 "Trump rewrites the rules on Russia—but at what cost for Ukraine?")
The contrast is jarring. On one side, there is a White House whose policy oscillates between being strident, revisionist and at times seemingly in urgent need of clarification. On the other side is Ukraine where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy finds himself excluded from peace talks while hundreds die daily on the frontlines, where Moscow is gaining ground, and children are frequently pulled from the rubble of Russian airstrikes.
As Ukraine’s brutal war approaches its third year, the two visions risk becoming irreconcilable. The White House’s contradictory positions bear part of the blame. Over the past week, US Secretary of Defence Peter Hegseth said that Ukraine could neither join NATO nor regain its pre-2014 borders.
Whether he inadvertently exposed a pillar of Trump and Putin’s secret peace deal or weakened Kyiv’s bargaining power before talks even begin. While Ukraine’s allies may have quietly accepted these realities, they had kept them as leverage for negotiations not as pre-emptive concessions.
Ukraine’s allies may have privately acknowledged that NATO membership and the restoration of its pre-2014 borders were unlikely in the near term but these concessions were meant to be part of negotiations with Russia, not disclosed prematurely.
Trump’s Munich mystery: Secret talks or misstatement?
In Munich, US Vice President JD Vance focused on supposed totalitarianism in Western democracies, failing to mention Russia at all. Meanwhile, Trump claimed that “high-level” Russian and Ukrainian officials would attend the Munich Security Conference—an assertion denied by both Moscow and Kyiv. Did he misspeak? Or are secret negotiations underway that he couldn’t keep quiet?
Adding to the confusion, Trump mentioned that “high-level people” from Russia, Ukraine, and the US would attend the Munich Security Conference—though it remains unclear whether he meant Saudi Arabia instead. Neither Moscow nor Kyiv seemed aware of such high-level talks taking place in Munich, raising questions about whether secret negotiations are underway that Trump cannot keep quiet about.
Amid this whirlwind of conflicting statements, the war rages on. The battlefield toll is staggering in Ukraine amid this diplomatic whiplash as by some estimates, up to 5,000 troops have been killed or wounded in just days. Russian drones have violated Romanian and Moldovan airspace. At least 13 civilians are dead and 72 injured from Russian attacks, while Ukraine reports a Russian drone strike on the Chernobyl nuclear plant on Friday.
Impact Shorts
View AllWhile the war continues—and Russia appears to be winning at a devastating cost to Ukraine—the White House seems to be figuring out its stance in real-time publicly.
US seeks 50% stake in Ukraine’s rare earth minerals
The contradictions in statements issued by US officials have created chaos and confusion on the intention of the United States of America’s stand to the Ukraine war. The Trump administration has reportedly proposed to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy that the United States be given 50 percent ownership of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for continued military support, according to an NBC News report. US officials told NBC that this arrangement would serve as a way for Ukraine to repay the billions of dollars in weapons and aid provided by the US since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The officials also indicated a willingness to deploy U.S. troops to Ukraine to protect these minerals, provided a deal is reached with Russia to end the war.
Kremlin forms top-level team for direct US talks on Ukraine war
The Kremlin is forming a high-level negotiating team to engage in direct talks with the United States aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to CNN. While the members of the Kremlin team have not been officially announced, CNN has learned that it will include top political, intelligence, and economic figures, including a Russian official who played a crucial behind-the-scenes role in a recent U.S. prisoner release deal.
Kirill Dmitriev, a close adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, will focus on rebuilding economic ties between the U.S. and Russia as part of efforts to reach a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, sources with knowledge of the appointment told CNN. Dmitriev recently collaborated with U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to secure the release of American teacher Marc Fogel from Russia, according to sources familiar with the deal.
“There’s a gentleman from Russia. His name is Kirill, and he had a lot to do with this. He was important. He was an important interlocutor, bridging the two sides,” Witkoff told CNN on Wednesday.
Zelenskiy calls for European army to deter Russia, earn US respect
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Saturday for the creation of a European army, arguing the continent could no longer be sure of protection from the United States and would only get respect from Washington with a strong military.
He also said Kyiv would never accept any deal to end Ukraine’s war with Russia made behind its back, and predicted Russian President Vladimir Putin would try to get U.S. President Donald Trump to Moscow’s May 9 World War Two victory anniversary parade “not as a respected leader but as a prop in his own performance”.
In an impassioned speech to the annual Munich Security Conference of global policymakers, Zelenskiy said an address by U.S. Vice President JD Vance the previous day had made clear the relationship between Europe and the United States was changing.
“Let’s be honest - now we can’t rule out the possibility that America might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it,” said Zelenskiy, speaking as the war triggered by Russia’s invasion of his country will soon enter its fourth year.
“Many, many leaders have talked about (a) Europe that needs its own military and army. An army of Europe. And I really believe the time has come, the armed forces of Europe must be created.”
He said a European army - which would include Ukraine - was necessary so that the continent’s “future depends only on Europeans - and decisions about Europeans are made in Europe”.
He continued: “Does America need Europe as a market? Yes. But as an ally? I don’t know. For the answer to be yes, Europe needs a single voice, not a dozen different ones.”
Zelensky warns US not to cut Ukraine, Europe out of talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday warned the United States not to strike a deal with Russia “behind our backs”, as he urged Europe to stand up and make its voice heard.
Speaking at a gathering of top policymakers in Munich, the Ukrainian leader issued a rallying cry for Europe to take responsibility for its own security – including by eventually forming a continental army.
The plea from Zelensky came a day after he met US Vice President JD Vance as Kyiv scrambles to ensure it is not sidelined in Washington’s push to wrap up the three-year war.
“Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement,” Zelensky said in a keynote speech.
“No decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine. No decisions about Europe without Europe.”
Russian army claims capture of village in eastern Ukraine
Russia’s army on Saturday claimed to have captured a village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region close to a road linking key towns as Moscow slowly eats up territory.
The Russian ministry of defence said in a statement that it had captured the village of Berezivka, which lies close to a road linking the important mining hub of Pokrovsk to another key town, Kostiantynivka.
With inputs from agencies
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