Wars 2022 02/24 Monitoring Russian and Ukraine War.

[Saif]

‘Tone down’ US criticism

The White House continued to press Kyiv yesterday with its efforts to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, urging it to rein in criticism and quickly sign a minerals deal pushed by US President Donald Trump.

www.thedailystar.net

‘Tone down’ US criticism
Trump aide urges Ukraine as Russia warns against Nato troops
​

• Moscow holds 'the cards' in peace talks: Trump​
• Zelensky calls for US pragmatism after Trump calls him 'dictator'​
• Russian air attack targets Ukrainian infrastructure​

The White House continued to press Kyiv yesterday with its efforts to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, urging it to rein in criticism and quickly sign a minerals deal pushed by US President Donald Trump.

"They need to tone it down and take a hard look and sign that deal," Mike Waltz, the White House national security adviser, said in an interview with Fox News.

Pushback from Ukraine on the minerals deal and how Trump is carrying out peace talks is simply unacceptable, Waltz said, given everything the United States has done for Ukraine.

Waltz's comments come a day after Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded insults, with Trump calling Zelensky a dictator and Zelensky saying the US president was living in a disinformation bubble and spewing talking points from Moscow.

However, Waltz said US differences with Ukraine were not irreconcilable, saying: "The president also said how much he loves the Ukrainian people."

Trump on Wednesday said the Russians "have the cards" in negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine.

"I think the Russians want to see the war end... But I think they have the cards a little bit, because they've taken a lot of territory, so they have the cards," Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

Zelensky said he was counting on unity at home and in Europe as well as pragmatism from Washington, striking a conciliatory tone.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said yesterday that any plan to send Nato troops to Ukraine as part of a potential peacekeeping mission would be unacceptable for Russia and that it was monitoring such proposals with concern.

In a separate development, Russia launched 161 drones and a dozen missiles overnight, targeting gas infrastructure in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region and hitting power supply in the southern Odesa region for a second night in a row, Ukrainian officials said yesterday.

Russia has recaptured 64 percent of the territory captured by Ukraine in the Kursk border region since Kyiv's offensive there last summer, a senior Russian military leader said.

The Russian army rarely gives figures on the amount of territory taken by Ukraine in Kursk, which spans nearly 30,000 square kilometres.​

 

[Saif]

US pushes Zelensky to sign Ukraine resources deal

Trump wants Ukraine to give US companies access as compensation for the tens of billions of dollars of aid delivered under his predecessor Joe Biden, but Ukraine is seeking security guarantees from the United States in exchange for signing away precious rights to vast amounts of its natural...

www.newagebd.net

US pushes Zelensky to sign Ukraine resources deal
Agence France-Presse . Kyiv, Ukraine 21 February, 2025, 22:38

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky faced pressure on Friday to sign a deal to hand the United States preferential access to Ukraine’s mineral deposits following harsh criticism from US president Donald Trump.

Trump wants Ukraine to give US companies access as compensation for the tens of billions of dollars of aid delivered under his predecessor Joe Biden.

Ukraine is, however, seeking security guarantees from the United States in exchange for signing away precious rights to vast amounts of its natural resources and critical minerals.

Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser on Friday predicted that Zelensky would sign the deal soon.

‘Look, here’s the bottom line, President Zelensky is going to sign that deal, and you will see that in the very short term, and that is good for Ukraine,’ Waltz told a conference on the outskirts of Washington on Friday.

Trump’s top advisers have doubled down on their attacks on Zelensky in recent days, after Trump branded him a ‘dictator’ and falsely claimed Ukraine had ‘started’ the war with Russia.

The war of words has stunned Kyiv and European capitals, a sign of just how rapidly Trump is overhauling Washington’s long-standing support for Ukraine as he opens talks with Moscow on a settlement to the conflict.

The United States had been Ukraine’s most important financial, military and political backer since Russia invaded in February 2022, in what the West’s top powers had condemned as an unprovoked and illegal war of aggression.

A senior Ukrainian official earlier Friday told AFP that despite the tensions between Zelensky and Trump, talks on a possible agreement were ‘ongoing’.

