Donald Trump has said he spoke with Vladimir Putin about starting negotiations immediately to end the war in Ukraine.
The US and Russian president discussed the matter on an hour-and-a-half phone call yesterday, in which Trump said the pair agreed to "work together, very closely".
"We each talked about the strengths of our respective nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together," Trump said in a social media post. "But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the war with Russia/Ukraine."
Later, Kyiv said the US president also spoke to Ukraine’s president Zelensky about his conversation with Putin.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump's defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, said a return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and the US administration did not see Nato membership for Kyiv as part of a solution to the war.
It comes after Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that Putin is not preparing for peace and continues to slaughter Ukrainians despite talk of a ceasefire.
Key Points
- Trump discusses ending Ukraine war with Putin
- Trump and Zelensky discuss peace
- US wants 'sovereign Ukraine' but pre-2014 borders 'unrealistic'
- Nato warns Putin he would lose in a war with the alliance
- Putin not preparing for peace, Zelensky warns
Trump has just sabotaged Ukraine’s bargaining power with Russia - whose side is he on?
03:42
,
Arpan Rai
The Trump administration has just sliced away key negotiating options for Ukraine, giving the invading Russians a catastrophic advantage even before any so-called peace talks can begin.
Now, in any future negotiations, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky’s position will be weaker.
Yesterday, Ukraine’s military capacity was immediately undermined in the medium term by Pete Hegseth telling his fellow Nato defence ministers that "Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine”.
What Trump has said after his call with Putin
03:33
,
Arpan Rai
US president Donald Trump has said he and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war following a sudden prisoner swap.
Here’s what he said after the call:
- Mr Trump said he spent more than an hour on the phone with Putin and "I think we're on the way to getting peace”.
- "I think president Putin wants peace and president Zelensky wants peace and I want peace," Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "I just want to see people stop being killed,” he said.
- Of his conversation with Mr Putin, the US president said, "People didn't really know what president Putin's thoughts were. But I think I can say with great confidence, he wants to see it ended also, so that's good – and we're going to work toward getting it ended and as fast as possible."
- Mr Trump noted that he would "probably" meet in person with Mr Putin in the near term, suggesting that could happen in Saudi Arabia.
Trump says he spoke to Putin about ‘immediately’ starting talks on ending Ukraine war
03:20
,
Arpan Rai
President Donald Trump said he and Russian president Vladimir Putin had spoken and agreed to “immediately” open negotiations on how to end the war on Ukraine which Putin launched with an unprovoked invasion nearly three years ago.
In a statement posted to his Truth Social platform, Trump said he’d had “a lengthy and highly productive phone call” with the Russian leader, during which they discussed “Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects.”
Trump said both he and Putin — who ordered the invasion of Ukraine and claimed it was an effort to rid the former Soviet satellite of so-called “Nazis” in its western-aligned government — “want to stop the millions of deaths taking place” as a result of the war Putin started.
Kyiv sets condition for no Nato deal, seeks military support
03:06
,
Arpan Rai
Kyiv has recently appeared to have accepted that it will not be admitted to Nato soon but has emphasised its need for military support under a peace deal.
"If Ukraine is not in Nato... we need an army as numerous as the Russians have today," Mr Zelensky said in an interview with The Economist published yesterday.
"And for all this, we need weapons and money. And we will ask the US for this," Mr Zelensky said, describing that as his "Plan B".
Zelensky calls for 'strong steps' on Russia after Kyiv attack
03:00
,
Alexander Butler
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said "only strong steps and pressure" can stop Russia’s terror in Ukraine after a deadly attack on Kyiv.
"Putin is not preparing for peace - he continues to kill Ukrainians and destroy cities," Mr Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app.
"Right now we need the unity and support of all our partners in the fight for a just end to this war."
At least one person has died and four others, including a 9-year-old girl, were injured in early morning missile strikes across Kyiv today.
Emergency services scrambled to douse fires and access damages to buildings in at least four districts of the Ukrainian capital.
Trump says it is not practical for Ukraine to join Nato, get back all land from Russia
02:55
,
Arpan Rai
US president Donald Trump has said he did not think it was practical for Ukraine to join Nato and that it was unlikely Ukraine will get back all of its land.
Mr Trump discussed the war in Ukraine yesterday in phone calls with Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, in the US president's first big step toward diplomacy in a conflict he has promised to end.
