Trump appears to blame Ukraine for war against Russia

Russia shows 'no indications it wants to make meaningful concessions on Ukraine', ISW says

Russia continues to show "no indications that it is prepared to make any meaningful concessions on Ukraine", the Institute for the Study of War states.

The US-based thinktank says that while Russian and American officials met in Saudi Arabia to discuss the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin's broad ambitions appear unchanged.

The ISW notes a report by NBC in which it said four Western intelligence officials and two US congressional officials had stated intelligence showed that Putin still wants to control all of Ukraine and that his goals "remain maximalist."

"The six officials stated that Putin may agree to a ceasefire and peace deal in order to give the Russian military time to rest and reconstitute, and there is an idea among Western officials that Putin may go through the motions of negotiations in order to see what concessions he can get and to reintegrate Russia back into the global community," the ISW states.

"The two congressional officials and a former senior US administration official noted that Putin's 'broad ambitions' have remained unchanged from the end of the Biden administration into the new Trump administration."

The ISW also reports that Western intelligence assessments suggest that Putin "has not changed his theory of victory in Ukraine".

Statements coming out of Russia also show Putin "remains uninterested in engaging in good faith negotiations", the thinktank adds.

'We have begun to move away from the edge of the abyss'

The US and Russia "have begun to move away from the edge of the abyss where Biden's administration led our relationship", Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said. 

He made the comments while speaking in the Russian parliament this morning. 

Addressing the comments made by Donald Trump yesterday, he said the US president had given a "signal that he understands our position".

For context: Trump said he was "very disappointed" by Ukraine, adding: "I hear they're upset about not having a seat" [at the negotiating table].

"Well they've had a seat for three years and a long time before that, this could have been settled very easily," he said.

'Trump is in a hurry', says former British ambassador to US

Former British ambassador to the US Sir David Manning says Donald Trump is in a "great hurry" to get things done. 

Speaking to our presenter Wilfred Frost, Manning said: "Trump has been out of office for four years and has come back, he strikes me as being in a great hurry. 

"He knows that he's got four years, but in the midterm elections, which are two years away, he may or may not retain control of Congress."

Manning explained that Trump "wants to do all the things he thought he might like to have done first time around and failed to do so".

Talking about the UK, he said Sir Keir Starmer will be hoping to rebalance the outlook of peace negotiations during his meeting with Trump next week. 

"I think it's important to remember the Europeans have a stake in this, an important stake," he added. 

"A lot of the frozen Russian assets are in Europe, the Ukrainians themselves certainly have a stake. They fought for three years for their independence in the face of this unprovoked, neo-imperialist aggression.

"I think there's also the question about what goes on in Washington. Will Congress itself acquiesce in this apparent abandonment of the principles which America has upheld since the Second World War?"

Lavrov: We need to remove any threats to Russia

Russia discussed removing threats to the country with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Sergei Lavrov says.

He says: "We need to remove any threats to Russia which were created by trying to drag Ukraine into NATO."

Lavrov also says the "actions of the Kyiv regime" must be "stopped".

"It is aimed at killing everything that has got to do with Russia," he says.

He says the tasks set by Vladimir Putin are "large scale tasks".

The comments come after Rubio led a US delegation in talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia over the war.

Strength of Russia's relationship with China 'unprecedented'

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is speaking in Moscow.

Speaking on the country's foreign policy, he says a "partnership" has been set up with Iran and there is "strategic cooperation" with China.

"The strength of our relationship with China is unprecedented," he says.

Lavrov also says Russia has strong ties with Belarus and the Kremlin will "continue to deepen these relations".

Marco Rubio visits UAE

We have some more pictures now showing the US secretary of state on his visit to the United Arab Emirates.

As we reported earlier (see our 8.26am post) Marco Rubio is in Abu Dhabi for the final leg of his Middle East tour.

Rubio has been pictured meeting UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Trump and Putin could meet this month

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin could meet as early as this month, although a face-to-face meeting will take time to prepare, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, according to Russian news agencies.

Peskov said the US-Russia talks held on Tuesday in Riyadh were an "important step" towards reaching a settlement on the war.

But he said relations between the two global superpowers would first have to be reanimated before they could be restored.

For context: Yesterday, Trump also said he might meet Putin this month and dismissed Ukraine's concern about being left out of talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the Ukraine war.

The meeting in Riyadh marked another pivotal step by the Trump administration to reverse US policy on isolating Russia.

Earlier this month, the US president also said he and Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war after he had a call with the Russian leader.

'Americans have been taken for fools by Vladimir Putin'

A former Conservative MP who has joined the international arm of the Ukrainian army says he is "astonished and appalled" talks took place in Saudi Arabia without Ukraine or Europe.

Speaking to our presenter Wilfred Frost, Jack Lopresti said: "I think the Americans have been taken for fools by Vladimir Putin.

"I don't think he has any interest in peace whatsoever, he's still building up his military, he's upscaled his defence manufacturing and he's just sitting back letting this all unfold."

Turning to a potential solution in negotiations, Lopresti stated Ukraine is under no obligation to accept what is put on the table by others.

