Mike Waltz, national security adviser to the White House, says Ukraine should “tone down” its criticism of the US and agree to a minerals deal that President Trump is pushing.
A scheduled news conference between US envoy Keith Kellogg and President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv has been canceled; the two are currently in talks.
The US president referred to Zelensky as a “dictator” yesterday and claimed that Russia has “the cards” in peace talks since it has “taken a lot of territory.”
Earlier, Zelensky charged that the US president was “living in a disinformation space” that Russia had constructed.
While UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had stated that he was “ready” to send troops to Ukraine as part of any peace agreement, the Kremlin has reiterated that it would be “unacceptable” for NATO nations to do so.Kremlin: UK plans to send troops to Ukraine unacceptable
Any British plan to send troops to Ukraine as part of a potential peacekeeping mission would be unacceptable for Russia, the Kremlin has said this morning.
After Sir Keir Starmer said British troops could be deployed to Ukraine as part of a peace deal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the proposal is unacceptable.
He said it would not work for Russia because it would involve forces from a NATO member and therefore have ramifications for Russia’s own security.
“The idea of deploying troops from NATO countries to Ukraine is unacceptable for Russia,” Peskov said.
Asked about Zelenskyy’s remarks and Donald Trump, Peskov told reporters that “the rhetoric of Zelenskyy and many representatives of the Kyiv regime leaves much to be desired”.
“The fact that Zelenskyy’s rating is falling is an absolutely obvious trend,” Peskov added, repeating an attack line used against Zelenskyy by Trump.
For context: Trump has said several times that Zelenskyy has low approval ratings in Ukraine, suggesting he had just 4% approval.
The Ukrainian president’s rating is actually around 50%, similar to Trump’s.
Responding to the claims, Zelenskyy said yesterday that Trump was trapped in a “disinformation bubble”.