Volodymyr Zelenskyy demands ‘security guarantees’
- Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says “for peace to be real, we need real security guarantees” after he met European leaders at a summit in London.
- Russia says “someone should make [Zelenskyy] want peace” after the fiery blow-up at the White House with US President Donald Trump.
- Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says “for peace to be real, we need real security guarantees” after he met European leaders at a summit in London.
- Russia says “someone should make [Zelenskyy] want peace” after the fiery blow-up at the White House with US President Donald Trump.
US secretary of state says he spoke with British counterpart about Ukraine
Marco Rubio says that he spoke with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on the phone about a recent UK summit on the future of Ukrainian security.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy today to discuss the March 2 UK-convened leaders summit on Ukraine,” a US State Department readout says.
“The Secretary thanked Foreign Secretary Lammy for the UK’s role in encouraging Europe to provide for its own defence and push for peace in Ukraine. The Secretary confirmed the United States is ready to negotiate to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict and will continue working with the UK towards peace in Ukraine.”
US official praises Europe’s leaders for security pledges
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz commended UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron for stepping up in regards to Ukraine.
“We welcome the Europeans taking a lead in European security,” Waltz told reporters at the White House. “I mean that’s been an underpinning. They have to invest in the capability to do that. They’re certainly showing a will.”
Waltz’s comments come after Starmer gathered his European counterparts in London on Sunday for talks and called on them to shore up their borders and throw their full weight behind Ukraine as he announced outlines of a plan to end Russia’s war.
Both Starmer and Macron have said they would send troops to Ukraine for a peacekeeping mission once a truce between Ukraine and Russia is achieved.
Trump allies lash out at Zelenskyy; suggest he may need to resign
President Donald Trump’s senior aides and allies targeted Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy from Washington, DC.
White House officials and Republicans in Congress used Sunday news show appearances to demand that Zelenskyy display more gratitude for US support, and an openness to make potentially war-ending concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Some suggested Zelenskyy should consider resigning even as Ukrainians rally around him.
But they offered little clarity as to what Zelenskyy and Ukraine could do after Friday’s Oval Office meeting, in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated him before canceling the signature of an economic agreement on mineral exploitation.
Europe at ‘crossroads in history’, UK PM Starmer says
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer rallied his European counterparts to shore up their borders and throw their full weight behind Ukraine.
“Every nation must contribute to that in the best way that it can, bringing different capabilities and support to the table, but all taking responsibility to act, all stepping up their own share of the burden,” he said on Sunday.
Starmer outlined four steps European nations need to take:
- Keep aid flowing to Kyiv
- Maintain economic pressure on Russia to strengthen Ukraine’s hand
- Make sure Ukraine is at the bargaining table and any peace deal must ensure its sovereignty and security
- Continue to arm Ukraine to deter future invasion
Europe at ‘crossroads in history’, UK PM Starmer says
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer rallied his European counterparts to shore up their borders and throw their full weight behind Ukraine.
“Every nation must contribute to that in the best way that it can, bringing different capabilities and support to the table, but all taking responsibility to act, all stepping up their own share of the burden,” he said on Sunday.
Starmer outlined four steps European nations need to take:
- Keep aid flowing to Kyiv
- Maintain economic pressure on Russia to strengthen Ukraine’s hand
- Make sure Ukraine is at the bargaining table and any peace deal must ensure its sovereignty and security
- Continue to arm Ukraine to deter future invasion
Trump says Zelenskyy made ‘worst statement’ on war’s end far away
US President Donald Trump says “America will not put up with it for much longer” while pointing to recent comments made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the end of the war with Russia.
Trump addressed the issue in a post on Truth Social that shared a story quoting Zelenskyy as saying the end of the war is “very, very far away”.
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy,” said Trump.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US.”
Germany’s expected next leader says Europe needs to beef up own security
Despite being a longstanding transatlanticist, Germany’s likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has emphasised the need for more European independence from the US in defence policy in light of the Trump administration’s recent actions.
“I think we need to prepare to do much, much more for our own security in the coming years and decades,” he said, although he insisted “we must do everything we can to keep the Americans in Europe”.
