President Donald Trump has ruled out the deployment of U.S. troops to Ukraine for security guarantees, as part of a peace deal to end Russiaâs ongoing war on the country. Air support still remains a possibility.
Following the presidentâs Monday summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and key European leaders at the White House to discuss peace initiatives, a direct meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky is now being arranged. A subsequent trilateral meeting involving Trump also planned.
He told conservative radio host Mark Levin it would be âbetter if they met without me,â initially.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated Trump’s commitment to direct diplomacy between the warring nations and defended the presidentâs call with Putin during the gathering of European leaders, saying that they had appreciated the readout on Russia’s perspective. Attacks on Ukraine continued hours after the White House summit.
Switzerland has expressed its willingness to host peace talks, confirming that Putin would be granted immunity if he were to attend, despite the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for him.
President Trump has canceled his August vacation at his Bedminster golf club to accommodate the ongoing peace discussions between Ukraine and Russia.
What could US and Europe security guarantees look like for Ukraine?
World leaders gathered in Washington on Monday for a summit billed as a potential turning point in efforts to end the most significant ground war in Europe since the Second World War.
In the Oval Office, Donald Trump hosted Ukraineâs Volodymyr Zelensky and senior European figures to thrash out what security guarantees for Ukraine might look like if a peace deal with Russia can be reached.
The meeting was described as âhistoricâ by Sir Keir Starmer, who has emerged as one of the driving forces behind Europeâs response.
Tom Watling has the story.
Witkoff calls Trump ‘legend’ at dealmaking â Americans aren’t so sure, poll shows
On Tuesday evening, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told Sean Hannity on Fox News that President Donald Trump is a âlegendâ when it comes to dealmaking.
Witkoff made the remark during a discussion about the talks he has held over the past week with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the leaders of European allied nations.
However, Americans might need more convincing, given the results of the latest Economist/YouGov poll.
Per The Economist:
Donald Trump claims to have ended six wars in six months and has been angling for a Nobel Peace Prize. Americans are less convinced of his diplomatic prowess. In February, his net approval ratingâthe share who approve, less the share who disapproveâfor foreign policy was 2. It has since fallen steadily. In this weekâs surveyâwhich began on the day that Mr Trump met Vladimir Putin, Russiaâs president, in Alaska and ended on the day Volodymyr Zelensky, his Ukrainian counterpart, visited the White Houseâit was -14. More Americans think Mr Trump is an ineffective negotiator with foreign leaders than believe he is an effective one. Just 32% said that the American and Russian presidents made at least some progress towards ending the war. Mr Trumpâs net approval rating for his handling of the Ukraine-Russia conflict is -10.
Trump holding court in Oval Office branded âembarrassingâ as world leaders sit around his desk
Mike Bedigan reports.
ICYMI: Zelensky says heâs ready to talk to Trump and Putin to end war in Ukraine
The Ukrainian president made the pledge during talks with his US counterpart at the White House, hastily convened after President Trumpâs encounter with Putin last Friday.
When Mr Trump suggested that all three leaders could gather if Monday nightâs talks went well, Mr Zelensky added: âWe are ready for trilateral.â
Sam Kiley and Andrew Feinberg filed this report on Mondayâs meeting.
Reporter who attacked Zelensky over suit in February responds to Ukrainian president’s zinger
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Ukrainian sniper claims to have killed two Russian soldiers with âlongest ever shotâ of 2.5 miles
Alex Croft has the story.
Russia pounded Ukraine with largest aerial bombardment in a month hours after Trump-Zelensky meeting
Troops launched 270 drones and 10 missiles at central Ukraine in the latest attack, hitting key parts of the countryâs energy infrastructure shortly after the US and Ukrainian presidents concluded talks at the White House
Bryony Gooch filed this report earlier today.
Trump believes ‘it would be better’ for Putin and Zelensky to meet first without him
President Donald Trump has again spoken about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky being in the process of arranging a meeting to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine.
Speaking in a radio interview on The Mark Levin Show on Tuesday, Trump reiterated that âthe killingâ in the conflict, raging since Russiaâs invasion in 2022, âhas to stop.â
The president suggested he believed it would be âbetter if they met without me, just to see.â
He elaborated on his reasoning, saying: âI want to see what goes on. You know, they had a hard relationship, very bad, very bad relationship. And now weâll see how they do and, if necessary, and it probably would be, but if necessary, Iâll go and Iâll probably be able to get it close.â
He added about the potential talks: âI just want to see what happens at the meeting. So theyâre in the process of setting it up, and weâre going to see what happens.â
These comments follow a social media post yesterday in which Trump claimed he was arranging such a meeting after discussions with Zelensky and other European leaders, suggesting that a trilateral meeting including the U.S. would follow. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later confirmed that Putin had told Trump he would meet with Zelensky.
ICYMI: Trump caught on hot mic saying he thinks Putin âwants to make a deal for me’
While waiting for other world leaders to trickle into the East Room to discuss a security resolution for Ukraine and his recent meeting with Putin, Trump was caught on a hot mic sharing his perspective with Macron.
Ariana Baio reports.
ANALYSIS: The White House just watered down the only concession it can claim Trump won from Putin â Ukraine security
John Bowden writes:
The U.S. wonât send troops, and Russia wonât accept forces from NATO states in Ukraine. So, what kind of security guarantee is it, really?
Read on…
