the blame for such incidents to either Ukraine or Russia, noting that the IAEA's mandate is purely technical in nature. Grossi argued, however, that the fact that the international watchdog is monitoring the situation and recording any attacks, is meant to act as a deterrent. He was in Kaliningrad for a meeting with the CEO of Russia's state-run nuclear corporation, Rosatom, Aleksey Likhachev, who described the talks as the 'most multifaceted and meaningful' to date, during a press conference on Friday. He emphasized the importance of IAEA's mission at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, noting how it provides an 'information window for the whole world into the real state of affairs.' This helps fight 'provocations [and] fakes.' In a statement on Thursday, the IAEA chief reported that the watchdog's team stationed at the facility had 'heard repeated rounds of gunfire that appeared to be aimed at drones reportedly attacking the site's training center, followed by the sound of multiple explosions.' Grossi stressed that 'it was the fourth time this year that the training center, located just outside the site perimeter, was reportedly targeted by unmanned aerial vehicles.' Drone attacks on the ZNPP 'must stop immediately,' he insisted, warning of 'potentially serious consequences.' Also on Thursday, a statement appeared on the ZNPP's Telegram channel, claiming the Ukrainian military had conducted multiple drone attacks on the training center located on the facility's grounds, with no casualties or significant damage reported.
Russia Today
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
IAEA chief condemns Ukraine strikes on Zaporozhye power plant
Attacks on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP), Europe's largest facility of its kind, are 'unacceptable,' Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has stated. His remark came shortly after Russian authorities in the eponymous region reported multiple drone strikes on the ZNPP, blaming the Ukrainian military. Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of targeting the facility in the past. The power plant was brought under Russian control in March 2022, shortly after which the region's residents voted in a referendum to join Russia, which Ukraine has dismissed as a sham. Around the same time, the IAEA deployed a monitoring mission to the ZNPP, which has remained in-situ to date. Speaking to reporters at Khrabrovo Airport in Russia's Kaliningrad Region on Friday, Grossi insisted that 'any attack on any nuclear power plant, in particular [the] Zaporozhye [NPP], is absolutely unacceptable.' He stopped short of apportioning the blame for such incidents to either Ukraine or Russia, noting that the IAEA's mandate is purely technical in nature. Grossi argued, however, that the fact that the international watchdog is monitoring the situation and recording any attacks, is meant to act as a deterrent. He was in Kaliningrad for a meeting with the CEO of Russia's state-run nuclear corporation, Rosatom, Aleksey Likhachev, who described the talks as the 'most multifaceted and meaningful' to date, during a press conference on Friday. He emphasized the importance of IAEA's mission at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, noting how it provides an 'information window for the whole world into the real state of affairs.' This helps fight 'provocations [and] fakes.' In a statement on Thursday, the IAEA chief reported that the watchdog's team stationed at the facility had 'heard repeated rounds of gunfire that appeared to be aimed at drones reportedly attacking the site's training center, followed by the sound of multiple explosions.' Grossi stressed that 'it was the fourth time this year that the training center, located just outside the site perimeter, was reportedly targeted by unmanned aerial vehicles.' Drone attacks on the ZNPP 'must stop immediately,' he insisted, warning of 'potentially serious consequences.' Also on Thursday, a statement appeared on the ZNPP's Telegram channel, claiming the Ukrainian military had conducted multiple drone attacks on the training center located on the facility's grounds, with no casualties or significant damage reported.
Arab News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan defends nuclear safety after former US national security adviser warns of risks
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it was fully confident in the safety and security of its nuclear weapons after former US National Security Adviser John Bolton expressed concern they could fall 'into the hands of terrorists or irresponsible commanders' in an interview with an Indian media outlet. Bolton's remarks came days after Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh called for Pakistan's nuclear arsenal to be placed under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, citing concerns about their safety. Responding to a media query, foreign office spokesperson Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan said Pakistan had a robust nuclear command and control system and a comprehensive security regime in place. 'It is ironic that John Bolton's remarks were prompted by a statement from Rajnath Singh, a leader affiliated with a Hindu extremist organization, known for repeatedly issuing threats of aggression against Pakistan,' he said. 'In reality, the international community should be more concerned about India's nuclear arsenal being controlled by individuals like Rajnath Singh, who harbor well-documented hostility toward Pakistan and Muslims, and exhibit dangerous delusions of grandeur,' he added. Khan further warned of broader risks stemming from India's domestic political trends. 'The escalating radicalization of India's political landscape, media and segments of its society raises legitimate nuclear security concerns,' he said. 'These concerns are further exacerbated by the persistence of a nuclear black market in India, highlighting serious deficiencies in its nuclear security framework, as evidenced by recurring incidents of theft and illicit trafficking of sensitive nuclear materials.' The renewed war of words between the two countries follows a sharp military escalation earlier this month. The two nuclear-armed neighbors agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10, but diplomatic tensions have remained high, with both sides continuing to trade barbs over militant violence, water sharing and nuclear security.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nebraska lawmakers pass $11B budget for next two years
LINCOLN, Neb. (KCAU) — Nebraska state lawmakers passed the $11 billion mainline budget for the next two years. Legislators voted 37 to 11 with 1 not voting on LB 261 with an emergency clause. The bill would appropriate funds for the biennium ending on June 30, 2027. State senators also voted 35 to 12 with 1 not voting on LB 264 with an emergency clause. The measure would provide, change, and get rid of transfers from the cash reserve fund to help balance the budget. Story continues below Top Story: Iowa lawmakers issue statements marking end of 2025 legislative session Lights & Sirens: Woman, accused of deadly stabbing in Monona County, submits plea Sports: Northwestern softball eliminated from NAIA Tournament with 10-2 loss to Marian Weather: Get the latest weather forecast here I commend the Nebraska Legislature for its work in passing a balanced and historically conservative 2025-2027 biennial budget package. Nebraskans expect us to reduce government spending, invest in our kids, and lower property taxes. I thank the Legislature for rolling back expanded spending, putting idle pillowcase money to work, and having the courage to say no to more spending increases. This budget puts money toward education, property tax relief, elimination of the developmental disability waitlist, and bolsters our national nuclear security, all while closing the $432 million deficit reported in November. With this balanced budget, we have the opportunity to make further investments in addressing our property tax crisis. I look forward to working with the Legislature in the coming weeks to do the right thing for Nebraskans. Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen The Nebraska Examiner reports there's about a $1.1 million wiggle room in the budget. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
