Rubio shoots down claim Trump backs Putin’s Donbas plan

Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected reports that Donald Trump supports Vladimir Putin’s demand for Russia to seize full control of Ukraine’s Donbas region.

Speaking on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Rubio stressed that “these are things that Zelensky is going to have to decide on,” making clear any territorial concessions must come from Ukraine — not Washington.

He said Trump’s Alaska summit with Putin had made “progress,” but warned that new US sanctions could derail talks: “The minute you put additional sanctions on him… peace talks are no longer possible.”

Rubio said Trump remains the only leader capable of brokering peace, with European allies expected to help provide long-term security guarantees.

But he admitted negotiations remain fraught: “If one side gets everything they want, that’s not a peace deal. It’s called surrender.”

How Trump’s stance shifted after Putin summit

Donald Trump has dropped his push for a ceasefire in Ukraine and is now promising a full “Peace Agreement” following his talks with Vladimir Putin in Alaska

The shift has sparked fears that Trump is edging closer to Moscow’s position, NBC reports.

European leaders stressed that borders cannot change by force and analysts warned of “disastrous” consequences if Washington accepts Russia’s sweeping demands.

Ahead of the summit, Trump had told allies a ceasefire was his goal — but after meeting Putin, he declared that “the best way to end this war is to go directly to a Peace Agreement.”

Volodymyr Zelensky responded that Ukraine needs a “real and lasting peace, not just a pause between Russian invasions.”

Analysts say the pivot risks validating Russia’s demands for Ukraine to cede occupied regions and adopt permanent neutrality.

What are Russia’s demands – and what did Putin concede in Alaska?

At last week’s Alaska summit, Vladimir Putin set out his terms:

• Ukraine must surrender Donetsk and Luhansk in full
• Abandon its NATO aspirations
• Declare neutrality

In exchange, he reportedly offered to freeze the front lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, according to sources who spoke to The Independent.

Russia currently controls around 19 per cent of Ukraine, including almost all of Luhansk, three-quarters of Donetsk, and Crimea.

Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected any handover of territory, insisting negotiations must begin with a ceasefire and be based on current front lines.

Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said Putin made a rare concession in Alaska: agreeing that the US and Europe could offer Ukraine “Article 5-like” protection – a NATO-style security guarantee.

Witkoff called this “game-changing,” marking the first time Moscow had signalled openness to such an arrangement.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer later commended Trump’s commitment to providing these guarantees, after Sunday’s Coalition of the Willing meeting.

What’s on the table for Monday’s White House talks?

Tomorrow’s high-stakes meeting between Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a delegation of European leaders will tackle some of the most sensitive issues of the war:

• Territory: Russia’s demands that Ukraine cede Donetsk and Luhansk
• Security guarantees: Potential U.S.-backed protections, possibly with American air power
• NATO & Europe’s role: How allies could enforce a settlement and keep pressure on Russia
• Sanctions: Maintaining and tightening financial pressure on the Kremlin

European leaders are also pushing to ensure Ukraine is at the table for every decision.

Speaking in Brussels, Ursula von der Leyen said: “International borders cannot be changed by force. These are decisions to be made by Ukraine and Ukraine alone.”

There’s also a strong push for a trilateral Trump–Putin–Zelensky meeting to secure Kyiv’s place in shaping the endgame.

Russia continues strikes on Ukraine, latest pictures

Who’s heading to Washington for Zelensky’s crunch talks with Trump?

A high-powered European delegation will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House tomorrow as peace talks enter a decisive stage.

Confirmed attendees include:

• UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer
• French President Emmanuel Macron
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
• Finnish President Alexander Stubb
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
• NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

The leaders rallied behind Zelensky in a coalition call on Sunday, vowing to present a united front in Washington.

The “coalition of the willing” is preparing to back Ukraine with robust security guarantees — including potentially policing any peace deal with boots on the ground.

How did the last Trump–Zelensky White House meeting go?

The last Oval Office meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, on February 28, spiralled into a fiery showdown broadcast live on TV.

What was meant to be a discussion on U.S. support and a proposed minerals deal turned into a clash over Ukraine’s war strategy.

Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused Zelensky of being “ungrateful,” with Trump shouting he was “gambling with World War III.”

Zelensky pushed back, insisting Putin couldn’t be trusted and that Ukraine needed ironclad security guarantees, not territorial concessions.

Tensions flared from the start — Trump mocked Zelensky’s military attire, while a pro-Trump reporter piled on with a loaded question.

The meeting ended without a deal, and a follow-up news conference was scrapped.

