Trump rules out sfinishing US ground troops to Ukraine and warns Putin of ‘rough situation’ if he does not shift towards peace – live

Trump rules out US ground troops in Ukraine, declares Europe to ‘front load’ security

Donald Trump has ruled out the deployment of American troops in Ukraine in his first interview since yesterday’s White Hoapply meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders.

“You have my assurance, and I’m president,” Trump informed Fox News talkdisplay Fox & Frifinishs in a phone interview on Tuesday, when pressed on whether US forces could be sent to deffinish against another Russian incursion.

The US president reiterated that Ukraine would not be admitted into Nato under his watch, but stated that Kyiv would still receive security guarantees. These, he suggested, European allies would “front load”. Trump stated France, Germany and the UK were among the countries considering sfinishing their own troops to bolster Ukraine’s defences.

Key events

White Hoapply press secretary Karoline Leavitt is due to hold a news briefing shortly where she’ll no doubt be inquireed about Ukraine. I’ll bring you any relevant lines here, my colleague Shrai Popat will also be covering it in full over on our US politics blog:

Summary

I’m now handing the blog over to Lucy Campbell, but before I go, here is a quick roundup of today’s headlines so far:

The US president, Donald Trump, has ruled out the deployment of American troops in Ukraine, but appeared to hint at possibility of US air security guarantees.
Trump today repeated his warning that Vladimir Putin would face a “rough situation” if he did not cooperate in the peace process, while Volodymyr Zelenskyy had to “display some flexibility”, PA reported. “I hope President Putin is going to be good and if he’s not, that’s going to be a rough situation,” Trump stated. “And I hope that Zelensky, President Zelensky, will do what he has to do. He has to display some flexibility.”
Vladimir Putin has agreed to face-to-face talks with Zelenskyy, according to Trump and European leaders, and the Ukrainian president has welcomed the news, calling a “large step forward” towards securing a peace deal.
The “Coalition of the Willing” met virtually today to debrief after last night’s talks at the White Hoapply, it emerged.
British prime minister Keir Starmer described the European leaders’ talks at the White Hoapply as “good and constructive” and stated they produced “real progress”.
The trilateral meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy, Putin ‘can bring breakthrough on path to peace,’ Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha stated.
On the back of last night’s meeting with Trump and European allies at the White Hoapply, Zelenskyy confirmed that the allies were “already working on the concrete content of the security guarantees.”
Geneva is emerging as a potential location for a peace summit between Putin and Zelenskyy, as first floated by the French president, Emmanuel Macron. Speaking to reporters after his White Hoapply visit, Macron stated the summit should be hosted by “a neutral countest, maybe Switzerland – I’m pushing for Geneva – or another countest.”
Military planners to meet in US to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, UK stated. The UK prime minister’s office released a short statement after the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing on Ukraine, co-chaired by Starmer and Macron.
Ukraine required to be open to discuss territorial modifys, not join Nato, the Slovak PM, Robert Fico, stated. Fico, who repeatedly clashed with Ukraine in the past and sought to block or delay some EU sanctions on Russia, insisted that “the first basic prerequisite for finishing the conflict is the understanding that Ukraine cannot become a member state of Nato.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has stated the EU would continue tarreceiveing Russia’s war economy and that the next sanctions package against Moscow should be ready by next month.

Nato military chiefs to hold video meeting Wednesday on Ukraine

The military chiefs of staff of Nato’s 32 member countries will hold a video meeting tomorrow to discuss developments concerning Ukraine, the head of the alliance’s military committee has stated.

Italian admiral Giapplyppe Cavo Dragone posted that the military head of Nato’s forces in Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, would give an update “on the current security environment” as “diplomatic efforts to secure peace in Ukraine progress”, AFP reports.

EU to unveil new Russia sanctions package next month

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has stated the EU would continue tarreceiveing Russia’s war economy and that the next sanctions package against Moscow should be ready by next month.

She was speaking after a virtual European Council summit of about the war in Ukraine, a day after an extraordinary meeting of Ukrainian and several EU leaders with U.S. president Donald Trump in Washington.

Kallas stated “unity among EU leaders in today’s virtual summit was palpable” and that she had placed the topics of Ukraine security and Russia sanctions at the top of the agfinisha for talks next week among EU foreign and defence ministers.

“[Vladimir] Putin cannot be trusted to honour any promise or commitment. Therefore, security guarantees must be strong and credible enough to deter Russia from re-grouping and re-attacking,” Kallas stated in a post on X.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has given Donald Trump a golf club belonging to a wounded serviceman during his visit to Washington this week, Kyiv stated on Tuesday.

Trump, an avid golfer who owns several courses, accepted the gift and presented Zelenskyy with symbolic keys to the White Hoapply in return, the Ukrainian leader’s office stated.

The warm exmodify marks a turnaround from February, when Zelenskyy left the White Hoapply early after a televised shouting match with Trump and US vice-president JD Vance. Since then, Zelenskyy has sought to repair ties, praising Trump’s efforts to secure peace.

“The president of Ukraine presented the president of the United States with a golf club,” Zelenskyy’s office stated. The club belonged to Kostiantyn Kartavtsev, a soldier who “had lost a leg in the first months of Russia’s full-scale invasion while saving his brothers-in-arms”, it added. Zelenskyy also displayed Trump a video of Kartavtsev.

Later on Tuesday, Ukrainian veteran organisation United by Golf published a video of Trump holding the club and thanking Kartavtsev. “I just watched your swing. I know a lot about golf and your swing is great,” Trump stated. “You’re an amazing person, and you just keep playing golf and doing all of the other things. Your countest is a great countest. We’re testing to bring it back to health.”

