And Trump’s attack on Zelensky, who was hailed as a hero in the United States for resisting Russia’s Blitzkrieg on Kyiv early in the war, was a graphic sign of how the new American administration has reversed Washington’s stance of supporting the victim of the invasion and is now rewarding the aggressor.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was serious about negotiating a settlement to end the war in Ukraine as high-level talks began in Saudi Arabia, and that Russia would prefer to achieve all its aims peacefully.

Top US and Russian officials held talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine, without anyone from Kyiv involved, fueling concerns about a rapid push for a deal by the two powers that may leave Europe on the sidelines.

The White House floated a proposal to secure U.S. access to half of Ukraine’s mineral resources after the war, reportedly including lithium, graphite and uranium.

Ukraine’s mineral wealth has been thrown into the spotlight as US President Donald Trump looks to seize control of its resources in return for military support. Yet very little is actually known about what’s up for grabs.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he and his Russian counterpart agreed to put together teams to negotiate a Ukraine ceasefire.

Europe will invest more in security and lead on providing guarantees to Kyiv, but cooperation with Washington to secure peace remains crucial, European leaders said after an emergency meeting held ahead of U.

European leaders meeting in Paris for emergency talks on Monday called for higher spending to ramp up the continent's defence capabilities but remained split on the idea of deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine to back up any peace deal.