Wars 2022 02/24 Monitoring Russian and Ukraine War.

[Saif]

Ukraine’s army chief visits eastern front heavily pressured by Russia

Ukraine’s top commander said on Thursday he had visited brigades defending the Novopavlivka front in the eastern Donetsk region where Russia has stepped up its assaults. “The enemy is conducting intense offensive actions in this area, trying to break through the defences of our troops

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Ukraine’s army chief visits eastern front heavily pressured by Russia
REUTERS
Published :
Feb 27, 2025 19:20
Updated :
Feb 27, 2025 19:20

Colonel general Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, attends an interview with Reuters, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 12, 2024. Photo : REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/Files

Ukraine’s top commander said on Thursday he had visited brigades defending the Novopavlivka front in the eastern Donetsk region where Russia has stepped up its assaults.

“The enemy is conducting intense offensive actions in this area, trying to break through the defences of our troops and capture three settlements,” Oleksandr Syrskyi, chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, wrote on Facebook.

Syrskyi did not say when or which part of the front he had visited.

Ukraine’s military reported 19 combat engagements on the Novopavlivka front in the past day near the villages of Kostyantynopil, Rozdolne, Shevchenko and Burlatske.

The area near the villages where clashes took place has lithium and rare earth deposits, according to the Ukrainian Geological Survey.

Control of Ukraine’s large deposits of critical minerals has come into sharp focus this month after U.S. President Donald Trump expressed interest in gaining access to them.

Trump said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would visit Washington on Friday to sign an agreement on joint development of rare earth minerals. Zelenskiy said the success of the deal would hinge on those talks and continued US aid.

Parts of the Novopavlivka front are around 14 km (nine miles) from the Dnipropetrovsk region which Russia has been trying to reach to take full control of the Donetsk region as part of its stated war aims.

“The plan of the Russian occupiers in these areas has remained unchanged for more than three years, namely, to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk region,” Syrskyi said.

Through relentless assaults that Kyiv says have involved heavy casualties, Russian forces have reached around 4.5 km (2.8 miles) from the Dnipropetrovsk region at the closest point of a frontline that sprawls across hundreds of kilometers.

The Russian push comes as Trump says he wants to quickly end the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is willing to negotiate, though he has previously refused to make any major territorial concessions.

Zelenskiy says he wants a just and lasting peace that would include security guarantees from Western allies to help deter another Russian invasion in the future.​

 

[Saif]

‘Make a deal or we’re out’

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky clashed in an extraordinary shouting match in the Oval Office yesterday, leaving efforts to end the war with Russia hanging in the balance.

www.thedailystar.net

‘Make a deal or we’re out’
Trump slams Zelensky over not being ‘thankful enough’ at Oval Office meet, says Ukraine leader risking WWIII; Zelensky leaves without signing deal.

US President Donald Trump talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House in Washington, DC, US, February 28, 2025. Photo: Reuters/Brian Snyder

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky clashed in an extraordinary shouting match in the Oval Office yesterday, leaving efforts to end the war with Russia hanging in the balance.

"You're either going to make a deal or we're out," a furious Trump told Zelensky, as a meeting that was meant to ease tensions over the sudden US outreach to Russia ended up inflaming them. "And if we're out, you'll fight it out and I don't think it's going to be pretty."

"You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War Three, and what you're doing is very disrespectful to this country," Trump added.

Zelensky was at the White House to sign a deal on sharing Ukraine's mineral riches and discuss a peace deal with Russia, despite the US president recently branding his Ukrainian counterpart a dictator.

The meeting came after a week-long diplomatic dance that has also seen the leaders of France and Britain come to the White House to persuade Trump not to abandon Kyiv.

But tempers frayed after Vice President JD Vance said that "diplomacy" was needed to end the war. Zelensky asked "what kind of diplomacy" and Vance then accused him of being "disrespectful" in the president's office.

"Mr president, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media," Vance told Zelensky.

"Have you ever been to Ukraine that you say what problems we have?" Zelensky shot back.

