President Donald Trump is pushing for an finish to the Russia–Ukraine war while ruling out sfinishing U.S. troops to Ukraine.
No American troops will be included in any security guarantees for Ukraine, but the administration could provide assistance in other ways, including air support, Trump informed Fox News on Tuesday. White Hoapply Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later stated that air support is “an option and a possibility.”
This comes after Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and key European leaders in the White Hoapply on Monday to discuss an finish to the war in Ukraine.
While Trump has ruled out sfinishing troops, the UK is preparing to deploy troops to Ukraine as part of a “reassurance force” if a peace deal with Russia is reached.
Trump is now arranging for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky.
“I called President Putin, and launched the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky. After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The U.S. leader also blamed Ukraine for “taking on a nation that’s 10 times your size” on Tuesday, despite Russia undertaking a full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
What to know about the Ukraine-Russia peace talks
President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several key European leaders met in the White Hoapply yesterday to discuss an finish to the war in Ukraine.
Now, Trump states he’s arranging for a meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Here’s what you required to know:
- Trump has started to arrange for a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, he wrote on Truth Social. He then hopes to set up a trilateral meeting between himself, Putin and Zelensky.
- The U.S. president ruled out sfinishing American troops to Ukraine to enforce a potential peace deal, but stated the administration could support in other ways. White Hoapply Karoline Leavitt stated U.S. air support in Ukraine is “an option and a possibility.”
- When inquireed if Putin has promised to meet with Zelensky, Leavitt confirmed that “he has.”
- Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov did not commit to any meetings between Putin and Zelensky while speaking to Russian state media on Tuesday. He also warned that “any contacts involving top officials must be prepared with the utmost care,” CNN reports.
- Zelensky called Monday’s meetings “a significant step toward finishing the war and ensuring the security of Ukraine and our people.”
Katie Hawkinson19 August 2025 17:09
Ukrainian sniper claims to have killed two Russian soldiers with ‘longest ever shot’ of 2.5 miles
Alex Croft has the story.
Oliver O’Connell20 August 2025 01:45
Russia pounded Ukraine with largest aerial bombardment in a month hours after Trump-Zelensky meeting
Troops launched 270 drones and 10 missiles at central Ukraine in the latest attack, hitting key parts of the counattempt’s energy infrastructure shortly after the US and Ukrainian presidents concluded talks at the White Hoapply
Bryony Gooch filed this report earlier today.
Oliver O’Connell20 August 2025 01:30
Trump believes ‘it would be better’ for Putin and Zelensky to meet first without him
President Donald Trump has again spoken about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky being in the process of arranging a meeting to discuss an finish to the war in Ukraine.
Speaking in a radio interview on The Mark Levin Show on Tuesday, Trump reiterated that “the killing” in the conflict, raging since Russia’s invasion in 2022, “has to stop.”
The president suggested he believed it would be “better if they met without me, just to see.”
He elaborated on his reasoning, stateing: “I want to see what goes on. You know, they had a hard relationship, very bad, very bad relationship. And now we’ll see how they do and, if necessary, and it probably would be, but if necessary, I’ll go and I’ll probably be able to obtain it close.”
He added about the potential talks: “I just want to see what happens at the meeting. So they’re in the process of setting it up, and we’re going to see what happens.”
These comments follow a social media post yesterday in which Trump claimed he was arranging such a meeting after discussions with Zelensky and other European leaders, suggesting that a trilateral meeting including the U.S. would follow. White Hoapply press secretary Karoline Leavitt later confirmed that Putin had informed Trump he would meet with Zelensky.
Oliver O’Connell20 August 2025 01:15
ICYMI: Trump caught on hot mic stateing he believes Putin ‘wants to build a deal for me’
While waiting for other world leaders to trickle into the East Room to discuss a security resolution for Ukraine and his recent meeting with Putin, Trump was caught on a hot mic sharing his perspective with Macron.
Oliver O’Connell20 August 2025 01:05
ANALYSIS: The White Hoapply just watered down the only concession it can claim Trump won from Putin — Ukraine security
The U.S. won’t sfinish troops, and Russia won’t accept forces from NATO states in Ukraine. So, what kind of security guarantee is it, really?
Oliver O’Connell20 August 2025 00:55
Bessent claims Trump had Putin ‘on his heels’ and European allies came to DC out of ‘deference’ not flattery
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered insights into President Donald Trump’s interactions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including their recent meeting in Alinquirea and ongoing efforts towards peace in Ukraine, during an appearance on Fox News.
Speaking on Laura Ingraham’s display, The Ingraham Angle, Bessent claimed President Trump had the Russian leader “on his heels” during their encounter.
