Zelensky, Volodymyr

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    Trump Rebukes Putin, Calls Escalation of Attacks ‘Absolutely Crazy’

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    “He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” President Trump said of his Russian counterpart.President Trump on Sunday condemned the decision by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to unleash one of the largest offensives in Russia’s war against Ukraine, and said he was considering imposing more sanctions on Russia in response.Speaking to reporters in New Jersey before boarding Air Force One, Mr. Trump said he was “not happy” with Mr. Putin escalating his attacks, especially as the two countries negotiate a cease-fire deal to bring the three-year war to an end.“He’s killing a lot of people, and I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin,” Mr. Trump said. “I’ve known him a long time. Always gotten along with him. But he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all.”He added, “We’re in the middle of talking, and he’s shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities.”Mr. Trump continued criticizing Mr. Putin hours later, writing on social media that his Russian counterpart “has gone absolutely CRAZY” and was shooting missiles and drones into Ukraine’s cities, “for no reason whatsoever.”“He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers,” Mr. Trump wrote.Mr. Trump, who has largely focused on trade and other benefits to Russia if it ended its war against Ukraine, also wrote that Mr. Putin’s continued incursion could have dire consequences.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      EU Plans New Sanctions on Russia in Push for Ukraine Cease-fire

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      The European Union has now targeted Moscow’s fleet of covert oil tankers and plans more restrictions, as the Trump administration’s approach to the war shifts.European Union defense and foreign ministers approved a new package of sanctions on Russia on Tuesday, targeting covert oil exports, days after the top E.U. official announced plans for a further set of even tougher restrictions.The point is to intensify Russia’s economic pain — and by doing so, to prod President Vladimir V. Putin toward peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. The push comes as questions mount about how the United States will approach future sanctions.After a call between President Trump and Mr. Putin on Monday, the White House backed off its demand that Russia declare an immediate cease-fire. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said at a news conference that it was unclear whether the United States would join with Europe in stepping up sanctions.E.U. nations have imposed extensive sanctions on Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The ones they approved on Tuesday are the 17th set. These take aim at Russia’s so-called shadow fleet — old tanker ships that Moscow uses to covertly transport and sell its oil around the world.Officials are already discussing an 18th package. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, the E.U. executive arm, said last week that officials could go after gas pipelines, hit banks and push to further crimp Russia’s global energy sales.“It takes two to want peace, and it takes only one to want war,” Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said on Tuesday. “In order to make Russia want peace, also, we need to put more pressure on Russia.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      E.U. Leaders Demand Russia Accept Ukraine Cease-fire by End of Day

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      The Kremlin brushed off the threat of further sanctions, saying that “the language of ultimatums is unacceptable.”European leaders stepped up pressure on Russia to accept an unconditional cease-fire in Ukraine, threatening to immediately impose a new round of punishing sanctions if the Kremlin did not change its stance by the end of Monday.“The clock is ticking — we still have 12 hours until the end of this day,” the German government spokesman, Stefan Kornelius, told a news conference.The ultimatum was the latest turn in an increasingly frenetic round of diplomatic brinkmanship as the Trump administration grows frustrated by a lack of progress in its efforts to end the bloodiest conflict in Europe in generations.On Monday, the Kremlin spokesman brushed off the threat.“The language of ultimatums is unacceptable — you cannot talk to Russia like this,” the spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told Russian news agencies.President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has so far rejected an unconditional 30-day truce that was first proposed by the United States in early March and immediately accepted by Ukraine.Instead, Mr. Putin called this weekend for the resumption of direct negotiations with Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine responded by challenging the Russian leader to meet him in person.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      More American Air Defense Is on the Way to Help Ukraine

