French President Emmanuel Macron with Donald Trump in the White House, February 24, 2025 (Sky)

EA on RTE: Macron, Europe, and Ukraine Face Trump in Washington

EA-Times Radio VideoCast: Trump Ditches Ukraine — Can Europe Step Up?

Monday’s Coverage: 3rd Anniversary of Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1928 GMT:

Ukraine has reached an agreement with the US over Donald Trump’s demand for minerals.

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister, told the Financial Times of the completed negotiations. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office confirmed the information to the Kyiv Independent.

Zelensky is expected to head to Washington for a signing ceremony in the coming weeks.

Ukrainian officials said they secured more favorable terms than the initial demands of the Trump camp, framing the deal as a way to strengthen ties with the US.

“The minerals agreement is only part of the picture. We have heard multiple times from the US administration that it’s part of a bigger picture,” said Stefanishyna.

Significantly, US officials dropped Trump’s insistence on a right to $500 billion in potential revenue.

The agreement establishes a fund to which Ukraine will contribute 50% of proceeds from the “future monetization” of State-owned mineral resources, including oil, gas, and related logistics. The fund will then invest in projects within Ukraine.

The deal excludes resources that already contribute to Ukraine’s state budget, such as operations by Naftogaz and Ukrnafta, the country’s largest oil and gas producers.

However, the agreement does not include security guarantees from the US, which Kyiv had said were essential. It also leaves the size of the US stake in the fund and the terms of “joint ownership” to be confirmed in follow-up agreements.

A Ukrainian official said of Zelensky’s trip to Washington, “This will be a chance for the president to discuss what the bigger picture is. And then after it, we will be able to think of the next steps.”

UPDATE 1923 GMT:

One civilian has been killed and 16 injured, including four children, by a Russian attack on a residential area of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

The assault around 2:20 p.m. damaged at least 17 houses. Rescue operations are ongoing.

Kramatorsk is about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) west of the frontline.

UPDATE 1918 GMT:

Poland is preparing its 46th military aid package for Ukraine, worth €200 million ($210 million), says Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Feb. 25, according to the Polish media outlet Interia.

“This is the forty-sixth contribution, and we will continue to help,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said.

He did not specify the weapons and equipment but said, “We will train the Ukrainian military. Out of 80-90,000 soldiers trained by the EU countries, Poland has trained about a third — 28,000 soldiers.”

UPDATE 1511 GMT:

The European Commission has denied that the European Union offered a deal for Ukraine’s minerals.

Stéphane Séjourné, the European Commissioner for industrial strategy, reportedly said he presented the plan to Ukrainian officials during a visit to Kyiv with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (see 0615 GMT).

But Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said, “There is no proposal.” He noted that since 2021, the EU has had a partnership on critical raw materials with Ukraine, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding.

Regnier said that during his visit to Kyiv, Séjourné “reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to implement the Memorandum of Understanding”, but did not present any new proposals to Ukrainian counterparts.

“As with all the EU critical raw materials partnerships that we have, this cooperation is not only about securing supply chains for the EU but also about fostering local value creation and capacity building in partner countries, ensuring mutual benefits,” Regnier said.

UPDATE 1457 GMT:

The current cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine after the end of Russia’s invasion will be $524 billion over the next decade, according to a report released by the Ukranian Government, the World Bank Group, the European Commission, and the UN.

The figure is around 2.8 times the estimated GDP of Ukraine for 2024.

The report finds direct damage in Ukraine is $176 billion, up from $152 billion in February 2024.

About 13% of the total housing stock has been damaged or destroyed, affecting more than 2.5 million households. In the energy sector, the number of damaged or destroyed assets — including production, transmission, distribution, and district heating infrastructure — increased by 70%.

UPDATE 1426 GMT:

The Kremlin has pushed back Donald Trump’s claim that Vladimir Putin will accept European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine.

Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin had nothing to add to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s rejection of the troops.

Last week Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the deployment of NATO troops “under the flag of the European Union or under national flags” would be “unacceptable”.

