Russian invasion Negotiations

Trump: Russia must “speed up” on Ukraine

It is time for Russia to speed up the pace to end the war in Ukraine. That was the message Donald Trump sent on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

“Russia must speed up. Too many people are dying, thousands every week, in a terrible and senseless war,” Trump wrote while his envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

The meeting between Witkoff and Putin lasted four hours and was described as productive, without any details being revealed.

Expert: US proposal plays into Russia’s hands

The US proposal to divide Ukraine into different zones is not a solution to the problem. Johan Huovinen, a lieutenant colonel and lecturer at the Finnish National Defence University, tells DN.

According to Huovinen, the proposal will force Europe into talks with Russia, which plays into the hands of the Russians.

– After years in the freezer, Russia is back.

The proposal for different zones was put forward by Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg, who likened it to the situation in Berlin after World War II. Ukraine could be divided into a British, French, American and Russian zone, he said in an interview with The Times.

Kellogg later wrote on X that he had been misinterpreted and that he meant to divide responsibility for maintaining a future ceasefire.