Trump’s message to Putin comes just hours after Zelensky pressure.
Writing on his Truth Social account at just before 08:30 local time in Washington DC, Trump said the deadly strikes on Kyiv were “not necessary, and very bad timing”.
“Vladimir, STOP!” he concluded. “5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE.”
The blunt message comes just hours after Trump criticised the Ukrainian president on the same platform.
“He [Zelensky] can have peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole country,” Trump wrote on Wednesday, adding that Zelensky was the “man with no cards to play”.
Trump’s message to Putin is a relatively rare condemnation of the near-daily Russian strikes on Ukraine – and a sign of his frustration.
The US president promised to resolve the Ukraine war on “day one” of his presidency, and the 100th day comes later this month.
As the deadly overnight strikes on Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine show, there is no end to the war in sight.
A brief history of Crimea’s significance to Ukraine and Russia
Let’s turn our attention back to Crimea now, which has been a point of contention in peace talks for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The peninsula stretches out from the south of Ukraine, between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, and is separated from Russia to the east by the narrow Kerch Strait.
Crimea was given to Ukraine as a gift by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1954. When Ukraine became independent in 1991, Russian President Boris Yeltsin agreed that Crimea could remain in Ukraine and that Russia would retain a major naval base there.
A 2001 census showed that the population was made up of 58% Russians.
In 2014, Russian troops seized Crimea and illegally annexed it. The UN Charter, however, sets out that borders cannot be changed by using force.
Internationally, Crimea is still considered part of Ukraine and Zelensky has repeatedly rejected the idea of recognising it as Russian. “There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution,” he said previously.
On Wednesday, Trump criticised this stance, saying it was “very harmful” to peace talks. “Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago?” Trump wrote on social media.
“The statement made by Zelenskyy today will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field’ and nobody wants that! We are very close to a Deal, but the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE,” Trump continued.
Russia claims strikes on Ukraine targeted military infrastructure
The Russian defence ministry claims those strikes targeted “aviation, rocket and space, machine-building and tank industry companies in Ukraine, companies producing rocket fuel and gunpowder”.
“The targets of the strike have been achieved. All of the facilities have been struck,” the defence ministry says in a statement.
UK’s position on Crimea ‘will not change’ – Downing Street
Following Keir Starmer’s comments outlined in our earlier post, Downing Street has set out its position on Crimea – a southern peninsula in Ukraine illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
This comes after Donald Trump appears to have criticised Zelensky for refusing to recognise Russian control of Crimea during peace talks.
In a briefing, Number 10 says it “will not change” its position on the territory unless Ukraine’s government also changes its stance.
“For as long as the talks last we are completely committed to reaching peace. Our position on Ukrainian sovereignty has not changed,” the PM’s spokesperson says.
I am not happy with Russian strikes – Trump
Posting on his Truth Social account, he writes: “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”
Kyiv strikes a reminder Russia is real aggressor, Starmer says
UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, says last night’s strikes on Kyiv are a “real reminder that Russia is the aggressor here”.
He adds that the attacks – which have so far injured at least 77 – show “why it is important to get Russia to an unconditional ceasefire”.
Starmer’s comments come a day after diplomats met in London to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Following the talks he says: “We’re making progress towards a ceasefire, it’s got to be a lasting ceasefire.”
Ukraine and South Africa stick to their guns
There was some hope before today’s meeting that South Africa would extend a symbolic gesture to Ukraine, like inviting it to the G20 summit later this year, which South Africa is hosting.
Some analysts believed it would be a sign of further rapprochement between the two countries, but that invitation never came.
The fact that Zelensky is on South African soil may be seen by some to be a good enough sign of thawing relations between the two countries, given South Africa and other African nations have refused to take sides in the war.
Instead, President Ramaphosa reiterated his country’s commitment to speaking to all parties in the conflict and its expertise in negotiating settlements, following the end of the apartheid regime. Ramaphosa also wouldn’t be drawn on whether Ukraine should secede territory to Russia.
He also claimed a call he had with President Trump yesterday was not tied to Zelensky’s visit, adding that the call had been months in the planning.
For his part, Zelensky was also unwilling to depart from his red lines, reiterating that there could be no talk of compromise without a complete ceasefire, and that the fact that Ukraine was willing to sit at the negotiating table when it was Russia that started the war, was compromise enough.
South Africa believes peace will be secured through many nations
On Washington’s involvement in securing a peace deal, Ramaphosa says that the US, as well as other countries like China, Brazil and those on the African continent, all have an important role to play.
“We would urge every one to continue playing a role as peace is important,” he says and with that the press briefing ends.
Ukraine conceding territory amounts to ‘precondition’, Ramaphosa says
Ramaphosa next responds to a question on whether Ukraine should be prepared concede territory.
He responds that that is something that amounts to a “precondition” and adds that Ukraine’s commitment to an unconditional ceasefire sets a “positive tone”.
Once a ceasefire is in place “everything can be discussed”.
Zelensky quizzed on role of US in peace negotiations
After their speeches, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are asked by journalists about the role of the US in peace negotiations.
A South African reporter asks both of them whether they think a ceasefire is possible.
In response, Ramaphosa says the US, Europe and the African continent would be willing and prepared to play a productive role.
“We are involved in ensuring that there is a peace process that is effective between the two countries,” he says.
Zelensky says that he hopes the US can be a guarantor of a ceasefire, adding that he doesn’t want to see “another frozen conflict”.
SOURCE: BBC NEWS