Trump then blasted Zelensky on Truth Social for “disrespecting” the U.S., while Zelensky kept his statement diplomatic.

Shortly after, Trump briefly froze intelligence and military aid to Kyiv — resuming it only after Zelensky agreed to a short ceasefire Russia later rejected.

Pence: Trump must bring the ‘hammer’ down on Putin with sanctions

Former Vice President Mike Pence said Donald Trump needs to hit Vladimir Putin with immediate new sanctions after their Alaska summit, warning the Russian leader “only understands strength.”

Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Pence said Trump’s diplomatic approach is like a “velvet glove” but argued: “The hammer needs to come, and it needs to come immediately.”

He urged Trump to press Senate Republicans to quickly pass a secondary sanctions bill to “literally break [Putin’s] economy.”

Pence cautioned that without tough action, Putin could drag out the war through the winter. “We can’t allow Vladimir to run out the clock on the war in this year and this season,” he said.

Still, Pence praised Trump for pursuing peace, saying he “deserves credit as leader of the free world for not giving up on Ukraine” — but added he would have preferred a ceasefire deal.

“No deal is better than a bad deal,” he said.

Trump meanwhile posted on Truth Social claiming “BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA” and blasting the “Fake News” for distorting the outcome of the summit.

What key players said ahead of Trump-Zelensky talks

Here’s a snapshot of what some of the main figures have said today as focus turns to Monday’s White House meeting:

French President Emmanuel Macron

• Said the coalition’s call lasted just over two hours.
• Promised the group will “present a united front” with Trump tomorrow.
• Warned the war is entering a “decisive phase” and said leaders will press Trump on how far he’ll go with security guarantees for Ukraine.

US envoy Steve Witkoff

• Told CNN Russia made “some concessions” over five contested territories.
• Said Putin agreed to “robust” security guarantees, calling them “game changing” — though he did not clarify if US troops would be involved.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio

• Admitted Washington may not be able to end the war, warning “people will continue to die by the thousands.”
• Stressed both sides must compromise, since neither is “on the verge of surrender.”

How will tomorrow’s White House meetings unfold?

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky’s high-stakes talks at the White House are set to be split into several parts, CNN reports.

First, Trump and Zelensky will meet separately with their own delegations.

They are then expected to join a larger group session — and potentially a lunch — with European leaders who are travelling to Washington.

Discussions will focus on Russia’s demands for land concessions and the shape of security guarantees for Ukraine, including the role the US will play.

Putin general, 57, ‘has arm and leg amputated’ as he fights for life after Ukrainian strike on Russian column in Kursk

A top Putin general is fighting for his life after a brutal Ukrainian strike blew up a Russian column in Kursk – reportedly leaving him with devastating injuries and multiple amputations.

Lt-Gen Esedulla Abachev, 57, was hit on the Rylsk–Khomutovka highway in the Kursk region early on Saturday, according to Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR).

The decorated officer – deputy commander of Russia’s North Group of Forces – was urgently airlifted to the Vishnevsky Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow where surgeons amputated an arm and a leg, the Kyiv Post reported.

A pro-Moscow source admitted: “He is alive, but in serious condition [after] traumatic amputation of the arm and part of the leg.”

Ukrainian forces also blew up an ammo depot in occupied Melitopol a day earlier, killing marines and fighters from Ramzan Kadyrov’s notorious “Akhmat-Vostok” Chechen unit.

HUR gloated: “There will be just retribution for every war crime against the Ukrainian people.”

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Daughter of fallen soldier: Ukraine must not give up land

Some Ukrainians in Kyiv are rejecting any peace deal that would see their country give up territory to Russia.

Anna Moshyna, 22, a theatre student, lost her father three months ago on the front lines in Donetsk — one of the regions Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to cede.

“His dream is to save all our borders (including) eastern Ukraine and Crimea. That’s my dream and my father’s dream,” she said at a memorial for Ukraine’s war dead in Maidan Square.

“There are a lot of brave people, the best people of Ukraine, and they were fighting to keep it Ukrainian,” she added.

“I don’t agree to give it to Putin.”

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine’s constitution makes it impossible to give up or trade land, insisting territorial issues can only be decided at a trilateral level between Kyiv, Washington and Moscow.

Refresher: What territory Russia occupies — and what Putin wants

Russia illegally annexed four Ukrainian regions in 2023 — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

Of those, it almost completely controls only Luhansk, while failing to capture the key fortress cities in Donetsk.

