Kremlin disputes Trump comments that Russia would accept Nato peacekeeping troops in Ukraine
During his regular media briefing this morning, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov appeared to dispute Donald Trump’s claim that Russia would accept European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine.
Addressing reporters, Peskov said the Kremlin had nothing to add to the foreign ministry’s position on the unacceptability of Nato peacekeepers in Ukraine.
On Monday, in a joint appearance with France’s president Emmanuel Macron, the US president claimed that he had spoken with Vladimir Putin about the potential deployment of Nato peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, and the Russian president said he “has no problem with it.”
Last week Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said that the deployment of Nato troops under another flag – “under the flag of the European Union or under national flags” he said – would be “unacceptable” to Russia. Peskov’s comments this morning appear to suggest, contrary to Trump’s assertion, remains the case.
Ukraine’s presidential press service has issued a photograph showing president Volodymyr Zelenskyy introducing the world leaders visiting Kyiv some new developments in Ukraine’s defence industry.
British prime minister Keir Starmer is set to announce a cut to the country’s aid budget to immediately hike defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, ahead of his visit to the White House on Thursday, according to The Sun.
The Sun is reporting that Starmer dismissed demands from “senior officers” to increase defence spending to as much as 2.65% of GDP, which the outlet estimates would cost an extra £10bn.
The prime minister is due to make a statement in parliament about defence and security at 1230 GMT today.
Starmer has previously said he would set out a path for the UK to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence, up from the current 2.3%, but did not specify when that would be.
The pressure has increased in recent weeks as US President Donald Trump has upped his calls for European countries to significantly increase defence spending, suggesting Nato allies hit as much as 5% of GDP.
You can read more about how the cautious British prime minister is approaching his meeting with the volatile US president in this analysis by the Guardian’s political editor, Pippa Crerar.
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Russian foreign minister arrives in Tehran for talks
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has landed in Tehran for talks with Iranian officials.
Lavrov is reportedly to meet his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi. The Russian foreign ministry said the talks would cover “Russian-Iranian relations” as well as “a number of current international issues”.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, heading a delegation, arrived in Tehran a few minutes ago. He is to meet his Iranian counterpart on the first day of his trip. pic.twitter.com/zjQUHe6xUK
— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) February 25, 2025
In January, Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed a broad cooperation pact as their countries deepened their partnership in the face of sweeping western sanctions.
Russian and Iranian officials said the “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” covers all areas, from trade and military cooperation to science, education and culture.
Ukraine and the west have accused Iran of providing Moscow with hundreds of drones for use to attack Ukraine, which Moscow and Tehran have denied.
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The Ukrainian military has said Russia launched an overnight attack using seven missiles and 213 drones.
Ukraine’s air force shot down six missiles and 133 drones, the military said. Another 79 drones did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare, it added.
Early on Sunday, Russia carried out its biggest aerial raid since its 24 February 2022 all-out invasion, sending 267 drones across Ukraine’s border. At least four people were killed in strikes across the country.
Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, has said attacks on Ukraine will continue until a deal to stop the fighting is secured that is acceptable to Moscow.
Putin offers to sell rare earth minerals to the US, including from Russian-occupied Ukraine
Pjotr Sauer is a Russian affairs reporter for the Guardian
Vladimir Putin on Monday evening offered to sell Russia’s rare earth minerals to American companies, including those in Russian-occupied Ukraine, further underscoring his message to Donald Trump that there’s profit to be made in Russia.
“We are ready to work with our partners, including the Americans,” Putin said, adding Russia could resume selling aluminium to the US.
“We undoubtedly have, I want to emphasize, significantly more resources of this kind than Ukraine,” the Russian president said.
Putin said that potential rare earth metals exploration deals could also be extended to deposits in territory in eastern Ukraine that Russia occupies after three years of military action.
Earlier on Monday, Trump told reporters in Washington that “major economic development transactions with Russia” would take place. Within two hours of the US president’s statement, Putin chaired an unannounced meeting with his ministers and economic advisers on rare earth metals.
Russia has the world’s fifth-largest reserves of rare earth metals, according to the US Geological Survey data, after China, Brazil, India and Australia.
As we mentioned in the post at 08.34, Poland scrambled its military aircraft this morning to protect its airspace after Russian missiles targeted neighbouring Ukraine.
In a statement posted early Tuesday morning, Poland’s operational command of the armed forces branches said:
Attention, due to the activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation carrying out strikes on objects located, among others, in western Ukraine, military aviation has begun operating in Polish airspace.
The operational commander... activated all available forces and resources at his disposal, and ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems reached a state of readiness.
The steps taken are aimed at ensuring safety in areas bordering the threatened areas.
Poland later said there was no violation of its airspace during the Russian attack. “We would like to inform you that the operation of military aviation in Polish airspace has been terminated due to the cessation of long-distance aviation activity the Russian Federation,” the operational command of the armed forces branches wrote on Facebook.
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Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone on Monday night, reiterating their strong bilateral relationship which they said had played a stabilising role in international relations.
The call, reportedly requested by Putin, likely reassures Xi that the “limitless partnership” they signed in 2022 shortly before the Ukraine invasion, remains intact despite Trump’s increasingly favourable approach towards Russia. Trump is continuing to wage trade hostilities against China.
According to the Chinese readout of the call, Xi said the bilateral relationship had a “strong internal driving force and unique strategic value”.
“Both history and reality tell us that China and Russia are destined to be good neighbours, and our two countries are true friends that share weal and woe, support each other and pursue common development,” he said.
The Kremlin characterised Putin’s part of the call as telling Xi their alliance “is a strategic choice made by Russia with a view to the long term”.
