Ukraine

February 20, 2025 4:14 PM

G20 foreign ministers gather amid tensions over trade, Ukraine

Foreign ministers from the G20 top economies were to meet in South Africa on Thursday and Friday, amid tensions between members over the Ukraine war, trade disputes and with the top U.S. diplomat staying away owing to a feud with the hosts. The G20 countries, which represent some 85% of global GDP and three quarters of trade, often struggle to see eye to eye, but geopolitical rifts since Russia's 2022 Ukraine invasion have rendered it more fractious than ever. The discord has increased since P...

February 18, 2025 9:16 AM

Europe should continue supporting Ukraine, reject peace of dictate, says Germany

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Europe should continue to support Ukraine, emphasising that no peace of dictate can be imposed on the country. "Ukraine should have confidence in us. It is clear that we should continue to support Ukraine," Scholz said on Monday after attending an emergency meeting convened by French President Emmanuel Macron on the eve of the Russian-US talks set to take place Tuesday in Riyadh. "No peace of dictate can be imposed on Ukraine... Ukraine cannot accept eve...

February 17, 2025 6:19 PM

UK offers peacekeeping troops to Ukraine ahead of Paris talks

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has become the first European leader to say he is ready to put peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, making the commitment ahead of an emergency leaders' meeting in Paris to discuss Europe's role in a ceasefire. Starmer's comments underlined a growing realization among European nations that they will likely have to play a larger role in ensuring Ukraine's security as Washington works alone with Russia on a potential end to the three-year conflict. Sweden would con...

February 17, 2025 10:08 AM

Ukraine, Europe will be part of ‘real’ peace talks, says Rubio, as US weighs Putin’s motives

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said Ukraine and Europe would be part of any "real negotiations" to end Moscow's war, signaling that U.S. talks with Russia this week were a chance to see how serious Russian President Vladimir Putin is about peace. America's top diplomat played down European concerns of being cut out of the initial talks between Russia and the United States set to take place in Saudi Arabia in the coming days. In an interview with CBS, Rubio said a negotiation pro...

February 13, 2025 10:29 AM

Trump discusses Ukraine war with Putin, Zelenskiy

Donald Trump discussed the war in Ukraine on Wednesday in phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the new U.S. president's first big step towards diplomacy over a war he has promised to end. In a post on his social media platform, Trump said he and Putin had "agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskiy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I w...

February 13, 2025 1:21 AM

Trump makes first big foray into Ukraine diplomacy, speaking to Putin, Zelenskiy

Donald Trump discussed the war in Ukraine on Wednesday in phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the new U.S. president's first big step towards diplomacy over a war he has promised to end. In a post on his social media platform after speaking to Putin, Trump said they had "agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately," and that he would begin by phoning Zelenskiy. After speaking to the Ukrainian leader, Trump said: ...

January 23, 2025 12:21 PM

Trump threatens Russia, others with tariffs if Ukraine deal not reached

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would add new tariffs to his sanctions threat against Russia if the country does not make a deal to end its war in Ukraine, and added that these could also be applied to "other participating countries." In a post on Truth Social, Trump modified comments he made on Tuesday that he would likely impose sanctions against Russia if President Vladimir Putin refused to negotiate an end to the nearly three-year conflict. "If we don't make a 'deal,' ...

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...

January 1, 2025 11:36 AM

Russia halts gas exports to Europe via Ukraine

Russia's energy giant Gazprom said on Wednesday that gas exports via Ukraine to Europe had been halted from 08:00 Moscow time (0500 GMT) as the transit deal has expired. The shutdown of Russia's oldest gas route to Europe ends a decade of fraught relations sparked by Russia's seizure of Crimea in 2014. Russia still exports gas via the TurkStream pipeline on the bed of the Black Sea. The European Union redoubled its efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian energy after the outbreak of the m...

January 1, 2025 9:17 AM

Zelenskiy says US will be alongside Ukraine’s efforts to stop Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on Tuesday that no one would give peace to his country as a gift, but he believed the United States would stand alongside Kyiv as it fights to stop Russia's 34-month invasion. Zelenskiy, in a slick 21-minute New Year video greeting to his compatriots, also said only a strong Ukraine could secure peace and earn worldwide respect. "We know that peace will not be given to us as a gift, but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war, some...