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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Vice President JD Vance are set to meet in Munich on Friday, days after US President Donald Trump announced he would hold bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. The announcement, which signals an end to three years of international isolation for Russia, stoked fears among NATO allies that they and Ukraine would not be consulted in peace talks. Follow our liveblog for all the latest news.
NATO tests deployment without US ahead of Ukraine war anniversary
NATO is testing its ability to rapidly deploy across eastern Europe — without direct US assistance — as Washington shifts its approach toward European defense and the war in Ukraine.
The six-week Steadfast Dart 2025 exercises across Bulgaria, Romania and Greece are taking place as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches the three-year mark. They involve some 10,000 troops from nine nations and represent the largest NATO operation planned this year.
The US absence from the exercises comes as European nations scramble to build greater military self-sufficiency over their concerns about the Trump administration’s commitment to common defense and demands for increased European military spending.
Macron says only Zelensky can negotiate on behalf of Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron said that only Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could negotiate on behalf of his country, warning that allowing “peace that is a capitulation” would be “bad news for everyone”, including the US, the Financial Times reported late Thursday.
“The only question at this stage is whether President Putin is genuinely, sustainably, and credibly willing to agree to a ceasefire on this basis. After that, it’s up to the Ukrainians to negotiate with Russia,” Macron said in an interview with the newspaper at the Élysée Palace.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Ukraine would be involved in peace talks with Russia, although Kyiv said it would be premature to speak with Moscow at the security conference in Munich that starts on Friday.
Zelensky, NATO say Ukraine must be involved in Russia peace deal
After US President Donald Trump blind sided Ukraine and NATO by announcing plans to hold direct talks with Russia over a peace deal in Ukraine, both NATO leader Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted on Thursday that any peace talks must include Ukraine.
“We cannot accept any agreement made without us,” said Zelensky.
The previous day, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to make concessions to Russia at a NATO meeting in Brussels, calling it “unrealistic” to return Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders.
Vance says US could impose economic, military sanctions on Russia
US Vice President JD Vance said the US could hit Moscow with sanctions and potential military action if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to a peace deal with Ukraine that guarantees Kyiv’s long-term independence, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
“There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage” the US could use against Putin, Vance said in an interview with the newspaper.
Zelensky, Vance to meet following talks between Trump, Putin
President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet US Vice President JD Vance in Germany on Friday with a warning against trusting Russia’s Vladimir Putin, as concerns mount in Kyiv and among its European allies that the Ukraine war will be settled over their heads.
The Munich Security Conference starts days after US President Donald Trump and Putin held watershed talks that have shaken Ukraine and America’s NATO allies almost three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Trump said he had agreed with Putin to soon start Ukraine peace talks and exchange friendly visits — a sea change after years in which the Russian president was internationally isolated.
As top Trump officials held a series of meetings in Europe on Thursday, Zelensky warned world leaders “against trusting Putin’s claims of readiness to end the war” and said he wanted the United States to agree a “plan to stop Putin” before any negotiations. Kyiv’s European backers fear Trump could force Ukraine into a bad peace deal that will leave them facing an emboldened Putin — while paying the lion’s share of costs for post-war security.
Welcome to our liveblog, where we post the latest news on the upcoming Munich Security Conference. For more coverage on the war in Ukraine, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
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