“It is not an act of expediency, not affected by any temporary incidents, and not subject to interference by external factors”.
The call between the two allies comes amid the extraordinary reshaping of the world order, with a US-drafted resolution adopted by the UN security council, which marks the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine without mentioning Russia’s aggression.
The resolution received 10 votes in favour, including the US, China and Russia, while five members including the UK and France abstained from the vote.
The United States, Russia, Belarus and North Korea also voted against a UN general assembly resolution condemning Russia’s war, which China abstained from.
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All of Ukraine under air raid alerts this morning as Russian attacks continue
A Russian air attack injured a 44-year-old woman and damaged houses in the Kyiv oblast, Mykola Kalashnyk, governor of the region that surrounds the Ukrainian capital, said on Tuesday morning.
All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts in the early hours of Tuesday as the Ukrainian air force warned of a Russian missile attack. Neighbouring Poland scrambled aircraft to ensure air safety. Russia said its air defence units intercepted and destroyed 19 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Sixteen of them were over Bryansk, Moscow’s defence ministry said. Ukraine has repeatedly succeeded in hitting military and industrial targets in Bryansk, including oil infrastructure.
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Last week, Donald Trump said it had been a “mistake” to expel Russia out of what was then the G8 after Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. He has requested that Russia be admitted back into the G7 (Group of Seven), comprised of some of the world’s most economically advanced countries. They are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.
German finance minister Joerg Kukies has been speaking to Reuters in an interview about whether or not Russia should be allowed to rejoin the G7 despite its illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He firmly said it shouldn’t be readmitted.
“The condemnation of the G7 of Russia’s war of aggression is very clear, especially on the third anniversary of Russia’s brutal attack,” Kukies said, adding that Trump’s proposal would not get the unanimity required.
Kukies will travel to Cape Town today for the G20 meeting of finance ministers, with the US treasury secretary Scott Bessent staying away due to a scheduling conflict.
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Macron says ceasefire could come in 'weeks' as US sides with Russia at UN
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
French president Emmanuel Macron has said a truce “could be done in the weeks to come”, shortly after meeting Donald Trump at the White House where he told the US president a deal should not mean the “surrender” of Ukraine.
“[A] truce on air, sea [and] infrastructure,” the French president told Fox News. “If it is not respected, it will be the best evidence of the fact that Russia is not serious.”
“We want peace. And I think the initiative of President Trump is a very positive one. But my message was to say be careful because we need something substantial for Ukraine,” he added.
At a press conference with Macron, the US president claimed he had made more progress in the past month than was made in the previous three years. “I believe that Emmanuel agrees with me on many of the most important issues,” he said. “Europe must take a central role in ensuring the long-term security of Ukraine.”
Macron’s visit comes days before that of UK prime minister Keir Starmer. The pair had agreed to show “united leadership in support of Ukraine” ahead of their meetings with Trump.
While Macron and Trump met in Washington, the US sided with Russia at the UN, pushing for a resolution on the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that did not mention Moscow’s role as the aggressor.
The resolution was passed in the security council, by 10 votes to 0. France, Britain, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia abstained in the vote.
The UN general assembly earlier backed a resolution drafted by Ukraine and the EU condemning Moscow, while spurning the rival US resolution that did not include any mention of Russia aggression.
In other key developments:
Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the three-year war. Speaking before bilateral talks at the White House, French president Emmanuel Macron said Europe was prepared to provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire including peacekeepers, although they would not be sent to the frontline. Trump said he saw no objection to European troops being sent to Ukraine to serve as peacemakers, adding that he had raised the idea with Putin.
Trump described a potential minerals deal with Ukraine as “very close” and said he might meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy soon to seal the agreement. Trump added that he would also be meeting Putin at some point. Zelenskyy last week rejected US demands for $500bn in mineral wealth from Ukraine to repay Washington for wartime aid, contending that the US had supplied nowhere near that sum so far and offered no specific security guarantees in the agreement.
More than a dozen world leaders gathered in Kyiv on Monday to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. A coordinated Europe-led show of solidarity took an overnight train for a summit with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, including the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and Finland’s president, Alexander Stubb.
The coordinated Europe-led show of solidarity on Monday came after a torrid week, in which Trump blamed Ukraine for starting the war against Russia, described Zelenskyy as a “dictator without elections”, and made it clear Europe would have to enforce and pay for any future peace settlement. There was strong collective pushback against the US president’s upside down version of recent history and a consensus that Ukraine had to take part in negotiations over its future.
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow will cease its military actions only if the outcome is “satisfactory” to Russia. He said that many more countries had become “realistic” in their position on Ukraine, and that the recent meeting in Riyadh raised the hope of having normal dialogue between Russia and the US.
EU foreign ministers have discussed sending billions of military aid to Ukraine, ahead of a summit dedicated to European defence next week. At a meeting in Brussels on Monday a handful of countries proposed military aid for Ukraine in 2025 ranging from €20bn to €40bn, according to several diplomatic sources.
The EU is spending more money on Russian fossil fuels than on financial aid to Ukraine, according to a new report. The EU bought €21.9bn (£18.1bn) of Russian oil and gas in the third year of the war, an amount equalling one-sixth greater than the €18.7bn the EU allocated to Ukraine in financial aid in 2024.
Downing Street said Trump has changed the global conversation around Ukraine “for the better”, as the UK imposed further sanctions on Russia in an effort to force Putin to make concessions. Keir Starmer’s spokesperson did not comment on Trump’s false claims that Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a dictator. Starmer will hold talks with Trump in Washington on Thursday.