‘There is a constant exchange of drafts, we sent another one yesterday,’ the Kyiv source said, adding that Ukraine was now waiting for a US response.

Kyiv had rejected a first attempt by Trump’s team to strike a deal for Ukraine’s natural resources, saying the proposal did not include security guarantees for Kyiv — a move that infuriated Trump.

Ukraine is pressing for NATO membership or for the deployment of Western troops and masses of advanced equipment as part of any wider ceasefire agreement with Russia.

Zelensky said earlier this week he would not ‘sell’ Ukraine in any deal with the United States.

The spat risks undermining Western support for Kyiv at a critical juncture in the conflict, ahead of the three-year anniversary of Russia's invasion on Sunday.

Russia’s army on Friday said that it had captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine.

Europe has also been left scrambling to respond, though Zelensky has held a flurry of calls in recent days with European leaders reiterating their support for Ukraine, including French president Emmanuel Macron and the leaders of Finland and Denmark.

Macron will travel to Washington next week where he will tell Trump, ‘You can’t be weak with President Putin,’ he said in an address on Thursday.

British prime minister Keir Starmer will also visit Trump, as Paris and London seek to marshal Europe’s response to the Republican's first month in office.

Zelensky met this week in Kyiv with Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg whose description of meetings with Ukrainian officials came in stark contrast with rhetoric from his counterparts in Washington.

In a social media post Kellogg called Zelensky ‘the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war’.

Zelensky said that he had briefed Kellogg on the frontline situation and said ‘strong Ukraine-US relations benefit the entire world’.

But in Washington there was little sign Trump’s team was looking to dial down tensions.

Tech tycoon and Trump backer Elon Musk weighed in on Thursday, saying Ukrainians ‘despised’ their president and that the US leader was right to leave him out of talks with Russia.

‘Some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, frankly, and insults to President Trump were unacceptable,’ Waltz said during a briefing at the White House.

In his most pointed criticism yet, Zelensky earlier this week said that Trump had succumbed to Russian ‘disinformation’ over the US president’s repetition of debunked Kremlin talking points on the conflict.

The Ukrainian presidency’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said Friday that he had spoken to Waltz on the phone and stressed the ‘importance of preserving bilateral cooperation and maintaining a high level of relations’.​

 

[Saif]

Russia could concede $300 billion in frozen assets as part of Ukraine war settlement, sources say

Russia could agree to using $300 billion of sovereign assets frozen in Europe for reconstruction in Ukraine but will insist that part of the money is spent on the one-fifth of the country that Moscow's forces control, three sources told Reuters. Russia and the United States held their first face-t

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Russia could concede $300 billion in frozen assets as part of Ukraine war settlement, sources say
REUTERS
Published :
Feb 21, 2025 21:03
Updated :
Feb 21, 2025 21:03

A firefighter works at a site of an apartment building damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine January 28, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova/Files

Russia could agree to using $300 billion of sovereign assets frozen in Europe for reconstruction in Ukraine but will insist that part of the money is spent on the one-fifth of the country that Moscow's forces control, three sources told Reuters.

Russia and the United States held their first face-to-face talks on ending the Ukraine war on Feb 18 in Saudi Arabia and both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have said they hope to meet soon.

After Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, the United States and its allies prohibited transactions with Russia's central bank and finance ministry, blocking $300-$350 billion of sovereign Russian assets, mostly European, US and British government bonds held in a European securities depository.

While discussions between Russia and the United States are at a very early stage, one idea being floated in Moscow is that Russia could propose using a large chunk of the frozen reserves for rebuilding Ukraine as part of a possible peace deal, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.

Swathes of eastern Ukraine have been devastated by the war and hundreds of thousands of soldiers killed or injured on both sides while millions of Ukrainians have fled to European countries or Russia. A year ago, the World Bank estimated reconstruction and recovery would cost $486 billion.

The sources spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions and because discussions are only preliminary. The Kremlin declined to comment.