"I've actually watched and seen the stories and I know that what happens is you bring people, you bring them on a propaganda tour," Vance continued. "Mr president. Do you disagree that you've had problems bringing people into your military? And do you think that it's respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?"

Zelensky continued that under war, "Everybody has problems, even you" and that the US would feel the war "in the future."

"You don't know that," Trump responded.

Trump then backed up his vice president as the leaders argued about whether the US had failed to stop Putin after the 2014 annexation of Crimea, and the situation became increasingly tense.

"Don't tell us what we're going to feel. We're trying to solve a problem. Don't tell us what we're going to feel," Trump continued.

"You are in no position to dictate that, remember that," Trump said, as Zelenskyy defended that he was simply answering Vance's questions.

"You don't have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards," Trump continued, as Zelesnky said, "I'm not playing cards."

"You're not acting at all thankful," said Trump.

"It's going to be a very hard thing to do business like this," said Trump. "It's going to be a tough deal to make because the attitudes have to change."

Trump ten cut short the meeting with Zelensky saying the Ukrainian leader is "not ready" for peace with Russia.

Zelensky left in his motorcade shortly after, without holding a planned joint press conference. The resources deal was left unsigned, the White House said.

Trump had alarmed US allies and upended Washington's longstanding Ukraine policy two weeks ago when he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and started talks on ending the three-year-old war -- without Kyiv's involvement.

Trump told reporters he had since spoken on "numerous occasions" to Putin.

The US leader has demanded a deal granting Washington preferential access to Ukraine's rare-earth and other natural resources as the price for any continued backing -- even though he has refused to commit to giving Kyiv security guarantees as part of a truce with Russia.

The clash came despite Trump recently softening his tone on Zelensky in recent days, after berating him last week as a "dictator without elections", blaming Ukraine for Russia's February 2022 invasion and echoing a series of Kremlin talking points about the war.

"I have a lot of respect for him," Trump said of Zelensky on Thursday at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "We're going to get along really well."

Trump, a billionaire real estate tycoon, insists the minerals deal is necessary for Washington to recoup the billions of dollars it has given Ukraine in military and other aid.

Zelensky said ahead of his arrival in Washington that US and Ukrainian officials would determine the nature of security guarantees for Ukraine and the exact sums of money at stake in the accord, he said.

But Trump -- who said this week he trusts Putin to "keep his word" on any ceasefire and has repeatedly expressed admiration for the authoritarian Russian leader in the past -- has refused to commit to Ukraine's security.

Britain and France have both offered peacekeepers in the event of a deal to end the Ukraine war but say there must be a US "backstop" -- including American intelligence and possibly air power.

Putin and Trump said after their February 12 phone call that they had agreed to meet personally -- but they have not finalised any meeting yet.

But as tensions between Moscow and Washington eased, Russia's assault on Ukraine continued.

Russian infantry were storming the Ukrainian border from the Russian region of Kursk, near areas of the region that were seized last summer by Ukrainian forces, Kyiv said yesterday.​

 

[Saif]

Trump-Zelensky spat: Rattled, allies rally behind Ukraine

Europe huddles together in London over future of Nato; Zelensky says Ukraine-US ties bigger than spat; Russia gloats, says Zelensky trip 'complete failure'

www.thedailystar.net

Trump-Zelensky spat: Rattled, allies rally behind Ukraine
Europe huddles together in London over future of Nato; Zelensky says Ukraine-US ties bigger than spat; Russia gloats, says Zelensky trip 'complete failure'

Photo: AFP

Ukraine's European allies, set to gather in London today, rallied behind President Volodymyr Zelensky after Donald Trump threw him out of the White House and accused him of not being "ready" for peace with Russia.

The remarkable Oval Office exchange highlights a tricky balancing act facing Western capitals since Trump's return to office in January: maintaining steadfast support for Zelensky and Kyiv against Russian aggression, while not alienating a famously transactional president who appears increasingly sympathetic to President Vladimir Putin, tolerates little criticism and is upturning decades of transatlantic security alliances.

