With Trump looming, Europe pushes to wrap up Ukraine war
That new strategy will play out most clearly this week at the Munich Security Conference, one of the biggest gatherings of defense leaders in the world.
It's a dramatic departure from the Biden era, when the meeting reinforced the U.S. and its allies had Ukraine's back for, as former President Joe Biden often said, 'as long as it takes.' And while Europe still insists it will support the country three years into Russia's invasion, the conversations this weekend could signal the direction of the embattled country's future.
'How [Europeans] position themselves… to be at the table rather than being on the menu,' said Camille Grand, a former NATO assistant secretary general. 'That's the whole debate.'
European leaders — in a sign they're adapting to President Donald Trump's desire to end the war — are flaunting hard power credentials to show they would play a leading role in peace talks.
French President Emmanuel Macron in January told a groupof his ambassadors, 'if we decide to be weak and defeatist, there's little chance of being respected by President Trump's United States of America.' U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, days after Trump took office, signaled he was open to sending British peacekeeping forces to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. Other European allies also are saying they're open tosuch a plan.
Trump's promise to end the war just 100 days into his administration sets up high stakes for the conference. Vice President JD Vance is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy there, according to two people familiar with the planning.
But the former Ohio senator has been skeptical of U.S. support for Kyiv and did not join a bipartisan Senate delegation meeting with Zelenskyy last year at the conference. He instead used its final day to insist the U.S. focus on the Indo-Pacific.
'We can't support Ukraine and the Middle East and contingencies in East Asia,' Vance told the conference in February 2024. 'It just doesn't make any sense.'
Vice President Kamala Harris, on the other hand, went to Bavaria to meet with Zelenskyy three times, including just days before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
'We will, for the moment, take the lead if the Americans don't,' said one European military official. The individual, like others, was granted anonymity to speak about private deliberations.
The United Kingdom has temporarily taken over the Ukraine Defense Contract Group, which former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin created to coordinate how dozens of nations deliver military aid to Ukraine. And NATO has started a security and training mission that locks in alliance support for Ukraine's military to hedge against the U.S. reducing its backing.
The rhetorical shift from NATO allies has one important caveat: They continue to insist Kyiv should decide when it wants to negotiate.
'It's always been important that Ukraine come to the decision, because it's their country,' said Bill Blair, the Canadian defense minister. 'We're looking for a way to have a ceasefire, to restore some peace and security, but with longer term security arrangements for Ukraine.'
The U.S. and Ukrainians have discussed longer-term security guarantees heading into the conference, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. These include weapons and intelligence capabilities such as satellites that the Europeans can't provide. Trump has also floated tradingsome of Ukraine's valuable mineral resources for U.S. aid.
Russia and Ukraine's battle lines have remained largely static for more than a year. Ukraine has held territory in Russia' s Kursk region for nearly six months. But Russia has slowly chipped away at Kyiv's position, and the Kremlin is reportedly preparing to receive a new tranche of North Korean troops to replenish its battered frontlines. Pyongyang last year agreed to send thousands of forces to the conflict zone to support the Russian military.
The Trump team will need to convince skeptics that a peace deal doesn't simply allow Putin's army to rest and prepare for a future invasion.
Putin 'wants help in getting up off the mat,' said H.R. McMaster, who served as Trump's national security adviser in his first administration. 'Right now, because he's in a profoundly weak position, we should not help him get up off the mat.'
Zelenskyy also wants up to 200,000 peacekeepers to patrol a demilitarized zone. And some officials still hope for new pledges of aid, including upgraded air defenses.
'Without weapons deliveries from the U.S., I think we will have huge problems on the battlefield,' said Yehor Cherniev, a Ukrainian lawmaker from Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party.
Ukrainian officials were tight-lipped ahead of the conference, although they spent many hours talking to American and European officials. Andrii Yermak, the head of the presidential office, spoke with both national security adviser Michael Waltz and Keith Kellogg, Trump's envoy for Russia and Ukraine, according to Heorhii Tykhyi, a Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson.