"They have got a right to determine their own future and decide what they accept and how they negotiate," he added.

"The UK is building the national leadership to get Europe on board and get them to ramp up their defensive and offensive capability. We know what happens next, if Putin wins here he will not stop in Ukraine."

Rubio arrives in Abu Dhabi

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has arrived in Abu Dhabi this morning for the final leg of his Middle East tour.

He was met by the US ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Martina Strong and UAE minister Reem al Hashimy and is set to meet with the UAE's president and foreign minister.

The visit comes the day after Rubio led a US delegation in talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia over the war in Ukraine.

Speaking after the meeting, Rubio said the two countries "need to have vibrant diplomatic missions that are able to function normally".

'We are going to listen': US envoy to Ukraine arrives in Kyiv

The US envoy to Ukraine has just arrived in Kyiv on a train from Poland.

Keith Kellogg is set to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy later today after talks between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia over the war in Ukraine.

"It is good to be back in Kyiv again," he told reporters. 

"I'm going to have some wonderful talks with president Zelenskyy." 

When asked what his message is by our security and defence editor Deborah Haynes, he said: "We are going to listen."

Can Europe survive without America?

The US has told Europe it needs to spend more on defence, while the EU appears to be sidelined from peace talks aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

In this episode of The World, Richard and Yalda discuss the most significant foreign policy shift since the Second World War.

Yalda is just back from the Munich Security Conference and gives the inside view on events there, as Richard gauges the reaction of the Ukrainian people.

You can also follow the podcast here, so you never miss an episode. 

Trump's direction of travel in diplomacy does not look good for Ukraine

That the United States chose to hold talks with Russia about Ukraine without Ukraine sums up the power imbalance that is upending security assumptions for the whole of Europe.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, has consistently warned that Kyiv must have a seat at the negotiating table for any discussions about ending Vladimir Putin's war to have a chance of success. His European allies also want to have a voice.

Yet these requests were ignored by Donald Trump and his strongman approach to diplomacy, with the president instead dispatching his top diplomat and two other senior envoys to meet Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Ukraine attacks oil refinery in Russia

Ukraine attacked an oil refinery in the city of Syzran in Russia's Samara region overnight, the regional governor reports.

"Emergency services are working on the territory of the enterprise. According to preliminary information, there are no casualties," Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said on Telegram.

He did not specify whether the refinery had been damaged.

Russia's defence ministry said air defence systems had destroyed nine Ukrainian drones overnight - over Bryansk, Tatarstan and Tula regions and the Black Sea.

Trump appears to blame Ukraine over war with Russia

Last night, Donald Trump suggested Russia's war in Ukraine could have been "settled very easily" as he criticised Kyiv's negotiation skills.

In comments after an extraordinary meeting between senior American and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, the US president said of Ukraine: "They've had a seat [at the table] for three years and a long time before that.

"You should have never started it. You could have made a deal." 

While touting his own negotiation skills, Trump also said he was "more confident" about a peace deal after Tuesday's talks, attended by US secretary of state Marco Rubio.

Here are the key moments from Donald Trump's address in Mar-a-Lago...

On talks in Saudi Arabia

Asked whether he's more or less confident of a peace deal after yesterday's talks in Saudi Arabia, Trump said he's "much more confident". 

"They were very good," he added.

On European troops in Ukraine

The UK and France have suggested they could send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as part of a peace deal.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said such proposals, under NATO or any country, would be "unacceptable", though Trump disagreed.

"If they want to do that, that'd be fine," he said, adding the US would "not object to that at all".

"I know France has mentioned it. Others have mentioned it, the UK has mentioned it," he said, calling it a "beautiful gesture". 

On Ukraine's absence from talks

He said: "I'm very disappointed. I hear that, you know, they're upset about not having a seat. 

"Well, they've had a seat for three years and a long time before that. This could have been settled very easily."

On presidential elections in Ukraine

"We have a situation where we haven't had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law, essentially martial law in Ukraine, where the leader in Ukraine, I mean, I hate to say it, but he's down to 4% approval rating."

He added: "If Ukraine wants a seat at the table, wouldn't the people have to say it has been a long time since they had an election?

"That's not a Russian thing, that's something coming from me and coming from many other countries also."

On previous talks with Putin

"I think everyone knew that this is something that should have never happened, would have never happened," he said.

"And I used to discuss it with Putin. President Putin and I would talk about Ukraine, and it was the apple of his eye, I will tell you that. 

"But he never, there was never a chance of him going in. And I told him: 'You better not go in, don't go in, don't go in.' And he understood that and he understood it fully."

Trump added he will probably meet with Putin before the end of the month.

Mass Russian drone attack leaves much of Odesa without power

Russian forces have attacked Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odesa, leaving most of its residents without power, water or heating, the region's mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov reports this morning.

"Hospitals, clinics and social infrastructure sites were left without heating," Trukhanov wrote on Telegram, describing the strike on Odesa as "massive".

The mayor made no mention of casualties and said experts were assessing the damage

Odesa, a port city on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, has been a frequent target of Russian attacks throughout the war.

-SKY NEWS