BAGHDAD, April 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama has pushed Iraq's feuding factions to compromise during a surprise visit to that country, sounding a note of impatience as he said Iraqis should take responsibility for their country so U.S. troops could leave.

Obama flew to Baghdad to meet U.S. military commanders and Iraqi leaders and assess security there first-hand after announcing a strategy to wind down the unpopular six-year war by withdrawing all U.S. combat troops by the end of August 2010 and the rest of U.S. troops by the end of 2011.

"It is time for us to transition to the Iraqis. They need to take responsibility for their country...in order to do that they need to make political accommodations," Obama told some 1,500 troops at a base outside Baghdad.

His visit to Baghdad was shrouded in the security-conscious secrecy that marked similar trips by his predecessor George W. Bush, whose foreign policy legacy was defined by the unpopular war that he launched in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein.

In a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Obama acknowledged there had been political reforms but said more work was needed. Obama said after his talks with Maliki that there had been enormous progress on security and he was sticking with his plan to withdraw all U.S. troops by 2011.

He told reporters it was "absolutely critical for all Iraqis to be adequately integrated into the government and security forces, adding he wanted to work with Maliki in a "spirit of partnership."

Obama departed Iraq for Washington to wrap up an eight-day tour that took him through Britain, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, and Turkey before the unannounced Iraqi visit.

Iraq experts fear that if steps are not taken to resolve disputes between Sunni and Shi'ite Arab and Kurdish political blocs, recent security gains, partly won by a U.S. troop build-up in the last two years, could unravel, plunging Iraq back into violence.

Obama's visit was not publicized beforehand and was made known only after Air Force One, flying from Istanbul at the end of Obama's first major international tour, had touched down at Baghdad International Airport.

His arrival came a day after a string of seemingly coordinated bombings across the Iraqi capital killed 37 people. On April 7, a car bomb killed nine people and wounded 20 in the Shi'ite Kadhimiya district of northwest Baghdad, police said.

Under Obama's new Iraq war strategy, announced in February, the roughly 140,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq will be drawn down to between 35,000 and 50,000 -- a number that anti-war critics consider too high -- by the end of August 2010. The mission of those left will be redefined mostly to help train Iraqi forces. But they too must leave by the end of 2011.

"This is going to be a critical period, these next 18 months," Obama said. "You will be critical in terms of us being able to make sure Iraq is stable, that it is not a safe haven for terrorists, and we can start bringing our folks home," he told U.S. troops at Camp Victory, a major base near the airport.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, had told Obama that even with the recent spike in bombings, violence was at its lowest level since 2003.

But, underscoring the fragile security, U.S. officials ruled out any idea of Obama traveling by motorcade into Baghdad after bad weather forced the cancellation of a planned helicopter trip into the city to meet Iraqi leaders. Instead, Maliki went to Camp Victory for talks with Obama.

The sectarian warfare and insurgency unleashed by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion have receded sharply over the past year, but Iraqi security forces still face huge challenges as they take on policing and military operations from the United States.

Urging Iraq's political leaders to reach "equitable, fair" solutions, Obama said: "They're going to have to decide that they want to resolve their differences through constitutional means and legal means."

Iraq held its most peaceful elections since the invasion when a provincial ballot in January passed without a single major militant attack. But U.S. and Iraqi officials say tensions between rival factions are likely to rise as Iraq approaches a national election later in the year.

The unresolved fate of the city of Kirkuk, which sits on rich oil reserves and is claimed by minority Kurds as their ancestral capital, and growing tensions between Kurds in their semi-autonomous region in the north and Arabs in Baghdad could ignite Iraq's next big ethno-sectarian conflict even as bloodshed between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims begins to recede.

Maliki on April 7 urged foreign firms to return and invest in Iraq, saying the country was now more stable.

"Iraq now is based on increased security, for peace and stability, and looks forward to international companies .... participating and investing in the country," he said through a translator after his talks with Obama.

Unlike Bush, a Republican blamed by many Iraqis for the tens of thousands who died after the invasion even as some acknowledge their gratitude for the fall of Saddam, Obama would be welcomed by Iraqis, analysts said.

Obama, a Democratic U.S. senator before he became president, opposed the war from its start.

"No flying shoes this time for sure," said political analyst Hazem al-Nuaimi, referring to an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at Bush, forcing him to duck, during the then-U.S. leader's final visit to Iraq in December.

On the streets of Baghdad, many Iraqis asked about the visit insisted Obama back his words with action.

"I hope he'll withdraw the U.S. troops.... We need action. If he speaks, he must act. If it's just talk, he can stay away," said Qableh Mahmoud, a Baghdad housewife.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged the "biggest sustained increase" in defense spending since the end of the Cold War as he readies to meet NATO-skeptic U.S. President Donald Trump later this week in Washington.

Starmer, speaking before parliament on February 25, said defense spending would rise to 2.5 percent of economic output by 2027 from 2.3 percent this year, funding the increase with cuts in international aid.

European countries have ramped up defense budgets since Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022. And many leaders have said the increased spending must continue to counter the growing military threat from Moscow.

"We must go further still. I have long argued that...all European allies must step up and do more for our own defense," he said, adding the UK should aim for 3 percent by the end of the decade.

Starmer is on the eve of departing for Washington where he is set to meet Trump on February 27 to discuss ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, becoming the second major European leader to travel to Washington this week.

Trump met French President Emmanuel Macron on February 24 to discuss the same issue.

Since taking office a little over a month ago, Trump has aggressively pursued negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, starting his European allies by opening direct talks with Moscow and accusing Ukraine of starting the war.

European leaders are now scrambling to get a seat at the negotiating table to influence a deal that will directly impact European security.

Macron organized an emergency meeting with his European counterparts on February 17 -- the eve of the first official U.S.-Russia meeting in years -- before agreeing to fly to Washington a week later to meet Trump.

Trump, who has berated European allies for not spending enough on their own defense, shaking the foundations of the 75-year-old NATO alliance, has said he will not supply U.S. troops for any peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.

“We must reject any false choice between our allies. Between one side of the Atlantic or the other. That is against our history, country and party,” Starmer said, calling Britain’s relationship with America his country’s “most important bilateral alliance.”

“This week when I meet President Trump, I will be clear: I want this relationship to go from strength to strength.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who spoke with British Defense Minister John Healey on February 25, reacted positively to the announcement, saying in a post on X that it was "a strong step from an enduring partner."

Ukraine has demanded Western security guarantees be part of any negotiated settlement to deter Russia from invading again. Macron told Trump at their White House meeting that European leaders are willing to put peacekeeping troops in Ukraine as part of the security guarantee.

Starmer may seek to leverage his commitment to boost defense funding and deploy peacekeeping forces to Ukraine to convince Trump to backstop European security guarantees for Kyiv.

With reporting by Reuters

Serbian police raided the offices of several NGOs after prosecutors opened an investigation into their usage of funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade said police on February 25 "began collecting information" regarding the work of four NGOs -- the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA), Civic Initiatives, the Center for Practical Politics, and the Trag Foundation.

Chief Public Prosecutor Nenad Stefanovic said there were orders that "for the time being, all documentation related to USAID donations be removed from these four organizations, as well as that interviews be conducted with the responsible persons."

CRTA and Civic Initiatives confirmed that police entered their premises on the morning of February 25. The Center for Practical Politics reportedly doesn't currently receive money from USAID.

"This is a serious attack on basic civil rights and the continuation of illegal pressure on civil society in Serbia. The ruling structures are trying to implement mechanisms of intimidation and persecution," Civic Initiatives said in a statement.

The raids came after U.S. President Donald Trump curtailed the work of USAID work when he ordered a 90-day spending freeze on January 24.

On February 3, employees were locked out of USAID's offices in Washington and many staff have been pulled from overseas deployments.

The administration is conducting a review of the agency, which was founded in the early 1960s to coordinate U.S. aid abroad.

Since Trump's return to the White House, his administration and people close to it have repeatedly called USAID a "criminal organization."

A day before the raids, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia "will assist" the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in its investigation into the financing of Serbian NGOs by USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

"There is no doubt, we will cooperate very closely with the FBI on this issue," Vucic told Happy Television, adding that the FBI will receive any information it requests from Serbia.

Since 2000, USAID has invested more than $1 billion in Serbia, according to data from the U.S. State Department and USAID's website on foreign assistance.

In order to assist economic and democratic development, the agency cooperated primarily with state institutions in Serbia, as well as the private sector, civil society organizations, and the media.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, said Tehran would not bow to pressure from the United States, a day after Washington imposed new sanctions on Iran's oil industry.

Lavrov's one-day trip to Tehran on February 25 comes a week after the first high-level talks between Moscow and Washington in three years.

