Free Republic

KYIV, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday Kyiv was discussing with Washington a possible presence of U.S. troops in Ukraine as part of security guarantees, and also raised what he called a faked attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence. Zelenskiy told the media in a WhatsApp chat that Kyiv was committed to continuing talks on how to end the war triggered by Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion and he was ready to meet Putin in any format.U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he and Zelenskiy were "maybe very close" to an agreement to end...

The United States has declared it is ready to take part in postwar security guarantees for Ukraine, including the possible deployment of American troops once a peace deal with Russia is reached, Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, has said.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not confirm Tusk’s comments, telling journalists on Tuesday: “These are the troops of the United States, and only the U.S. makes such decisions.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied allegations by Russia that Ukraine launched a drone attack on one of President Vladimir Putin's residences, and accused Moscow of trying to derail peace talks. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed Kyiv had launched an attack overnight using 91 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on Putin's state residence in Russia's northwestern Novgorod region. Russia said it would now review its position in peace negotiations. It is not yet clear where Putin was at the time of the alleged attack. Zelensky dismissed the claim as "typical Russian lies", intended to give the Kremlin an excuse to...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has claimed that President Vladimir Putin's state residence in the Novgorod region was the target of a Ukrainian drone attack overnight into Monday, and said it would have implications for the peace negotiations.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the claim as "typical Russian lies" made because Moscow does not want to end the war.The allegation comes as U.S. President Donald Trump hailed progress toward peace following his latest talks with Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.Securing a long-sought deal on Ukraine would be a crowning moment for Trump, the self-styled global...

While President Donald Trump is negotiating with Russian and Ukrainian officials to end the war between the two countries, some in the Russian delegation are already undermining the progress.... Trump also noted how Ukraine's parliament will need to approve any peace deal with Russia. He is also willing to speak directly to the parliament to get them on board with the deal. 'I’ve offered to go and speak to their parliament,' Trump told reporters on Sunday at a press conference following his meeting with Zelensky. 'I’d have no problem with doing it.'

President Donald Trump on Sunday said Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed and suggested access to cheap energy could be part of a future settlement. He made the remarks during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, saying that his recent conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin left him believing Moscow is interested in a stable and prosperous Ukraine, even as Russia's war against the country continues. "I believe Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed," Trump told reporters, adding that economic incentives — including access to low-cost energy — could help underpin...

War may be a boon to politicians and bankers, but it is life-or-death for everyone else. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is returning to the White House on January 28 to discuss the Russia-Ukraine War. The visit ostensibly concerns a proposed twenty-point “peace plan” that European Union “elites” have constructed to counter President Trump’s ongoing peace negotiations with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. Given that the European proposal essentially denies Russia any of its stated military objectives, Zelensky’s efforts appear to be little more than another theatrical scene designed to demonstrate to the world his (insincere) willingness to sue for peace....

After its emergence from the Soviet collapse, the new Russia grappled with the complex issue of developing a national identity that could embrace the radical contradictions of Russia’s past and foster integration with the West while maintaining Russian distinctiveness. The Ukraine War has significantly changed public attitudes toward this question, and led to a consolidation of most of the Russian population behind a set of national ideas. This has contributed to the resilience that Russia has shown in the war, and helped to frustrate Western hopes that economic pressure and heavy casualties would undermine support for the war and for...

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday he believes both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin truly want peace, as he welcomed the “brave” Ukrainian leader for talks at his Florida resort.“The two leaders want it to end,” Trump said at the outset of the meeting at Mar-a-Lago. Before Zelenskyy arrived, Trump spoke with Putin by phone for more than an hour, and planned to speak with him again soon after.Greeting Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said of him: “This gentleman has worked very hard, and is very brave, and his people are very brave.”Zelenskyy,...

President Donald Trump is throwing cold water on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's new 20-point peace plan ahead of their Sunday meeting at Mar-a-Lago. "He doesn't have anything until I approve it," Trump told Politico. "We'll see what he's got." Trump believes he will have a productive meeting with Zelenskyy and also hopes to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon. "I think it's going to go good with him," Trump said to Politico. "I think it's going to go good with Putin." The president said he will meet with Putin "as much I want." On Friday, Russia accused Zelenskyy and...

