Trump not betraying Ukraine by seeking peace deal with Putin, US defence secretary says – live updates – BBC.com
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he has warned world leaders “against trusting Putin’s claims of readiness to end the war”This comes after the Kremlin confirmed Ukraine will “of course” take part in any peace deal negotiationsDonald Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin on Wednesday before announcing they agreed talks to end the Ukraine war could start “immediately”After a Nato meeting in Brussels, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said peace negotiations will involve elements neither Moscow nor Kyiv wants while Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said Putin must not be able to “grab another square mile” of Ukraine Earlier, Trump said there was now a “good possibility” of ending the warRussia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, eight years after it unilaterally annexed CrimeaEdited by Sam HancockHollie ColeLive reporterSince US President Donald Trump announced that he’d spoken by phone to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, about the need for talks to end the Ukraine war, tensions have continued to mount.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that his country would “not be able to accept any agreements” made without its involvement – and hours later the Kremlin said Ukraine would “of course” be invited to take part in any peace negotiations.Trump – who also spoke to Zelensky by phone – has since said similar, while also insisting he knows Putin “very well” and trusts him when he says he wants peace.Zelensky, on the other hand, used today to issue world leaders a warning “against trusting Putin’s claims of readiness to end the war”.On a day peppered with news conferences, we were told a variety of other things, too. Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said world leaders “have to make sure Putin will not try to grab another square mile, kilometre of Ukraine”; US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Ukraine’s borders would not return to where they were before Russia’s unilateral annexation of Crimea in 2014; and, speaking from the White House, Trump said he would “love” to have Russia back in the G7.We’re going to leave our live updates there for today, but we’ll be back if there are any major developments. For now, there’s plenty to read across the BBC News website:More now from President Trump who has told reporters at the White
House that he trusts President Putin when he says wants peace. “I know him very well,” Trump said earlier. “I think he
would tell me if he didn’t.”He went on to say that he thinks the war in Ukraine – which has
been going for almost three years now – should never have started. In a post on X earlier, external, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned world leaders against “trusting Putin’s claims of readiness to end the war.”Gabriela PomeroyLive reporterI’ve been talking to Ukrainian Valerii Pekar to gauge his
country’s reaction after US President Donald Trump said yesterday that he’d
spoken to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and they’d agreed talks to end the war
in Ukraine should start right away.Pekar, a professor who teaches at two schools in Kyiv, says he
knows hundreds of people who fought in the war and dozens of families who’ve
lost a loved one.Ukrainians “feel cold anger” at Trump’s plans, says
Pekar, who has lived in Ukraine throughout the war.”People in Ukraine know that trying to appease evil leads
to disaster. We have no choice; we want to survive, and we are sad that someone
in the West does not understand this.”He also says that if Trump makes concessions to Putin, it will
be a “strategic mistake” and show “America’s weakness”. This war is for Ukraine’s
“right to exist”, Pekar says, adding: “Surrender is not an
option”.Speaking to reporters in the
White House earlier, Trump said Ukraine would have a seat at the table during
any negotiations on ending the war, echoing the same assurance from the Kremlin. We’ve just been hearing the latest remarks from US President Donald Trump, who says it was “a mistake” for Russia to be “thrown out” of the G7 group after Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014.Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump says he “would love” for Russia to re-join the group. Trump also says Ukraine would be involved in talks to end the three-year war following Russia’s full-scale invasion, echoing comments made by the Kremlin earlier today. Jonathan BealeDefence correspondentUS Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said he came to Brussels with a message from President Donald Trump – he wants to “make Nato great again”.Hegseth said that meant Europe taking responsibility for its own security and that member states should be spending 5% of their GDP on defence. But that’s a figure not even the US meets. It was his message on ending the war in Ukraine that has rocked Nato, though, and Trump’s direct talks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. It’s left Nato and Ukraine side-lined, with the US unilaterally declaring that Ukraine will not become a member of the Alliance nor regain all its lost territories. And he left no doubt that Trump was in charge, declaring the US president was leading negotiations. Trump – not Nato – is now driving these talks. And it’s still not clear what concessions, if any, he’ll be demanding from Putin.The team at Ukrainecast have been hearing from Ukrainians following Donald Trump’s announcement that he’ll meet Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to try and end the war.Iryna, a young mother, says she feels “disappointed, devastated and angry” at the news, while Andrew, a 27 year old from Kyiv, says he expects the war “will reignite in a couple of years with the deal that Trump is proposing.”They’ve been speaking to the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko – which you can hear via BBC Sounds. Vitaliy ShevchenkoBBC Monitoring’s Russia editorRussian commentators are overjoyed by Washington’s shift of policy on Ukraine – they literally cannot believe their luck.”That’s the best thing about politics: sometimes it exceeds your wildest expectations,” MP Oleg Morozov says on state-run Rossiya TV. Referring to the telephone conversation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, he said: “I can’t recall another day in recent history that has changed our moods so much.”Morozov had much scorn reserved for those who disagree with Trump. He singled out German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who had accused the US administration of making concessions to the Kremlin. “Who are you?” Morozov asked. “You are now a political dwarf. We listened to you yesterday, but now we do not understand why we should listen to you.”Also on Rossiya 1, a corresponded suggested Ukraine was now at Russia’s mercy: “What are the security guarantees for Ukraine? Well, there are not security guarantees for Ukraine.”There is also derision of Putin’s nemesis, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who state TV Channel One claims is “on his knees”.And Russia’s most-read tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda had this as its headline: “Trump has signed a death sentence for Zelensky.”There’s been a flurry of updates on potential negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. If you’re just joining us, or need a recap, here’s what has been happening over the last few hours:As we’ve been reporting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a statement on X where he says Nato membership for Ukraine would be “the most cost-effective for partners”.These comments come after US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth ruled out Ukraine’s induction into the alliance.He said: “The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.”Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte also addressed this after a meeting of defence chiefs in Brussels and said, while the alliance was committed to giving Ukraine membership, it was never agreed that it would be a term of peace talks with Russia.Vitaliy ShevchenkoBBC Monitoring’s Russia editorEarlier we heard from the Ukrainian government’s Centre for Combating Disinformation who said previous claims against Tulsi Gabbard, who was confirmed as director of national intelligence yesterday, are untrue.In particular, in April 2022 the centre said Tulsi Gabbard “had for years been paid by the Kremlin to speak to foreign audiences”.In a statement, external, it said the allegations were published “without information being appropriately checked”. At a Senate hearing earlier this year, Gabbard rejected claims that she was “Putin’s puppet” adding: “The fact is, what truly unsettles my political opponents is I refuse to be their puppet.”We’ve just brought you part of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement on X, external warning world leaders about the “readiness” of Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war.Here’s the statement in full:”I spoke with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. We discussed the conditions needed for a lasting and real peace in Ukraine and agreed that no negotiations with Putin can begin without a united position from Ukraine, Europe, and the U.S.”I informed the Prime Minister about my conversation with President Trump, and we discussed key messages and the need to coordinate the positions of all Europeans to achieve successful outcomes for the whole of Europe. “I emphasized that Ukraine must negotiate from a position of strength, with strong and reliable security guarantees, and that NATO membership would be the most cost-effective for partners. Another key guarantee is serious investment in Ukraine’s defence industry. “I also warned world leaders against trusting Putin’s claims of readiness to end the war.”We’ve just seen a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who says he has “warned world leaders against trusting Putin’s claims of readiness to end the war”.In a statement on X, Zelensky says he spoke with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and emphasised the need for Ukraine to “negotiate from a position of strength, with strong and reliable security guarantees”. He adds: “Nato membership would be the most cost-effective for partners. Another key guarantee is serious investment in Ukraine’s defence industry”.Nato – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – was formed in Washington DC in 1949 by 12 countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the UK and the US.Nato was set up in 1949, primarily to block the Soviet Union’s expansion into Europe, with an attack on one member seen as an attack on all. In 1991, the Soviet Union split into 15 separate countries, some of which have since joined Nato – so why isn’t Ukraine a member?Russia has constantly opposed Ukraine joining as it says this would bring the alliance too close to its borders. This has made members cautious of Russian aggression. In 2023, then US President Joe Biden reminded the organisation in 2023 that “if the war is going on, then we’re all in war. We’re at war with Russia.” Some members also worry promising to admit Ukraine into Nato once a ceasefire has been achieved would only prolong the war, as it’s an outcome Vladimir Putin does not want to see happen. US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth called on Nato members to increase their contributionsWe’ve just heard from Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth in two back-to-back press conferences.Here’s a break down of what they said:Stick with us as we bring you more developments.For the final question at the news conference in Brussels, Hegseth is asked about the relationship between the US and China under the Trump administration. The defence secretary says he wants to build the most “lethal” military possible to defend the US from threats like Chinese aggression, but stresses Trump doesn’t “seek conflict”. Stay with us and we’ll bring you a recap of the key developments from the two news conferences in Brussels shortly. Hegseth is now answering a question on the US’s position that Nato should raise its defence investment to 5%, and if that includes the US or just European allies. The US currently invest 3.4% into defence, according to Nato.”Nobody can or should contest the extent of America’s willingness to invest in national security”, he says, adding that 3.4% is a “very robust” investment that is larger than most Nato allies.He tells journalists that the US has its own budgetary considerations to make, and says that while the US will continue to invest, he does not think Nato allies’ “unwillingness” to invest more can be dismissed. The US cannot be a “permanent guarantor… Europe has to spend more”, he adds.Hegseth is now being asked whether he can guarantee that a deal will not be forced on Ukraine and that Europe would be involved in negotiations. He is also questioned on whether weapons shipments to Ukraine will continue during negotiations.The US secretary of defence says President Donald Trump called both Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this week.”Any negotiation that’s had will be had with both,” Hegseth says.He adds that Nato and its European members will play a role in the “need for peace”, saying that negotiations “affect a lot of people”.Hegseth says “future funding” could be on the negotiation table.Pete Hegseth is asked if he will invoke Article 5, which is the Nato principle that decides an attack on one member state is an attack on all. He says he will not speak on behalf of President Trump, nor will he share any decisions or concessions he may make. The Defence secretary adds the negotiated peace will need to contain some elements neither side wants, but borders are not going to be rolled back to where they were in 2014. This was when Russia’s unilateral annexation of Crimea took place. Hegseth has just been asked what concessions Trump will need Russian President Putin to make in order to secure a peace deal. He says Putin “responds to strength” and claims there was no Russian aggression from 2016 to 2020 – Trump’s first term. He goes on to describe Trump as “the perfect deal maker”.Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