Mr Trump said he and the Russian president expect to meet in the future, probably in Saudi Arabia.
'Nonsense' - Russia responds to Ukraine's territory exchange proposal
02:00
,
Alexander Butler
As we’ve been reporting, Volodymyr Zelensky has offered to swap land seized in Russia's Kursk region for the return of occupied Ukrainian territory as part of potential peace negotiations led by Donald Trump.
The idea, however, has quickly been shot down by Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council.
Mr Medvedev, who served as Russia's president from 2008-2012, dismissed the proposal as “nonsense”.
He said Russia had shown that it can achieve "peace through strength", including through drone and missile strikes which hit Kyiv on Wednesday.
Hegseth rules out US troops in Europe
01:00
,
Alexander Butler
Security guarantees for Ukraine should be backed by "capable European and non-European troops", Hegseth said.
"If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-Nato mission,” he said.
US wants 'sovereign Ukraine' but pre-2014 borders 'unrealistic'
Wednesday 12 February 2025 23:00
,
Alexander Butler
"We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective," Hegseth told the meeting of more than 40 countries allied to Ukraine.
"Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering," he added.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 and then backed pro-Russian separatists in an armed insurgency against Kyiv's forces in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine.
US defense secretary lays out Trump's vision for peace
Wednesday 12 February 2025 22:00
,
Alexander Butler
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that a return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and the Trump administration does not see Nato membership for Kyiv as part of a solution to the war triggered by Russia's invasion.
Speaking at a meeting of Ukraine's military allies at Nato headquarters in Brussels, Hegseth delivered the clearest and bluntest public statement so far on the new US administration's approach to the nearly three-year-old war.
He also told Washington's Nato allies that they would have to step up and assume greater responsibility for Europe's security.
Putin and Trump to meet in Saudi Arabia
Wednesday 12 February 2025 21:00
,
Athena Stavrou
Donald Trump has said he and Vladimir Putin are expecting to meet in the future - probably in Saudi Arabia - after a call with the Russian leader.
Trump described his call with Putin as a good conversation and said it lasted over an hour. Trump added he did not think it was practical for Ukraine to have NATO membership.
Ukraine joining Nato and returning to pre-2014 borders 'not realistic'
Wednesday 12 February 2025 21:00
,
Alexander Butler
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said it was unrealistic that Kyiv will return to its pre-2014 borders.
"The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement," he said.
To be clear, he says, as part of any security guarantee, "there will not be US troops deployed to Ukraine".
UK vows to boost Ukraine aid as Trump says he and Putin starting ‘negotiations’
Wednesday 12 February 2025 20:58
,
Athena Stavrou
Welcoming Ukraine to Nato will take “some time”, the UK Defence Secretary said as Donald Trump claimed he and Vladimir Putin had agreed to start negotiations on ending the war in a call on Wednesday.
John Healey said the focus “for now” should be on ensuring Kyiv is in a strong position going into any potential peace talks, after the US insisted the country’s membership of the military alliance was not a realistic prospect.
It came as the president said he had agreed with Russia’s leader to “work together, very closely” on bringing the three-year conflict to an end in a conversation on Wednesday.
Two Colombian men ‘kidnapped’ by Putin in Venezuela for fighting in Ukraine
Wednesday 12 February 2025 20:00
,
Alexander Butler
Russia forced to use donkeys to bring ammunition to Putin’s troops in Ukraine as military vehicles run short
Wednesday 12 February 2025 19:00
,
Alexander Butler
Watch: White House confirms Trump spoke to Putin about ending Ukraine war 'immediately'
Wednesday 12 February 2025 18:47
,
Athena Stavrou
Zelensky and Trump discuss 'peace'
Wednesday 12 February 2025 18:43
,
Athena Stavrou
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a meaningful conversation with Donald Trump.
The pair spent an hour speaking on the phone, after Trump said he had spoken to Russian president Putin about beginning negotiations to end the war.
Zelensky said he and Trump discussed preparation of a document on security and economic cooperation between countries.
"We long talked about opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together at the team level, and Ukraine's technological capabilities," Zelensky said on X.
Zelensky said Trump also informed him about his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
‘Probably essential’ Ukraine joins Nato, Nigel Farage says
Wednesday 12 February 2025 18:07
,
Archie Mitchell
Nigel Farage has said it is “probably essential” for Ukraine to join Nato as part of the settlement of the ongoing war.