Stunned by Friday's altercation, which saw Zelensky depart the White House without signing an expected mineral deal, all European leaders rushed to his defence.

"You are not alone," said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, vowed to step up support for Ukraine.

"Ukraine is Europe! We stand by Ukraine. We will step up our support to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back the aggressor," Kallas said on X. "Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It's up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge."

EU leaders also issued a joint statement urging Zelensky to "be strong."

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a key Trump ally in Europe, also called for a summit with the US and European nations to discuss the war in Ukraine, saying that division makes the West weaker.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, fresh off his own visit to the White House, said he had spoken to both Trump and Zelensky and vowed "unwavering support" for Kyiv.

Zelensky wrote "Thank you for your support" in individual replies on social media platform X to around 30 messages from European leaders.

Starmer and Zelensky were set to meet in London yesterday afternoon, the prime minister's office said.

Representatives from more than a dozen European countries will convene in the British capital today to focus on shoring up support for "securing a just and enduring peace" in Ukraine, according to Downing Street.

The gathering will also address the need for Europe to increase defence cooperation amid fears over whether the United States will continue to support Nato.

There was swift vocal support too from key US allies outside Europe, including from all other members of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network that are among Washington's most trusted partners.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would "continue to stand with Ukraine."

Australia's prime minister reiterated his country's support for Kyiv, saying it will "continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes."

The events that unfolded live at the Oval Office also divided the US by party line.

Democrats accused Trump and Vice President JD Vance of doing Russian leader Vladimir Putin's "dirty work" after they berated Zelensky in front of the world's media.

But Republicans said the US leaders were right to accuse pro-Western Zelensky of lacking gratitude for American support in Ukraine's defence against Russia's invasion.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is ready to "open the discussion" on a possible future European nuclear deterrent, following a request from Germany's next leader, Friedrich Merz.

Merz has stressed the need for the continent to move quickly to "achieve independence" from the United States on defence matters.

Europe's leaders and officials have been blindsided by a staggering collapse in American support for Ukraine in the past weeks, after almost three years of ironclad backing by the previous administration of Joe Biden. Many still cannot understand why US President Donald Trump has turned so furiously on Zelensky and conceded key concessions to Putin before even starting talks.

Those concerns were only exacerbated Friday by the scene that played out in the White House, where the years-long US policy of massive support for Ukraine collapsed in a shouting match.

During the clash, in front of US and international media, Trump and Vance shouted at Zelensky, accusing him of not being "thankful" and refusing to accept their proposed truce terms.

"You don't have the cards right now," Trump said. "You're either going to make a deal or we're out, and if we're out, you'll fight it out and I don't think it's going to be pretty".

Zelensky departed shortly after, with Trump posting on social media that "he can come back when he is ready for peace".

US media reported that Zelensky had been told to leave by senior Trump officials.

Zelensky refused to apologise, telling Fox News, "I'm not sure that we did something bad". He did, however, say he wished the exchange had not taken place in front of reporters.

He also hoped that the relationship between the US and Ukraine could be salvaged.

"Yes of course [it can be salvaged], because it's relations [between] more than two presidents. We have historical ties and strong relations between our people. And that's why I always begin (by thanking) your people from our people. And this is the most important," Zelensky said.

He also said it is "crucial" for Ukraine to have Trump's support.

"It's crucial for us to have President Trump's support," Zelensky said in a series of posts on X yesterday morning. "He wants to end the war, but no one wants peace more than we do."

Russia was meanwhile delighted.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev called Zelensky an "insolent pig" who had received "a proper slap down."

Zelensky's Washington trip was a "complete failure", Moscow said.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called Zelensky "obsessed" with prolonging the war and said Moscow's goals remained the "demilitarisation" of Ukraine and annexation of all territories currently occupied by Russia.

The meltdown came after Trump said Ukraine will have to make "compromises" in a truce with Russia, which has occupied swaths of the country.

Zelensky said there should be "no compromises with a killer on our territory".