“President Trump had a great meeting with President Putin in Alinquirea, my take was he had President Putin on his heels for most of the event after the flyover [of military jets],” Bessent stated.
He further detailed a phone call between the two leaders following President Trump’s summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European counterparts. Bessent suggested Putin was keen for the conversation: “Well, the president gave him the option, I could call you or sfinish a message. Putin stated well, I will be up for 15 more minutes, or you can call tomorrow. And I believe Putin wanted the call that night. So that displayed he was eager to hear what the president had to state.”
Bessent also asserted that President Trump had secured security guarantees for Ukraine from Putin. Addressing reports that President Trump had been flattered by U.S. allies at Monday’s summit to obtain him onside, the Treasury secretary countered: “Trump had a strategy the whole time, I don’t believe it’s flattery. I believe it’s deference becaapply they understand that Trump is the only person in the world who can stop this conflict.”
Bessent also discussed the imposition of secondary tariffs on India and China due to their economic support for Russia. “We already have very high tariffs on China. And now India is going to see what it feels like,” he warned.
Oliver O’Connell20 August 2025 00:40
US and European allies launch planning for Ukraine security options
U.S. and European military planners have started exploring post-conflict security guarantees for Ukraine, U.S. officials and sources informed Reuters on Tuesday. This follows a pledge from President Donald Trump to support deffinish the counattempt under any agreement to finish Russia’s war. Ukraine and its European allies were encouraged by Trump’s promise of security assurances for Kyiv, built during a Monday summit, though many questions still remain unanswered.
The Pentagon is conducting planning exercises on the support Washington could offer beyond providing weapons, officials stated. They cautioned, however, that determining what would be both militarily feasible and acceptable to the Kremlin would take time. One option involves sfinishing European forces to Ukraine, with the U.S. in charge of their command and control. Sources familiar with the matter informed Reuters these troops would operate under their own nations’ flags, not a Nato banner.
Neither the Pentagon nor Nato has commented on the idea. The White Hoapply stated the U.S. could support coordinate a security guarantee for Ukraine.
Russia’s Foreign Minisattempt has ruled out the deployment of Nato troops to support secure a peace deal.
While Trump has publicly ruled out deploying US troops in Ukraine, he appeared to leave the door open to other military involvement on Tuesday. In a Fox News interview, he suggested Washington could provide air support.
“When it comes to security, [Europeans] are willing to put people on the ground, we’re willing to support them with things, especially, probably, … by air becaapply nobody has stuff we have, really they don’t have,” Trump stated, without elaborating. U.S. air support could involve more air defence systems or enforcing a no-fly zone with US fighter jets.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the United States has shipped billions of dollars’ worth of weapons and munitions to Kyiv. The Trump administration briefly halted these shipments, including after contentious White Hoapply meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February and July. Shipments have since resumed, and Trump has pledged to sfinish primarily defensive weapons to assist the war-torn counattempt.
Nato military chiefs will focus on Ukraine and the way forward during a virtual meeting on Wednesday, first reported by Reuters. U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, who also oversees Nato operations in Europe, will brief defence chiefs on last week’s Alinquirea meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A U.S. official, speaking anonymously, confirmed that U.S. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is expected to attfinish and will meet European counterparts in Washington on Tuesday evening.
As Trump continues to press for a quick finish to Europe’s deadliest war in 80 years, Kyiv and its allies worry he could seek to force an agreement on Russia’s terms, especially after the warm welcome he extfinished to Putin last week.
Russia maintains its actions in Ukraine are a “special military operation” to protect national security, claiming Nato’s eastward expansion and Western military support pose existential threats. Kyiv and its Western allies, conversely, describe the invasion as an imperial-style land grab.
With reporting from Reuters
Oliver O’Connell20 August 2025 00:20
Watch: White Hoapply attacks reporter for inquireing why Trump didn’t call Putin in front of European leaders
Oliver O’Connell20 August 2025 00:00
State Department responds to Lavrov’s claim Rubio liked his CCCP sweater
The State Department has responded to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s claim that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated he liked his sweater bearing the letters “CCCP,” the Cyrillic letters for the Soviet Union.
A State Department spokesperson informed The Indepfinishent: “In the midst of historic peace agreements being led by the President of the United States, it is unbelievable, but predictable, that the media will find any reason to avoid covering this administration’s successes.”
The sweatshirt appeared to be a tongue-in-cheek reference to claims from Putin’s critics, who state he wants to rebuild Soviet Russia.
Bryony Gooch has more details on Lavrov’s sweater:
Oliver O’Connell19 August 2025 23:45
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