L to R: French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Donald Trump, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky at the funeral of Pope Francis, The Vatican, April 26, 2025 (ANSA)

Saturday’s Coverage: Amid Russia’s “Massive” Strikes on Civilians, Will US Toughen Sanctions?

UPDATE 1927 GMT:

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has observed:

Two weeks ago in Washington, it was stated that by this time the Russians should be ready for real negotiations—a meeting at the leaders’ level. Ukraine is definitely ready for this. But the only thing Russia is doing is investing further in war. All their signals point to that.

Observing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Beijing, Zelensky cautioned, “Putin will once again try to wriggle out.”

The President emphasized that other SCO participants, including China, India, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan, have called for a ceasefire: “The only one who wants this war is Russia. That is why pressure on Russia must continue.”

Zelensky welcomed the program for US transfer of weapons to Ukraine, via sale to NATO members. He set a goal of at least $1 billion per month for “very effective weapons — Patriot and HIMARS missiles, and weapons systems needed to defend our cities”.

UPDATE 1300 GMT:

After reviewing the battlefield situation with military commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has posted that Kyiv’s forces are planning more strikes deep inside Russia.

UPDATE 1140 GMT:

The Kremlin has again rejected a halt to its attacks on Ukraine.

Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “We are ready to resolve the problem by political and diplomatic means. But so far we do not see reciprocity from Kyiv in this. So we shall continue the special military operation.”

UPDATE 1015 GMT:

An overnight Russian drone attack has damaged four power facilities in the Odesa region in southern Ukraine, cutting power to more than 29,000 customers.

Homes and administrative buildings were damaged in the port city of Chornomorsk, just outside Odesa city.

The Russians also attacked the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine, damaging energy infrastructure and leaving 30,000 households without electricity.

UPDATE 0838 GMT:

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated:

We expect the need for a ceasefire—to signal Russiaʼs readiness for diplomacy — will be raised at these meetings. Putin is only duping leaders and drawing them into his camp. And he is staving off the threat of sanctions. Nothing else interests him. It is important that together we press Russia into ending this war.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Some Trump Administration officials are blaming European leaders for Vladimir Putin’s refusal to halt Russia’s 42-month full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As Russia continued its assault on Ukrainian civilians with 537 drones and 37 missiles on Saturday, unnamed “senior White House officials” told Axios that the Administration is impatient with the leaders pushing Kyiv to hold out for a “better deal”.

One of them snapped:

The Europeans don’t get to prolong this war and backdoor unreasonable expectations, while also expecting America to bear the cost.

If Europe wants to escalate this war, that will be up to them. But they will be hopelessly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Another official said Donald Trump is considering a step back from diplomatic efforts until one or both sides demonstrates greater flexibility.

They proclaimed, “We are going to sit back and watch. Let them fight it out for a while and see what happens.”

The Kremlin is maintaining its ultimata for Ukraine’s capitulation. It is not only demanding that its seizure of parts of four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk and Luhansk in the east and Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south — as well as Crimea be recognized; it is also insisting on Ukraine hands over the rest of Donetsk, a fortified, industrial belt of towns and cities in the north of the region.

Russia wants a weak, demilitarized Ukraine with no security guarantees from western partners. It is seeking the removal of all sanctions on Moscow. The Kremlin is refusing to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Zelensky Government, with Putin stalling over any meeting with the Ukrainian President.

Christopher Miller of the Financial Times summarizes that Trump officials may be covering for their failure to get Putin to cease fire, halt attacks on Ukrainian civilians, or agree to the Zelensky summit.

Of the dozens of European and Ukrainian officials I have interviewed, none of them have said they are holding out for a “better deal” or for unrealistic territorial concessions by Russia. On the contrary, they are pushing for an end to Russia’s war sooner rather than later and have adopted a realistic plan and gone along with much of Trump’s own ideas, including an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

Ukrainian troops and civilians are being killed daily, cities are being wiped off the map by Russian bombs. The hold-up is not them; it’s Putin in Moscow who wants to continue his war and has been emboldened to do so by Trump, who has applied no pressure on him to back away from a maximalist position and delivered only empty threats.

He notes “the failures and miscommunications” of Donald Trump and his envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, “during meetings with Putin and European leaders that have exposed their inexperience and lack of understanding of a complex war and negotiation process”.

On Friday, Politico published an article about Witkoff, “His Inexperience Shines Through”, based on interviews with some US officials as well as European sources.

He has refused to consult with experts and allies, leaving him uninformed at times and unprepared at others, according to seven people familiar with internal discussions. Two said he misses the mark by viewing the conflict through a real estate lens, like a land dispute.

Vice President J.D. Vance responded with a rant on social media about “journalistic malpractice” and “a foreign influence operation meant to hurt the administration and one of our most effective members”.

Zelensky’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak met Witkoff on Friday, telling the real estate developer about “all the war crimes that Russia commits daily against our cities and communities”: “Unfortunately, Russia is not doing anything necessary to end the war and is obviously prolonging the hostilities.”

Witkoff said the meeting was “very productive and constructive” but did not make any commitment to protect Ukrainians.