- Reaction score
- 9,163
- Points
- 1,160
This came from this very busy thread in today's Telegraph.
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Starmer done nothing to end conflict, says Trump
Sir Keir Starmer has done nothing to end the war in Ukraine, Donald Trump has said.
www.telegraph.co.uk
Volodymyr Zelensky and Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump’s envoy for Russia-Ukraine, met in Kyiv on Thursday Credit: AFP
Sir Keir Starmer has done nothing to end the war in Ukraine, Donald Trump has said.
Asked about a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron and the British Prime Minister to Washington next week, Mr Trump said: “They didn’t do anything either [to end the war]. The war’s going on, no meetings with Russia, no nothing.”
He added: “Macron is a friend of mine, and I’ve met with the Prime Minister, he’s a very nice guy... [but] nobody’s done anything.”
Speaking to Fox News, the US president said the only reason Russia had joined talks on ending the war was “because of me”.
Mr Trump also doubled down on his criticism of Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he was “sick” of the Ukrainian president as he made it “hard” to make deals.
21 February 2025 4:27pm4:21PM
Polish president to meet Trump on Saturday
4:16PM
Trump: Zelensky ‘not important’ to be at meetings
4:10PM
Trump admits Russia started war
4:01PM
Trump: Starmer and Macron ‘done nothing’ to end war
3:35PM
Zelensky ‘will sign’ minerals deal, says Trump adviser
Volodymyr Zelensky “will sign” a minerals deal with the US, Mike Waltz has said.The White House national security adviser said he expected to sign a minerals agreement “in the very short term”.
It comes amid reports that Kyiv and Washington had discussed an improved deal after Mr Zelensky rejected Donald Trump’s initial terms last week.
(Kirkhill Comment: For all the bluster on both sides it appears that movement has occurred - The Donald seems to want this deal. And doesn't like to be told "No". Zelenskyy and Trump have been negotiating with each other, in public, in private, face to face, on the phone and through intermediaries since 2019. I think they know each other by now.)
3:26PM
Trump-supporting NY Post criticises president’s ‘dictator’ attack
The New York Post, a right-wing, Donald Trump-supporting US newspaper, has criticised the president after he described Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator”.The front page of the newspaper said it was Putin who is the dictator and laid out “10 other Ukraine war truths we ignore at our peril”.
(Kirkhill Comment: I think this is likely to have greater impact on Trump than the voices of the EU leadership)
3:02PM
Starmer told to ‘call out’ Trump on Ukraine
The Prime Minister must speak “honestly and openly” when he meets the US president, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said on Friday.
2:54PM
Pictured: Ukrainian troops in training before battle
Infantry soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including both new recruits and experienced servicemen, train together before deployment to the frontline Credit: Getty Images Europe
2:46PM
Zelensky criticised by Ukrainian opposition
Ukraine’s former president has accused Volodymyr Zelensky of engaging in “stadium behaviour” after a row erupted with the Ukrainian president and Donald Trump this week.Petro Poroshenko, the opposition leader in Ukraine’s parliament, offered to travel to Brussels or Washington to “save the situation”.
2:13PM
Russia could concede $300bn frozen assets in peace talks
Russia could agree to $300bn of frozen assets being used for reconstruction in Ukraine but will insist part of the money is spent in occupied territories.....
A year ago, the World Bank estimated reconstruction and recovery would cost $486 billion.
1:43PM
Kellogg says Zelensky talks were ‘extensive and positive’
Donald Trump’s special envoy for Russia and Ukraine has described Volodymyr Zelensky as an “embattled and courageous” war leader.General Keith Kellogg’s come after an escalating war of words between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky, who was described by the US president as a “dictator” on Wednesday.
Gen Kellogg was in Kyiv for several days this week, holding negotiations with senior leaders of Ukraine.
He said he held “extensive and positive” discussions with Mr Zelensky, as well as his national security team.
Relations between Washington and Kyiv rapidly deteriorated this week when the Ukrainian president said Mr Trump was living in a “disinformation space” after he accused Ukraine of starting the war.
A White House official said Mr Trump decided to attack Mr Zelensky as a direct response to those comments.
1:16PM
Moscow denies demanding Nato withdraw troops from east
Moscow has denied that it asked US officials to withdraw troops from Nato’s eastern flank during Tuesday’s talks in Saudi Arabia.However, a Kremlin spokesman said Moscow’s concern about Nato’s “eastern expansion” was “well known”.
12:45PM
UK ‘massively vulnerable’ to Russian aggression
12:33PM
Ukrainian man is sentenced to 8 years in Poland for planning sabotage on Russia’s behalf
12:16PM
Pictured: British troops carry out demonstrations in Norway
In Norway, troops from the 29 Commando Regiment, part of the British Army’s Royal Artillery, have been showcasing their howitzers to Norwegian forces. The regiment specialises in amphibious operations, as well as mountain, desert, jungle, and Arctic warfare.
11:57AM
Musk accuses Zelensky of ‘feeding off the dead bodies of soldiers’
11:43AM
EU to enhance security of undersea cables after sabotage
11:36AM
Readers have their say on China backing Trump
Our readers have commented on China backing of Donald Trump’s bid to end the war.11:23AM
Russia claims control of two eastern villages
....Yesterday, Sergei Rudskoi, the head of Russia’s general staff, claimed that Russia now controls 75 per cent of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, as well as more than 99 per cent of Luhansk.
