Latest news with #SecGenNATO
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Trump says Ukraine should not target Moscow
US President Donald Trump says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy should not target Moscow and that Russian President Vladimir Putin should agree to a ceasefire deal by a 50-day deadline or sanctions will kick in. His comments came after The Financial Times, citing people briefed on discussions, reported on Tuesday that Trump had privately encouraged Ukraine to step up deep strikes on Russia. The newspaper added that Trump asked Zelenskiy whether he could strike Moscow if the US provided long-range weapons. "No, he shouldn't target Moscow," Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House when asked if Zelenskiy should attack the Russian capital. Asked if he was willing to give long-range missiles to Ukraine as well as more defensive arms, he added: "No, we're not looking to do that." Trump on Monday announced a toughened stance against Russia for its three-year-old war in Ukraine, promising a fresh wave of missiles and other weaponry for Ukraine. I spoke with @POTUS. It was a very good conversation. Thank you for the willingness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings and establish a lasting and just Trump shared details about his meeting with the @SecGenNATO. It's…— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 14, 2025 He gave Russia 50 days to reach a ceasefire or face sanctions. Asked if he was now on the side of Ukraine, Trump said, "I am on nobody's side," and then declared he was on "humanity's side" because "I want to stop the killing". Trump defended the deadline he set for Russia to agree to a deal and head off tariffs and sanctions on countries that buy oil from Russia. "I don't think 50 days is very long and it could be sooner than that," he said. He did not say whether any talks were planned to try to work out a deal with Russia. "At the end of the 50 days if we don't have a deal, it's going to be too bad," he said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing on Tuesday that Russia was considering its next steps. "We will certainly need time to analyse the rhetoric from Washington," he said, the TASS news agency reported. Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that NATO's arms deliveries to Ukraine showed that the alliance was interested in continuing the fighting. with DPA
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Disappointed but not done with Putin': Trump after announcing weapons support for Ukraine
US President Donald Trump has said that he is 'disappointed' with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin but not done with him after the former announced weapons support to Ukraine, including Patriot missiles. When asked by the BBC whether the US president trusts Putin, he responded saying 'I trust almost no-one.' Trump, who was speaking to BBC in a telephonic interview published on Tuesday, said he thought a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine was on the cards at least four different times but it didn't fructify. The US president spoke hours after he issued a warning to Russia to broker a ceasefire deal with Ukraine or face sanctions with a deadline of 50 days. 'I'm disappointed with him (Putin), but I'm not done with him. But I'm disappointed with him,' Trump said. He added 'We'll have a great conversation. I'll say: 'That's good, I'll think we're close to getting it done,' and then he'll knock down a building in Kyiv,' BBC reported. Great meeting with @POTUS today. We're already delivering on decisions from the #NATOSummit in a major way, bringing together more spending, more production & more support to Ukraine. Russia's brutality needs to stop – this new initiative will help deliver just and lasting peace — Mark Rutte (@SecGenNATO) July 14, 2025 After announcing new weapons for Ukraine on Monday, the US president threatened further sanctions on buyers of Russian exports, especially oil, unless Moscow agrees to a truce with Kyiv. It is being viewed as a major policy shift in the Trump administration's stance towards dealing with Russia as the US president showed a more conciliatory approach when he returned to the White House in January, but now the US government has signalled disenchantment with Putin due to Moscow's ongoing attacks on its neighbor. During the interview from the Oval Office, Trump endorsed NATO after having described the 32-countries military alliance as obsolete. The Republican leader further affirmed his support for the organisation's common defence principle. Asked about the assassination attempt which took place in July 2024, Trump said he would like to think about it as little as possible. 'I don't like to think about if it did change me, could be life-changing,' he said.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Ukraine's Zelenskyy hails US weapons deal as Russia dismisses Trump's sanctions threat
After US President Donald Trump announced that billions of dollars worth of military equipment will be sent to Ukraine, politicians in Kyiv welcomed the move as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday said he spoke to the US president and thanked him for the support. Trump, while announcing slew of military aid to Ukraine, also threatened Russia with a deadline of 50 days to broker a ceasefire deal with Ukraine or face sanctions. The officials in Moscow dismissed Trump's sanctions threat as 'hot air'. Zelenskyy said he and President Trump have agreed to speak more frequently and continue to coordinate the steps. 'It was a very good conversation. I thanked him for his readiness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings and establish a lasting and just peace,' Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram app. I spoke with @SecGenNATO Mark Rutte. Another very good conversation. Mark informed about today's meeting in Washington with President Trump and about the details of cooperation between Europe and the U.S. to continue and strengthen support for Ukraine. We appreciate the… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 14, 2025 In a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House on Monday, Trump said he was disappointed with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that the US would send Patriot anti-aircraft batteries and interceptor missiles among billions of dollars of US weapons to Ukraine. Great meeting with @POTUS today. We're already delivering on decisions from the #NATOSummit in a major way, bringing together more spending, more production & more support to Ukraine. Russia's brutality needs to stop – this new initiative will help deliver just and lasting peace — Mark Rutte (@SecGenNATO) July 14, 2025 Trump promised that additional patriot systems would arrive in a few days and it is being sponsored by Germany and other NATO partners. Kyiv reportedly has only six functioning patriot batteries. It would be a significant step for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia's barrage of missile and drone attacks. Trump also threatened sanctions on countries who are buyers of Russia exports, especially Russian oil, unless it agreed to a peace deal with Ukraine and expressed frustration over Moscow's repeated attacks on Kyiv. The threat sanctions have a deadline of 50 days. Russian officials and pro-war bloggers dismissed Trump's sanctions threat and portrayed them as far less serious than anticipated. Since Moscow stepped up its aerial attack on Kyiv in recent weeks, Trump has signalled disenchantment with Putin though the US president's second term started with a more conciliatory approach to Russia.
