Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, February 13, 2025 (Alex Brandon/AP)

How Trump’s Call with Putin Betrayed Ukraine and Europe

EA on Al Jazeera’s Inside Story and Poland’s TVP World: Trump’s Mad, Bad, and Dangerous Foreign Policy

EA on BBC: Trump Abandons Ukraine

Thursday’s Coverage: Trump Ends US Support of Kyiv’s Defense v. Russia’s Invasion

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1820 GMT:

European Union foreign policy head Kaja Kallas has said of US Vice President J.D. Vance’s verbal attack on Europe, “Listening to that speech, they try to pick a fight with us and we don’t want to a pick a fight with our friends.”

She added that allies should be focusing on bigger threats like Russia’s aggression on Ukraine.

UPDATE 1815 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has told US Vice President J.D. Vance in a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference:

We need to speak more, to work more and to prepare the plan [for] how to stop Putin and finish the work … We want peace very much, but we need real security guarantees.

Zelensky told reporters, “We had a good conversation today. Our first meeting, not last, I’m sure.”

UPDATE 1718 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is meeting US Vice President J.D. Vance, after Vance’s attack on Europe in a speech at the Munich Security Conference.

Zelensky has also seen European Council head António Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Lithuania President Gitanas Nauseda, and a delegation from the US Senate.

UPDATE 1706 GMT:

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has told the Munich Security Conference that J.D. Vance’s speech was “not acceptable”.

“Democracy was called into question by the US Vice President for the whole of Europe earlier,” Pistorius said. “He speaks of the annihilation of democracy. And if I have understood him correctly, he is comparing conditions in parts of Europe with those in authoritarian regions….That is not acceptable.”

Sweden Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard replied to Vance’s criticism of her country.

Sweden has a very far-reaching freedom of expression.

As a Swedish politician, I do not review [decisions by] independent courts, and I think politicians in other countries should also refrain from doing so.

UPDATE 1415 GMT:

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned the Munich Security Conference, “A failed Ukraine would weaken Europe, but it would also weaken the United States.”

Implicitly responding to Donald Trump and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that giving in to Vladimir Putin’s demands would “intensify the challenges in the Indo-Pacific and threaten our shared interests”.

What we have is the authoritarians of this world carefully watching whether there is any impunity if you invade your neighbour, violate international borders, or whether there are real deterrents.

But US Vice President J.D. Vance attacked European countries:

If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you, nor, for that matter, is there anything that you can do for the American people who elected me and elected President Trump.

He whipped up fear of migration, hailed the UK’s Brexit departure from the European Union, and derided environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

Vance criticized EU protocols trying to limit disinformation and protect privacy, and assailed “firewalls” keeping the far right out of mainstream politics.

UPDATE 1343 GMT:

In a call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has “reiterated the UK’s commitment to Ukraine being on an irreversible path to NATO”.

Starmer’s declaration is in sharp contrast to those of Donald Trump and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said this week that there is no chance of Ukraine joining the 32-nation bloc.

Starmer stressed to Zelensky “the UK’s concrete support for Ukraine, for as long as it’s needed”. His office summarized:

He was unequivocal that there could be no talks about Ukraine, without Ukraine. Ukraine needed strong security guarantees, further lethal aid and a sovereign future, and it could count on the UK to step up.

On Thursday, the UK pledged £150 million ($189 million) in military support, including drones, dozens of battle tanks and armored vehicles, and air defense systems.

London confirmed plans to provide Ukraine with an additional £4.5 billion ($5.68 billion) in military assistance in 2025. This includes 50 armored and protective vehicles, including modernized T-72 tanks, by the end of the spring.

UPDATE 1133 GMT:

North Korean troops fighting for Russia against Ukraine have suffered 4,000 casualties, 2/3rds of whom have been killed, says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky said the morale of Pyongyang’s troops had been “broken” by the losses.

Up to 12,000 North Korean troops were deployed last autumn. Most of them were in the Kursk region in western Russia, part of which has been held by Ukraine since August.

South Korean intelligence estimated that at least 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and another 2,700 wounded.

Zelensky said North Korea is transferring another 2,000 to 3,000 troops to Kursk.

The President warned that Russia plans to deploy 15 divisions, totaling 100,000 to 150,000 troops, primarily in Belarus. While the buildup could focus on Ukraine, Russian forces might shift toward Poland or the Baltic States.

“Based on all the information I’ve gathered from intelligence and other sources, I think [Putin] is preparing for war against NATO countries next year,” Zelensky said, although he “can’t be 100 percent certain”.

“Just like in 2022, they could move forward towards Ukraine, or they could go to Poland or the Baltics. And I believe this is his idea,” he said. “God bless, we will stop this crazy guy.”

Zelensky said that without NATO membership, Ukraine must build a self-sufficient military capable of defending its sovereignty: “This means the appropriate NATO weaponry and a sufficient number of our Ukrainian soldiers.”