Peskov welcomed the “much more balanced” Trump Administration stance on Ukraine with its rejection of a General Assembly resolution criticizing “Russian aggression” and upholding Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The US was one of 18 countries — including Russia, Belarus, Hungary, Israel, and North Korea — opposing the resolution, which passed with the support of 93 nations. The Administration also pushed through a UN Security Council resolution which did not challenge Moscow’s invasion (see Original Entry).

UPDATE 1018 GMT:

Two citizens have been killed and 36 injured Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

Air defenses downed 133 of 213 drones launched by Russia, and 79 were lost to electronic counter-measures.

Ukraine’s air force shot down six of seven missiles.

The fatalities were in the Donetsk region in the east.

In the Sumy region in the north, five people were injured following Russia’s slaying of two others on Monday.

In the Kherson region in the south, 14 people, including a child, were injured. Other casualties were recorded in the Kharkiv region in the northeast and the Kyiv region.

UPDATE 1007 GMT:

Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke by phone with Vladimir Putin on Monday, proclaiming that the relations between Beijing and Moscow has a “strong internal driving force and unique strategic value”.

Xi said, according to a Chinese readout, “Both history and reality tell us that China and Russia are destined to be good neighbors, and our two countries are true friends that share weal and woe, support each other and pursue common development.”

The Kremlin said Putin told Xi that their alliance “is a strategic choice made by Russia with a view to the long term”: “It is not an act of expediency, not affected by any temporary incidents, and not subject to interference by external factors.”

UPDATE 0948 GMT:

After suffering defeat in the UN General Assembly (see Original Entry), the US joined Russia to pass a Security Council resolution which did not mention Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on its third anniversary.

The US drafted the text which called for an end to the “conflict” and made no criticism of Moscow.

The resolution was passed 10-0 with five abstentions. The UK and France, each refraining from casting a veto, abstained after their attempts to amend the wording were blocked. They were joined by Denmark, Greece, and Slovenia.

UPDATE 0750 GMT:

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s verbal assault on the UN General Assembly, for daring to pass a resolution condemning “Russian aggression” in Ukraine, has been eagerly amplified by Russia’s State media:

Russia's RT on Marco Rubio bashing UN General Assembly resolution on Moscow's invasion of Ukraine

UPDATE 0644 GMT:

Two civilians have been killed and six injured by Russian aerial attacks on the Sumy region on Monday.

Casualties were reported in the town of Velyka Pysarivka, Myropil, and the regional capital of Sumy city.

Houses, residential blocks, and cars were damaged.

UPDATE 0615 GMT:

As the Trump Administration tries to obtain Ukraine’s rare earth minerals — and as Vladimir Putin has offered to discuss sending them to Donald Trump from Russian-occupied areas (see Original Entry) — the European Union has proposed its own agreement with Kyiv.

Stéphane Séjourné, the European Commissioner for industrial strategy, said he presented the plan to Ukrainian officials during a visit to Kyiv with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

21 of the 30 critical materials Europe needs can be provided by Ukraine in a win-win partnership.

The added value Europe offers is that we will never demand a deal that’s not mutually beneficial.

European Council President António Costa said, in an interview with Ukraine’s Suspilne, that the EU will never demand rare earth minerals in return for aid.

UPDATE 0605 GMT:

The EU is still devoting more money to purchases of Russian fossil fuels than to financial aid for Ukraine.

The EU bought €21.9 billion ($22.94 billion) of Russian oil and gas in the third year of Moscow’s invasion, estimates the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

The expenditure is 17% greater than the €18.7 billion ($19.59 billion) the EU allocated to Ukraine in financial aid in 2024.

UPDATE 0556 GMT:

Backing up statements of support at a Kyiv conference on Monday marking the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, European countries made a series of commitments of aid.

Nordic and Baltic countries promised the equipping and training of a “scalable brigade-sized unit” — 3,000 to 5,000 troops — and investment in Ukraine’s defense industry.