The idea that Russia may agree to using the frozen money to help rebuild Ukraine has not been previously reported, and may give an insight into what Russia is willing to compromise on as Moscow and Washington seek to end the war, at a time when Trump is pushing for US access to Ukrainian minerals to repay Washington's support.

Russia's main demands to stop the fighting include a withdrawal of Kyiv's troops from Ukrainian territory Moscow claims and an end to Ukraine's ambitions to join NATO. Ukraine says Russia must withdraw from its territory, and wants security guarantees from the West. The Trump administration says Ukraine has unrealistic, "illusionary" goals.

Reuters could not establish whether the idea of using the frozen funds was discussed between Russia and US counterparts in the Saudi meeting.

The Group of Seven stated in 2023 that the Russian sovereign funds will remain frozen until Russia pays for the damage it inflicted in Ukraine. Trump has said he would like Russia to return to the G7, a grouping of wealthy nations.

Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said on Thursday the bank was not part of any talks on lifting sanctions or unfreezing of Russia's reserves.

Russia has previously said plans to use the funds in Ukraine amounted to robbery.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The British Foreign Office declined to comment.

"Nothing about Ukraine and the EU can be decided without Ukraine and the EU," said Anitta Hipper, a spokesperson for the European Commission. She said the EU and member states were helping Ukraine strengthen its position ahead of any talks, including with a new round of sanctions on Russia.

Renaissance Capital lead analyst Oleg Kouzmin said the differences between the United States and Europe, which controls most of the assets, would complicate a lifting of the freeze.

"It would require the European side to fully back the current stance of the US aimed at dialog with Russia," Kouzmin said, calling such a scenario "very optimistic".

TWO THIRD SPLIT?

Russia's frozen sovereign assets have been the subject of intense debate in the West with some proposing it be essentially given to Ukraine through a complex "repatriation loan", opens new tab.

One source with knowledge of the discussions in Moscow said that Russia could accept up to two-thirds of the reserves going to the restoration of Ukraine under a peace deal, provided there were accountability guarantees.

The rest could go to the Russian-controlled territories in eastern Ukraine that Russia now considers to be part of Russia, said the source.

Another source with knowledge of discussions said that Moscow would agree to using the money to rebuild Ukraine but that it was too early to say what the possible division might be. Two sources stressed that it was important to discuss which companies would get future contracts for reconstruction.

A different source, close to the Kremlin but not directly involved in the discussions, said that Russia would still demand the lifting of the freeze on the assets as part of gradual sanctions relief.

Several Western officials, especially in the German government and European Central Bank, have been reluctant to simply confiscate sovereign reserves, warning that such a move could face legal challenges and undermine the euro as a reserve currency.

Russian officials have repeatedly warned that the state confiscation of assets goes against free market principles, destroys banking security and erodes faith in reserve currencies. In retaliation, Russia has drafted legislation to confiscate funds from companies and investors from so-called unfriendly states, those that have hit it with sanctions. The bill has not yet been voted in Russia's State Duma lower house.

EUROPEAN FREEZE

At the time the assets were frozen, Russia's central bank said it held around $207 billion in euro assets, $67 billion in US dollar assets and $37 billion in British pound assets.

It also had holdings comprising $36 billion of Japanese yen, $19 billion in Canadian dollars, $6 billion in Australian dollars and $1.8 billion in Singapore dollars. Its Swiss franc holdings were about $1 billion.

Russia reports its total gold and foreign exchange reserves as around $627 billion, including the frozen funds. The value of Russia's frozen assets fluctuates according to bond prices and currency movements.

The bank's biggest bond holdings were in the sovereign bonds of China, Germany, France, Britain, Austria and Canada. Russia's gold reserves were held in Russia.

Around 159 billion euros of the assets were managed by Belgian clearing house Euroclear Bank as of early last year, Euroclear has said.

While the freezing of the funds has angered Moscow, some of Russia's most outspoken war hawks have previously acknowledged Russia may eventually part with the frozen reserves, provided that the controlled territories stay within Russia.

"I propose a solution. They pay this money towards our purchase of those territories, those lands that want to be with us," said Margarita Simonyan, head of the Russian state broadcaster RT, in 2023.

