Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says US and Ukrainian officials will meet to prepare for possible Putin summit – UK Times

US secretary of state Marco Rubio spoke with his European counterparts yesterday and discussed diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, the State Department said.

Rubio spoke to UK foreign secretary David Lammy, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, Finnish foreign minister Elina Valtonen and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas among others, a spokesperson for the State Department said in a statement.

Germany will provide security guarantees for Ukraine alongside European partners, the country’s vice chancellor has said.

“What’s important is that, in the end, there are security guarantees that ensure Ukraine is no longer attacked and that Putin no longer dares to attack Ukraine,” said Lars Klingbeil in his first visit to Ukraine on Monday.

Klingbeil said Germany would “assume responsibility” in providing security guarantees, but that decisions must not be taken “over the heads of Ukrainians” and any negotiation process must start with a ceasefire.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he has not discussed specific security guarantees for Ukraine amid a flagging effort to end the conflict.

The US president also said that during his August 15 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, the two leaders discussed limiting the size of their countries’ massive nuclear arsenal.

“We would like to denuclearise. It’s too much power, and we talked about that also. That’s part of it, but we have to get the war over with,” Trump told reporters gathered in the Oval Office.

US president Donald Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg said officials are “working very, very hard” on efforts to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine despite a lack of progress in talks.

Mr Kellogg said in Kyiv that officials are “hoping to get to a position where, in the near term, we have, with a lack of a better term, security guarantees” that address Ukraine’s fears of another invasion by Russia in the future.

“That’s a work in progress,” he said of the potential security guarantees, after attending Ukraine’s annual National Prayer Breakfast along with politicians, business leaders and diplomats.

Ukraine’s access to Elon Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink could be cut due to the Polish president’s veto of a refugee aid bill, Poland’s deputy prime minister has said.

Poland pays for Ukraine to use Starlink, which provides crucial internet connectivity to the country and its military as they try to push back invading Russian forces.

But Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said on Monday that the President’s veto of a bill extending state financial support to Ukrainian refugees would mean is no legal basis for paying for Starlink.

“This is the end of Starlink internet, which Poland provides to Ukraine as it wages war,” he wrote on X.

The US has reportedly been blocking Ukraine from using long-range missiles in Russia, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Both US-made Army Tactical Missile Systems (Atacms) and British-produced Storm Shadows depend on US targeting data.

A new review process brought in by Washington in late spring has blocked Ukraine from using Atacms at least one, the report claimed.

In response, Zelensky said Kyiv had recently been using its own weapons and not consulting with Washington over strikes.

A British operation to help train Ukrainian forces will continue until at least the end of 2026, the government has announced.

Operation Interflex has trained more than 50,000 Ukrainian recruits on British soil.

Speaking ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day celebrations, Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK was “ramping up” its support for Ukrainian forces.

Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed King Charles as a “true inspiration” after the monarch sent a letter of support on Ukraine’s Independence Day.

In a message posted on X, the King spoke of his “greatest and deepest admiration” for the Ukrainian people as they continue defending their country against Russian invasion, and called for a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine.

On Sunday, Ukraine marks 34 years since the country left the Soviet Union, with more than 2,000 Ukrainian recruits set to celebrate alongside British personnel at an Interflex training site this year.