The talks in Saudi Arabia on February 18 have raised hopes of a reset between Russia and the United States after tensions soared following the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Analysts said the meeting in Tehran could be the Kremlin checking in to make sure Iran's stance on key issues is in line with Moscow -- especially regarding relations with Washington -- or that Lavrov could be delivering a message from the Saudi Arabian talks.

The potential rapprochement has fueled concerns in Iran that Moscow could abandon Tehran, an ally, to revive relations with Washington. Others in the Islamic republic hope Moscow can mediate an end to the standoff between Iran and the United States.

“They tend to send some diplomats to Iran at least assuage concerns because as you know there is a long-standing apprehension in Iran that the Russians may potentially sell out Iran to the United States,” Nicole Grajewski, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nuclear Policy Program, told Radio Farda.

Lavrov's visit came a day after Washington imposed a new round of sanctions targeting Iran's oil industry, the main source of the country's income.

Earlier this month, Trump restored his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran, saying Tehran was "too close" to weaponizing its nuclear program.

In 2018, during his first term in office, Trump pulled the United States out of an agreement between Tehran and world powers that placed limits on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. Since then, the Islamic republic has ramped up its uranium enrichment, raising fears that it is close to developing a nuclear warhead.

"There is no possibility of direct negotiations with the U.S. as long as maximum pressure is being applied in this way," Araghchi said at a joint news conference with Lavrov

Lavrov said diplomatic measures were still on the table for resolving issues around Iran's nuclear program.

The prospect of improved relations between Washington and Moscow have raised concern among some in Tehran who feel it could impact Iran.

Iran's conservative daily Jomhuri Eslami on February 25 warned of a "grand bargain" between Washington and Moscow that could result in Russia "turning a blind eye" to any potential U.S. military action against Iran.

The daily Etemad suggested this week that Lavrov could carry a message from Washington that includes proposals for reducing tensions between Iran and the United States and paving the way for a new round of talks between the two countries.

The daily also said the aim of Lavrov's trip to Iran could be to become acquainted with Tehran's positions before a potential meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the future.

"What Putin is pursuing is not a deal regarding Iran but merely the national interests of Russia," Hossein Shalevarzi, a former head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, said on X last week.

Despite deep mistrust, Tehran and Moscow have grown closer and enhanced military cooperation since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and Moscow was hit by a slew of Western sanctions.

Iran has provided Russia with cheap but deadly drones that have been used against Ukraine, though both Tehran and Moscow deny it.

“The aim of the trip is to put pressure on Tehran to be in line with Moscow,” Damon Golriz, a lecturer at the Hague University of Applied Sciences, told Radio Farda.

Other Iranian observers say a potential U.S.-Russia reset could be an opportunity for Tehran.

Tehran-based analyst Abdolreza Farajirad said in an interview with Etemad that Lavrov's trip to Iran comes amid "a deadlock" between Tehran and Washington and a worsening economy that has turned into a major challenge for the Islamic republic.

"If Russia can act as a mediator between Tehran and Washington, it can be considered a positive development," Farajirad said.

Ukraine's parliament, in a symbolic show of support, has approved a resolution reconfirming President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's legitimacy as the country's leader amid questions from the United States and Russia over his legal standing.

The resolution highlights tensions between Washington and Kyiv after U.S. President Donald Trump last week called Zelenskyy a "dictator without elections" for failing to hold a vote during wartime while also falsely accusing Kyiv of starting the war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also widely claimed there can't be peace talks with Ukraine because Zelenskyy is not the country's legitimate leader because his term was originally supposed to end in May 2024.

However, under the constitution, Zelenskyy is bound to remain in office as the country is under martial law because of Russia's full-scale invasion, a point Ukrainian lawmakers underlined in approving the resolution at a meeting of parliament, called the Verkohona Rada, in Kyiv on February 25.

"Martial law in Ukraine, introduced in response to Russia's full-scale invasion, does not allow for elections by Ukraine's constitution. At the same time, the Ukrainian people are united in the opinion that such elections should be held after the war's end," the resolution says.

Martial law was imposed by Kyiv just a day after the Kremlin launched its all-out war in February 2022.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly noted that practical considerations, along with legal ones, make it impossible to hold elections.

They point to major security concerns saying packed polling stations would make tempting targets for a Russian military that has repeatedly struck civilian targets including schools, hospitals, and apartment buildings over the past three years.

In addition, millions of Ukrainians have fled the country because of the war and their participation must be accounted for, officials say.

Those concerns have been backed by dozens of civic groups, which last week issued issued a joint statement declaring the impossibility of holding elections under current circumstances.