Officials in Kyiv expect less of a breakthrough moment in Munich than a chance to stress Ukraine's thinking.
'This Munich is not so important because of the potential presentation of some plans, but as an opportunity to convey Ukraine's position on this issue at the highest level,' Tykhyi told reporters in Kyiv.
Moscow also remains circumspect. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said officials were waiting for specific proposals from the Trump administration.
'It is important that words are supported by practical steps that take into account Russia's legitimate interests, demonstrate a willingness to root out the root causes of the crisis and recognize new realities,' Galuzin told reporters on Monday. 'No specific proposals of this nature have been received yet."
The meetings with Vance will also be feeling-out sessions for the Ukrainians, according to the person familiar with the negotiations, as officials try to figure out who is useful in the Trump administration.
'I just want to think that the Trump administration clearly understands that if Ukraine will stop, the war will not stop,' said Cherniev. 'If Russia will stop, the war will end.'
Veronika Melkozerova and Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Gastonia resident and RNC Chair Michael Whatley expected to launch bid for Tillis' seat
Michael Whatley, a Gastonia resident and the chair of the Republican National Party, is expected to seek the seat held by U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, who announced he would not seek re-election voting against advancing President Donald Trump's " big, beautiful bill," Republicans' massive domestic policy legislation. Whatley, one of the driving forces in the GOP today, would likely face former Gov. Roy Cooper in the race. The Democrat, whose final term as governor was bookended by the COVID-19 pandemic and Tropical Storm Helene, is expected to soon launch a campaign, according to reporting from Axios. Whatley began his climb in the GOP more than 2 decades ago. He served as chair of the Gaston County Republican Party from 1999-2001. In 2019 he was to picked to lead the North Carolina Republican Party, and in 2024 he became chair of the Republican National Committee. He has served as a senior official in the George W. Bush administration, and as chief of staff for former Sen. Elizabeth Dole. Politico reported this week that Whatley has the backing of Trump, whose daughter-in-law Lara Trump had also been rumored to be considering a bid. In a July 24 social media post, Lara Trump confirmed she would not be seeking the Senate seat. 'I am deeply grateful for the encouragement and support I have received from the people of my home state whom I love so much,' she wrote. Whatley did not respond to a July 24 request for comment from the Asheville Citizen Times. A White House spokesperson also did not respond to a request for comment on the president's reported endorsement. On the Democratic side, Axios first reported Cooper's intentions July 23. When reached by the Citizen Times, Morgan Jackson, a longtime political adviser to Cooper, declined to confirm Axios' reporting, but said the former governor 'would be making his intentions known in the coming days.' Cooper, who served two terms as North Carolina's governor, is a likely frontrunner to win his party's primary. Former Congressman Wiley Nickel is also vying for the seat, currently held by Tillis, who annnounced in June that he would not seek a third term in office. A matchup between Cooper and Whatley will likely be a high-stakes, expensive election that could determine whether Republicans can maintain control of the Senate. The race could prove to be 'as close to a toss-up as exists in American politics,' Chris Cooper, a professor of political science and public affairs at Western Carolina University, told the Citizen Times on July 24. Cooper, who is not related to the former governor, said both are 'heavyweight candidates with access to deep pockets and networks.' But neither Roy Cooper, nor Whatley, have outsized personalities that have often dominated politics in recent years. 'I think people who are expecting a barn-burner campaign driven by candidate narratives may be surprised,' Cooper said. Sarah Honosky contributed reporting. Jacob Biba is the Helene recovery reporter at the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jbiba@ This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gastonia resident and RNC chair Michael Whatley may campaign for Tillis' seat


Time Magazine
27 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
Colbert Is Practically Daring CBS to Shut Him Down Early
