Ukraine-Russia war latest: ‘10 European nations’ to provide peacekeeping force after Trump rules out US troops – UK Times

On Tuesday evening, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told Sean Hannity on Fox News that President Donald Trump is a “legend” when it comes to dealmaking.

Witkoff made the remark during a discussion about the talks Trump 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.

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 rating—the share who approve, less the share who disapprove—for foreign policy was 2. It has since fallen steadily. In this week’s survey—which began on the day that Mr Trump met Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, in Alaska and ended on the day Volodymyr Zelensky, his Ukrainian counterpart, visited the White House—it 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 Trump’s net approval rating for his handling of the Ukraine-Russia conflict is -10.

Russia launched a “massive drone strike” on the southern Ukrainian region of Odesa, injuring one person and causing a large fire at a fuel and energy facility, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said this morning.

The Izmail district administration said on social media that port infrastructure in the city was damaged.

Donald Trump has said ending the Ukraine war and preventing thousands more deaths could help him get to heaven.

“If I can save 7,000 people a week from being killed, I think that’s a pretty… I want to try to get to heaven if possible, I’m hearing that I’m not doing well,” Trump said, speaking of his spiritual motivation to end the war in Ukraine.

The remarks by Trump were confirmed by the White House.

On being asked by a reporter whether the US president was joking about his motivation to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said: “I think the president was serious. I think the president wants to get to heaven, as I hope we all do in this room as well.”

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 “the killing” in the conflict, raging since Russia’s invasion in 2022, “has to stop.”

The president suggested he believed it would be “better if they met without me, just to see.”

He elaborated on his reasoning, saying: “I want to see what goes on. You know, they had a hard relationship, very bad, very bad relationship. And now we’ll see how they do and, if necessary, and it probably would be, but if necessary, I’ll go and I’ll probably be able to get it close.”

He added about the potential talks: “I just want to see what happens at the meeting. So they’re in the process of setting it up, and we’re going to see what happens.”

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.

Donald Trump has said the US might provide air support as part of a deal to end Russia’s war in the country.

However, he offered his assurances that US troops would not be sent to help defend Ukraine against Russia after seeming to leave open the possibility the day before.

“When it comes to security, (Europeans) are willing to put people on the ground. We’re willing to help them with things, especially, probably… by air,” Trump told Fox News.

The nature of US military aid for Ukraine under a peace deal was unclear. Air support could take many forms, such as missile defence systems or fighter jets enforcing a no-fly zone.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that US air support was “an option and a possibility,” but, like Trump, she did not provide any details.

“The president has definitively stated US boots will not be on the ground in Ukraine, but we can certainly help in the coordination and perhaps provide other means of security guarantees to our European allies,” she said at a news briefing yesterday.

Donald Trump has admitted that ending the Ukraine conflict is proving to be tougher than he thought as he pushed to arrange a summit between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

The US president has admitted that it is possible Putin might not want to make a deal at all to end hostilities in Ukraine and prolong the war despite the high-level summit in Alaska.

“We’re going to find out about president Putin in the next couple of weeks. That I can tell you,” he said yesterday. “It’s possible that he doesn’t want to make a deal”.

The Russian leader will face a “rough situation” if that were the case, Trump said, without providing any further details.

He also added: “I think Putin is tired of it. I think they’re all tired of it. But you never know.”

The U.S. won’t send troops, and Russia won’t accept forces from NATO states in Ukraine. So, what kind of security guarantee is it, really?

U.S. and European military planners have started exploring post-conflict security guarantees for Ukraine, U.S. officials and sources told Reuters on Tuesday. This follows a pledge from President Donald Trump to help defend the country under any agreement to end Russia’s war. Ukraine and its European allies were encouraged by Trump’s promise of security assurances for Kyiv, made during a Monday summit, though many questions still remain unanswered.

The Pentagon is conducting planning exercises on the support Washington could offer beyond providing weapons, officials said. They cautioned, however, that determining what would be both militarily feasible and acceptable to the Kremlin would take time. One option involves sending European forces to Ukraine, with the U.S. in charge of their command and control. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters these troops would operate under their own nations’ flags, not a Nato banner.

Neither the Pentagon nor Nato has commented on the idea. The White House stated the U.S. could help coordinate a security guarantee for Ukraine.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has ruled out the deployment of Nato troops to help secure a peace deal.

While Trump has publicly ruled out deploying US troops in Ukraine, he appeared to leave the door open to other military involvement on Tuesday. In a Fox News interview, he suggested Washington could provide air support.

“When it comes to security, [Europeans] are willing to put people on the ground, we’re willing to help them with things, especially, probably, … by air because nobody has stuff we have, really they don’t have,” Trump said, without elaborating. U.S. air support could involve more air defence systems or enforcing a no-fly zone with US fighter jets.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the United States has shipped billions of dollars’ worth of weapons and munitions to Kyiv. The Trump administration briefly halted these shipments, including after contentious White House meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February and July. Shipments have since resumed, and Trump has pledged to send primarily defensive weapons to assist the war-torn country.

Nato military chiefs will focus on Ukraine and the way forward during a virtual meeting on Wednesday, first reported by Reuters. U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, who also oversees Nato operations in Europe, will brief defence chiefs on last week’s Alaska meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A U.S. official, speaking anonymously, confirmed that U.S. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is expected to attend and will meet European counterparts in Washington on Tuesday evening.

As Trump continues to press for a quick end to Europe’s deadliest war in 80 years, Kyiv and its allies worry he could seek to force an agreement on Russia’s terms, especially after the warm welcome he extended to Putin last week.

Russia maintains its actions in Ukraine are a “special military operation” to protect national security, claiming Nato’s eastward expansion and Western military support pose existential threats. Kyiv and its Western allies, conversely, describe the invasion as an imperial-style land grab.

With reporting from Reuters

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered insights into President Donald Trump’s interactions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including their recent meeting in Alaska and ongoing efforts towards peace in Ukraine, during an appearance on Fox News.

Speaking on Laura Ingraham’s show, The Ingraham Angle, Bessent claimed President Trump had the Russian leader “on his heels” during their encounter.

“President Trump had a great meeting with President Putin in Alaska, my take was he had President Putin on his heels for most of the event after the flyover [of military jets],” Bessent said.

He further detailed a phone call between the two leaders following President Trump’s summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European counterparts. Bessent suggested Putin was keen for the conversation: “Well, the president gave him the option, I could call you or send a message. Putin said well, I will be up for 15 more minutes, or you can call tomorrow. And I think Putin wanted the call that night. So that showed he was eager to hear what the president had to say.”

Bessent also asserted that President Trump had secured security guarantees for Ukraine from Putin. Addressing reports that President Trump had been flattered by U.S. allies at Monday’s summit to get him onside, the Treasury secretary countered: “Trump had a strategy the whole time, I don’t think it’s flattery. I think it’s deference because they understand that Trump is the only person in the world who can stop this conflict.”

Bessent also discussed the imposition of secondary tariffs on India and China due to their economic support for Russia. “We already have very high tariffs on China. And now India is going to see what it feels like,” he warned.