The session then boiled over into Trump and Vance loudly berating the Ukrainian leader, who sat in evident discomfort as his hosts talked over him.

Trump has alarmed Kyiv and European allies with his abrupt U-turn in US policy, casting himself as a mediator between Putin and Zelensky and refusing to condemn the Russian invasion.

He said in the Oval Office that he had "spoken on numerous occasions" to Putin -- more than has been publicly reported.

When asked by Fox News if the relationship with Trump could be salvaged, Zelensky said, "Of course".

Meanwhile, Russia's assault on Ukraine continued.

Russian infantry were storming the Ukrainian border from the Russian region of Kursk, near areas that were seized last summer by Ukrainian forces, Kyiv said Friday.

And Moscow yesterday said it had seized two more villages in the south of the eastern Donetsk region.​

 

[Saif]

Rattled, allies rally behind Ukraine

Ukraine’s European allies, set to gather in London today, rallied behind President Volodymyr Zelensky after Donald Trump threw him out of the White House and accused him of not being “ready” for peace with Russia.

www.thedailystar.net

Rattled, allies rally behind Ukraine

Ukraine's European allies, set to gather in London today, rallied behind President Volodymyr Zelensky after Donald Trump threw him out of the White House and accused him of not being "ready" for peace with Russia.

The remarkable Oval Office exchange highlights a tricky balancing act facing Western capitals since Trump's return to office in January: maintaining steadfast support for Zelensky and Kyiv against Russian aggression, while not alienating a famously transactional president who appears increasingly sympathetic to President Vladimir Putin, tolerates little criticism and is upturning decades of transatlantic security alliances.

Stunned by Friday's altercation, which saw Zelensky depart the White House without signing an expected mineral deal, all European leaders rushed to his defence.

"You are not alone," said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, vowed to step up support for Ukraine.

"Ukraine is Europe! We stand by Ukraine. We will step up our support to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back the aggressor," Kallas said on X. "Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It's up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge."

Ukraine is Europe! … Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It's up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge. — Kaja Kallas, EU's foreign policy chief.

EU leaders also issued a joint statement urging Zelensky to "be strong."

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a key Trump ally in Europe, also called for a summit with the US and European nations to discuss the war in Ukraine, saying that division makes the West weaker.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, fresh off his own visit to the White House, said he had spoken to both Trump and Zelensky and vowed "unwavering support" for Kyiv.

Zelensky wrote "Thank you for your support" in individual replies on social media platform X to around 30 messages from European leaders.

Starmer and Zelensky were set to meet in London yesterday afternoon, the prime minister's office said.

Representatives from more than a dozen European countries will convene in the British capital today to focus on shoring up support for "securing a just and enduring peace" in Ukraine, according to Downing Street.

The gathering will also address the need for Europe to increase defence cooperation amid fears over whether the United States will continue to support Nato.

Yes of course [it can be salvaged]. Because it's relations [between] more than two presidents. … It's crucial for us to have President Trump's support NATO.— Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine.

There was swift vocal support too from key US allies outside Europe, including from all other members of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network that are among Washington's most trusted partners.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would "continue to stand with Ukraine."

Australia's prime minister reiterated his country's support for Kyiv, saying it will "continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes."

The events that unfolded live at the Oval Office also divided the US by party line.

Democrats accused Trump and Vice President JD Vance of doing Russian leader Vladimir Putin's "dirty work" after they berated Zelensky in front of the world's media.

You start to perceive that maybe Zelensky doesn't want a peace deal. He says he does, but maybe he doesn't, and … it is deeply frustrating for everyone.— Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State.

But Republicans said the US leaders were right to accuse pro-Western Zelensky of lacking gratitude for American support in Ukraine's defence against Russia's invasion.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is ready to "open the discussion" on a possible future European nuclear deterrent, following a request from Germany's next leader, Friedrich Merz.

Merz has stressed the need for the continent to move quickly to "achieve independence" from the United States on defence matters.

