L to R: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a Cabinet meeting, February 26, 2025, Washington D.C. (AP)

EA on Times Radio and BBC: Trump and Musk v. Ukraine and Europe

Wednesday’s Coverage: Kyiv’s Minerals Deal With Trump

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1753 GMT:

En route to the US, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has met with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Shannon International Airport in western Ireland.

Zelensky thanked Ireland, which has taken in almost 100,000 Ukrainian refugees since 2022, for its support.

Discussions included security guarantees, cooperation on Ukraine’s path to the European Union, and non-lethal security assistance.

UPDATE 1512 GMT:

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has knocked back Donald Trump’s insult that the EU “was formed in order to screw the United States”.

Trump made the remark on Wednesday as he threatened 25% tariff on import of EU products.

Tusk posted:

French Finance Minister Eric Lombard said the EU will respond if the Trump Administration implements the 25% tariffs:

It is clear that if the Americans maintain the tariff hikes, as President Trump announced, the EU will do the same.

Even if it is not in the general interest, we too must protect our interests and the interests of the countries of the Union.

UPDATE 1422 GMT:

The Council of Europe says it has already received 4,500 applications for legal cases on breaches of human rights.

A further 13,000 claims for damage and destruction to buildings in Ukraine have been recorded.

Bjørn Berge, the Council’s deputy secretary general, told a conference in Dublin that significant progress has been made to establish a tribunal for the crime of aggression. Legal experts from more than 40 countries are working with Ukrainian authorities, the European Commission and European External Action Service, and the Council of Europe to confirm an agreement.

UPDATE 1411 GMT:

Playing up to Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin has told State security officials that initial contacts with the Trump Administration, including two sets of direct talks, are grounds for hope.

He declared Russia and the US are ready to set up cooperation and show pragmatism.

In an apparent reference to this week’s visits by French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Washington, he said “some western elites will try to undermine our dialogue”.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier:

What we are seeing is that President Trump himself speaks and is ready to listen to others.

No one expects solutions to come easily and quickly. The problem at hand is too complex and neglected. But with the two countries’ political will, with a willingness to hear and listen to each other, I think we will be able to get through this working process.

UPDATE 1058 GMT:

Rep. Jasmine Crockett with a message for Donald Trump and Republicans members of Congress:

It is time for us to say: Mr. President, guess what? Russia invaded Ukraine. Can we at least agree on that one?

Is there anybody in here that has enough courage to say Russia invaded Ukraine?

UPDATE 0946 GMT:

The Trump Administration has again refused to join the international community in condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The US abstained from a statement signed by 45 members, including Ukraine, of the World Trade Organization.

The text emphasized members’ concerns surrounding the “consequences of destruction for Ukraine and for global trade”, naming Russia as the aggressor.

An American official acknowledged, “The decision not to co-sponsor was made in keeping with our position in the United Nations Security Council and UN General Assembly earlier this week.”

On Monday, the US — joined by Russia, Belarus, North Korea, and Hungary — voted against a General Assembly resolution condemning the invasion and reaffirming support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The measure passed 93-18.

Later that day, the US pushed through a resolution in the UN Security Council, by a 10-0 vote, about the “conflict” which did not cite Russia’s aggression. Five European countries, including the UK and France, abstained.

The US has also blocked a G7 statement criticizing Moscow.

UPDATE 0936 GMT:

At least eight civilians have been killed and at least 18 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses downed 90 of 166 drones fired by Russia on 11 regions. Another 72 were lost to electronic counter-measures.

Seven of the fatalities were in the Donetsk region in the east, including six in a Russian strike on Kostiantynivka. Another 10 were injured, with damage to 12 high-rise buildings, 12 shops, and three enterprises.

The other person slain was in the Kherson region in the south.

UPDATE 0711 GMT:

Ukraine’s military commander-in-chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, says Kyiv has regrouped its troops and slowed Russia’s advance in the most “threatening areas”, such as the Donetsk region in the east.

Syrskyi said the Russian are pressing the Novopavlivka sector, trying to break through defenses and capture three settlements.

The village of Novopavlivka is around 5 km (3 miles) north of the embattled city of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub, which Russia has tried for months to overrun.

