Showing posts with label Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Trump and Zelenskyy to Sign “What Could Be Trillion Dollar” Minerals Deal at White House | BBC News

Feb 25, 2025 | BREAKING: President Trump has confirmed that Ukraine and the United States have agreed the terms of “a major minerals deal”. Trump said that Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy will sign the agreement with him at the White House on Friday. Mr Trump said: “It’s a very big deal, it could be a trillion dollar deal”. He said the American people would be very happy with the agreement.

So far there are few details of the deal. It’s not yet clear whether the US will offer Ukraine any security guarantees in return, something that has been a key Ukrainian demand.

Ukraine is rich in oil and gas along with many rare minerals. President Trump had initially demanded a right to $500 billion in revenue from Ukraine’s minerals, in return for what he claimed were the costs to the US of supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.

That demand was rejected by President Zelenskyy, contributing to a war of words with Mr Trump in recent days, with the US president describing the Ukrainian leader as a “dictator”. Zelensky said nowhere near that much American aid had been provided, and said: "I can't sell our state."

Clive Myrie presents BBC News at Ten reporting from Gary O’Donoghue in Washington and James Waterhouse in Kyiv.


U.S. and Ukraine Agree to Minerals Deal, Officials Say

THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Trump had insisted he wanted “payback” for past aid, shifting America’s three-year alliance with Ukraine to a mercantile footing.

Ukraine has agreed to turn over the revenue from some of its mineral resources to the United States, an American and a Ukrainian official said on Tuesday, in a deal that follows an intense pressure campaign from President Trump that included insults and threats.

The final terms of the deal were unknown, and it was not immediately clear what, if anything, Ukraine would receive in the end after days of difficult, sometimes tense negotiations. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine had repeatedly pressed for security guarantees for his country in exchange for mineral rights, as Russia’s war has entered its fourth year.

Previous draft agreements reviewed by The New York Times included no such commitment. Mr. Trump had insisted he wanted “payback” for past military aid to Kyiv, shifting America’s alliance with Ukraine to a nakedly mercantile footing. » | Constant Méheut, Andrew E. Kramer and Alan Rappeport | Constant Méheut and Andrew E. Kramer reported from Kyiv, Ukraine, and Alan Rappeport from Washington. | Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Trump’s ‘Strategic Stupidity’ towards Putin Has China Making Dangerous Plans

Feb 25, 2025 | Foreign policy and security analyst Jimmy Rushton tells Times Radio’s Maddie Hale that Donald Trump has operated with “strategic stupidity” towards Vladimir Putin, raising questions over whether China is watching the United States’ “weakness” and making “dangerous” plans

Trump 'Forced' into Talks with Zelenskyy as Ukraine Dangles Mineral Deal in Front of US

eb 25, 2025 | "Zelenskyy wasn't succeeding in getting into the Oval Office before he linked it to the mineral deal in that way."

Ukraine is using the mineral deal to get Zelenskyy into the Oval Office and "force" a conversation with Trump, says The Times's Catherine Philp.


Friday, February 21, 2025

'This Is a Dictator': New York Post Cover Shows Cracks in Right-wing over Trump's Comments

Feb 21, 2025 | ‘Politics Nation’ host Rev. Al Sharpton, host of the ‘Bulwark Podcast’ Tim Miller, and Puck News Senior Political Columnist John Heilemann join Nicolle Wallace to discuss the growing cracks in the Republican coalition as they voice dissent over Trump’s comments calling Ukrainian President Zelenskyy a dictator.

Trump Cozies up to Russia — Why “Nobody Trusts America”

Feb 21, 2025 | As the Russia-Ukraine war stretches into its fourth year, I spoke with former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul about the conflict’s global stakes. Following the Trump administration’s divisive peace talks with Russia that sidelined Ukraine, McFaul analyzes the geopolitical fallout, NATO’s future, and the shifting role of the U.S. on the world stage. How will Trump’s relationship with Putin reshape international alliances? And what are the risks of abandoning Ukraine? Don’t miss this deep dive into one of the most pressing global crises of our time.