He added that these four regions will never be returned to Ukraine.
11:11AM
Sweden investigating new Baltic Sea cable damage
10:48AM
Trump Ukraine deal ‘an act of treachery’
Donald Trump’s plan for a deal on Ukraine with Putin is an act of treachery, the leader of the German Greens has said ...10:41AM
Starmer told to ‘call out’ Trump over Ukraine
Sir Keir Starmer must “call out” Donald Trump on disagreements over Ukraine and trade tariffs during his visit to the White House next week, according to Lib Dem leader Ed Davey.
10:21AM
Details emerge of civilian casualties
10:16AM
Have your say: Which is more important for the UK Government?
(Kirkhill Commentary - 70% of 4000 Telegraph readers say it is more important for the UK to support Ukraine than it is to maintain good relations with the US.
If the US has lost the Telegraph readership it has lost the UK.)
10:01AM
Belarus leader says US trying to pit Russia against China
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a key Russian ally, said Friday it appeared that the United States was trying to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing.“It seems to me they are trying to pit the Russians against the Chinese. The Russians must not allow that,” Lukashenko said, adding that any deal to end the Ukraine conflict could bring both positives and negatives to Belarus, according to a statement posted by his office.
(Kirkhill Commentary: This could be important.)
9:46AM
Listen: America embraces Putin
The latest episode of Battle Lines is now live. In this episode, Venetia Rainey and Katie O’neill in Washington discuss Donald Trump’s embrace of Russia and whether his view is shared by Americans.Listen here.
9:33AM
Zelensky rival tells Ukrainian president to ‘stop stadium behaviour’
Former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has spoken out regarding the escalating tensions between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky.9:06AM
Pictured: Russia’s Lavrov meets with China’s foreign minister
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday Credit: Anadolu
8:55AM
Pictured: Kyiv tries to repel Russian drone strike
Tracers are seen in the night sky above Kyiv during a Russian drone strike Credit: REUTERS
8:30AM
World leaders will head to Ukraine to rally around Zelensky
8:14AM
Watch: Explosions rumble in Kyiv during Russian air attack
8:08AM
Trump and allies ‘piling on’ Zelensky because he ‘riled’ US president
Donald Trump and allies like Elon Musk are “piling on” Volodymyr Zelensky because of his reported refusal of a US deal to access rare earths and minerals in Ukraine, according to a former UK national security adviser.
Lord Peter Ricketts said Mr Zelensky’s decision had “clearly riled Trump and led to this onslaught” and the US president had “clearly decided that Zelensky is the one that has to be pressured” to get a peace deal done.
....
He argued that Trump has “arrived in a hurry to deliver the deal” and he has “chosen to do that by getting much closer to Putin.”
7:57AM
Macron: Trump cannot be weak against Putin
7:47AM
Ukrainian and Russian forces clash 121 times in 24 hours
Ukrainian and Russian forces clashed 121 times along the frontline in the past day, Ukraine’s General Staff said.“The enemy subjected Ukrainian units’ positions and populated areas to 3 missile strikes and 93 airstrikes, launching 17 missiles and dropping 151 guided aerial bombs.
“In addition, they carried out more than 5,500 attacks, including 129 from multiple-launch rocket systems, and used 2,650 kamikaze drones in their strikes.”
Ukraine’s military added that Russia has lost 864,860 troops since the full-scale invasion began, including 1,280 casualties from the last 24 hours.
7:35AM
Musk claims Zelensky ‘despised’ by Ukrainian people
7:33AM
Rubio: Putin and Trump meeting ‘depends on progress’
...“So I think when that meeting happens will largely depend on whether we can make any progress on ending the war in Ukraine, and if we can, and that meeting is what seals the deal, I think everybody should celebrate that President Trump is a peacemaker,” he said.
7:15AM
Ukraine could get instant Nato membership if Russia breaks peace deal
Ukraine could be granted instant Nato membership if Russia violates the terms of the peace deal being negotiated by Donald Trump.
The White House is considering this mechanism to address concerns that Vladimir Putin would use a ceasefire to regroup and launch another invasion, according to reports.
Under the strategy, Kyiv would be allowed to bypass a series of hurdles to prove it is fit to join the Western military alliance.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, has repeatedly called for his country to be admitted to Nato, describing it as the cheapest way for allies to guarantee its security. The alliance’s 32 members are covered by the Article Five mutual defence clause, which states that an attack on one is an attack on all.
Publicly, the US has not pushed for Ukraine to join, with Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, recently telling a meeting of Nato counterparts that it was an unrealistic prospect for Ukraine in any peace settlement.
Russia has also sought to keep Kyiv out of the alliance by demanding that its allies drop a 2008 pledge to one day admit Ukraine as part of any deal.
(Kirkhill Commentary: Trump's big stick?)
7:11AM
Russia attacks Ukraine with 160 drones and two missiles
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 160 drones and two ballistic missiles in an overnight attack.It claimed it shot down 87 of the drones, with 70 more probably lost to electronic countermeasures, the country’s military said.
.........
(Kirkhill Commentary: The dice are still rattling in the cup. They have yet to be thrown.)