Europe's leaders and officials have been blindsided by a staggering collapse in American support for Ukraine in the past weeks, after almost three years of ironclad backing by the previous administration of Joe Biden. Many still cannot understand why Trump has turned so furiously on Zelensky and conceded key concessions to Putin before even starting talks.

In White House on Friday, the years-long US policy of massive support for Ukraine collapsed in a shouting match.

During the clash, in front of US and international media, Trump and Vance shouted at Zelensky, accusing him of not being "thankful" and refusing to accept their proposed truce terms.

"You don't have the cards right now," Trump said. "You're either going to make a deal or we're out, and if we're out, you'll fight it out and I don't think it's going to be pretty".

Zelensky departed shortly after, with Trump posting on social media that "he can come back when he is ready for peace".

US media reported that Zelensky had been told to leave by senior Trump officials.

Zelensky refused to apologise, telling Fox News, "I'm not sure that we did something bad". He did, however, say he wished the exchange had not taken place in front of reporters.

He also hoped that the relationship between the US and Ukraine could be salvaged.

"Yes of course [it can be salvaged], because it's relations [between] more than two presidents. We have historical ties and strong relations between our people. And that's why I always begin (by thanking) your people from our people. And this is the most important," Zelensky said.

He also said it is "crucial" for Ukraine to have Trump's support.

"It's crucial for us to have President Trump's support," Zelensky said in a series of posts on X yesterday morning. "He wants to end the war, but no one wants peace more than we do."

Russia was meanwhile delighted.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev called Zelensky an "insolent pig" who had received "a proper slap down."

Zelensky's Washington trip was a "complete failure", Moscow said.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called Zelensky "obsessed" with prolonging the war and said Moscow's goals remained the "demilitarisation" of Ukraine and annexation of all territories currently occupied by Russia.

The meltdown came after Trump said Ukraine will have to make "compromises" in a truce with Russia, which has occupied swaths of the country.

Zelensky said there should be "no compromises with a killer on our territory".

The session then boiled over into Trump and Vance loudly berating the Ukrainian leader, who sat in evident discomfort as his hosts talked over him.

Trump has alarmed Kyiv and European allies with his abrupt U-turn in US policy, casting himself as a mediator between Putin and Zelensky and refusing to condemn the Russian invasion.

He said in the Oval Office that he had "spoken on numerous occasions" to Putin -- more than has been publicly reported.

Meanwhile, Russia's assault on Ukraine continued.

Russian infantry were storming the Ukrainian border from the Russian region of Kursk, near areas that were seized last summer by Ukrainian forces, Kyiv said Friday.

And Moscow yesterday said it had seized two more villages in the south of the eastern Donetsk region.​

 

[Saif]

Zelensky still ready to sign minerals deal with US

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday he was still ‘ready’ to sign a minerals deal with the United States that fell through after a televised clash with president Donald Trump.

www.newagebd.net

Zelensky still ready to sign minerals deal with US
Agence France-Presse . Washington, United States 02 March, 2025, 00:14

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. | File photo

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday he was still ‘ready’ to sign a minerals deal with the United States that fell through after a televised clash with president Donald Trump.

‘We are ready to sign the minerals agreement, and it will be the first step toward security guarantees,’ Zelensky said in a post on X.

On Friday, Zelensky said that his relations with the United States can still be repaired, after president Donald Trump shouted at him in an angry White House meltdown accusing the Ukrainian leader of refusing to make peace with Russia.

‘Of course,’ Zelensky said when asked in a Fox News interview if the relationship with Trump could be salvaged.

US-Ukrainian ties are about ‘more than two presidents,’ he said, adding that Ukraine badly needs Washington’s help in the fight against Russia’s far bigger and better-armed military.

‘It will be difficult without your support,’ Zelensky said on Fox—Trump’s favourite news channel.

Trump-Zelensky row sparks political firestorm

Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Friday said US president Donald Trump showed ‘restraint’ by not hitting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky during their shouting match in the White House.

‘I think Zelensky’s biggest lie of all his lies was his assertion in the White House that the Kyiv regime in 2022 was alone, without support,’ she wrote on Telegram.