Ukraine’s military announced on Wednesday that troops have recaptured the settlement of Kotlyne near Pokrovsk.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Donald Trump says he will not guarantee Ukraine’s security amid Russia’s three-year invasion, despite a minerals deal with Kyiv.

In televised comments from a Cabinet meeting, Trump said of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to Washington on Friday to sign the deal, “Well I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We’re going to have Europe do that.”

He not only dismissed Ukraine’s membership in NATO, but amplified the Kremlin’s disinformation: “NATO you can forget about. I think that’s probably the reason the whole thing started.”

Earlier in the day, Zelensky’s trip was almost scuttled because of the issue.

Zelensky emphasized that, from Ukraine’s point of view, the minerals deal was only a “preliminary” which included discussions of the security guarantees: “[This is] just a start, a framework, it can be a big success.”

He said he would be “very direct” in a meeting with Trump: “If we don’t get security guarantees, we won’t have a ceasefire, nothing will work, nothing.”

A White House official clapped back:

If the Ukrainian leader says the deal isn’t finalized, I don’t see why an invitation would make sense. There’s an expectation that his coming is to recognize a final position, and he is not at a final position in his own words in this new wording.

But Trump said that he would not give up his photo opportunity, “We’re doing very well with Russia-Ukraine. President Zelensky is going to be coming on Friday. It’s now confirmed, and we’re going to be signing an agreement.”

In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky said:

UK’s Starmer in Washington

UK Prime Minister Starmer will make the latest European move for the security guarantee on Thursday when he sees Trump.

The UK and France are leading an effort for troops from NATO members to be deployed in western Ukraine, bolstering air defenses and protecting energy infrastructure and facilities such as drone manufacturing plants. The initiative is seeking a “backstop” of US airpower, based in Poland and Romania, to safeguard the deployment from Russian attack.

French President Emmanuel Macron was in the White House on Monday to present the plan.

See also Ukraine War, Day 1,098: Macron Warns Trump Against “Surrender” Over Russia’s Invasion

Starmer said en route to Washington:

The security guarantee has to be sufficient to deter Putin from coming again, because my concern is if there is a ceasefire without a backstop, it will simply give him the opportunity to wait and to come again because his ambition in relation to Ukraine is pretty obvious for all to see.

European leaders will meet in London on Sunday, following the Zelensky and Starmer journeys, to discuss the position.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov left the Trump Administration’s stance in disarray, after he rejected Trump’s assurance that Vladimir Putin had agreed to the European deployment as part of a ceasefire agreement.

He said the deployment was “a deceit” aimed at pumping Ukraine full of more weapons, drawing Ukraine further into NATO’s sphere, and infringe on the rights of Russian-speakers in the country.

Trump said that a decision on the deployment of peacekeeping forces would only be possible with the consent of both sides, apparently referring to us and Ukraine. Nobody has asked us about this.

Trump blustered when asked about the comments, “Ultimately, we’ll be able to agree on something, I’m sure. Something will be done that’s going to be satisfactory to everybody….It’s actually something I did discuss. A form of peacekeeping that’s acceptable to everybody.”

Kremlin Reasserts Its Quest To Dominate Ukraine

Lavrov announced the second direct US-Russia meeting, excluding Ukraine and Europe, will be held in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday. He said the talks will focus on creating better conditions for Russian diplomats in the US and their American counterparts in Russia.

The White House echoed the line, saying Ukraine is not on the agenda.

Meanwhile, Moscow reasserted its pursuit of control of all of Ukraine. “Two sources familiar with the Kremlin’s thinking” told the Guardian that Putin is still committed to terms which include limiting the size of the Ukrainian military, prohibiting foreign weapons on Ukrainian soil, ensuring Ukraine’s permanent neutrality, and maintaining influence over its political future.

Lavrov reiterated that Russia wants full control of four Ukrainian regions — Luhansk and Donetsk in the east and Zaporizhzia and Kherson in the south — which Putin “annexed” in September 2022, as well as Crimea.

While Moscow has seized almost all of Luhansk, Ukraine controls part of the other three regions after a counter-offensive in autumn 2022.

He justified the Kremlin’s control of a new Ukrainian Government by proclaiming, “What remains of Ukraine must also be freed from racist laws.”