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      A Patriot air-defense system is moving from Israel to Ukraine, and Western allies are discussing the logistics of getting Germany or Greece to send another.Ukraine is getting more help in its war with Russia.A Patriot air-defense system that was based in Israel will be sent to Ukraine after it is refurbished, four current and former U.S. officials said in recent days, and Western allies are discussing the logistics of Germany or Greece giving another one.The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, declined to describe President Trump’s view of the decision to transfer more Patriot systems to Ukraine, nor did they comment on whether it was made before he took office, during the Biden administration.The White House’s National Security Council does not provide details on the strength and placement of defense systems, said James Hewitt, a spokesman for the council. “President Trump has been clear: he wants the war in Ukraine to end and the killing to stop,” he said.The Defense Department said in a statement that “it continues to provide equipment to Ukraine from previously authorized” packages, referring to weaponry pulled from existing inventories and new purchases.The delivery, which has not been previously reported, comes as Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine, including an April 24 missile strike on Kyiv that was the deadliest since last summer.A year ago, allies struggled to answer Mr. Zelensky’s demand for seven Patriot systems. Although Ukraine now has eight, only six are functioning. The other two are being refurbished, one of the U.S. officials said. With the one from Israel, and one from Germany or Greece, Ukraine would have 10 Patriot systems in total, largely to protect the capital, Kyiv.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Once Banished From Trump’s White House, Zelensky Has New Hope

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      In his zigzagging approach to ending the war in Ukraine, President Trump has shifted his frustration — for now — from Ukraine’s leader to Vladimir Putin.Feb. 28 was one of the darkest days for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion three years earlier. An Oval Office visit by President Volodymyr Zelensky meant to win favor with President Trump turned into a televised shouting match, prompting Mr. Trump to banish his guest from the White House without even serving him a planned lunch.Mr. Trump was already a deep skeptic of U.S. support for Ukraine. But after the disastrous meeting with Mr. Zelensky, he accelerated his diplomacy with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, drafting a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine that offered major concessions to Moscow. Ukraine’s supporters were in panic.But there is new hope in Kyiv.A day after the Trump administration announced an economic deal with Ukraine that gives the United States a stake in its future mineral revenues, analysts say the country’s prospects look brighter than they have in months.“These are very good signs that something might be shifting,” said Alina Polyakova, the president and chief executive of the Center for European Policy Analysis.“It does seem like there’s change from the previous approach” by the Trump administration, she said, calling the minerals deal “a win-win for both sides” that Ukraine negotiated “very savvily.”Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky also appeared to have a friendly meeting on Saturday at the Vatican, as Mr. Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Mr. Putin’s demands in the separate talks to settle the war.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Fact-Checking Trump’s False Claims in His First 100 Days in Office

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      The president’s dizzying efforts to reconfigure the global economy, reshape the federal government and restrict immigration have been undergirded by a nonstop distortion of facts.President Trump, intent on enacting an expansive agenda, has moved at a dizzying pace in the first 100 days of his term, issuing a barrage of executive actions and seeking to expand the scope of his presidential power.Underlying those efforts is a nonstop distortion of basic facts as Mr. Trump has sought to reconfigure the global economy, reshape the federal government and restrict immigration.To justify his executive actions and policies, Mr. Trump has relied on false, misleading and hyperbolic claims, deflecting blame for catastrophes, boasting about purported achievements and trying to seek leverage with Ukraine in negotiating a peace deal with Russia.Here is a fact-check of Mr. Trump’s often-repeated claims.Federal CutsImmigrationTrade and the EconomyMilitary and International ConflictsFederal CutsIn his breakneck effort to transform the federal bureaucracy, Mr. Trump has offered misleading justifications. He has often echoed dubious claims about so-called fraud made by Elon Musk, the billionaire leading the cost-cutting initiative known as the Department of Government Efficiency.What Was Said“Could you mention some of the things that your team has found, some of the crazy numbers, including the woman that walked away with about $30 million?”— in a February appearance with Mr. MuskWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Trump’s Meeting With Zelensky Offers Ukrainians a Glimmer of Hope

