Russian invasion

Negotiations

Trump's U-turn: Putin doesn't want peace

In Donald Trump's private conversation with European leaders on Monday, he said that Vladimir Putin doesn't want peace in the war because "he thinks he's winning". This is reported by several sources to the Wall Street Journal.

This is the first time Trump has admitted what other allies have long believed. It is also a U-turn from what he has consistently said publicly. When he met the press on Monday, he said that Putin "wants to end the war".

- If I didn't think President Putin wanted to get this over with, I wouldn't have talked about it. Then I would have just pulled out, he said at the time. 

Russia hits back at reports of U-turn

The Kremlin says that the reports that Trump allegedly told European leaders that Putin doesn't want peace do not match Russia's picture of the situation.

- What we know does not match what is written in the article, says spokesman Dmitry Peskov according to Reuters.

According to the WSJ, new talks on a ceasefire in Ukraine are expected to take place in the Vatican in mid-June. The Vatican is one of three options that Ukraine is exploring for future meetings with Russia, according to AFP's sources. The other two are Switzerland and Turkey.

After Monday's talks with Putin, Trump has indicated that he is ready to withdraw from attempts to bring about a pause in the fighting.

Voices about the Ukraine war
Analysis: The Pope could be Trump's way out of the talks

It is difficult to keep up with Donald Trump's swings as he brokers peace between Ukraine and Russia. His "yo-yo tactics" seem to be a total lack of strategy, writes Wolfgang Hansson in an analysis for Aftonbladet.

But perhaps Pope Leo XIV could be his savior. He has offered to hold talks in the Vatican, and that would have meant a player in the negotiations who most people see as impartial, writes Hansson.

“It sounds like Trump is about to give up on his peace efforts, though without saying so outright,” he continues.

Four New York Times journalists are on the same track. They write in an analysis that the president’s new strategy seems to be: “Not my problem.” He has wanted to put the negotiations behind him for several months, and his phone call with Putin on Monday was a step in that direction.

“Putin got exactly what he wanted: not only an end to American pressure, but also the creation of a deep rift within NATO,” they write.

World response
Merz to station troops abroad – first time since World War II

For the first time since World War II, Germany will have troops permanently stationed in another country. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited Vilnius on Thursday to inaugurate the new German armored brigade that will now be based in Lithuania.

The brigade will consist of 4,800 soldiers and 2,000 vehicles in total. The plan is for it to be in place in two years and strengthen the defense of NATO's eastern flank. Around 400 people from the German armed forces have already moved to Lithuania to prepare the brigade.

Merz says the German armed forces are now entering a "new era".

- Anyone who threatens an ally must know that the entire alliance will jointly defend every centimeter of NATO territory, he says, according to DW.