Trump-Putin talks spark hope among some Ukrainians
While US President Donald Trump has expressed optimism about reaching an agreement with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been less hopeful about Moscow’s willingness to work towards a just peace.
But as FRANCE 24’s Kyiv correspondent Gulliver Cragg explains, some Ukrainians see these talks between Washington and Moscow as a ray of hope after three years of gruelling war.
Russian finance ministry plans to revive mass privatisation drive to boost revenues
Russia intends to revive plans for major privatisations in 2025 and also expects to bring in more than $1.2 billion by selling assets seized through the courts, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Tuesday.
Shunned by Western capital since launching the conflict in Ukraine, Moscow has been seeking ways to foster more domestic private investment, increase economic efficiency and, ultimately, bolster budget revenues as Russia spends heavily on the war.
“We have had proposals for big privatisation,” Siluanov said at a meeting with Rosimushchestvo, Russia’s federal property management agency. “In our view, now is the time when we can put this issue on the agenda once again.”
In late 2023, Siluanov proposed resurrecting an earlier stalled privatisation drive, submitting to the government a list of 30 large state-owned companies and proposing to sell shares in them without losing a controlling stake, as part of an effort to reduce pressure on the domestic borrowing market.
“In 2025, the receipt of revenues from the sale of such property is envisaged at no less than 100 billion roubles ($1.23 billion),” Siluanov said.
Polish, Baltic nations urge withdrawal from landmines treaty
The defence ministers of Poland and the three Baltic nations on Tuesday said that they recommended quitting the Ottawa treaty banning anti-personnel mines, amid growing concerns about security since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Military threats to NATO Member States bordering Russia and Belarus have significantly increased,” the ministers said in a statement. “In the current security environment it is paramount to provide our defence forces flexibility and freedom of choice to potentially use new weapons systems and solutions to bolster the defence of the Alliance’s vulnerable Eastern flank.”
Both Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly deployed anti-personnel mines during the war in Ukraine. The US was heavily criticised by humanitarian groups in 2024 for its decision to supply anti-personnel mines to Ukraine, despite Kyiv being a signatory to the Ottawa treaty.
Russian drone attack cuts power in central Ukraine
Thousands of people in central Ukraine were left without electricity on Tuesday following a countrywide Russian attack involving more than 130 drones that damaged critical infrastructure.
Kyiv and Moscow have recently escalated cross-border drone and missile attacks despite a US-led proposal for a 30-day ceasefire to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, which the Kremlin claims as part of Russia, said around 3,000 people were cut off from the grid following the attack, which he said damaged critical infrastructure.
Putin and Trump to speak between 1pm and 3pm (GMT), says Kremlin
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump would hold a phone call between 1pm and 3pm (GMT).
There is a “certain understanding” with the US but there are also a large number of questions to discuss, and the two leaders will speak for as long as they consider necessary, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Ukraine can achieve just and lasting peace under Trump, foreign minister says
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Tuesday that Kyiv was not the obstacle for a peace deal with Russia and believes it can achieve just and lasting peace under the leadership of US President Donald Trump.
Ukraine was waiting for clarity to emerge on the peace process after the conversation between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, expected later on Tuesday, Sybiha said during an annual geopolitical conference in New Delhi.
“We are not the obstacle to achieving peace … we really expect from Russian side unconditional yes for ceasefire,” Sybiha said during a panel discussion.
Trump said he would speak to Putin on Tuesday morning about ending the Ukraine war, with territorial concessions by Kyiv and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant likely to feature prominently in the talks.
“Our approach: now is a time for diplomacy, for a strong diplomacy,” Sybiha said. “We also really believe that with leadership of President Trump we could achieve long-lasting, just peace.”
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