He said Ukraine would require an army of 1.5 million soldiers, almost double its current total of 880,000.

UPDATE 1108 GMT:

Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, has indicated the US may pursue de facto but not legal recognition of Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian territory.

Kellogg said in a televised interview that “formalizing Ukraine’s territorial losses” in a potential peace deal “will not equate to recognizing them”.

He supported the declaration of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that restoring Ukraine’s 2014 borders is an “unrealistic objective”: “I think there will be a certain agreement on the potential loss of territory. But, look, you don’t have to admit it.”

He cited the precedent of the 1940 Welles Declaration, in which the US rejected legal Soviet ownership of the Baltic States despite occupation.

“When the Soviets segregated the Baltic countries, we never said they owned the countries. We said there was just a sort of domination,” Kellogg explained.

UPDATE 1004 GMT:

A Russian attack drone struck the 108-meter-high arched steel structure protecting the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, says Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The structure was placed over the reactor in 2016 to halt nuclear contamination from the 1986 nuclear meltdown in northern Ukraine. It replaced an older shelter Ukraine constructed in the 1990s.

“The fire has been extinguished. Radiation levels have not increased and are being constantly monitored. The damage to the shelter is significant,” Zelensky said.

Russia launched 133 drones overnight.

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that its Chernobyl team heard an explosion at around 2 a.m.

Zelensky commented, “This is a terrorist threat to the world”:

This shelter was built by Ukraine, Europe, the world, and America — all those committed to real security for humanity. The only country that attacks such sites, occupies nuclear power plants, and wages war without any regard for the consequences is today’s Russia.

UPDATE 0956 GMT:

There is uncertainty whether US officials will meet Ukrainians, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, in Munich on Friday.

The plane of Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly had to return to Washington when it experienced a mechanical fault.

And Zelensky’s encounter with Vice President J.D. Vance has been postponed from the morning to 4 p.m.

A “source in Zelensky’s office” said the meeting was postponed to allow the US delegation to review a draft memorandum of partnership submitted by Kyiv.

The memorandum includes an agreement linking future aid to Ukraine with US access to Ukrainian reserves of rare earth minerals.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Donald Trump has indicated that Russia may not have to make any concessions over its three-year invasion of Ukraine, with Moscow keeping the territory it has overrun and keeping Kyiv out of NATO.

During a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on Thursday, Trump justified Vladimir Putin’s invasion:

Now Russia has taken over a pretty big chunk of territory and they also have said from Day One, long before President Putin, they’ve said they cannot have Ukraine be in NATO. They said that very strongly. I actually think that was the thing that caused the start of the war, and Biden said it and Zelenskyy said it.

He continued, “Maybe Russia will give up a lot. Maybe they won’t. And it’s all dependent on what is going to happen. The negotiation really hasn’t started.”

The declaration rendered meaningless his opening statement about Putin’s mistake in trying to conquer Ukraine: “Russia has gotten themselves into something that I think they wish they didn’t.”

As always, Trump used the assertion to build up his ego, “If I were President, it would not have happened, absolutely would not have happened. And it didn’t happen for four years.”

TV presenter and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth added that US aid to Ukraine may also be withdrawn as part of the appeal to Russia: “I think it would be fair to say that things like future funding, either less or more, could be on the table in negotiations as well.”

Trump said US and Russian officials would meet on Friday at the Munich Security Conference, developing his plan for direct US-Russia talks over the invasion.

He said Kyiv was also invited. But Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s communications adviser, Dmytro Lytvyn, said: “Talks with Russians in Munich are not expected.”

Zelensky is expected to meet the US Vice President, JD Vance, in Munich on Friday. Vance has been hostile to continued aid to Ukraine.

Macron Warns Against Capitulation

French President Emmanuel Macron warned that Trump’s approach would approach to surrender, as he emphasized that only Zelensky could negotiate on behalf of his country with Russia.

“Peace that is a capitulation” would be “bad news for everyone”, including the US, Macron said.

The only question at this stage is whether President Putin is genuinely, sustainably and credibly willing to agree to a ceasefire on this basis. After that, it’s up to the Ukrainians to negotiate with Russia.

He summarized, “[It] is up to the international community, with a specific role for the Europeans, to discuss security guarantees and, more broadly, the security framework for the entire region.”

But Trump reinforced the declaration of Hegseth that the US would leave Ukraine to Europe, falsely accusing the Europeans of not providing much assistance throughout the Russian invasion.

“We had some talks and we told the European Union, we told the NATO people – largely they overlap – you have to pay more money because it’s unfair what we’re doing.

We’re doing a tremendous amount more, we’re probably $200bn more going into Ukraine, using for Ukraine to fight, and Europe has not really carried its weight in terms of the money. It’s not equitable and we want to see a counterbalance. We want to have them put up more money. They have to do that.