The Russian-controlled territories of Ukraine account for about 1% of Russia's gross domestic product, but some economists believe that their share could grow quickly if they remain with Russia when the war ends. The regions already provide around 5% of Russia's grain harvest.​

 

[Saif]

US proposes Ukraine UN text omitting occupied territory

The United States proposed Friday a United Nations resolution on the Ukraine conflict that omitted any mention of Kyiv’s territory occupied by Russia, diplomatic sources told AFP.

www.newagebd.net

US proposes Ukraine UN text omitting occupied territory
Agence France-Presse . United Nations, United States 22 February, 2025, 22:29

File photo

The United States proposed Friday a United Nations resolution on the Ukraine conflict that omitted any mention of Kyiv’s territory occupied by Russia, diplomatic sources told AFP.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged UN members to approve the ‘simple, historic’ resolution.

Washington’s proposal comes amid an intensifying feud between president Donald Trump and president Volodymyr Zelensky which has seen Trump claim it was ‘not important’ for his Ukrainian counterpart to be involved in peace talks.

It also appeared to rival a separate draft resolution produced by Kyiv and its European allies, countries that Trump has also sought to sideline from talks on the future of the three-year-old war.

The Ukrainian-European text stresses the need to redouble diplomatic efforts to end the war this year, noting several initiatives to that end, while also blaming Russia for the invasion and committing to Kyiv’s ‘territorial integrity.’

The text also repeats the UN general assembly’s previous demands for an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

Those votes had wide support, with around 140 of the 193 member states voting in favour.

Washington’s text, seen by AFP, calls for a ‘swift end to the conflict’ without mentioning Kyiv’s territorial integrity, and was welcomed by Moscow’s ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia as ‘a good move’—but stressed that it did not address the ‘roots’ of the conflict.

‘The United States has proposed a simple, historic resolution in the United Nations that we urge all member states to support in order to chart a path to peace,’ Rubio said in a statement Friday, without commenting in detail on the contents of the proposed resolution.

In a break with past resolutions proposed and supported by Washington, the latest draft, produced ahead of a general assembly meeting Monday to coincide with the third anniversary of the war, does not criticise Moscow.

Instead the 65-word text begins by ‘mourning the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict.’

It then continued by ‘reiterating’ that the United Nation’s purpose is the maintenance of ‘international peace and security’—without singling out Moscow as the source of the conflict.

France’s ambassador to the UN, Nicolas De Riviere, the EU’s only permanent member of the council, said he had no comment ‘for the moment.’

‘A stripped-down text of this type that does not condemn Russian aggression or explicitly reference Ukraine’s territorial integrity looks like a betrayal of Kyiv and a jab at the EU, but also a show of disdain for core principles of international law,’ said Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group.

‘I think even a lot of states that favour an early end to the war will worry that the US is ignoring core elements of the UN Charter.’​

 

[Saif]

US wants return on Ukraine aid money: Trump

US president Donald Trump said on Saturday he was trying to get money back for the billions of dollars sent to support Ukraine’s war against Russia.

www.newagebd.net

US wants return on Ukraine aid money: Trump
Agence France-Presse . National Harbor, United States 23 February, 2025, 22:21

US president Donald Trump. | File photo

US president Donald Trump said on Saturday he was trying to get money back for the billions of dollars sent to support Ukraine’s war against Russia.

His comments came as Washington and Kyiv negotiate a mineral resources deal Trump wants as compensation for the wartime aid his predecessor Joe Biden gave Ukraine.

It was the latest twist in a whirlwind first month since he took office, during which he has upended US foreign policy by making diplomatic overtures towards the Kremlin over the heads of Ukraine and Europe.

Trump told delegates at the Conservative Political Action Conference near Washington: ‘I’m trying to get the money back, or secured.’

‘I want them to give us something for all of the money that we put up. We’re asking for rare earth and oil, anything we can get. We’re going to get our money back because it’s just not fair. And we will see, but I think we’re pretty close to a deal, and we better be close because that has been a horrible situation.’

Hours earlier, a source told AFP that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was ‘not ready’ to sign such a deal, despite growing US pressure.

Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg, who met Zelensky this week, said the Ukrainian president understood signing a deal with the United States was ‘critical’.

But the Ukrainian source told AFP that Kyiv needed assurances first.

‘In the form in which the draft is now, the president is not ready to accept, we are still trying to make changes and add constructiveness,’ the source close to the matter said.

Ukraine wants any agreement signed with the United States to include security guarantees as it battles Russia’s nearly three-year invasion.

The negotiations between the two countries come amid a deepening war of words between Trump and Zelensky that has raised alarm in Kyiv and Europe.

On Wednesday, Trump branded his Ukrainian counterpart a ‘dictator’ and called for him to ‘move fast’ to end the war, a day after Russian and US officials held talks in Saudi Arabia without Kyiv.

Washington has proposed a United Nations resolution on the Ukraine conflict that omitted any mention of Kyiv’s territory occupied by Russia, diplomatic sources told AFP.

Trump has asked for ‘$500 billion worth’ of rare earth minerals to make up for aid given to Kyiv—a price tag Ukraine has balked at and which is much higher than published US aid figures.

‘There are no American obligations in the agreement regarding guarantees or investments, everything about them is very vague, and they want to extract $500 billion from us,’ the Ukrainian source told AFP.

‘What kind of partnership is this? And why do we have to give $500 billion, there is no answer,’ the source said, adding that Ukraine had proposed changes.

The United States has given Ukraine more than $60 billion in military aid since Russia’s invasion, according to official figures—the largest such contribution among Kyiv’s allies but substantially lower than Trump’s figures.

The Kiel Institute, a German economic research body, said that from 2022 until the end of 2024, the United States gave a total of $119.8 billion in financial, humanitarian and military aid.​

 

[Saif]

Zelenskiy says he is willing to give up presidency if it means peace in Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he was willing to give up his position if it meant peace in Ukraine, quipping that he could exchange his departure for Ukraine's entry into NATO. Zelenskiy also said he wanted to see US President Donald Trump as a partner to Ukraine and more t

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Zelenskiy says he is willing to give up presidency if it means peace in Ukraine
REUTERS
Published :
Feb 23, 2025 21:44
Updated :
Feb 23, 2025 21:44

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, February 15, 2025. Photo : Sven Hoppe/Pool via REUTERS/Files

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he was willing to give up his position if it meant peace in Ukraine, quipping that he could exchange his departure for Ukraine's entry into NATO.

Zelenskiy also said he wanted to see US President Donald Trump as a partner to Ukraine and more than a simply a mediator between Kyiv and Moscow.

"I really want it to be more than just mediation... that's not enough," he told a press conference in Kyiv.​

 

[Saif]

Xi hails Russia’s ‘positive efforts to defuse crisis’

Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday hailed Moscow’s “positive efforts to defuse” the Ukraine crisis in a call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, state media said.

www.thedailystar.net

Xi hails Russia’s ‘positive efforts to defuse crisis’

Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday hailed Moscow's "positive efforts to defuse" the Ukraine crisis in a call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, state media said.

Xinhua news agency reported Xi as saying "China is happy to see Russia and relevant parties make positive efforts to defuse" the crisis in Ukraine.

Moscow and Beijing have strengthened military and trade ties since Russia sent troops into Ukraine, though China has sought to depict itself as a neutral party amid the nearly three-year conflict.

Beijing remains a close political and economic partner of Moscow and has never condemned Russia's actions.

Speaking of China's ties with Russia, Xi said "history and reality" show the two countries "are good neighbours that cannot be moved away, and true friends who share weal and woe, support each other and achieve common development", Xinhua reported.

The Kremlin later said Putin "briefed" Xi on the talks between Russian and US officials held in Saudi Arabia -- their first high-level meeting since Russia sent troops into Ukraine three years ago.​

 

[Saif]

Zelensky wants peace ‘this year’

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday called for ‘real, lasting peace’ this year as European leaders gathered for a summit in Kyiv on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Russia said it would only halt...

www.newagebd.net

Zelensky wants peace ‘this year’
Agence France-Presse . Kyiv, Ukraine 25 February, 2025, 00:44

Volodymyr Zelensky. | File photo

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday called for ‘real, lasting peace’ this year as European leaders gathered for a summit in Kyiv on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Russia said it would only halt the invasion if a deal can be reached that ‘suits’ its interests and accused Europe of wanting to prolong the fighting.

