Zelensky "misread the room," the official said.
Exclusive: 'It felt like a trap.' How Ukraine was blindsided by Trump's Putin pivot
When U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner told Ukraine's delegation on Oct. 9 that President Donald Trump was preparing to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports, the Ukrainians struggled to believe what they were hearing. The delegation had traveled to the United States to discuss a possible energy ceasefire with Russia. Instead, Kyiv's negotiators found themselves blindsided by a decision they feared would hand Moscow fresh revenue to finance its war against Ukraine while undermining
Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Kyiv for talks with Zelensky after Putin meeting - report - i24NEWS
"We are all on the same side. We all want the war to end," Zelensky said following the conclusion of the first round of negotiations
Ukraine will hold elections if Russia agrees to 60-day ceasefire, Zelensky says
Trump criticized Zelensky for attacking Russian oil refineries after the U.S. temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian fuel
A war foretold: how the CIA and MI6 got hold of Putin’s Ukraine plans and why nobody believed them
Drawing on more than 100 interviews with senior intelligence officials and other insiders in multiple countries, this exclusive account details how the US and Britain uncovered Vladimir Putin’s plans to invade, and why most of Europe – including the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy – dismissed them
There's one massive problem with Trump's Ukraine diesel price theory
U.S. President Donald Trump has a very simple solution to the very real problem of rising diesel prices. "(President Volodymyr) Zelensky has to do one thing — he has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” he told reporters on Sept. 13. "Let him go after targets but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel fuel… that’s hurting the world." Trump's implication was clear — halting Ukraine's long-running, long-range drone strike campaign against Russian oil refineries would
Exclusive: Ukraine, Russia are done with Steve Witkoff. Trump sees no problem
Kyiv and Moscow are growing increasingly frustrated with the U.S.-mediated peace process — and with Washington's Envoy Steve Witkoff, people familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent. Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has emerged as a key peace negotiator, traveled to Russia and Ukraine in early September in an attempt to restart stalled negotiations. They left both countries with little to show for the effort. Behind the scenes, however, several separate efforts are
Russia to Intensify Strikes on Ukraine After Zelensky Interview
Russia will intensify strikes on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday, responding to an interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he vowed increased attacks on Russian refineries. The ministry said Russian forces would step up attacks on military facilities, defense industry sites and related infrastructure in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine.
Trump Said No on the Record. Iran Didn't Wait for a Yes — It Went to Riyadh Instead.
In yesterday's piece I flagged a WSJ report, sourced to unnamed US officials, that Trump had privately rejected Iran's seven-day Hormuz plan. I called it what...
Witkoff and Kushner meet with Putin about ending Ukraine war
Russia paused airstrikes to allow the negotiations.
Exclusive: Putin puts a price on Trump's Ukraine energy truce — Kyiv fears the cost
Russia has demanded sanctions relief from the U.S. as part of talks over a possible energy ceasefire with Ukraine, while also seeking to link the initiative to a ceasefire in the Black Sea, U.S. and Ukrainian officials familiar with the talks told the Kyiv Independent. The demands come as Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, with one senior Ukrainian defense official saying Moscow is trying to inflict as much damage as possible to gain leverage before potential negotia
Reported Monday, Denied Monday: The Iran Offer That Trump Says Doesn't Exist
The last two pieces in this series were about a leak that became an on-record quote: WSJ said privately that Trump rejected Iran's seven-day Hormuz plan, and...
The Blockade Made the News for Working. The Casualties It Cost Took Two Weeks to Surface.
Saturday, Trump put his private rejection of Iran's Hormuz plan on the record. Sunday, Iran skipped Washington and went to Riyadh instead. Monday, two things...
Trump denies willingness to give Iran sanctions relief in exchange for nuke concessions
US and Iranian officials speak separately with Qatari mediators on amended Iranian proposal that includes end to hostilities in Israeli-occupied south Lebanon, after Trump nixed earlier version
CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Russian intel counterparts on secretive visit to Moscow, Kremlin says
The Kremlin spokesman says CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Russian counterparts during a secretive visit to Moscow, but it's unclear what came of the talks.
Trump rejects Iran's conditional ceasefire proposal, WSJ reports, as Saudi coalition intercepts projectiles
Trump expects renewed U.S. bombing of Iran after the midterm elections, The Wall Street Journal reports, as Saudi-backed forces intercept projectiles.
Ukrainians protest Zelenskyy’s ouster of his popular defense minister
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shook up his wartime government, drawing thousands into the streets across Ukraine to protest the dismissal of his youthful defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov.