Ukraine war latest: Kyiv news conference with Zelensky and Trump’s Ukraine envoy cancelled at last minute – BBC.com
Donald Trump says France’s Emmanuel Macron and UK PM Keir Starmer “haven’t done anything” to end the war in Ukraine, ahead of visits from both leaders to the White House next weekSpeaking to Fox News, the US president also says Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has “no cards” in peace negotiations, adding: “I don’t think he’s very important to be in meetings”Meanwhile, UK cabinet minister Pat McFadden says Britain is in a “potentially good position” with Trump, as he urges colleagues to focus on “what will actually happen” as well as what’s saidEarlier, the US envoy to Ukraine struck a different tone to Trump, calling Zelensky a “courageous leader”The extent of Kellogg’s influence on US-Ukrainian relations is questionable, reports the BBC’s North America correspondent Anthony ZurcherThis video can not be playedWhat Trump and Zelensky have said about each other as rift deepensEdited by James Harness and Neha GohilThe team at Ukrainecast have been answering listeners’ questions on 5Live.The BBC’s Vitaly Shevchenko, Lyse Doucet and James Waterhouse answer why Europe even needs the US’s backing to take on Russia.Waterhouse says that whilst Ukraine have put up a level of resistance few predicted, Russia has adapted its tactics and increased defence spending. He shares that Russia are now investing more than 6% of its GDP on military spending – its highest since the collapse of the Soviet Union.Shevchenko adds that whilst Europe and the US’s financial support to Ukraine is fairly similar, if the US were to stop providing military aid – would Europe really be prepared to cover the sudden shortfall? Doucet rounds things off by pointing out that the US has advanced technology that Europe has not invested in. That means only an American deterrence will work for Russia’s Vladimir Putin.US President Donald Trump has been speaking on a Fox Radio podcast this afternoon. Here’s what he had to say to host, Brian Kilmeade, on the Russia-Ukraine war:By Anthony Reuben, BBC VerifyLiberal Democrat leader Ed Davey is calling for UK defence
spending to rise to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) – the total economic
activity of a country – “in the next two or three years” and towards 3% after
that.When asked how much that would cost in cash terms, he told
BBC Breakfast: “to 3% it is well over £20bn. To get to 2.5%… it would be
about £4.5 nearly £5bn.”The UK is expected to have spent 2.3% of GDP on defence in
2024 – about £65bn – according to Nato estimates, external.UK GDP was just over £2.8 trillion last year, external,
so an extra 0.2% of that would cost £6bn per year – more than the £4.5bn to
£5bn Davey suggested.To reach 3% of GDP, spending would indeed be about £20bn
more per year.Yesterday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves told ITV News “we will
have to make difficult choices so that we can spend that money that is needed
to keep our country safe”, while the prime minister said earlier in the
week that Nato members need to “step up on both capability and on spending and
funding”.You can read more about how much Nato members spend on defence in this article.UK Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden has stressed the importance of maintaining a “good and constructive” relationship with the US ahead of the prime minister’s meeting with Donald Trump next week.Speaking at an event at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow, McFadden said the UK was “potentially in a good position” with Trump “if we handle it correctly”.”Handling it correctly doesn’t mean following every twist and turn of every comment, but is focusing on what will actually happen as well as what was said,” he said.French President Emmanuel Macron was also invited to the White House next week, and will meet Trump on Monday before Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s meeting on Thursday, while Polish president Andrzej Duda is due to meet with the US president on Saturday.We can now bring you some more comments from President Trump’s interview on Fox News. Trump speaks about Ukraine’s President Zelensky and says: “I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards and you get sick of it…I’ve had it,” he says. The US president says Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s trip to Ukraine for a minerals deal was a “wasted trip, a dangerous trip too, I didn’t like it,” he says, before comparing Ukraine to Gaza. The host, Brian Kilmeade from Fox News, challenges Trump when he addresses the devastation in Ukraine and says “that’s Vladimir Putin’s fault, don’t you agree?”Trump says Zelensky complains about not being at meetings and adds, the Ukrainian president has been at meetings for three years “and nothing got done so I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings”.”He’s been there for three years…look what’s happened to his country, it’s been demolished,” he says.US President Donald Trump has said that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have not done anything to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.Speaking on a Fox News podcast, Trump was asked about his upcoming meetings with Starmer and Macron and interrupted the host saying, “They didn’t do anything…no meetings with Russia!””They haven’t done