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Donald Trump is now likely to call Russia’s Vladimir Putin and tell him to “stop the war”, a former American diplomat has said.
The incoming US president is “going to make a phone call to Putin as quickly as possible and tell Putin that he needs to stop the war, that the fighting has to stop, and that there has to be peace,” Kurt Volker, former US special representative for Ukraine negotiations, said.
Mr Trump does not want to see the Ukraine war continue once he is actually in office, he said, while emphasising that Putin would inevitably have “demands” and that this would only be the start of the conversation.
Ukrainian war-time president Volodymyr Zelensky has congratulated Mr Trump, who will return to the White House, and urged the Republican to keep supporting Kyiv against Mr Putin’s invasion.
The current US administration, expecting a more frugal handling of Ukraine from Mr Trump, is now rushing military aid worth $9bn to Kyiv before Joe Biden exits office in January.
“The administration plans to push forward… to put Ukraine in the strongest position possible” before Trump enters office, a senior Biden administration official said.
Ukraine had ‘good conversations’ with Donald Trump, says Zelensky
Ukraine had ‘good conversations’ with Trump, says Zelensky
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky revealed his country has had “good conversations” with Donald Trump, following the latter’s election victory in the US. Mr Zelensky congratulated Trump on his victory over Kamala Harris in a new video address on Wednesday evening (6 November). The Ukrainian president said: “I congratulate him on this victory. In general, it was extremely important for us in Ukraine and for all of Europe to consistently hear the words of the then-45th President of the United States about “peace through strength.” And if this becomes the policy principle of the 47th President of the United States, America and the whole world will undoubtedly benefit from it.” During his election campaign, Trump has threatened both a withdrawal of NATO commitments and a fundamental shift of support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Tom Watling7 November 2024 12:01
Europe must make clear to US its continued backing for Ukraine, Finnish PM says
European countries need to send a clear message to the United States and the incoming Trump administration that they will support Ukraine as much as needed, Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Thursday.
“Our message needs to be clear and strong,” Orpo told reporters ahead of a meeting of European leaders in Budapest.
Orpo added that Ukraine was fighting for a “model” that included membership of the European Union and NATO. Finland, which is an EU member, joined NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Tom Watling7 November 2024 11:47
Britain hits Russia with new wave of sanctions
The UK has imposed its biggest sanctions package against Russia in nearly two years, targeting people involved in the Ukraine war, African mercenary groups and a nerve agent attack on British soil.
The foreign ministry said it had sanctioned 56 bodies and individuals, aiming to hurt Russian president Vladimir Putin’s war effort and Russia’s “malign activity globally”.
Among them were 10 entities based in China said to be supplying machinery and components for the Russian military.
“Today’s measures will continue to push back on the Kremlin’s corrosive foreign policy, undermining Russia’s attempts to foster instability across Africa and disrupting the supply of vital equipment for Putin’s war machine,” foreign minister David Lammy said.
Most of the measures were aimed at companies based in Russia, China, Turkey and Kazakhstan accused of aiding the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the supply of machine tools, microelectronics and components for drones.
Britain also said the latest sanctions would address Russian activity in Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic by targeting three private mercenary groups with links to the Kremlin, including the Kremlin-controlled Africa Corps, and 11 individuals.
Amongst the individuals sanctioned was Denis Sergeev, whom British police have charged over the murder attempt on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the southern English city of Salisbury in March 2018.
Tom Watling7 November 2024 11:27
North Korea-Russia ties are also a threat to US security, Nato chief says
The strengthening ties between Russia and North Korea are not only a threat to European security, but also for the United States, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Thursday.
“Russia is delivering the latest technology into North Korea in return for North Korean help with the war against Ukraine and this is a threat not only to the European part of Nato but also to the US,” Rutte said before a meeting with European leaders in Budapest.
“I look forward to sit down with Donald Trump to discuss how we face these threats collectively.”
Tom Watling7 November 2024 11:06
Kremlin doesn’t rule out Putin-Trump contact before Trump’s inauguration, Interfax says
The Kremlin said on Thursday it did not rule out the possibility that some form of contact could take place between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump before the latter’s inauguration in January, Interfax news agency reported
Putin has not yet commented on Trump’s election win but is due to speak and take questions at a conference later on Thursday.
The Kremlin reacted cautiously on Wednesday after Trump was elected US president, saying the US was still an unfriendly state and that only time would tell if Trump’s rhetoric on ending the Ukraine war translated into reality.
Tom Watling7 November 2024 10:45
Russia claims town in eastern Ukraine, state media reports
Russian forces captured the village of Kreminna Balka in Ukraine‘s eastern Donetsk region, the Tass state news agency has claimed , citing the defence ministry.
The Independent could not independently confirm the battlefield report, though DeepState, a Ukraine-based organisation that tracks developments on the frontline, and is known to have close ties to the military, has updated it’s map to include Kreminna Balka in Russian-occupied territory.
Tom Watling7 November 2024 10:30
In pictures: Ukrainian soldiers train in Donetsk
Tom Watling7 November 2024 10:06
Edwina Currie on selling her antiques to raise money for Ukraine
Tom Watling7 November 2024 09:46
Russia’s Shoigu says West should negotiate end to Ukraine war based on current realities
Top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu has claimed that the situation in the combat zone in Ukraine is not in Kyiv’s favour and that the West should accept this and negotiate an end to the conflict, the Interfax news agency reported.
“Now, when the situation in the theater of military operations is not in the favour of the Kyiv regime, the West is faced with a choice – to continue financing it and destroying the Ukrainian population or to recognise the current realities and start negotiating,” Shoigu was cited as telling a meeting of secretaries of Commonwealth of Independent States countries’ security councils in Moscow.
His comments came as Donald Trump became president-elect in the US for a second time, only months after vowing to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. His vice-president, JD Vance, has also talked about ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia to secure a deal.
Tom Watling7 November 2024 09:36
In pictures: Ukrainian emergency services tackle Russian destruction
Tom Watling7 November 2024 09:27