Perth Now
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Trump says he will likely meet Zelenskiy at NATO summit
US President Donald Trump says he will probably meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a NATO summit this week, opening a door for Ukraine to press its case for buying US Patriot missile systems and tougher sanctions to fight Russia. Trump made the comments to reporters on board Air Force One on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, a White House official said Trump was scheduled to meet Zelenskiy at some point during the summit of the NATO military alliance, taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday in The Hague. Trump pulled out from a hoped-for meeting with Zelenskiy last week, when the US president left the G7 meeting in Canada early, saying he needed to focus on the crisis in the Middle East. I thank @SecGenNATO Mark Rutte for the meeting and for the invitation to the North Atlantic Alliance Summit. This is a clear signal that Ukraine remains among the priorities on NATO's coordinated steps within the framework of the Summit and discussed our shared… Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 24, 2025 In comments released by his office on Saturday, Zelenskiy outlined his three priorities if a meeting with Trump were to take place at the NATO summit. Firstly, he said he wanted to discuss weapons, saying that during the G7 summit, his aides had given US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent a wish-list of arms including Patriot missile defence systems, which he described as worth "a very large amount". Zelenskiy said Ukraine was "ready to find the money for this whole package" rather than requesting it as military aid. Secondly, he wanted to talk about sanctions on Russia and thirdly about other diplomatic ways of applying greater pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskiy urged all NATO countries on Tuesday to support Ukraine's defence industry. He said it was essential that Ukraine lead in drone technology, which has shaped the battlefield and developed at breathtaking pace in the 40 months the war has lasted so far. "Please, let's make sure that our defence potential and potential of our partners work for our peace, not for Russia's madness," he said. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the US leadership was committed to the alliance. He added, however, that this came with an expectation that European countries and Canada spend more on the military. The former Dutch prime minister underlined the need for transatlantic co-operation in the defence industry to meet the challenge of rearmament. "Today, NATO's military edge is being aggressively challenged by a rapidly rearming Russia, backed by Chinese technology and armed with Iranian and North Korean weapons," he said. "Only Europe and North America together can rise up to meet the challenge of rearmament." The Kremlin accused NATO of being on a path of rampant militarisation and portraying Russia as a "fiend of hell" in order to justify its big increase in defence spending. Russia denies any plan to attack the military alliance, which boasts 32 members, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "largely a wasted effort" to assure the grouping of this because it was determined to demonise Russia. "It is an alliance created for confrontation ... It is not an instrument of peace and stability," he said.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia launches deadly glide bombs and artillery strike on Ukrainian city
Russian glide bombs and artillery have struck a city in southern Ukraine, killing one person and wounding five others as Moscow's forces continue daily attacks across the country. The city of Kherson was struck with glide bombs on Wednesday morning – and when rescue teams arrived at the scene, Russian forces then launched an artillery barrage, said the region's head, Oleksandr Prokudin. He added: 'This is a deliberate tactic by Russia to hinder the rescue of the injured and harm doctors, rescuers, and police.' The attack damaged a sports facility, a supermarket, residential buildings and civilian vehicles, Mr Prokudin said. The strike on Kherson followed other deadly attacks in recent days. On Palm Sunday, two Russian ballistic missile hit the north-eastern city of Sumy near the Russian border, killing 35 people and injuring more than 100 others in the deadliest attack on Ukrainian civilians this year. The Russian military said that the strike had targeted a gathering of senior military officers. The attack on Sumy and other areas came even as Moscow and Kyiv both agreed last month to implement a 30-day halt on strikes on energy facilities. Today, @SecGenNATO Mark Rutte is in Ukraine. We discussed the security of Ukraine, our entire Europe, and the Euro-Atlantic region, as well as relations with all our partners in Europe and America. The main focus was on strengthening Ukraine's air defense. Absolutely everyone… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 15, 2025 Both parties have differed on the start time for stopping strikes and alleged daily breaches by the other side. Asked on Wednesday if Russia is going to stop abiding by the limited ceasefire after 30 days, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov demurred, saying the decision will be made later. Moscow has effectively refused to accept a comprehensive ceasefire that US President Donald Trump has sought and Ukraine has endorsed. Russia has made the accord conditional on a halt in Ukraine's mobilisation efforts and Western arms supplies – demands rejected by Ukraine. Kyiv believes Moscow's forces are gearing up for a fresh offensive. Russian forces hold the battlefield advantage in Ukraine, pressing attacks in several sectors of the 600-mile frontline, and Kyiv has warned Moscow is planning a new offensive to improve its negotiating position. The Russian military said it downed 26 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions early on Wednesday.