Former MI6 Boss on Trump, Putin and a 'New Era' for International Relations

Feb 21, 2025 | As Donald Trump calls Ukraine’s President Zelensky a “dictator” and the US enters peace negotiations with Putin’s Russia, former MI6 boss Sir Alex Younger and former Financial Times Moscow Correspondent Catherine Belton discuss how the White House is paving the way for a “new era” of international relations.

World Reacts in Horror as Trump Surrenders to Putin

Feb 21, 2025 | In the last week, the Trump Administration’s actions have been so egregious that they caused more damage to our alliance with Europe than any other administration in American history. It started when JD Vance went to Germany to criticize the country for cracking down on far-right extremists, and it culminated with Donald Trump blaming Ukraine for being invaded by Russia. Our allies are speaking out against us, and that’s never a good position, as Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains.

Thursday, February 20, 2025

'It's an Unbelievable Betrayal of Freedom': Putin Critic on Trump Attacking Zelenskyy

Feb 20, 2025 | CEO of Hermitage Capital Management and Head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign William Browder joins Nicolle Wallace to discuss President Trump's criticism of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy as he seems more interested in negotiating the end of the war with Vladimir Putin

Europe 'Will Almost Certainly Be At War with Russia' If Trump's Ukraine Chaos Continues

Feb 20, 2025 | "The way to prevent that is strong defense to spend money on defence to be prepared for the worst case, because that is the only way we are going to deter Russia." US withdrawal from NATO and failure to challenge Putin in ceasefire talks would cause a war in Europe in five years warns Former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Richard Shirreff on Frontline.

Stop Criticising Trump and Sign $500bn Mineral Deal, US Official Advises Kyiv

THE GUARDIAN: National security adviser says Ukraine is wrong to push back against Trump’s approach to peace talks with Russia

White House officials have told Ukraine to stop badmouthing Donald Trump and to sign a deal handing over half of the country’s mineral wealth to the US, saying a failure to do so would be unacceptable.

The US national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told Fox News that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, should “tone down” his criticism of the US and take a “hard look” at the deal. It proposes giving Washington $500bn worth of natural resources, including oil and gas.

Waltz said Kyiv was wrong to push back against the US president’s approach to peace talks with Moscow, given everything the US had done for Ukraine. He denied accusations the US had snubbed Ukraine and America’s European allies by excluding them from talks earlier this week with Russia. This was routine “shuttle diplomacy”, he said. » | Luke Harding in Kyiv | Thursday, February 20, 2025

This dude is talking through his pine end! Look what Ukraine has done for America and the West! They have done all the fighting on the West’s behalf to stop the war spreading. America should be grateful to Ukraine, not the other way around. Those rare earth minerals belong to Ukraine and to future generations of Ukrainians, not to Trump and his billionaire cronies. – © Mark Alexander

Trump’s Savage Attack on Zelenskyy Shaped by Pro-Russian Coterie

THE GUARDIAN: ‘Kremlin whisperers’ have the president’s ear and dissenters are few – but a thin skin and self-interest are also at play

Donald Trump’s tarring of Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator” who is to blame for the war with Russia, plunging Ukraine into a Darwinian struggle for its very existence, landed like a bombshell on the diplomatic landscape. But it did not come out of nowhere.

The US president has left the already badly frayed western alliance in disarray with a devastating social media attack on his Ukrainian counterpart, just hours after he had already implicitly blamed Kyiv for Russia’s invasion.

After much of what he said appeared to echo Kremlin talking points, including falsehoods about Zelenskyy’s popularity being at 4% (a recent poll put it at 57%), Ukraine’s president attributed it to Trump being trapped in a Russian “disinformation bubble”.

In fact, Trump may be the author of his own misconceptions about Ukraine – or at least responsible for having built the bubble himself, by surrounding himself with prominent figures who have often seemed to echo the Russian line. » | Robert Tait in Washington | Thursday, February 20, 2025

Musk: Zelensky Is ‘Despised’ by the Ukrainian People

THE TELEGRAPH: Volodymyr Zelensky is “despised” by the Ukrainian people and is “feeding off the dead bodies” of his countrymen, Elon Musk claimed.