"Only after the end of the war and the achievement of a stable peace…will it be possible to organize elections freely, fairly, democratically, and accessibly," they wrote.

Zelenskyy, who has not said whether he would run in a vote, has said elections could take place this year if martial law is lifted -- something that would be possible after a deal to stop the fighting.

Talk of a peace settlement has intensified in recent weeks, though how it will be achieved is unclear.

Top U.S. and Russian officials held talks last week in Saudi Arabia on ending the war -- the first formal high-level talks between Washington and Moscow since before the February 2022 invasion.

Despite some assurances, and calls from European leaders, to make sure Ukrainian officials are involved in the negotiations, Ukraine was pointedly been left out of those talks.

French President Emmanuel Macron on February 24, speaking to Fox News after meeting with Trump earlier in the day, said a truce between Ukraine and Russia could be agreed "in the weeks to come."

"After speaking with President Trump, I fully believe there is a path forward," Macron said.

The United States on February 24 split with its European allies at the United Nations by rejecting wording that blamed Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in resolutions seeking an end to the war.

In a major shift of its position on the conflict, the United States joined Russia and Belarus in the UN General Assembly in voting against a Europe-backed Ukrainian resolution that calls out Moscow's aggression. The vote was 93-18 with 65 abstentions.

The United States then abstained from voting on its own competing resolution after language was added making clear that Russia had invaded its smaller neighbor in violation of the UN Charter. The vote on that resolution in the 193-nation world body was 93-8 with 73 abstentions. Ukraine voted yes and Russia voted no.

The United States sided with Russia a second time when it pushed for a vote on its original draft resolution in the UN Security Council. The vote in the 15-member council was 10-0 with five European countries -- Britain, France, Denmark, Greece, and Slovenia -- abstaining.

Senator John Curtis (Republican-Utah) said he was "deeply troubled" by the U.S. vote that "put us on the same side" as Russia and North Korea.

"These are not our friends. This posture is a dramatic shift from American ideals of freedom and democracy," Curtis said on X. "We all want an end to the war, but it must be achieved on terms that ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and security and that deter [President Vladimir] Putin from pursuing further territorial ambitions."

Resolutions passed by the General Assembly are not legally binding but are a closely watched way to gauge world opinion. Those passed by the UN Security Council are legally binding.

The divide represented a dramatic shift in transatlantic relations under President Donald Trump and follows his decision to open direct negotiations with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine without representatives of Ukraine and Europe at the table.

The votes also reflect tensions between Washington and Kyiv after Trump last week called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator" for not holding elections during wartime and falsely accused Kyiv of starting the war.

The U.S.-drafted resolution acknowledged "the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict" and called for "a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia" but didn’t mention Moscow's aggression.

In a surprise move, France, on behalf of European states, proposed three amendments which added references to Moscow's full-scale invasion, Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the need for a "just, lasting and comprehensive peace" between Ukraine and the Russian Federation in line with the Charter of the United Nations.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, a strong ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, apologized on February 25 for his country's support for a resolution reaffirming support for Ukraine and its territorial integrity, saying the vote cast was a "mistake."

He told Happy Television that Serbia should have exercised restraint by abstaining from the vote, as it did with the U.S.-backed proposal.

"I think Serbia made a mistake, I apologize to the citizens for that and I bear the blame for it myself," Vucic said.

In the Security Council, Russia used its veto to prevent any changes to the U.S. resolution.

Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said her country is exercising its "inherent right to self-defense" following Russia's invasion. She told the General Assembly that the way Russian aggression is answered "will define the future of Ukraine…Europe and our common future."

As Ukraine marked the anniversary of the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv called on all nations "to stand firm and to take…the side of the Charter, the side of humanity, and the side of just and lasting peace, peace through strength," she said.

U.S. Deputy Ambassador Dorothy Shea said multiple UN resolutions condemning Russia and demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops "have failed to stop the war" that "has now dragged on for far too long and at far too terrible a cost to the people in Ukraine and Russia and beyond."

"What we need is a resolution marking the commitment from all UN member states to bring a durable end to the war," Shea said.

Shea called it "a first step, but a crucial one," saying it "puts us on the path to peace."

French President Emmanuel Macron on February 24 said a truce between Ukraine and Russia could be agreed "in the weeks to come" but also warned that peace cannot mean the "surrender" of Ukraine.

Macron spoke in an interview with U.S. broadcaster Fox News following a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Trump said earlier in the Oval Office that the war could end soon.

