President Volodymyr Zelenskiy

March 10, 2025 5:16 PM

Zelenskiy heads to Saudi Arabia ahead of crunch US talks

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy travels to Saudi Arabia to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, ahead of talks between Ukrainian and U.S. officials on ending the war with Russia at an increasingly precarious moment for Kyiv. The United States, once Ukraine's main ally, has upended its wartime policies in its stated pursuit of a rapid end to the fighting, engaging directly with Moscow while cutting off military assistance and intelligence sharing for Kyiv. Zelenskiy is expected to mee...

March 6, 2025 9:52 AM

Macron will open debate about extending French nuclear protection to European allies

France is open to discussing extending the protection offered by its nuclear arsenal to its European partners, President Emmanuel Macron said in a grave address to the nation on Wednesday, in which he warned that Europe must face up to the threat from Russia. France and Britain are Europe's only two nuclear powers. "Our nuclear deterrent protects us: it's complete, sovereign, French through and through," Macron said on Wednesday in his televised speech. "But, responding to the historic call o...

March 4, 2025 5:36 PM

Ukraine says it will do all it can to maintain US ties after Trump pauses aid

Ukraine said on Tuesday it would do all it can to maintain its ties with the United States, after President Donald Trump paused military aid to Kyiv in the most dramatic step yet in his pivot towards closer ties with Russia. Trump has upended U.S. policy on Ukraine and Russia, culminating in an explosive confrontation at the White House on Friday, when Trump upbraided President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for being insufficiently grateful for Washington's backing. "President Trump has been clear that ...

March 3, 2025 4:44 PM

UK, France propose partial one-month Ukraine truce, Paris says

France and Britain are proposing a partial one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine that would cover air, sea and energy infrastructure attacks but not include ground fighting, French President Emmanuel Macron and his foreign minister said. The comments came amid a flurry of European diplomacy designed to shore up Western support for Ukraine following an acrimonious meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Friday. "Such a truce on ai...

February 24, 2025 10:04 AM

Zelenskiy says he is willing to quit presidency if it means peace in Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he was willing to give up his position if it meant peace in Ukraine, adding that he could exchange his departure for his country's entry into the NATO military alliance. "If (it means) peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to leave my post, I am ready," an irritated-looking Zelenskiy said when asked during a press conference whether he was ready to leave his post if it meant securing peace. "I can exchange this for NATO (membership), if...

February 18, 2025 3:17 PM

US and Russia meet without Ukraine for first talks on ending war

U.S. and Russian officials met on Tuesday in Riyadh for the highest-level talks to date between the two former Cold War foes on ending the war in Ukraine. They were expected to discuss ways to end the three-year-old conflict in Ukraine and restore American-Russian relations. Their talks could pave the way for a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Ukraine, which is not attending, says no peace deal can be made on its behalf. "We, as a sovereign...

February 18, 2025 5:54 PM

US, Russia to meet in Saudi Arabia over Ukraine war

U.S. and Russian officials met on Tuesday in Riyadh for their first talks on ending the war in Ukraine, as Kyiv and its European allies watched anxiously from the sidelines and Moscow raised a new demand that NATO formally disavow a membership promise it made to Ukraine in 2008. The talks in the Saudi capital underscored the rapid pace of U.S. efforts to halt the conflict, less than a month after President Donald Trump took office and six days after he spoke by phone to Russian President Vladim...

February 14, 2025 12:18 PM

Trump promises Kyiv involvement in peace talks with Russia

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Ukraine would be involved in peace talks with Russia, although Kyiv said it would be premature to speak with Moscow at a security conference on Friday. Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said Ukraine would have a seat at the table during any peace negotiations with Russia over ending the war. "They're part of it. We would have Ukraine, and we have Russia, and we'll have other people involved, a lot of people,” Trump said. Asked...

February 13, 2025 9:23 AM

Trump says Putin and Zelenskiy want peace; phone calls kick off talks to end Ukraine war

Donald Trump said both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed a desire for peace in separate phone calls with him on Wednesday, and Trump ordered top U.S. officials to begin talks on ending the war in Ukraine. The conversations came after Trump's defense secretary earlier said Kyiv would have to give up its long-held goals of joining the NATO military alliance and regaining all of its territory seized by Russia, signaling a dramatic shift in Washi...

January 7, 2025 10:54 AM

Battle rages in western Russia as Moscow reports gains in Ukraine

Russia said on Monday its forces had made important gains in eastern Ukraine while continuing to fend off a new Ukrainian offensive inside the Kursk region of western Russia, where a second day of fierce fighting was under way. The Russian defence ministry said its forces had captured the town of Kurakhove, 32 km (20 miles) south of Pokrovsk, a Ukrainian logistics hub toward which Russian forces have been advancing for months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Moscow had suffered bi...