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Vladimir Putin has said that he is ready to get back to negotiations on Ukraine, Russian state media has reported.
He also praised the US-Russia talks. He said their purpose was to increase trust between the two countries, and that the two sides acted without “bias or judgment”.
It comes as Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said that American demands that Ukraine should than $500 billion in minerals in exchange for further support was “not a serious conversation”. He added that he cannot sell his country.
The US has given $67 billion in weapons and $31.5 billion in budgetary support to Ukraine thus far.
Mr Zelensky is due to meet later today with the Trump administration’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellog.
Mr Trump yesterday blamed Ukraine for the war, in comments made after US and Russian officials spoke in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Mr Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago: “You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.” He afterwards added: “If Ukraine wants a seat at the table, wouldn’t the people have to say – it has been a long time since they had an election.”
Watch: Defence secretary asked about size of potential UK force to Ukraine
Alex Croft19 February 2025 15:56
Two killed and two injured in Donetsk strikes, says region’s chief
Two people were killed and two injured after Russia dropped four guided aerial bombs on the city of Kostiantynivka in the eastern Donetsk region, a regional chief said.
“Reports indicate that the Russians dropped four guided bombs on the city in the morning,” Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk region’s military administration, said according to Ukrainska Pravda.
“Besides the known casualties, one more person may be trapped under the rubble of one of the buildings,” he added.
The attack damaged 34 residential buildings, 3 power lines, 3 gas pipelines and an administrative building, Mr Filashkin said.
Alex Croft19 February 2025 15:35
Watch: Ukrainian military destroys first North Korean artillery system
Alex Croft19 February 2025 15:15
Putin commends Russia-US talks in Saudi Arabia
Russian president Vladimir Putin has commended the Russia-US talks regarding the Ukraine war held in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
“Without increasing the level of trust between Russia and the United States, it is impossible to resolve many issues, including the Ukrainian crisis,” Putin said.
“The goal of this meeting was precisely to increase trust between Russia and the United States.”
Kyiv and other European governments were noted invited to the talks, with concerns growing that European interests will be ignored.
Alex Croft19 February 2025 14:57
Putin: We are ready to talk with Ukraine
Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine, president Vladimir Putin said in his first remarks since the US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Putin claimed that Ukraine is not being excluded – despite the fact they were not invited to the talks in Riyadh. Putin claimed it was Kyiv who had refused to talk to Moscow.
“We are not imposing anything on anyone. We are ready, I have already said this a hundred times – if they want, please, let these negotiations take place. And we will be ready to return to the table for negotiations,” he said.
“No one is excluding Ukraine,” Putin added. He said there was therefore no need for a “hysterical” reaction to the U.S.-Russia talks.
Alex Croft19 February 2025 14:45
Russia-US talks could hold promise, says German foreign minister
Talks between Russia and the US could pave the way for future progress, the German foreign minister said on Wednesday.
But Europe must be involved in the peace talks, Annalena Baerbock reiterated in the statement.
“The fact that the Americans are meeting with Russia, also in order to make their Moscow embassy fully functional again, could become useful for future talks,” she said.
Alex Croft19 February 2025 14:32
In pictures: Children’s clinic in southern Ukraine hit by Russian drones
Russian drone strikes have damaged a children’s clinic in Odesa, southwestern Ukraine.
At least four people were injured, including a child, as a result of an overnight Russian drone attack, the head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, Oleh Kiper, wrote on Telegram.
Civilian infrastructure objects, including a children’s clinic, a kindergarten, windows in high-rise buildings and cars, were damaged in the attack.
Tom Watling19 February 2025 14:00
Comment: The truth is, Trump isn’t as good at negotiating as he thinks he is
In his 1987 book The Art of the Deal, Donald Trump gave his readers some excellent advice: “The worst thing you can possibly do in a deal is seem desperate to make it. That makes the other guy smell blood, and then you’re dead. The best thing you can do is deal from strength, and leverage is the biggest strength you can have. Leverage is having something the other guy wants. Or better yet, needs. Or best of all, simply can’t do without.”
It is a deep, deep shame, then, that the president is incapable of following his own advice – especially when it comes to his negotiations with Vladimir Putin over the future of Ukraine. In fact, in this case, he has done worse than that – he has done the exact opposite of what he himself advises, and handed over any leverage he might have had before the talks have even started.
Suggesting that Ukraine started the war, declaring that no US troops would be stationed there in any peace-keeping deal, and worse still, speculating that Ukraine “may be Russian some day”, he has left Putin in a position of immense strength.
Alex Croft19 February 2025 13:25
Mapped: Where are Ukraine’s rare earth mineral resources and why does Trump want them?
The US president announced last week that the war-torn country was on board with his plan, potentially worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
“We’re telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths,” Mr Trump said. “I told them that I want the equivalent of like $500 billion worth of rare earths, and they’ve essentially agreed to do that.”
Alex Croft19 February 2025 13:10
France does not understand Trump’s logic – spokeswoman
The French government has responded to Donald Trump’s comments that suggested Ukraine was to blame for Russia’s invasion and the resulting war.
France does not understand the logic of Mr Trump’s comments, spokeswoman Sophie Primas said on Wednesday.
Alex Croft19 February 2025 12:56
Read More: Ukraine war latest: Putin says he is ready to negotiate after Zelensky issues warning