Moscow has stuck to its maximalist demand that all four regions must be ceded to Russian control.

But after the Alaska summit, Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN that Vladimir Putin indicated some flexibility on “land swaps,” saying he was willing to adjust demands regarding five regions.

Witkoff did not name the fifth, though it is likely Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014.

Putin himself has not confirmed concessions, instead stressing that any settlement must address what he calls the “root causes” of the conflict.

On Saturday he said: “It is the removal of these root causes that must underlie the settlement. We would like to move forward with settling all issues by peaceful means.”

Ceasefire deal ‘not off the table’ between Ukraine and Russia, says Rubio

A temporary ceasefire in Ukraine remains possible, even as all sides push for a full peace deal, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday.

“It was agreed to by all that the best way to end this conflict is through a full peace deal,” Rubio told NBC’s Meet the Press.

“There’s no doubt about that… I think that’s the best way to end the war.”

“Now, whether there needs to be a ceasefire on the way there, well, we’ve advocated for that,” he added.

“Unfortunately, the Russians, as of now, have not agreed to that.”

Rubio also said he does not believe more sanctions on Moscow would be effective in securing either a ceasefire or a permanent settlement.

Rubio: Europeans not coming to Oval Office to ‘keep Zelensky from being bullied’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back on claims that European leaders are joining Monday’s Oval Office meeting to shield Volodymyr Zelensky from pressure.

Rubio told CBS’ Face the Nation: “This is such a stupid media narrative that they’re coming here tomorrow because Trump is going to bully Zelensky into a bad deal. We’ve been working with these people for weeks, for weeks on this stuff.

“They’re coming here tomorrow because they chose to come here tomorrow. We invited them to come.”

Rubio tempered expectations for a breakthrough, saying: “I’m not saying we’re on the verge of a peace deal.

“But I’m saying that we saw movement, enough movement to justify a follow-up meeting with Zelensky and the Europeans.”

He also stressed that Zelensky has been central to US diplomacy: “We’ve had one meeting with Putin and like a dozen with Zelensky.”

US may not be able to create path to end Ukraine war, Marco Rubio says

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington might not be able to craft a scenario that ends the war in Ukraine.

“If peace is not going to be possible here and this is just going to continue on as a war, people will continue to die by the thousands … we may unfortunately wind up there, but we don’t want to wind up there,” Rubio told ABC’s Face the Nation.

Speaking to CBS News, he added: “If one side gets everything they want, that’s called surrender… and neither side here is on the verge of surrender, or anything close to it.”

EU’s Costa: Pressure must rise on Russia if no ceasefire agreed

European Council President Antonio Costa said the EU and US must “increase pressure” on Moscow if a ceasefire is not reached.

“Ukraine’s sovereign right to determine its conditions for peace must be respected,” Costa wrote on X after the “coalition of the willing” meeting.

He welcomed Washington’s “willingness to participate in providing security guarantees to Ukraine,” saying it would “deter future Russian aggression.”

“Europe stands ready to do its part,” he added.

Zelensky calls for tougher sanctions on Russia

Volodymyr Zelensky thanked allies for the 18th sanctions package but urged work on the next round.

“We need to prepare the 19th, so Russia sees that we are serious,” he said. “We understand Russia’s strategic direction—it is anti-European, and so we must continue to limit Russia’s potential.”

Zelensky: EU accession part of Ukraine’s security guarantees

Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine’s path to EU membership must be part of its long-term security.

“President Trump said that America and Putin see it the same way. So we talked about the EU accession negotiations. There can be no division between Ukraine and Moldova – that would simply be a very bad move,” he wrote.

He warned that dividing the two countries would “automatically mean that Europe is divided on Ukraine.”

Zelensky: Security guarantees must work like NATO’s Article 5

Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed America’s readiness to work with Europe on security guarantees, calling it a “significant change.”

But he insisted they must work in practice: “We need security to work in practice, like Article 5 of NATO.”

Zelensky: Territorial issues can only be decided by Kyiv and Moscow

Ukraine’s constitution makes it impossible to give up or trade land, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral—Ukraine, the U.S., Russia. So far, Russia gives no sign this will happen, and if Russia refuses, new sanctions must follow,” he posted.

Zelensky: ‘It’s necessary to cease fire and work quickly on a final deal’

Zelensky said Russia must stop the killings before any real peace can be achieved.

“It’s necessary to cease fire and work quickly on a final deal. We’ll talk about it in Washington, D.C. Putin does not want to stop the killings. But he must do it,” the Ukrainian president wrote.