The Reform UK leader highlighted that he has long believed Nato and the EU’s eastward expansion was to blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He was criticised during the general election campaign for claiming the West “provoked” Russia into launching the deadly war.
But, without saying whether he would support Ukraine joining Nato or not, Mr Farage said: “I would have thought if we are going to get Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy into a place where we can have a reasonable negotiation, looking ahead it is probably essential that Ukraine joins Nato.
“That is going to need to be part of this negotiation.”
Pressed on whether he would support Ukraine joining, he added: “Am I supportive of a settlement that ends the war and ends any further encroachment into territories by Vladimir Putin? Absolutely.”
Zelensky says Europe’s security guarantees mean nothing without US ahead of meeting with Ukraine-sceptic JD Vance
Wednesday 12 February 2025 18:00
,
Alexander Butler
Zelenksy and Trump speak
Wednesday 12 February 2025 17:52
,
Athena Stavrou
Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump have now spoken by phone.
Kyiv said the Ukrainian and US president spoke for around an hour on Wednesday evening.
After speaking with Russia’s Vladimir Putin earlier, Trump said he would be speaking with Zelensky on a separate call.
He and the Russian president discussed beginning negotiations to end the war in Ukraine immediately.
World leaders respond to Trump's call with Putin
Wednesday 12 February 2025 17:50
World leaders have responded to Trump’s phone call with Putin about beginning negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
Spain’s foreign minister has said that nothing should be decided on Ukraine without Ukraine and Europe.
He told a meeting of foreign ministers in Paris that a war of aggression cannot be allowed to succeed.
Poland’s foreign minister said it would continue its support for Ukraine and reinforce sanctions before the potential talks.
UK defence secretary responds to US’s call for European nations to step up over Ukraine
Wednesday 12 February 2025 17:40
,
Alex Ross
As we’ve been reporting, the US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has called on European nations to step in relation to Ukraine.
The US president Donald Trump has also previously said the country leaders should up their defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP.
Spreaking at a press conference in Brussels, UK secretary for defence John Healey said: “It was a pleasure in his third full week in the job to welcome Secretary (Pete) Hegseth.
“He confirmed the US’s continued commitment to this group, to Ukraine’s pursuit of a lasting peace and the importance of security guarantees… we heard his call for European nations to step up. We are and we will.
“Nato allies pledged £40 billion euros in military aid for Ukraine in 2024 and then went on to deliver £50 billion. The majority, nearly 60 per cent of that aid to Ukraine last year came from European nations.
“And while at the same time, we did more on Ukraine and will do more, we did more on defence spending and will do more.”
Trump has just sabotaged Ukraine’s bargaining power with Russia - who’s side is he on?
Wednesday 12 February 2025 17:24
,
Athena Stavrou
Pete Hegseth told Nato defence ministers the US won’t support Nato membership for Ukraine - or most of its peace talk platform - leaving Zelensky little room to negotiate, writes World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley:
Hegseth won’t commit to US increasing its defece spending to 5% of GDP
Wednesday 12 February 2025 17:20
,
Alex Ross
During his speech to European leaders in Brussels, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth hinted that the US was shifting its military priorities to defending its homeland and deterring China.
Trump has previously called on European NATO members to do more to defend the continent, including hiking defence budgets to 5 per cent of GDP - level no member has reached so far.
Poland is the closest, spending more than 4 per cent and expected to approach 5 per cent this year.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Hegseth wouldn’t commit to having the US increase its defense spending to 5 per cent of GDP. But he said he believed that the US should spend more than it did under the Biden administration and “should not go lower than 3 percent.”
He said any final decision would be up to Mr Trump, but added that “we live in fiscally constrained times” and need to be responsible with taxpayer money. The US spends about 3.3 per cent of GDP on defence.
NATO leaders are expected to agree on new spending targets at their next planned summit, in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 24-26.
Breaking: Trump agrees to talks with Putin over ending Ukraine war
Wednesday 12 February 2025 17:17
,
Alex Ross
US President Donald Trump has said he spoke with Vladimir Putin about starting negotiations immediately to end the war in Ukraine.
“We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelensky, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform.
What is the Su-57 stealth fighter jet Russia is offering to India?