anything,” Trumps adds.”Macron’s a friend of mine”, he continued, adding that Starmer was “a very nice guy” but that neither of them have done anything on Russia.As we’ve reported, the White House says it is keen for Ukraine to sign a deal giving the US access to its rare earth minerals.On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected US demands for a share of its minerals – a “deal” Trump said would reflect the amount of aid the US had provided to Ukraine during its war with Russia.The minerals in question would include metals such as titanium, uranium and lithium. These materials are used in a variety of industries including medicine, aerospace, sports equipment and jewellery.On the deal, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said: “We presented the Ukrainians really an incredible, and a historic opportunity,” adding that it was “the best” security guarantee Ukraine could hope for.The US is among countries looking to reduce their dependency on China and so tap into other mineral reserves. Overall, Ukraine ranks among the top five globally in terms of assessed value of natural resources.Ukraine has deposits of 117 of the 120 most widely used minerals and metals in the world – with up to 50% of all Ukraine’s rare earth supplies in the eastern part of the country.Zelensky has refused the offer, saying: “I can’t sell our state.” US president Donald Trump has said that he does not think it is “important” that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky be present at peace talks with Russia. Speaking on Fox News, Trump said of Zelensky, “I don’t think he’s very important to be in meetings”.The US president added, “He makes it very hard to make deals.” Washington is keen for Zelensky to sign a deal giving the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, with White House adviser Mike Waltz insisting the Ukrainian president will sign a deal “in the very short term”.Reports in US media suggest some progress has been made on the deal, but as things stand Zelensky has so far rejected it. His refusal has centred on two things. He wants an agreement to include a specific security guarantee from the US. So far, he says, US proposals have not provided this.He also says Washington is asking for too much. Zelensky said he had rejected a deal that would have given the US $500bn in Ukraine’s rare earths in exchange for its wartime aid so far. But US support throughout the war has not amounted to this, he said. “You can’t call this 500 billion and ask us to return 500 billion in minerals or something else. This is not a serious conversation,” he said on Wednesday. “I defend Ukraine,” he added. “I can’t sell our country.”The American and Ukrainian representatives met on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference last weekendUS Vice President JD Vance has backed Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has accused Volodymyr Zelensky of backtracking about how the minerals deal was discussed last week.In an interview with American journalist Catherine Herridge, Rubio says that Zelensky agreed in principle to the deal that would see the US take a share of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in payment for previous and ongoing aid.”[Zelensky] said: “Sure, we want to do this deal, it makes all the sense in the world, the only thing is I need to run it through my legislative process – they have to approve it,” Rubio says.”I read two days later that Zelensky is out there saying: “I rejected the deal, I told them no way, we’re not doing that”, but that’s not what happened in that meeting. So, you start to get upset,” he says.Vance reposted a clip of the interview, external on his X account, saying “What Secretary Rubio is saying here is exactly right.”Zelensky has argued the deal is “not a serious conversation” as it did not include adequate security provisions for Ukraine and refused to “sell” his country.Special envoy Keith Kellogg was also present at the meeting in Munich, but has not commented on the contents.Anthony ZurcherNorth America correspondentUS Special Envoy Keith Kellogg met Ukraine’s President Zelensky in KyivFor two days, Donald Trump has been bashing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, labelling him an unelected “dictator” and accusing him of massive corruption.On Friday, Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, struck a decidedly different tone, calling the Ukrainian president an “embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war”.Zelensky said that his meeting with the retired general “restores hope” after a few days where it appeared US-Ukrainian relations were in danger of a dramatic rupture.It may be too early for the Ukrainians to breath a full sigh of relief, however. Despite being picked by Trump, the extent of Kellogg’s influence within the administration is questionable. He was not present in Riyadh earlier this week for US Secretary of State’s Marco Rubio’s meeting with Russians – billed as a first step toward bilateral talks to end the war in Ukraine. And four weeks into his presidency, Trump has shown that the only reliable voice for America’s foreign policy is his own.Mike Waltz goes on to defend President Trump, saying he’s been talking to European allies, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who is expected to visit the US along with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer next week. “We are engaging all of our European allies, absolutely. The Nato secretary general and I just spoke,” he says. “You establish peace through strength.”He adds that the US has been demanding that the Europeans “step up” and “contribute to their own defence”. The White