In the United States, several transcripts of conversations between Russia's leader Vladimir Putin and former US president George Bush have been published, in which Putin argued that Ukraine is an artificial state with a fragmented society and warned of a long-term confrontation with the West if Ukraine were admitted to NATO.Source: European Pravda with reference to the non-governmental research institution the National Security ArchiveDetails: In a conversation dated 16 June 2001, Putin, speaking in a passage about the need for honesty in relations and saying that he senses the mood of Russian society well, spoke about his disappointment with the...

Putin's army would stretch out from Kalingrad like a sword swallowing Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia one by one. But this dream is being shattered by a hammer blow stretching from Riga to Vilnius. While the iron piece was being melted down in Riga's back rooms last month, now this iron is being forged into a hammer in Vilnius, shattering Putin's 50-year Baltic dream. Moreover, this time Belarus will not escape either. In the early days of December 2025, history is being rewritten in Europe's eastern flank, not with ink, but with shattered metal. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. These three tiny...

‘Ze’ has gone overboard with his latest remarks.For four years, Volodymyr Zelensky has been painted by the MSM as a heroic ‘defender of democracy’, a ‘present-day Winton Churchill’, and any questioning of him was surely to be described as the work of Putin’s shills and puppets.But that was then – and this is now, when Zelensky has been revealed as a failing leader of an incredibly corrupt country rife with real-life Nazis, and dealing with an alleged nasty drug habit.Citizens of the western countries now know that much of their taxpayer money sent to the Kiev regime was stolen by...

Russian forces appear close to being pushed out of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupyansk, with only a small number of isolated troops remaining and even pro-Kremlin voices acknowledging the setback, according to a report.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will meet US President Donald Trump in Florida at the weekend, as talks continue on ending Russia's full-scale war. Zelensky said he expected the meeting to take place on Sunday and to focus on a US-brokered 20-point peace plan, as well as separate proposals for US security guarantees. However, in a sign of the gulf between Moscow and Kyiv, a senior Russian official said that plan was "radically different" to the one it was negotiating with Washington. Russia has spoken of "slow but steady progress" in talks but has not commented on Zelensky's offer...

Before the important meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is actively communicating with European partners. The main task is to ensure their participation in the negotiations. Volodymyr Zelensky announced this during comments to journalists. Europe on the lineThe president emphasized that EU leaders are actively interested in the progress of negotiations. He also acknowledged that gathering all leaders in one place for a single day is practically impossible.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is prepared to call a national referendum on a peace plan developed with U.S. President Donald Trump, should Russia agree to a 60-day ceasefire. The potential plebiscite could determine the fate of a United States-mediated framework aimed at ending Russia’s nearly four-year invasion of Ukraine. Speaking with Axios ahead of a planned Sunday meeting with Trump in Florida, Zelensky said the proposal is “about 90 percent ready” and includes codified agreements on security guarantees and economic reconstruction. But he acknowledged that key issues remain unresolved. “If the plan demands a very difficult decision on...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is preparing to dash to Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate for an urgent meeting, just days after declaring in a Christmas message that he hoped Vladimir Putin would perish. It comes as the Russian dictator suffered a humiliating Christmas Day defeat after Ukrainian forces took back full control of a city the Kremlin had claimed two months ago. Ukrainian media reports suggest the high-stakes meeting with Trump could take place as soon as December 28, if final arrangements are agreed. The Kyiv leader confirmed that preparations are underway after receiving an update from his chief negotiator, Rustem...

KYIV, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces have pulled out of the embattled eastern town of Siversk, Kyiv's military said on Tuesday, as Russian troops wage a battlefield offensive aimed at threatening key cities critical to Ukraine's defences in the east.The fall of Siversk comes with Ukraine under U.S. pressure to quickly negotiate peace in the nearly four-year-old war triggered by Russia's invasion, and puts Russian forces closer to the hub of Sloviansk, some 30 km (20 miles) to the west.The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.Sloviansk is a...

Russia has issued a call for the remaining Ukrainian soldiers that have been surrounded in Pakovsk and Kian to surrender, noting that they have no chance of survival. And it doesn't seem as though the NATO alliance or Kiev is too concerned about the situation on the front lines as they seem more concerned about Zalinsk's latest photo op. not realizing the importance of some of these final Ukrainian strongholds and just how quickly Kiev's defensive lines are crumbling. So, what does all of this mean for the ongoing conflict and how could the possibility of tomahawks being introduced by...