Parroting criticisms voiced by Donald Trump, Mr Musk wrote on X that Mr Zelensky’s approval ratings have slumped and accused the Ukrainian leader of rigging online opinion polls and the media to boost his popularity, without citing evidence.

“If Zelensky was actually loved by the people of Ukraine, he would hold an election,” the tech billionaire said. “He knows he would lose in a landslide, despite having seized control of ALL Ukrainian media, so he cancelled the election.

“In reality, he is despised by the people of Ukraine, which is why he has refused to hold an election.”

He went on to challenge Mr Zelensky to call an election and claimed Mr Trump is justified in freezing the Ukrainian leader out of peace negotiations. » | Kieran Kelly. Jack Maidment, Politics Live Blog Editor. Cameron Henderson. Dominic Penna, Political Correspondent | Thursday, February 20, 2025

The way things are developing with the Trump presidency, the world will soon be at war. Things are spiralling out of control. We Westerners need to brace ourselves and prepare for the very worst. – © Mark Alexander

Malcolm Turnbull Says Trump's Comments on Zelenskyy 'Predictable' | ABC NEWS

Feb 20, 2025 | The former prime minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull says Donald Trump appears to be facillitating a victory for Vladimir Putin over Ukraine.

'He Can't End the War If He's Taking Sides': Bill Browder on Trump Calling Zelenskyy a 'Dictator'

Feb 19, 2025 | Bill Browder of Hermitage Capital Management talks about how Europe could change how it supports Ukraine if the U.S. cuts off military aid.

How Does Ukraine React to Trump's Feud with Zelenskyy? | DW News

Feb 20, 2025 | US President Donald Trump has called Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator in a series of tense exchanges between the two leaders. Trump also blamed Ukraine for Russia's invasion and criticized Zelenskyy for objecting to his exclusion from talks between the US and Russia. Zelenskyy has also suggested that Trump was being influenced by Russian disinformation.

Ukrainians ‘Can’t Rely on US Anymore’ after Trump’s Anti-Zelenskyy Comments

Feb 20, 2025 | “The approval ratings for Zelenskyy are probably about to go through the roof.”

Donald Trump’s comments about Zelenskyy, calling him a dictator, have “united Ukraine” and rallied people behind their president more than ever, says Caolan Robertson, a reporter in Kyiv.



America has got such a weak, poor, clueless, troubling leader. – © Mark Alexander

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Khrushchev's Great-granddaughter Reacts to Trump Blaming Zelenskyy for War with Russia

Feb 19, 2025 | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said President Trump is living in a Russian "disinformation space" after Mr. Trump seemingly blamed Ukraine for Russia's invasion. For reaction to the comments, CBS News was joined by Nina Khrushcheva, professor in the Julien J. Studley Graduate Programs of International Affairs at the New School and great-granddaughter of former Societ leader Nikita Khrushchev.

Trump Goes to War on 'Dictator' Zelensky in Extraordinary, Brutal Insult-laden Attack after Ukrainian Vowed Not to 'Sell Out' and Accept Peace Deal for Minerals

MAIL ONLINE: Donald Trump has launched an eviscerating attack on Volodymyr Zelensky, calling the Ukrainian leader 'a modestly successful comedian' and 'a dictator without elections'.

The extraordinary outburst came after Zelensky accused the US President of falling for Russian fake news, with Trump suggesting yesterday that Ukraine was to blame for Moscow's illegal invasion of the country three years ago.

Zelensky also declared that his country is not for sale, criticising Trump's suggestion that Kyiv pay Washington back for the aid it has received with a mineral exploration deal worth $500bn and saying it was 'not a serious conversation.'

Writing on his platform Truth Social, Trump shared a lengthy tirade, condemning both Zelensky and the billions in aid the Biden administration had given Ukraine during Russia's bloody war on the country. » | Elena Salvoni | Wednesday, February 19, 2025