House national security adviser has now concluded his Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) interview.Waltz is asked about a deal that would grant the US access to Ukraine’s rare minerals, which Zelensky has so far rejected. “President Zelensky is going to sign that deal,” says Waltz. “And you will see that in the very short term.”He adds that this will be good for Ukraine, and it would “recoup the hundreds of billions of dollars that have been invested in this war” for the US taxpayer.We can now bring you an update from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where White House Security Adviser Mike Waltz is being interviewed on stage.Waltz is asked how negotiations to end the Ukraine war are going between Trump and Putin. He says he listened in on Trump’s phone calls with Putin and Zelensky last week, and says he heard both leaders say “only Trump” could end the war.”Under Trump, this war will end and it will end soon,” he says. He calls Trump the “president of peace”. This video can not be playedWatch: Only Trump can end the war, says White House adviserWe are seeing some reports that there may be developments in the proposed mineral deal between Ukraine and the US.The initial deal, put forward by Donald Trump, suggested that Ukraine would supply the US with rare earth minerals as compensation for the aid the US has provided to Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022, and ongoing war-time financial support.Bloomberg reports that the original proposal suggested the US would take 50% of license sales and other proceeds from the minerals, which would violate Ukrainian laws. Now, it reports via a source in Kyiv, the Ukrainian side has put forward changes to the offer that would benefit both sides.The AFP news agency similarly reports via an unnamed “senior Ukrainian official” that talks on the minerals deal are progressing. “There is a constant exchange of drafts, we sent another one yesterday,” it reports the Kyiv source as saying, adding that Ukraine was now waiting for a US response.A short while ago, we finished answering your questions with some of our correspondents here, but the crew over at Ukrainecast are going to be delving
into the topic more on 5Live in the next few minutes.Tune in to BBC Sounds to hear Vitaly Shevchenko, Lyse Doucet and
James Waterhouse, who will be chatting to Ukrainecast listeners – or, you can follow along by pressing watch live above from 15:05 GMT.Adam EastonWarsaw CorrespondentPolish President Andrzej Duda has advised Ukraine’s President Zelensky to continue co-operating with President Donald Trump.”A few minutes ago, President Zelensky called me. We had a candid conversation on the heels of the recent meetings with General Kellogg and other developments,” President Duda wrote on X.”I conveyed to him that we consistently believe there is no other way to stop the bloodshed and achieve lasting peace in Ukraine except with the support of the United States. “For this reason, I suggested to President Zelensky to remain committed to the course of calm and constructive co-operation with President Donald Trump. “I trust that goodwill and honesty form the foundation of the US negotiation strategy. Have no doubt that President Trump is guided by a deep sense of responsibility for global stability and peace,” he added. Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg says he has held “extensive and positive” discussions with Volodymyr Zelensky.”A long and intense day with the senior leadership of Ukraine. Extensive and positive discussions with Zelensky, the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war and his talented national security team,” he writes on social media.These are the first remarks from Kellogg about meeting Zelensky since the media – including the BBC – gathered for a news conference from the pair yesterday, only for it to be cancelled at the last minute and camera crews ushered out.Let’s bring you an update from the frontline.Russia’s defence ministry said a short while ago that its forces have captured the villages
of Nadiyivka and Novosilka, both in the southern
part of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, according to state-owned Tass news
agency. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s armed forces said Russia “made three
attempts to advance near Novosilka” in a post on Telegram, but doesn’t mention if those attempts were successful. The post also says Nadiyivka is among the locations where “enemy troops have been most active”.This comes after Ukraine’s military said it responded to an overnight attack of 160 Russian drones, which we reported on earlier. Our correspondents have just finished answering your questions about the war in Ukraine following a turbulent week in US-Europe relations, shedding light on what has transpired and what to expect going forward. Here’s a recap of the questions you sent in: Next up, our colleagues over at BBC 5 Live will also be answering questions from readers at 15:00 GMT, which you can follow live at the top of this page.Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