Norway is planning to use 3.5 billion Norwegian kroner ($315m) for purchases from the Ukrainian defense industry, and 600 million kroner ($54 million) to buy drones and develop drone technology. Denmark pledged €2 billion Danish kroner (US$280 million) in military aid to Ukraine, and Sweden announced 1.2 billion Swedish kronor ($113m) for air defenses.

Estonia is increasing aid by 25%, with $31.6 million for 10,000 mortar shells on top of $126.4 already committed. Latvia will deliver armored personnel carriers, drones, and other equipment.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: On a day of maneuvers and declarations, French President Emmanuel Macron warned Donald Trump against a “surrender” of Ukraine to Russia’s three-year invasion.

After their meeting in the White House, Macron played to Trump’s desire for a quick settlement by telling Fox TV that a ceasefire “could be done in the weeks to come”. He said he had spoken with European leaders, many of whom are ready to provide security guarantees.

But in their joint press conference, Macron — while saying he and Trump “made very substantive steps forward”, emphasized that Russia was the “aggressor” in Ukraine.

The statement came a few hours after the Trump Administration failed to block a UN General Assembly resolution which included a condemnation of “Russian aggression”.

The resolution, drafted by Ukraine and European countries, passed 93-18 with 65 abstentions. The US joined Russia, Belarus, and North Korea, Hungary, and Israel in voting No.

Amid its direct talks with Russia, excluding Ukraine and European partners, the Trump Administration put forward an alternative draft which did not refer to Ukraine’s sovereignty or territorial integrity.

Macron responded on Monday:

This peace must not mean a surrender of Ukraine. It must not mean a ceasefire without guarantees. This peace must allow for Ukrainian sovereignty and allow Ukraine to negotiate with other stakeholders.

I think it’s super important to go to the peace. But my strong point was to say, let’s try to get something first which can be assessed, checked and verified….We want peace swiftly but we don’t want an agreement that is weak.

The French President also pulled up Trump over the levels of European and US aid to Ukraine during the full-scale invasion.

Trump exaggerated the American support, minimized that of Europe, and lied, “Just so you understand, Europe is loaning the money to Ukraine. They’re getting their money back.”

Macron leaned over, touched Trump’s arm, and interjected: “No, in fact, to be frank, we paid. We paid 60% of the total effort. It was like the US: loans, guarantees, grants.”

Trump snapped, “If you believe that, it’s OK with me. They get their money back, and we don’t. But now we do.”

Trump’s Posturing

Contradicting the Kremlin’s public line, Trump proclaimed that Vladimir Putin will allow European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a ceasefire. Saying he raised the idea, Trump assured, “Yeah, he will accept it. I’ve asked him that question. He has no problem with it.”

He upheld the direct talks with the Kremlin:

Before I came here there was no communication with Russia whatsoever and Russia wasn’t answering calls. They were not talking to anybody and people accepted that.

But when I got here one of the first calls I made was to President Putin and we were treated with great respect and they want to end this war, so that’s a big thing.

I really believe that he wants to make a deal. I may be wrong, but he wants to make a deal.

Trump also maintained that an agreement for Ukraine to deliver rare earth minerals to the US is “very close”. He said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — whom he described as a “dictator” with only “4%” support last week — “may come in this week or next week to sign the agreement, which would be nice”.

He claimed that he had made more progress for a halt to the invasion in the past month than had been made in the previous three years. Then he tried to distance the Administration from any involvement after a settlement.

I believe that Emmanuel agrees with me on many of the most important issues. Europe must take a central role in ensuring the long-term security of Ukraine.

Having called Zelensky a dictator, Trump was asked if he would use the same label for Putin. He replied, “I don’t use the term lightly,” and evaded an answer.

In his own maneuver on Monday, Putin said he is not opposed to Europe’s involvement in talks. However, he tried to offset that with a hint of unnamed others in the process: “Not only European [countries] but other countries too have the right and can take part.”

He made his own bid for a deal with Trump on rare earth minerals, offering those in territory seized by Russia in Ukraine.