Russia on Friday said that peace talks with Kyiv were on “pause” as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin still wanted to capture the whole of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that he was running out of patience with Putin, and the NATO alliance said it would bolster its eastern front after Russian drones were shot down in Polish airspace this week.
The latest blow to faltering diplomacy came as Russia’s army staged major military drills with its key ally Belarus.
Photo: AFP
Despite Trump forcing the warring sides to hold direct talks and hosting Putin in Alaska, there has been no significant progress toward ending the war launched by Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
Russia’s army has gained territory and Putin has vowed to carry on fighting if his peace demands — including Ukraine ceding yet more land — are not met.
“Our negotiators have the opportunity to communicate through channels, but for now, it is probably more accurate to talk about a pause” in talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“You can’t wear rose-tinted glasses and expect that the negotiation process will yield immediate results,” he added.
Speaking at a conference in Kyiv, Zelenskiy said the West should not trust Putin.
“Putin’s goal is to occupy all of Ukraine, and no matter what he tells anyone, it is clear that he has set the war machine in motion to such an extent that he simply cannot stop it unless he is forced to fundamentally change his personal goals,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader also called on allies to encourage China to use its leverage with Russia to stop Moscow’s offensive.
Trump has repeatedly threatened Russia with additional sanctions if it does not halt the assault, but has failed to follow through, frustrating Ukraine.
“It’s sort of running out and running out fast, but it does take two to tango,” Trump told Fox television when asked if his patience was being taxed by Russia’s refusal to end the conflict.
“It’s amazing. When Putin wants to do it, Zelenskiy didn’t. When Zelenskiy wanted to do it, Putin didn’t. Now Zelensky wants to, and Putin is a question mark. We’re going to have to come down very, very strong,” he added.
Ukraine has ruled out making territorial concessions and is calling for a Putin-Zelenskiy summit to break the deadlock.
Putin has effectively ruled that out and has threatened to target any Western soldiers that might be sent to Ukraine as peacekeepers without his approval.
Russia’s invasion has killed tens of thousands of people in Ukraine, forced millions from their homes and devastated much of the country’s east and south.
DRONE TENSIONS
Tensions are high across Europe after Poland on Wednesday said that 19 Russian drones had flown through its airspace, three of which were downed after Warsaw and NATO allies scrambled fighter jets.
Poland and about 40 of its allies denounced the intrusion on Friday, calling on Moscow to avoid further “provocations.”
“Russia’s reckless actions represent... a destabilizing escalation,” Polish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcin Bosacki said before an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council requested by his country.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the alliance would reinforce its eastern flank following the incident, with Denmark, France, the UK and Germany contributing “assets” in the coming days.
The UK announced new sanctions against Russia targeting weapons, equipment suppliers and its “shadow fleet” of sanction-dodging ships.
Meanwhile, the EU extended sanctions against more than 2,500 Russian officials and entities for six months.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said it was not a “mistake” that the drones flew over his country, rejecting Trump’s suggestion it could have been an accident.
Tusk said that Poland was now closer to “open conflict” than at any point since World War II.
Russia has denied targeting Poland and said the country had failed to present any evidence that the drones were Russian.
MILITARY DRILLS
The military drills between Russia and neighboring Belarus, dubbed “Zapad 2025,” or “West 2025,” which began on Friday and are to run through Tuesday, have further ratcheted up tensions.
The drills include exercises close to the border with Poland and Lithuania and in the Baltic and Barents seas. Troops from both countries would simulate repelling an attack, including airstrikes and sabotage, an official report said.
The Russian Ministry of Defense posted a video showing heavy military equipment — including armored vehicles, helicopters and navy ships — taking part in the drills.
Despite Russia and Belarus saying the exercises do not pose a danger to neighboring countries, Poland said it would station about 40,000 troops near the Belarus border for the duration of the drills.
US President Donald Trump on Friday said Washington was “locked and loaded” to respond if Iran killed protesters, prompting Tehran to warn that intervention would destabilize the region. Protesters and security forces on Thursday clashed in several Iranian cities, with six people reported killed, the first deaths since the unrest escalated. Shopkeepers in Tehran on Sunday last week went on strike over high prices and economic stagnation, actions that have since spread into a protest movement that has swept into other parts of the country. If Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to
Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of teenage diarist Anne Frank and a tireless educator about the horrors of the Holocaust, has died. She was 96. The Anne Frank Trust UK, of which Schloss was honorary president, said she died on Saturday in London, where she lived. Britain’s King Charles III said he was “privileged and proud” to have known Schloss, who cofounded the charitable trust to help young people challenge prejudice. “The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding
‘DISRESPECTFUL’: Katie Miller, the wife of Trump’s most influential adviser, drew ire by posting an image of Greenland in the colors of the US flag, captioning it ‘SOON’ US President Donald Trump on Sunday doubled down on his claim that Greenland should become part of the US, despite calls by the Danish prime minister to stop “threatening” the territory. Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the arctic. While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “We’ll worry about Greenland in
PERILOUS JOURNEY: Over just a matter of days last month, about 1,600 Afghans who were at risk of perishing due to the cold weather were rescued in the mountains Habibullah set off from his home in western Afghanistan determined to find work in Iran, only for the 15-year-old to freeze to death while walking across the mountainous frontier. “He was forced to go, to bring food for the family,” his mother, Mah Jan, said at her mud home in Ghunjan village. “We have no food to eat, we have no clothes to wear. The house in which I live has no electricity, no water. I have no proper window, nothing to burn for heating,” she added, clutching a photograph of her son. Habibullah was one of at least 18 migrants who died
RSS