Wednesday 12 February 2025 17:00
,
Alexander Butler
In five points: What Hegseth on Ukraine
Wednesday 12 February 2025 16:40
,
Alex Ross
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said Ukraine should abandon hopes of a return to pre-2014 borders and prepare for a negotiated settlement with Russia during a speech on his first trip to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels.
Allies had been waiting to hear how much continued military and financial support Washington intends to provide to Ukraine’s government.
Here is what he said summarised in five points:
- Returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective
- NATO membership for Ukraine is not part of a solution to the war
- US troops would not be deployed to Ukraine as part of measures to ensure peace
- NATO allies that they would have to step up and assume greater responsibility for Europe’s security
- US border security issues and threats posed by China, prevented the US from being “primarily focused on the security of Europe”
Hegseth’s comments mark a stark change from Biden administration stance
Wednesday 12 February 2025 16:11
,
Alex Ross
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth are the clearest indication yet of the Trump administration’s on the Ukraine war.
His comments that Ukraine should not expect to return to its pre-2014 borders will be met with dismay by president Volodymyr Zelensky, while welcomed in Moscow.
They also mark a stark change from the stance of the Biden administration and many of Ukraine‘s closest allies, who had declared they would support Kyiv for as long as necessary and stressed the importance of territorial integrity.
While Trump administration officials had signalled for some time that they would not support those goals, Mr Hegseth’s on-camera remarks made its position clear to the global public.
Though Ukraine set its sights on ejecting all Russian troops from its territory for much of the war, it has increasingly acknowledged that retaking its land by force is unfeasible and that diplomacy is a more realistic course of action.
US defense chief Hegseth calls return to Ukraine’s original borders ‘unrealistic’
Wednesday 12 February 2025 16:00
,
Alexander Butler
Watch: Ukraine returning to pre-2014 borders 'unrealistic', says Pete Hegseth
Wednesday 12 February 2025 14:53
,
Alexander Butler
Hegseth rules out US troops in Europe
Wednesday 12 February 2025 14:45
,
Alexander Butler
Security guarantees for Ukraine should be backed by "capable European and non-European troops", Hegseth said.
"If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-Nato mission,” he said.
Watch: Nato chief vows 'devastating' response to any Russian attack
Wednesday 12 February 2025 14:25
,
Alexander Butler
US wants 'sovereign Ukraine' but pre-2014 borders 'unrealistic'
Wednesday 12 February 2025 14:22
,
Alexander Butler
"We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective," Hegseth told the meeting of more than 40 countries allied to Ukraine.
"Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering," he added.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 and then backed pro-Russian separatists in an armed insurgency against Kyiv's forces in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine.
US defense secretary lays out Trump's vision for peace
Wednesday 12 February 2025 14:21
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that a return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and the Trump administration does not see Nato membership for Kyiv as part of a solution to the war triggered by Russia's invasion.
Speaking at a meeting of Ukraine's military allies at Nato headquarters in Brussels, Hegseth delivered the clearest and bluntest public statement so far on the new US administration's approach to the nearly three-year-old war.
He also told Washington's Nato allies that they would have to step up and assume greater responsibility for Europe's security.
Ukraine joining Nato and returning to pre-2014 borders 'not realistic'
Wednesday 12 February 2025 13:56
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said it was unrealistic that Kyiv will return to its pre-2014 borders.
"The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement," he said.
To be clear, he says, as part of any security guarantee, "there will not be US troops deployed to Ukraine".
Nato warns Putin he would lose in a war with the alliance
Wednesday 12 February 2025 13:26
,
Alexander Butler
A Russian attack on Nato would be “devastating” and Vladimir Putin would lose, the alliance’s secretary general warned.
Mark Rutte warned Vladimir Putin directly. "If Putin attacks Nato, the reaction will be devastating. He will lose,” he said. "Let him not try this - he knows this.”
Two Colombian men ‘kidnapped’ by Putin in Venezuela for fighting in Ukraine
Wednesday 12 February 2025 13:00
,
Alexander Butler
Russia forced to use donkeys to bring ammunition to Putin’s troops in Ukraine as military vehicles run short
Wednesday 12 February 2025 12:30
,
Alexander Butler
Zelensky says Europe’s security guarantees mean nothing without US ahead of meeting with Ukraine-sceptic JD Vance
Wednesday 12 February 2025 12:00
,
Alexander Butler
Ukrainian drones hit city near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Russian officials claim
Wednesday 12 February 2025 11:30
,
Alex Ross
Ukrainian forces launched a drone attack on Wednesday on the city of Enerhodar near the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the Moscow-installed regional governor said.