'Over the weekend it sunk in that they're killing off our show,' Stephen Colbert reflected at the top of The Late Show on Monday, following a tempest of outrage over CBS's suspiciously timed cancellation of the program that had only gained strength over the weekend. 'But they made one mistake: They left me alive!' The audience responded with chants of 'Stephen! Stephen!'—which, in retrospect, was the first clue that the host's taunt was not entirely a joke. Since then, Colbert has been ripping into Donald Trump with renewed relish, often while also flaying CBS and its parent company, Paramount. By doubling down on attacking his most powerful enemy, at a time when network execs are facing such intense scrutiny for what many believe was a politically motivated firing, he isn't just making the most of the 10 months he has left—he's essentially daring his bosses to kill the show sooner. (Think an expensive contract would be enough to keep a host judged to be a liability on the air? Kindly recall NBC's Megyn Kelly debacle of 2018.) If they take the bait, Colbert will have his most damning evidence yet that what they called a 'purely financial decision' was, at least in part, political. For those who don't keep daily tabs on late-night talk shows—which, let's be honest, is the vast majority of us these days—it's worth reviewing this week's Late Show highlights. On Monday, Colbert devoted his whole monologue to Trump. First he addressed his cancellation ('Cancel culture has gone too far'), expressing relief that 'I can finally speak unvarnished truth to power and say what I really think about Donald Trump—starting right now,' then feinting in the direction of understatement: 'I don't care for him. Doesn't seem to have, like, the skillset to be President. Just not a good fit, you know?' He moved on to reports claiming that his show, despite winning its broadcast time slot, was losing some $40 million a year: 'I could see us losing $24 million, but where could Paramount have possibly spent the other 16… oh yeah.' In an instantly viral soundbite, Colbert responded to Trump's social media posts calling him talentless and gloating over his show's demise by asking: 'Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism?: Go f-ck yourself. ' Then he prefaced a riff on the Wall Street Journal 's Epstein birthday letter bombshell with: 'The President was buddies with a pedophile.' 'It's a great day to be me because I am not Donald Trump,' Colbert greeted the audience on Tuesday, before discussing reports that FBI agents were ordered to scour the Epstein files for Trump mentions. 'All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't hide who Dumpty humped with his friend,' he quipped. Also: 'It's not a great look when you fly on the pedophile's plane enough times to earn diamond pervert status.' In response to Trump's apparent fixation on arresting Barack Obama, Colbert wondered aloud: 'What the f-ck is wrong with this guy?' Finally, he seemed to pivot away from the President with a bit about soaring beef prices. But then he brought Trump into that story as well, suggesting that his tariffs were partly to blame. Wednesday's Late Show opened by poking fun at Coca-Cola's plans to oblige POTUS by manufacturing cane-sugar-sweetened soda in the U.S. with a faux advertisement for cocaine-enhanced 'Don Jr. Coke.' A monologue that kicked off with a few jokes about the impending heatwave soon segued to a familiar subject. 'One person who's already sweating is Donald Trump,' Colbert said, before pausing to let the audience boo. To no one's surprise, the host made a meal out of the news that the Justice Department had, in May, informed the President that his name was in the Epstein files. 'He's in the file! He's in the file!' Colbert chanted, rubbing his hands together and approaching the camera with a gleeful grin. 'You know how they say there's no such thing as bad publicity? They're not talkin' about this.' He went on to show a greatest-hits collection of Trump-Epstein photos, casually drop 'Micropenis DJT' into a list of fictional Trump nicknames, and roast Trump for the mathematical impossibility of his promised prescription-drug-price reductions. And then he circled back to 'how [Trump is] making my network crawl,' citing the President's claim that he would secure another $20 million in free airtime from CBS. 'By bending the knee, they lost like $40 million this year,' Colbert said. 'They better watch out. They might get canceled for purely financial reasons .' Colbert ended his show's four-day week, on Thursday, with more than eight minutes on the Epstein saga. First there was a cold open skit that used a montage of Three Stooges eye-poking clips to mock Attorney General Pam Bondi for citing a torn cornea as her reason for missing an awkwardly timed speaking engagement at a summit on sex trafficking. In his monologue, Colbert tore through the latest Trump-Epstein headlines ('What are you gonna tell me next—that the Pope is in the Catholic files? That a bear is on the cover of this month's Modern Woods Pooper ?'), from Epstein's evasiveness on Trump in a 2010 deposition to Mark Epstein's claim that his brother dumped Trump after deciding he was 'a crook' to the Ghislaine Maxwell of it all. When he finally moved off the topic, it was for a bit lampooning the President's recent statements on artificial intelligence that mostly seemed to be an excuse to direct viewers to Wednesday's already-notorious season premiere of South Park (also a Paramount property), which included an extremely NSFW parody PSA starring an uncanny, AI-generated Trump. I'd call this a mic drop, but I have a feeling Colbert will have plenty more to say come Monday. When you consider how litigious Trump has been with regard to practices that legal precedent supports as protected speech—of which satire and commentary are two—Colbert's stand is a risky one. But whether you think his response to The Late Show 's cancellation is brave or foolish, you can't deny that he's playing his cards perfectly against Paramount and CBS. If the powers that be pull him off the air before May 2026, he'll have all but proven that their decision to dump him was about more than the cost of making his show. And if they resign themselves to letting him say whatever he wants for the next 10 months? Well then, he'll get to say whatever he wants for the next 10 months. I can't imagine either option making his bosses jump for joy.


UPI
27 minutes ago
- UPI
Ghislaine Maxwell set for second meeting with Deputy AG Todd Blanche
Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, is speaking with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche for a second day. File photo by Rick Bajornas/UN Handout Photo/EPA July 25 (UPI) -- Ghislaine Maxwell, associate of child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, is meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche Friday to answer more questions about her knowledge of Epstein's crimes and who may have associated with him. The two met Thursday and spoke for six hours at a federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Fla. Friday's meeting is a continuation of the questioning. Blanche is a former defense attorney of President Donald Trump. Before leaving for Scotland Friday, Trump brushed off questions about Epstein. "I have nothing to do with the guy," Trump said of Epstein. He socialized with Epstein for years before falling out with him in the mid-2000s. Trump said reporters should focus on those who allegedly spent time with Epstein, such as former President Bill Clinton and ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who was also once the president of Harvard. People "don't talk about them. They talk about me," he complained. "You should focus on Clinton. You should focus on the president of Harvard, the former president of Harvard, you should focus on some of the hedge fund guys," CNBC reported that Trump said. "I'll give you a list. These guys lived with Jeffrey Epstein, I sure as hell didn't." When asked if he would pardon Maxwell, who has served five years of a 20-year sentence for finding and grooming young girls for Epstein's abuse, Trump said, "It's something I haven't thought about." "I'm allowed to do it," he added. Maxwell's attorney David Oscar Markus said Maxwell was "hoping for another productive day." "Ghislaine has been treated unfairly for over five years now," he added. "If you looked up scapegoat in the dictionary, her face would be next to the definition next to the dictionary definition of it," he said. "So, you know, we're grateful for this opportunity to finally be able to say what really happened, and that's what we're going to do yesterday and today." "We just ask that folks look at what she has to say with an open mind, and that's what Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has promised us, and everything she says can be corroborated, and she's telling the truth," Markus said. "She's got no reason to lie at this point, and she's going to keep telling the truth." Markus refused to comment on the nature of the questioning. On social media, Blanche said he would reveal what he learned from Maxwell "at the appropriate time." The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that a recent review of Epstein-related documents by the Justice Department and FBI allegedly found that Trump's name appeared several times in the files. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., during a press conference on Wednesday, said making the Epstein files public needs to be done in a way that protects the victims mentioned, some of whom are minors.