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)

EA on War and Politics 24: Dealing with Witkoff and Kushner in the Kremlin

Thursday’s Coverage: Witkoff and Kushner to Meet Kyiv’s Top Official Umerov

UPDATE 0658 GMT:

Ukrainian drones have reportedly damaged the offices of Chechen security agencies in Grozny.

A strike damaged a high-rise tower whose offices include those of the Security Council, the Ombudsman, the Audit Chamber, the Election Commission, and several other government bodies.

Airports across the North Caucasus temporarily suspended operations overnight.

The strike is the second in a week on Chechnya. The region is led by Vladimir Putin’s long-time subordinate Ramzan Kadyrov.

UPDATE 0650 GMT:

A 12-year-old boy has been murdered by Russian drone strikes on the Dnipropetrovsk region in south-central Ukraine.

Several other civilians were injured.

In the Kherson region in the south, 11 civilians were wounded by Russian attacks. Two apartment buildings, 11 private homes, a cellular tower, a bakery, a gas pipeline, and a private car were damaged.

UPDATE 0632 GMT:

The US Treasury has suspended sanctions against the gas stations of Russian State oil company Lukoil until at least April 29.

A ban remains in place to prevent the money being remitted to Russia.

The measure was part of broader US sanctions against Lukoil and Russia’s largest private energy company Rosneft, announced in October. Secondary sanctions have limited imports of Russian oil by its three largest customers: China, India, and Turkey.

partially suspended measures that Trump had announced in October when he finally vowed to get tough on Moscow. The department suspended until at least 29 April economic sanctions against Lukoil-branded gas stations outside Russia.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: In a conference call on Monday about the Trump camp’s collusion with the Kremlin, European leaders agreed on the risk of Washington selling out Ukraine and Europe.

The German magazine Der Spiegel obtained a leaked English-language note from the call, which included Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. It came a day before Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner conferred with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned, “There is a chance that the US will betray Ukraine on territory without clarity on security guarantees.”

He said the Americans’ talks with Russia were “a big danger” for Zelensky. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz added that Zelensky needed to be “very careful”, as Witkoff and Kushner “are playing games with both you and us”.

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said, “We must not leave Ukraine and Volodymyr alone with these guys.” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who offers fervent praise for Donald Trump in public, agreed “that we need to protect Volodymyr”.

Macron’s warning also contrasted sharply with his public position. He has repeatedly emphasized that US mediation is a “very good thing” and will exert pressure on Russia.

The other participants included Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk; Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni; Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen; Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; and European Council President António Costa.

Ukraine and Europe Hold the Line v. Any US “Betrayal”

At a joint press conference with Tusk after the call on Monday, Merz said they were holding “the trans-Atlantic community together as well as we possibly can”.

Officials emphasized talks in Geneva on November 23 where the Europeans, with the support of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, established a counter-proposal. The steps begin with a ceasefire on the current frontlines, rather than the Trump-Kremlin ultimatum forcing Ukraine to give up the rest of the strategic Donetsk region.

“Initial progress toward a developed peace plan” had been achieved, the officials said. European security advisors were “in constant contact with Ukraine and the United States of America”.

Trump’s envoy Witkoff was scheduled to meet Ukraine’s Rustem Umerov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, on Thursday.

No details have been made public. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address to the nation:

Today, Ukrainian representatives will continue their discussions in the United States with President Trump’s team. Our task now is to obtain full information about what was said in Moscow and what other pretexts Putin has come up with to drag out the war and to pressure Ukraine.

Ukraine is prepared for any possible developments, and of course we will work as constructively as possible with all partners to ensure that peace is achieved – and that it is, after all, a dignified peace. Only a dignified peace provides real security, and we fully understand that this requires – and will continue to require – the support of our partners.