Russian president Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch what he called a ‘special military operation’ in February 2022 set off the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides and Ukrainian civilians have been killed. Cities across the country’s south and east have been flattened and millions forced to flee their homes.

‘This year should be the year of the beginning of a real, lasting peace,’ Zelensky told Kyiv’s backers in Kyiv.

‘Putin will not give us peace or give it to us in exchange for something. We have to win peace through strength and wisdom and unity,’ he added. The UK government unveiled over 100 sanctions against those aiding Putin’s war on Ukraine.

The package of sanctions measures, described as the largest since the early days of the invasion, would target ‘Russia’s military machine, entities in third countries who support it and the fragile supply networks that it relies on’, a foreign ministry statement said.

The European Union hit Russia with a new round of sanctions aimed at curbing its war effort.

It is the 16th round of sanctions imposed by the 27-nation bloc on Russia since Moscow launched its all-out assault on Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen also warned that despite opening talks with the United States on how to end the conflict, Putin was not about to back down.

‘Putin is trying harder than ever to win this war on the ground. His goal remains Ukraine’s capitulation,’ she said.

She also called the war in Ukraine ‘the most central and consequential crisis for Europe’s future.’

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has offered to help broker a deal, told the summit he strongly supported ‘Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence’ and said both sides must be represented ‘fairly’ in talks.

But as leaders of Ukraine’s backers lined up to proclaim support and hail Kyiv’s resistance, there was one notable absence: the United States.

Donald Trump’s return to the White House has threatened to upend the Western coalition, and has brought vital military and financial aid into question at a critical juncture.

His opening of talks with Putin, the false claim that Ukraine ‘started’ the war and verbal attacks on Zelensky have triggered alarm across Europe.

Kyiv said Monday it was in the ‘final stages’ of a deal with Washington to give the United States preferential access to rare minerals — one of the sources of disagreement that has exploded over the last week.

Russian officials have been buoyed by Trump’s outreach, sensing an opportunity to push their core demands: the roll-back of NATO’s military presence in Europe, territorial concessions from Ukraine and the end of Western military support to Kyiv.

‘We will stop hostilities only when these negotiations produce a firm and sustainable result that suits the Russian Federation,’ foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on a visit to Turkey.

Putin’s spokesman meanwhile accused Europe of prolonging the fighting.

‘The Europeans continue on the path of a sanctions nosedive, on the path of conviction in the need to continue the war,’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, responding to a fresh package of sanctions levelled by Brussels on Monday.

On the streets of Moscow, there was support for a hardline approach.

Europe and Ukraine ‘needed to be pushed around to show that they aren’t the most important in the world,’ pensioner Irina Svetlichnaya, 77, said.

Chinese president Xi Jinping on Monday backed ally Russia’s ‘positive efforts to defuse’ the Ukraine crisis, in a call with Putin, Chinese state media reported.

Beijing is a crucial political backer of Russia and has never condemned its invasion. Zelensky has repeatedly called for Xi to help convince Putin to halt the war.

The Ukrainian leader also on Monday refreshed his call for security guarantees from Kyiv’s backers to ensure Russia does not use any ceasefire to rearm and attack again at a later date.

With Trump sceptical of continuing to support Ukraine, Europe has been left debating whether it can fill the void.

Ukrainian soldiers in the east said they were nervous about Trump’s bid for a swift ceasefire.

‘This idiot doesn’t understand what he’s talking about at all. He’s in some kind of bubble and falls for Russian rhetoric,’ 41-year-old soldier Mikhailo said.

‘I don’t want to give up Ukrainian land we’ve been fighting for so long,’ said Mykola, a 38 year-old commander stationed in the eastern Donetsk region.

‘But everyone is tired of the war.’​