The plant's management said no safety violations were recorded.
"The radiation background at the site and in the observation area is normal," it said on the Telegram messaging app.
The drones hit a car park roughly 300 metres (yards) from one of the plant's reactors, Governor Yevgeny Balitsky wrote on Telegram.
News agency Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Russian forces took control of the nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, soon after President Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine in 2022. All six reactor units are in "cold shutdown" to reduce the risk of a nuclear accident.
Russia and Ukraine regularly accuse each other of shelling the plant and the surrounding areas.
The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has stationed permanent monitors at the site and urged both sides to refrain from attacking it.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned last week that the number of attacks on the plant had increased, adding that it was impossible to determine which side was responsible based on studies of the drone fragments.
Pictures from the pre-dawn raid in Kyiv
Wednesday 12 February 2025 11:00
,
Alex Ross
'Putin not preparing for peace' - says Zelensky after Kyiv attack
Wednesday 12 February 2025 10:30
,
Alex Ross
Following the pre-dawn Russian missile attack on Kyiv that killed at least one person and injured four, we’re now hearing more from Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky.
He said: "This Russian terror against Ukraine will not stop on its own. Putin is not preparing for peace - he continues to kill Ukrainians and destroy cities."
The attack comes amid hopes for renewed peace negotiations to end the war that Russia launched on Ukraine nearly three years ago.
Donald Trump said that he had been in contact with Kyiv and Putin over a potential deal with the Us president under pressure to bring down spending in the region.
Arms deliveries to Ukraine on agenda for allies' meeting in Brussels today
Wednesday 12 February 2025 10:10
,
Alex Ross
Later today, UK defence secretary John Healey will chair a meeting of Ukraine’s allies on the country’s defence against Russia.
The Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting, which will bring together some 50 nations, is in Brussels.
Ahead of it, Ukraine’s defence minster Rustem Umerov said timely weapons deliveries and joint projects with European partners were on the agenda.
In addition to talking about the need to accelerate air defence, aviation and ammunition shipments, Mr Umerov said he planned to discuss increasing the volume of European-produced arms supplies and expanding Ukrainian production.
The newly appointed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who will also participate in the meeting, said on Tuesday that he would push European allies to spend more on defence.
'Nonsense' - Russia responds to Ukraine's territory exchange proposal
Wednesday 12 February 2025 09:38
,
Alex Ross
As we’ve been reporting, Volodymyr Zelensky has offered to swap land seized in Russia's Kursk region for the return of occupied Ukrainian territory as part of potential peace negotiations led by Donald Trump.
The idea, however, has quickly been shot down by Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council.
Mr Medvedev, who served as Russia's president from 2008-2012, dismissed the proposal as “nonsense”.
He said Russia had shown that it can achieve "peace through strength", including through drone and missile strikes which hit Kyiv on Wednesday.
Russia forced to use donkeys to bring ammunition to Putin’s troops in Ukraine
Wednesday 12 February 2025 08:31
,
Shweta Sharma
Donkeys are being used by Vladimir Putin’s troops to move ammunition and supplies to the frontline in Ukraine amid a shortage of military vehicles, according to Russian soldiers and war bloggers.
The animals were being provided directly to troops by Russia’s defence ministry, a number of unnamed soldiers said on Telegram.
Russian Telegram channel Mayorsky KortiZol published a video on 5 February in which a Russian soldier said he was given a donkey.
Read our full report.
Zelensky calls for 'strong steps' on Russia after Kyiv attack
Wednesday 12 February 2025 07:37
,
Shweta Sharma
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said "only strong steps and pressure" can stop Russia’s terror in Ukraine after a deadly attack on Kyiv.
"Putin is not preparing for peace - he continues to kill Ukrainians and destroy cities," Mr Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app.
"Right now we need the unity and support of all our partners in the fight for a just end to this war."
At least one person has died and four others, including a 9-year-old girl, were injured in early morning missile strikes across Kyiv today.
Emergency services scrambled to douse fires and acces