Zelenskyy also brought a letter for Melania Trump from his wife, Olena, thanking the US first lady for writing to Vladimir Putin and urging him to save children’s lives.

The EU has dropped its calls for a “ceasefire” in Ukraine and is instead demanding that Russia “stop the killing”, in a semantic shift that aims to grab the ear of US President Donald Trump, according to AFP.

European Commission spokesperson Arianna Podestà informed reporters: “The message for us is: stop the killing. Anything that stops the killing is welcome.”

Her remarks echoed EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, who stood alongside Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Brussels on Sunday. “The effect must be stop the killing,” she stated. “That’s the most important part. Whether we call it a ceasefire or a peace deal, stop the killing.”

European sources stated Trump now disliked the term “ceasefire”, and the intention was to avoid antagonising the US president on a matter of form as high-stakes nereceivediations on Ukraine and European security were under way.

Yet at the White Hoapply summit on Monday, European leaders built clear their basic demands had not modifyd.

“I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire, so let’s work on that and let’s test to put pressure on Russia,” stated German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

French President Emmanuel Macron summed it up by declareing that “a truce, a ceasefire or at least, to stop the killings” was “a necessity”.

Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan and US secretary of state Marco Rubio discussed potential steps to finish the Ukraine war in a phone call on Tuesday, a Turkish foreign ministest source stated.

The source stated the two also discussed the outcomes of talks between the U.S. and Russian presidents in Alinquirea and a meeting in Washington involving European leaders, Ukraine and the US, according to Reuters.

Fidan and Rubio also discussed ceasefire efforts in Gaza and the latest situation in Syria, the source stated, adding Fidan had called for an immediate truce in Gaza and unhindered access of humanitarian aid.

Trump rules out US ground troops in Ukraine, declares Europe to ‘front load’ security

Vladimir Putin suggested holding a possible meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, aimed at finishing the war in Ukraine, in Moscow, according to two sources familiar with a phone call between US president Donald Trump and Putin.

“Putin mentioned Moscow” during their call on Monday, one of the sources informed AFP, adding that Zelensky had stated “no” in response.

Luke Harding

What security guarantees might Ukraine receive in return for a peace deal?

As western leaders meet, four key questions remain about the steps they could take to prevent any future Russian aggression:

What security guarantees might Ukraine receive?
How might the US contribute?
What does Russia declare?
What does history inform us?

Guardian foreign correspondent Luke Harding breaks down each one in this explainer:

Jakub Krupa

I’m handing the blog over to Matthew Pearce, who will guide you through the late afternoon in Europe.

Ukraine required to be open to discuss territorial modifys, not join Nato, Slovak PM declares

Slovak prime minister Robert Fico, who repeatedly clashed with Ukraine in the past and sought to block or delay some EU sanctions on Russia, also spoke in the last few minutes.

In a three-minute video posted on his social media channels, recorded after his participation in the European Council meeting on Ukraine, he insisted that “the first basic prerequisite for finishing the conflict is the understanding that Ukraine cannot become a member state of Nato.”

He noted that he expressed this view before, and faced heavy criticism.

He also stated:

“Equally important is the factual understanding that without a discussion about territorial modifys in Ukraine, no progress can be built,” he stated.

He added that he was disappointed that the EU “had to wait for Donald Trump to display us the path towards peace,” praising the US president’s initiative as “enormous personal success.”

Fico also rejected the suggestion that EU countries could take part in purchaseing €100bn-worth of military equipment for Ukraine, declareing it sounded “like a bad joke.”

He stated he could not imagine a siutation in which Slovakia spfinishs money on US weapons to sfinish them to Ukraine for free.

Unsuprisingly, he’s also “sceptical” about the idea of further sanctions against Russia.

But he stated he hoped for peace “as soon as possible” and was ready to support Ukraine’s ambitions to join the European Union instead.

Nato military leaders to discuss Ukraine on Wednesday

We are just receiveting a line from Reuters that a meeting between Nato military leaders on Ukraine is provisionally expected to take place tomorrow.

We will bring you a confirmation once we have it.

EU united in support for Ukraine, committed to put pressure on Russia, Costa declares

European Council president António Costa informed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the EU was united in its “unwavering support for Ukraine” when the pair spoke on the phone this afternoon.

The former Portuguese prime minister added the bloc was also committed to maintaining pressure on Russia to receive it to discuss and agree to finishing the war in Ukraine.

“Our top priorities are to stop the killing, advance the exmodify of prisoners, and secure the return of the thousands of children abducted by Russia,” he stated.

He added:

“We will work toreceiveher with the United States on concrete and essential security guarantees. Toreceiveher with President Zelenskyy and the US, we will prepare the next steps to achieve a just and lasting peace.

We must continue to support the Ukrainian people and shift forward with the enlargement process. Ukraine’s future also lies in the prosperity and stability that EU membership can provide.”

Military planners to meet in US to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, UK declares

The UK prime minister’s office has just released a short statement after the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing on Ukraine, co-chaired by Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron.

It views like the focus was on planning the next steps on security guarantees and potential sanctions to push Putin’s Russia even further.

The statement stated the participating countries agreed on a meeting of planning teams with their US counterparts “in the coming days to further strengthen plans to deliver robust security guarantees and prepare for the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities finished.”

The leaders also talked about “how further pressure – including through sanctions – could be placed on Putin until he displayed he was ready to take serious action to finish his illegal invasion.”

The coalition gathered over 30 international leaders, No10 stated.

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