Earlier, Merz described Friday’s fiery meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy as “unhelpful”.
“According to my assessment, this was not a spontaneous reaction to what Zelenskyy was saying but clearly a deliberate escalation,” Merz told reporters.
Russia: Someone needs to force Zelenskyy to make peace
The Kremlin says someone must coerce Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy to engage in peace after the clash with US President Trump that showed just how hard it will be to find a way to end the war.
“What happened at the White House on Friday, of course, demonstrated how difficult it will be to reach a settlement trajectory around Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“The Kyiv regime and Zelenskyy do not want peace. They want the war to continue. It is very important that someone forces Zelenskyy himself to change his position. Someone has to make Zelenskyy want peace. If the Europeans can do it, they should be honoured and praised.”
President Vladimir Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022, triggering the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the depths of the Cold War.
Ukraine-US minerals deal not enough of a security pledge: Starmer
A prospective rare earth minerals deal between the US and Ukraine is not enough on its own to act as a security guarantee against Russia, the UK’s prime minister says.
More pledges would be needed to ensure Russia sticks to the terms of any peace deal in the Ukraine war, Starmer said.
“The mineral deal is not enough on its own,” Keir Starmer told parliament.
Will the US withdraw its support for Ukraine?
A White House visit that Zelenskyy hoped would secure US support in the face of Russia’s invasion instead ended in a public row.
Zelenskyy got a dressing-down from Trump and US Vice President JD Vance, who accused the wartime leader of disrespect and ingratitude.
Now Trump is threatening to pull support from Ukraine. What does this mean for Russia’s war on Ukraine?
Pentagon boss reportedly halts cyber-campaign against Russia
US defence chief Pete Hegseth has ordered a pause on all of the country’s cyber-operations against Russia, US news reports say.
The order was part of an overall re-evaluation of US activities against Moscow, according to The New York Times, with the duration or extent of the pause unclear. The reported change comes as Trump has pushed for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump has cast himself as a mediator between Putin and Zelenskyy, sidelining Kyiv and Europe while pursuing rapprochement with Putin.
“We should spend less time worrying about Putin,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform late on Sunday.
US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, speaking on Sunday to broadcaster CNN about reopening links with Russia, denied reports of the cyber-policy change.
“That has not been part of our discussions,” Waltz said. “There will be all kinds of carrots and sticks to get this war to an end.”
Russian advance in Ukraine slows again in February: Report
Russian forces advanced less on Ukrainian territory in February than in the preceding months, according to an analysis of US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) data.
Moscow advanced by 389sq km (150sq miles) in February after advances of 431sq km (166sq miles) in January, 476sq km (183sq miles) in December and a peak of 725sq km (280sq miles) in November, the data showed.
The pattern of razing each village and town to the ground before taking it is being repeated in eastern Ukraine, where Russia occupied more than 1,000sq km (386sq miles) in 2024. Russia’s war has focused on the eastern Ukrainian region it borders.
Polish Cold War hero Walesa slams Trump over Zelenskyy incident
Lech Walesa, the former Polish president and Solidarity trade union leader who played a leading role in the fall of communism, signed a letter to US President Donald Trump expressing “horror” at his argument with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner posted the text of the letter, which was signed by 39 Polish former political prisoners, on Facebook on Monday.
“We watched your conversation with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy with horror and distaste,” it said.
“We consider your expectations regarding showing respect and gratitude for the material assistance provided by the United States to Ukraine in its fight with Russia to be offensive. Gratitude is due to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed blood in defence of the values of the free world.”
Trump and Vice President JD Vance laid into Zelenskyy during the meeting, driving relations with Kyiv’s most important wartime ally to a new low.
What’s a ‘coalition of the willing’?
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has declared a “coalition of the willing” would come together to draw up a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine and present it to United States President Donald Trump for his support.
Starmer also announced a new 1.6-billion-pound ($2bn) deal with Ukraine on Sunday, which will allow Kyiv to spend the amount in export finance on 5,000 air defence missiles.