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      The United States has been pushing Ukraine to accept a peace plan that seems in part a gift to Moscow. But the short meeting of the leaders, and subsequent comments, appeared to be a change in tone.President Trump’s standing among Ukrainians is practically on life support. But many cheered one statement he made on Saturday after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, questioning why President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia would continue to pummel Ukraine as the United States is trying to broker peace talks.“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social after meeting with Mr. Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral, adding that Mr. Putin may need to be “dealt with differently” — with more sanctions. The day’s events were a victory of sorts for Mr. Zelensky and Ukraine at a critical juncture in the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The United States has been pushing Ukraine to accept a peace plan that seems in part a gift to Moscow. The proposal would force Kyiv to abandon its aspirations of joining NATO, offer Ukraine only vague security guarantees, and see the United States officially recognizing Crimea as Russian. Ukraine has rejected that deal, which the Trump administration had described as its final offer.But now, Ukrainians see a small glimmer of hope that Mr. Trump will not try to force Ukraine into a lopsided peace plan. It first emerged in the fallout from a massive Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s capital early Thursday that killed 12 people and injured almost 90. “Vladimir, STOP!” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social, in a rare rebuke of Mr. Putin.And then, the hope grew slightly on Saturday when Mr. Zelensky managed to wrangle about 15 minutes with Mr. Trump in Rome. Photos released by the Ukrainian government showed the two men sitting in chairs and leaning toward each other, talking like equals — a vastly different scene than a disastrous meeting in the Oval Office in late February that ended with Mr. Zelensky’s abrupt departure from the White House and the temporary freezing of all U.S. aid.The photos from Rome “were extraordinary,” said Volodymyr Dubovyk, the director of the Center for International Studies at Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University. He added that it was good for Mr. Zelensky to have some time alone with Mr. Trump.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Russia Claims to Have Retaken Final Village in Its Kursk Region

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      Ukraine denied that it had been pushed out of the region and said that its military operations inside Russia were continuing. Russia’s top military commander said on Saturday that Moscow’s forces had retaken the last village that Ukraine was holding in the Kursk region of western Russia, though Ukrainian officials denied that their brazen campaign in the area had finally come to an end.The Russian claim was made by Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, who has managed the invasion of Ukraine and defense of Russia as chief of the general staff. His statement came six weeks after his forces retook all but a tiny sliver of the Russian territory that Ukraine had been holding since a surprise offensive into Russia’s western Kursk region last summer.In a televised video, General Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir V. Putin that Russian forces had on Saturday recaptured the village of Gornal, on the border with Ukraine. Speaking to Mr. Putin via a video link, General Gerasimov said that the advance had “completed the defeat of the Ukrainian armed forces that attacked the Kursk region.”The Ukrainian General Staff denied that its forces had withdrawn fully from the region, saying the country’s military operation there was ongoing.“The operational situation is difficult, but our units continue to hold their positions,” the General Staff said in a statement.The expulsion of Ukrainian troops from Russia’s Kursk region could remove one of the major complications vexing the peace talks pushed by President Trump, whose special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Mr. Putin for more than three hours in Moscow on Friday to discuss a deal that could end the conflict.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Melania Trump, Prince William and Zelensky Among Famous Faces at Pope Francis’ Funeral

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      President Trump, Melania Trump, Prince William and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine were among those who paid respects to the pontiff in St. Peter’s Square.Among the tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday for Pope Francis’ funeral were monarchs, world leaders, at least one former president and other familiar faces.Filling up the rows of nondescript chairs, according to Vatican protocol, reigning monarchs went first, including King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain. Then came heads of state, in alphabetical order according to the name of their country in French.Only Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy and President Javier Milei of the pope’s native Argentina had priority seating toward the front.Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron of France sat across an aisle from President Trump, and Melania Trump, the first lady, and the two presidents shook hands at one point in the service. Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a Catholic, sat farther away with Jill Biden, the former first lady.Crowds watching on big screens around the square applauded when President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine took his seat. Leaders from Africa and Asia, regions where the Catholic Church is growing, also took their seats, including President William Ruto of Kenya and President Droupadi Murmu of India.Other royals who aren’t heads of state, including Prince William, sat in a group just in front of visiting government ministers and other dignitaries.Away from the world leaders, among the crowds, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks who was imprisoned after his website published secret government documents in the 2010s, paid tribute to Francis with his family.“Now Julian is free, we have all come to Rome to express our family’s gratitude for the Pope’s support during Julian’s persecution,” read a message on social media attributed to his wife, Stella Assange. The post said that the pope had written to Mr. Assange while he was in prison. More