‘How Trump and Vance held back from hitting that scumbag is a miracle of restraint,’ she said, adding that Zelensky was ‘biting the hand that feeds him’.

‘The visit of the head of the neo-Nazi regime, V Zelensky, to Washington on February 28 is a complete political and diplomatic failure of the Kyiv regime,’ Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who is now deputy head of Russia’s security council, called Zelensky an ‘insolent pig’ who had received ‘a proper slap down in the Oval Office’.

Russia said Saturday that Zelensky’s trip to the United States had been a ‘failure’.

French president Emmanuel Macron said Russia was the ‘aggressor’ in the Ukraine war.

‘There is an aggressor which is Russia. There is an aggressed people which is Ukraine,’ Macron told journalists, adding: ‘if anyone is playing at World War III, it’s Vladimir Putin’, referring to Trump’s accusations against Zelensky.

Reactions to an extraordinary Oval Office clash among US president Trump, vice-president JD Vance and Zelensky laid bare America’s political divisions on the grinding three-year conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

Democrats accused Trump and Vance of doing Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s ‘dirty work’.

But Republicans said the US leaders were right to accuse pro-Western Zelensky of lacking gratitude for American support in Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion.

British prime minister Keir Starmer, who met Trump this week, vowed ‘unwavering support’ for Ukraine and spoke to both Trump and Zelensky following their meeting.

Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said: ‘We must never confuse the aggressor and the victim in this terrible war.’

Baerbock said Saturday the ‘unspeakable’ row between Trump and Zelensky resembled a ‘bad dream’ as Kyiv’s European allies rallied to its side. ‘Yesterday [Friday] evening underlined that a new age of infamy has begun.’

European leaders, however, backed Zelensky after his White House showdown that has cast doubts on efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

European Union chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa assured Zelensky that he was ‘never alone’.

Ukraine’s European allies, set to gather in London on Sunday, rallied behind Zelensky.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio called Friday for Zelensky to apologise for an earlier clash with Trump.

Zelensky should ‘apologise for wasting our time for a meeting that was going to end the way it did,’ Rubio said on CNN.

Ordinary Ukrainians, however, were dumbfounded by Friday’s raised-voice confrontation between Zelensky and Trump.

Zelensky planned to sign a minerals deal with the United States during the visit, but it ended in disaster when Trump and vice-president JD Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being ‘disrespectful’.

Kyiv had hoped the agreement would pave the way for security guarantees from Washington, as it fights the full-scale offensive Russia launched in 2022.​

 

[Lulldapull]

Oh bhai......our chachu Sethi sahbs take on da oval office drama.......Zalintski key putloon uttarnay ka pehlay say plan banya huwa tha Trump sahb ne. Aur phir bicharay ko sub k saamnay nunga bhee ker diya:



@Guru Dutt @Sharma Ji @Dogun18 @Krishna with Flute @Mainerik @RayKalm @PakistanProud

Now US media and col doug mcgregor saying k Zalintski is a known coke head too, iss nu foran hatta dain and bring in a new more compliant toady.

 

[Sharma Ji]

Oh bhai......our chachu Sethi sahbs take on da oval office drama.......Zalintski key putloon uttarnay ka pehlay say plan banya huwa tha Trump sahb ne. Aur phir bicharay ko sub k saamnay nunga bhee ker diya:



@Guru Dutt @Sharma Ji @Dogun18 @Krishna with Flute @Mainerik @RayKalm @PakistanProud

Now US media and col doug mcgregor saying k Zalintski is a known coke head too, iss nu foran hatta dain and bring in a new more compliant toady.

Steve Bannon sb k mashoor 'dismantle the administrative state' ki doctrine jo hai, vo actualize kari jaa rahi hai.

