Moscow sees Donald Trumpas weak and easy to manipulate, a bombshell report has claimed, with Mr Trump and Vladimir Putin set to discuss a Ukraine ceasefire over the phone.
Russian officials in the Kremlin believe the US president lacks a core set of principles, a European intelligence official told the Washington Post citing recent intelligence.
It comes after the Kremlin confirmed on Friday that Putin and Mr Trump would directly discuss proposals for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine – after the Russian president held talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff late on Thursday.
Putin expressed “solidarity” with the White House’s position on a ceasefire to Mr Witkoff – but believes there is “still a lot to be done” before a truce can become reality.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has rebuked Putin’s remarks as “Russian manipulation”, saying he is deliberately delaying the possibility of a ceasefire without explicitly rejecting it because he wants to “kill more Ukrainians”.
In his nightly address, Mr Zelensky said: “Putin often does this – he does not say ‘no’ directly, but he does it in such a way that practically everything only delays and makes normal decisions impossible.”
Mr Trump said on Thursday night he will now see “whether or not Russia is there, and if they’re not, it’ll be a very disappointing moment for the world”.
Trump asked Putin to spare “thousands” of encircled troops. Where are they?
Donald Trump says he has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to spare the lives of “thouands of Ukrainian troops” who were “completely surrounded by the Russian military”.
“I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II,” he said on his Truth Social.
It’s most likely Mr Trump is referring to Kursk.
In that border region, Russia launched a rapid counteroffensive last week, reclaiming hundreds of square miles worth of territory and pushing Ukrainian forces back to the border.
They have not been surrounded, as Mr Trump claims. The latest reports suggest the remaining troops are being evacuated out of the shrinking salient.
The source of Mr Trump’s claims appears to be Mr Putin himself.
During a speech yesterday, the Russian leader claimed that Russia had trapped the remaining Ukrainian soldiers in its western Kursk region, where they have clung on for more than seven months in one of the key battles of the war.
Trump says US had ‘very good and productive’ talks with Putin
Donald Trump said the US talks with Putin yesterday were productive but warned “thousands” of Ukrainian troops were in danger of being massacred by Russia.
“We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“BUT, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, AND IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION. I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II. God bless them all!!!”
G7 allies call for “ceasefire with no conditions’
David Lammy says G7 allies are united in their belief that “now is the time for a ceasefire with no conditions”.
Speaking after a meeting with his foreign minister counterparts in Canada, Mr Lammy said there was plenty of “common ground” in the discussions.
“I think that there is a unified approach that we need an enduring peace that lasts, I think that there is unity that now is the time for a ceasefire with no conditions,” the foreign secretary said.
“Ukraine has set their position out. It is now for Russia to accept it. I think that there is a coalition of the willing emerging to give Ukraine the security architecture and arrangements that they need, and to get into the detail of any monitoring of that ceasefire, going forward.”
LAmmy said there would soon be a detailed statement from the ministers on the crisis.
Trump blames Biden for ‘real mess with Russia’
Donald Trump has blamed his predecessor for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in a spray on his social media site.
“Crooked Joe Biden got us into a real ‘mess’ with Russia (and EVERYTHING ELSE!), but I’m going to get us out,” he said on Truth Social.
“Millions of people are needlessly dead, never to be seen again…and there will be many more to follow if we don’t get the Cease Fire and Final Agreement with Russia completed and signed.
“There would have been NO WAR if I were President. It just, 100%, would not have happened.”
Trump also blamed high inflation, the Hamas October 7 attack on Israel, the “embassassing” pull-out of Afghanistan and “illegal” immigration on the former president.
“Oh, what a difference A RIGGED & CROOKED ELECTION HAD ON OUR COUNTRY, AND THE PEOPLE WHO DID THIS TO US SHOULD GO TO JAIL! GOD BLESS AMERICA AND, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he said.
Comment | Putin must sign – or go down as the first Russian leader in a century to concede territory
It seems that maybe Vladimir Putin doesn’t “have something” on Donald Trump after all.
There are “positive messages” emanating from Moscow, Trump has told reporters, but “a positive message means nothing” – a rare moment of cynicism towards Putin from a president who has hitherto appeared unaccountably indulgent towards the Russian autocrat.
Sean O’Grady writes:
Goal is to be united on Ukraine, says Canadian foreign minister
The G7’s goal is to have a united position on Ukraine and the Middle East, Ukraine’s foreign minister said.
Mélanie Joly was speaking at the Group of 7 summit in Canada, where delegates from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, have agreed on a statement calling for robust “security arrangements” to help Ukraine defend against “renewed acts of aggression” by Russia.
Anti-Russian activist shot dead by unknown gunman in Odesa
An anti-Russian activist was shot dead by an unknown gunman in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, authorities have said.
While Ukrainian police did not name the 31-year-old victim, he was identified in local media reports as Demian Hanul.
Mr Hanul took part in the 2014 Maidan revolution against Ukraine’s former pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych, He was also once a member of the radical far-right Right Sector Group.
“The incident is qualified as a premeditated murder committed by order,” national police said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s interior minister has received “specific clues” to help track down the suspect, he said, adding that the head of the national police was heading to Odesa to lead the investigation.
In April 2024, Mr Hanul was charged in absentia by a Moscow court with several crimes, including damaging Soviet-era monuments, for which he would have faced up to 20 years in prison.
ICYMI: Putin says he supports Ukraine ceasefire but has ‘issues he needs to discuss’
G7 calls for ‘security arrangements’ against ‘renewed aggression’ by Russia
G7 nations called for robust “security arrangements” to help Ukraine defend against “renewed acts of aggression” by Russia.
Comprising of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, the group called on Russia to accept the 30-day ceasefire proposal agreed by Washington and Kyiv.
In a draft statement approved by senior diplomats following two days of talks in Canada, the G7 threatened Russia with added sanctions if it failed to agree to the ceasefire.
It emphasised that “any ceasefire must be respected and underscored the need for robust and credible security arrangements to ensure that Ukraine can deter and defend against any renewed acts of aggression”.
For the US to sign off on a statement calling for defence against “renewed aggression” by Russia appears significant – after Donald Trump’s previous suggestion that Ukraine was to blame for the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.
G7 diplomats reach agreement on statement showing unity
Following two days of meetings in the remote Canadian hills, G7 diplomats have reached a deal on a joint statement aiming to show a united front after weeks of a turbulent relationship between the Trump administration and its Western allies.
The statement will be an all-encompassing document covering geopolitical issues around the world – but still needs to get the green light from foreign ministers before talks can be wrapped up on Friday morning.
Ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the EU convened in a remote town in the Quebec hills on Thursday and Friday.
Meetings have been in the past consensual, but Donald Trump’s recently upending of US foreign policy provided a very different backdrop for this summit.
Source: independent.co.uk