Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump says conflict could lead to world war and Putin ‘has really let me down’ – UK Times

The United States would help to secure peace after Russia’s war in Ukraine is settled, president Donald Trump said.

“After the war is settled, we would help secure the peace. And I think ultimately that’ll happen,” Trump told Fox News last night.

Trump also said that helping to bring about an end to the war in Ukraine had been more challenging than he anticipated and that he was “very disappointed” in Russian president Vladimir Putin.

“The one I thought was going to be easiest (to settle) was going to be Russia-Ukraine, because of my relationship with president Putin. So I’m disappointed,” Trump said.

Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Moscow to reach a ceasefire deal with Ukraine or face new sanctions, only to see the deadlines ignored.

He warmly welcomed Putin at what was billed by the White House as a peace summit in Alaska in mid-August but failed to secure major concessions.

European Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said on Thursday he plans to convene talks with defence ministers next week on creating a “drone wall” along the EU’s eastern border – a project infused with urgency by a Russian drone incursion into Poland.

Kubilius told Reuters that some European Union countries had already been discussing the idea of a line of defence against drones before last week’s incursion and the EU’s executive arm now wanted to move quickly to turn the concept into reality.

Poland’s defence chief travelled to Kyiv on Thursday in search of Ukrainian help in developing his country’s drone warfare capabilities, just over a week after Russian drones entered Polish airspace and exposed Nato’s vulnerability to drone warfare.

Drones used for defence and attack have taken a central battlefield role in the more than three years since Russia invaded Ukraine, transforming how wars are waged, and countries are keen to master the new and quickly developing battlefield technology.

“We will be signing an agreement concerning co-operation between the (defence) ministries, but also acquiring capabilities when it comes to operating drones,” Polish defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in published comments.

Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was very disappointed in Russian President Vladimir Putin because the Russian leader has not agreed to end the war in Ukraine.

“I’m disappointed in Putin … I’m very disappointed in him,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum.”

“The one I thought was going to be easiest (to settle) was going to be Russia-Ukraine, because of my relationship with President Putin. So I’m disappointed,” Trump added.

The European Commission is discussing a proposal to accelerate a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas in its 19th package of sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, an EU official said.

The package is due to be presented to member states on Friday.

Poland wants to benefit from Ukraine’s knowledge and skills regarding drone warfare, Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz has said as Warsaw and Kyiv announced the creation of a joint operational group for unmanned systems.

“We want to benefit from your knowledge and skills, and we want Polish companies, both public and private, to be able to participate in this together,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said during a news conference in Kyiv.