Disruptor Trump, I'm hopeful good things come from it, spl given his reticence to enter into and fuel needless wars etc

 

[Saif]

'Europe must do the heavy lifting’

Says host UK PM as Ukraine summit begins in London after Trump snub

www.thedailystar.net

'Europe must do the heavy lifting’
Says host UK PM as Ukraine summit begins in London after Trump snub

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Finland's President Alexander Stubb and other officials attend the European leaders' summit to discuss European security and Ukraine, at Lancaster House in London, Britain, March 2, 2025. Photo: Reuters/Javad Parsa

"Europe must do the heavy lifting" in securing peace in Ukraine, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said yesterday, as he hosted crisis talks in London on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, just days after a Kyiv-Washington clash.

"Europe must do the heavy lifting, but to support peace in our continent, and to succeed, this effort must have strong US backing," said Starmer, who also announced a deal allowing Ukraine to use £1.6 billion ($2 billion) of UK export finance to buy more than 5,000 air defence missiles.

Eighteen allies were gathered on the key question of security guarantees for Ukraine, all the more pressing after US President Donald Trump berated his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in an unprecedented White House blow-up.

Sitting next to Zelensky in front of the flags of Ukraine and European nations, summit host Starmer said it was "a once-in-a-generation moment for the security of Europe and we all need to step up".

"I hope you know that we are all with you and the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes. Everyone around this table," he told the Ukrainian leader.

Zelensky was embraced by some of the 18 other top leaders, including Starmer, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Nato chief Mark Rutte, while protesters rallied outside the UK leader's home in support of Ukraine.

Rutte said, despite the Oval Office spat, more European countries have committed to increase defence spending and the United States remains committed to Nato.

"It was very good news that more European countries will ramp up defence spending," Rutte said in the meeting.

Yesterday's meetinh was a stark contrast to Zelensky's unusually heated Friday meeting with Trump in Washington, where he was berated by the American leader and accused of not being "ready" for peace with Russia.

Their argument, played out in front of the world's news cameras, raised fears that Trump wants to force Kyiv into a peace deal giving Russian President Vladimir Putin what he wants while leaving Ukraine broken and insecure.

Speaking ahead of the summit in London, Starmer said "nobody wants to see" scenes like Zelensky and Trump's Oval Office clash.

"We have to find a way that we can all work together. Because, in the end, we've had three years of bloody conflict. Now we need to get to that lasting peace," Starmer told the BBC.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni echoed the sentiment, saying as she met Starmer in his Downing Street home that it was "very, very important that we avoid the risk that the West divides".

Starmer warmly welcomed Zelensky to the British capital on Saturday, the day after the Ukrainian leader was kicked out of the White House, extending a loan to strengthen Ukraine's depleted defences.

The London meeting brings together leaders from around continental Europe, including France, Germany, Denmark and Italy as well as Turkey, Nato and the European Union.

With fears mounting over the United States' commitment to NATO, the meeting will also address the need for Europe to increase defence cooperation.

In addition to attending the security summit, Zelensky is also due to meet King Charles III during his visit.

"You're very, very welcome here in Downing Street," Starmer told the Ukrainian president before their 75-minute closed-door talks on Saturday.

Zelensky effusively thanked Britain and its people "for their tremendous support from the very beginning of this war".

The pair unveiled a £2.26-billion ($2.84 billion) loan agreement to support Ukraine's defence capabilities, to be paid back with the profits of immobilised sovereign Russian assets.

Just a day earlier, Zelensky, previously hailed in Washington as a Churchillian figure, had been shouted down at the White House.

In scenes that blew up the years-long wartime alliance between pro-Western Ukraine and the United States, Trump and his Vice President JD Vance angrily accused Zelensky of not being "thankful" and refusing to accept their proposed truce terms.

Trump has alarmed Kyiv and European allies with his pivoting of Washington's diplomacy on the conflict.

The recently inaugurated Republican has cast himself as a mediator between Putin and Zelensky, and has sidelined Kyiv and Europe while pursuing rapprochement with Putin.

Though he refused to apologise after the White House clash, Zelensky indicated that he was still open to signing a deal on Ukraine's mineral wealth -- coveted by Trump.

Moscow meanwhile branded Zelensky's Washington trip a "complete failure".​