Donald Trump said Ukraine may or may not lose its sovereignty to Russia while claiming that the war-hit nation had “essentially agreed” to a rare earth minerals deal with the US.
“They may make a deal. They may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday.
“But we’re going to have all this money in [Ukraine] and I say, I want it back,” the president said in an interview with Fox News.
“I told them that I want the equivalent of like $500 billion worth of rare earths, and they’ve essentially agreed to do that.”
His remarks came as Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said it would not be possible to reach a peace deal if Mr Trump undermined Mr Putin’s fundamental aims.
“Without solving the problems which were the root causes of what is happening, it will not be possible to reach an agreement,” he said.
“So variations and half-measures are not the path we are prepared to go along.”
Trump aides to visit Ukraine for first time, Zelensky says
“Serious” members of Trump’s team will travel to Ukraine for the first time this week, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late last night.
He also confirmed plans to meet Vice President JD Vance at the Munich conference, which begins on Friday.
Zelenskyy said his team were attempting to organise a meeting with Trump.
“This week, some people from the Trump team, serious ones, will be in Ukraine – even before the Munich conference,” he said.
Alexander Butler11 February 2025 08:35
Poland activates aircraft after Russian strikes on Ukraine
Polish and allied aircraft were activated early on Tuesday to ensure safety in areas bordering the threatened zones after Russia launched air strikes on Ukraine, the Operational Command of the Polish armed forces said.
“The Operational Command of the Armed Forces is monitoring the current situation, and its forces and resources remain in full readiness for immediate response,” the Command said on X.
Alexander Butler11 February 2025 08:07
Trump says ‘Ukraine may be Russian someday’
Donald Trump has said Ukraine may or may not lose its sovereignty to Russia.
The US president has also repeated his pitch for compensation from the war-hit country in return for the aid provided by the US, irrespective of how the war ends.
“They may make a deal. They may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday. But we’re going to have all this money in (Ukraine) and I say, I want it back,” Mr Trump said in an interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier.
Arpan Rai11 February 2025 07:40
Trump says Ukraine ‘essentially agrees’ to rare earth deal worth billions
Donald Trump has claimed that Ukraine has “essentially agreed” to a $500b resource deal.
“I told them that I want the equivalent of like $500 billion worth of rare earth (minerals), and they’ve essentially agreed to do that,” the US president said.
Arpan Rai11 February 2025 07:33
Zelensky says Trump aides to visit Ukraine for first time this week
Volodymyr Zelensky has said that “serious” members of US president Donald Trump’s team would travel to Ukraine this week for the first time, as diplomatic efforts to end the war with Russia intensify.
“This week, some people from the Trump team, serious ones, will be in Ukraine – even before the Munich conference,” he said in a video released by the UNIAN news agency.
Mr Zelensky also confirmed that he planned to meet US vice president JD Vance at the Munich conference and that his team was trying to set up a meeting with Mr Trump.
“Our teams are also working on dialogue and a meeting with president Trump,” he said, days after the US president said he would “probably” meet with Mr Zelensky this week.
Poland activates aircraft after Russian strikes on Ukraine
Polish and allied aircraft were activated early today to ensure safety in areas bordering the threatened zones after Russia launched air strikes on Ukraine, the Operational Command of the Polish armed forces said.
“The Operational Command of the Armed Forces is monitoring the current situation, and its forces and resources remain in full readiness for immediate response,” the Command said on X.
Arpan Rai11 February 2025 06:55
Kremlin claims relations with US ‘are balancing on the brink of a breakup’
Tom Watling11 February 2025 06:45
White House officials ready to meet with Zelensky in Munich
President Donald Trump’s senior advisers are expected to meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky this week on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference to discuss the path toward ending Russia’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine.
Retired Lt Gen Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, said that the White House is ironing out details of the highly anticipated talks during the annual summit for international security discussions.
US vice president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and Mr Kellogg are among the Trump administration officials traveling to Germany for the summit, and all could be involved in the critical talks with Zelenskyy and his team on the sidelines of the event.
“Knowing how the process works, it would probably be better for Zelensky if we all met together and talked through it as a group,” Mr Kellogg said in an interview.
Mr Trump yesterday said he’d “probably” speak with the Ukrainian president this week.
Arpan Rai11 February 2025 06:23
Ukraine rolls out power restrictions after Russia’s attacks on gas infrastructure
Ukraine imposed emergency power restrictions after overnight and morning attacks by Russia on gas infrastructure, said Ukraine energy minister, German Galushchenko.
“The enemy launched an attack on gas infrastructure overnight,” Galushchenko said in a post on social media. “As of this morning, the energy sector continues to be under attack.”
To minimize possible consequences for the energy system, emergency power restrictions were being imposed, he said.
Arpan Rai11 February 2025 06:08
Weapons cleared by Biden still flowing to Ukraine, says US special envoy
Shipments of arms and ammunition previously approved by former president Joe Biden are still flowing into Ukraine, the US special envoy to Ukraine said.
The US always likes selling weapons made in America because it strengthens our economy, retired lieutenant general Keith Kellogg told Reuters in an interview.
“There’s not necessarily any need in the next 24 hours to it any different,” he said.
Mr Biden approved more than $65bn in security assistance to Ukraine during his time in office, including billions in the final months of his administration.
Arpan Rai11 February 2025 02:50
