US envoy: Trump and Putin to talk this week
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are expected to hold phone calls this coming week, US envoy Steve Witkoff said, according to Reuters.
US negotiators are also due to meet with Ukraine this week, and also with the Russians, he added.
Witkoff claims that Russia and Ukraine have moved closer in their negotiating positions.
“I am hopeful that we will see real progress towards ending the war,” he said.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are expected to hold phone calls this coming week, US envoy Steve Witkoff said, according to Reuters.
US negotiators are also due to meet with Ukraine this week, and also with the Russians, he added.
Witkoff claims that Russia and Ukraine have moved closer in their negotiating positions.
“I am hopeful that we will see real progress towards ending the war,” he said.
Lavrov and Rubio have discussed “next steps”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his US counterpart Marco Rubio discussed “next steps” to end the war in Ukraine on Saturday, a spokesperson for the US State Department said, according to news agencies.
Earlier this week, US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to propose a 30-day ceasefire.
Lavrov and Rubio have in previous meetings promised to restore diplomatic relations between Russia and the US.
US believes peace deal weeks away: “Territory for security guarantees”
The message from the Trump administration is that a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia could be close and that Ukrainian concessions are to be expected.
Trump aides Steve Witkoff, Mike Waltz and Marco Rubio are making rounds on US television Sunday shows, and envoy Witkoff tells CNN that he expects Putin and Trump to speak this week and have a “good and positive discussion.”
According to Witkoff, Trump wants to see “some kind of deal” in the coming weeks.
– I think it will be so, Witkoff tells CNN.
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is asked by ABC if Ukraine needs to give up all of Donbass in eastern Ukraine.
– This will be some kind of “territory in exchange for security guarantees agreement”, is the answer.
This security guarantee is not NATO membership, Waltz suggests. He tells ABC that a permanent path into NATO or permanent membership in the defense alliance for Ukraine is “incredibly unlikely”.
The message from the Trump administration is that a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia could be close and that Ukrainian concessions are to be expected.
Trump aides Steve Witkoff, Mike Waltz and Marco Rubio are making rounds on US television Sunday shows, and envoy Witkoff tells CNN that he expects Putin and Trump to speak this week and have a “good and positive discussion.”
According to Witkoff, Trump wants to see “some kind of deal” in the coming weeks.
– I think it will be so, Witkoff tells CNN.
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is asked by ABC if Ukraine needs to give up all of Donbass in eastern Ukraine.
– This will be some kind of “territory in exchange for security guarantees agreement”, is the answer.
This security guarantee is not NATO membership, Waltz suggests. He tells ABC that a permanent path into NATO or permanent membership in the defense alliance for Ukraine is “incredibly unlikely”.
Several countries open to Starmer’s Ukraine coalition
Great Britain and France are a given – but which other countries are in the running for Keir Starmer’s “coalition of the willing” that will provide Ukraine with security guarantees, perhaps peacekeeping troops, in the event of peace or a ceasefire?
The British Prime Minister is tight-lipped, but Sky News military analyst Michael Clarke breaks down what is known.
Finland, Spain, Turkey, Canada and Australia have all opened up to sending troops. The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are also likely to join the bandwagon, according to Clarke.
The Swedish government has not ruled out sending troops to Ukraine under the right circumstances either.
Italy and Poland have explicitly closed the door. So has Germany's outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, but his future successor Friedrich Merz has not yet made his position clear.
Data: 10,000 troops could be sent to Ukraine
At Saturday's summit, Britain's Keir Starmer and allied leaders drew up plans for a Western peacekeeping force of 10,000 troops, which could be sent to Ukraine in the event of a peace or ceasefire agreement. This was according to British government and military sources to the Sunday Times.
– It will be a significant force with a significant number of countries contributing soldiers, and a much larger group of countries contributing in other ways, says one of them.
The source describes the plans as “quite advanced”, but does not want to give more details because it could benefit Russia.
A total of around 35 countries are said to have agreed to contribute weapons, logistics and intelligence to the peacekeeping force.
Great Britain and France are a given – but which other countries are in the running for Keir Starmer’s “coalition of the willing” that will provide Ukraine with security guarantees, perhaps peacekeeping troops, in the event of peace or a ceasefire?
The British Prime Minister is tight-lipped, but Sky News military analyst Michael Clarke breaks down what is known.
Finland, Spain, Turkey, Canada and Australia have all opened up to sending troops. The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are also likely to join the bandwagon, according to Clarke.
The Swedish government has not ruled out sending troops to Ukraine under the right circumstances either.
Italy and Poland have explicitly closed the door. So has Germany's outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, but his future successor Friedrich Merz has not yet made his position clear.
Data: 10,000 troops could be sent to Ukraine
At Saturday's summit, Britain's Keir Starmer and allied leaders drew up plans for a Western peacekeeping force of 10,000 troops, which could be sent to Ukraine in the event of a peace or ceasefire agreement. This was according to British government and military sources to the Sunday Times.
– It will be a significant force with a significant number of countries contributing soldiers, and a much larger group of countries contributing in other ways, says one of them.
The source describes the plans as “quite advanced”, but does not want to give more details because it could benefit Russia.
A total of around 35 countries are said to have agreed to contribute weapons, logistics and intelligence to the peacekeeping force.
The fighting
Ukraine confirms that Russia has retaken Sudzha
The Ukrainian General Staff has published a new situation map of the fighting in Kursk, Russia, in which Sudzha, the largest city it managed to capture in the region, is no longer listed as Ukrainian-controlled. This is reported by the independent Russian exile Meduza.
The report on the war situation also does not mention any fighting in Sudzha.
This confirms the Russian information from last Thursday. This week, Russia has launched a major counter-offensive to retake Kursk, where the Ukrainian army entered in August.
Ukraine still holds ground in Kursk. OB Oleksandr Syrskyj said on Thursday that fighting in the region will continue “as long as it is reasonable and necessary.”
Ukraine confirms that Russia has retaken Sudzha
The Ukrainian General Staff has published a new situation map of the fighting in Kursk, Russia, in which Sudzha, the largest city it managed to capture in the region, is no longer listed as Ukrainian-controlled. This is reported by the independent Russian exile Meduza.
The report on the war situation also does not mention any fighting in Sudzha.
This confirms the Russian information from last Thursday. This week, Russia has launched a major counter-offensive to retake Kursk, where the Ukrainian army entered in August.
Ukraine still holds ground in Kursk. OB Oleksandr Syrskyj said on Thursday that fighting in the region will continue “as long as it is reasonable and necessary.”
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