"I think we could end it within weeks if we're smart. If we're not smart, it will keep going," Trump said alongside Macron after welcoming him to the White House.

Macron said he had spoken with European leaders and many of them are ready to provide security guarantees, a key demand of Ukraine in any peace deal.

Both Macron and Trump said there had been progress on the idea of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine, although Macron insisted the United States join Europe in the pledge, saying it would be critical for Washington to offer "backup" for any European peacekeeping force.

Trump claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to "accept" European troops deployed in Ukraine as guarantors of a deal to end fighting.

"I have specifically asked him that question. He has no problem it," Trump said when asked by a reporter about Putin's position on the matter.

The French leader said any European forces sent to Ukraine would be there to "maintain peace" and would not be placed along the front lines or become part of the conflict.

Macron said he would work with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is scheduled to visit the White House on February 27, on a proposal to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a deal.

"After speaking with President Trump, I fully believe there is a path forward," Macron said.

Macron told journalists that the war had cost a lot of money and that it was the "responsibility of Russia because the aggressor is Russia." The statement contrasted with Trump's comment last week in which he suggested Ukraine started the war.

Trump said he expected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in the next two weeks to sign a deal granting Washington access to Ukraine's rare minerals.

In response to a reporter's question, the American president declined to call Putin a dictator despite using the word to describe Zelenskyy last week.

Zelenskyy, who has said he would step down in exchange for peace with a guarantee that Ukraine could join NATO, called on February 24 for a "real, lasting peace" this year.

Putin on February 24 indicated a shift in his stance, saying in an interview with state television that European countries can "participate" in talks to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. He also said that U.S. and Russian companies were "in touch" on joint economic projects -- including strategic minerals in occupied Ukraine.

Trump said his team is "constantly" speaking with the Russians, including about potential U.S.-Russian business deals, representing a shocking change in U.S. policy.

"My administration is making a decisive break with the foreign policy values of the past administration, and frankly the past," said Trump, who has demanded the United States be paid back for the billions of dollars in aid it has given Kyiv.

The Biden administration's strategy was to isolate Russia politically and economically, disengaging from communication and imposing sweeping sanctions on the country following its invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to accept European peacekeepers ahead of talks with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, on ways to end the war in Ukraine.

"I have specifically asked him that question. He has no problem it," Trump said, when asked by a reporter about Putin's position on the matter.

Macron said European countries "are ready and willing to provide" Ukraine with security guarantees "which could perhaps include troops."

The French leader said any European forces sent to Ukraine would be there to "maintain peace" and would not be placed along the front lines or become part of the conflict.

Trump said his team is “constantly” speaking with the Russians, including about potential U.S.-Russian business deals, representing a shocking change in U.S. policy. The Biden administration sought to isolate Russia politically and economically, disengaging from communication and imposing sweeping sanctions on the country, following its invasion of Ukraine.

“My administration is making a decisive break with the foreign policy values of the past administration, and frankly the past,” Trump said.

He said the two sides were close to signing a deal on Ukrainian mineral resources.

"Once it is signed, Russia will go back to its business and Ukraine with Europe will go to their business. Things will be very good," Trump said after welcoming Macron to the White House.

Macron's visit to Washington comes on the third anniversary of the war sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion. He and Trump attended a virtual meeting with fellow leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) economies to discuss the war in Ukraine prior to holding one-on-one talks.

The trip to Washington comes on a day of high-stakes diplomacy, where Macron's visit, along with a summit in Kyiv and a showdown over diplomatic language at the United Nations over how to refer to the war have laid bare Western divisions over how to end it.

Ahead of his trip, Macron said he would present a European action plan to help achieve a durable peace deal with solid security guarantees for Ukraine.

During a press conference streamed on social media before departing for Washington, he said he would also present the case to Trump that how he handles Putin in Ukraine will either dissuade or embolden China, the United States' largest geopolitical competitor.

"You can't be weak in the face of President Putin. It's not you, it's not your trademark, it's not in your interest," Macron said, outlining the argument he planned to make to the U.S. president. "How can you then be credible in the face of China if you're weak in the face of Putin?"

Addressing G7 leaders virtually, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he hoped to finish the war "this year" as he appealed to Trump for continued U.S. support and argued for allowing Ukraine to join NATO, which the Trump administration opposes.

“If Ukraine remains outside NATO, it will be a much more expensive and complicated path for everyone because NATO provides the simplest and most cost-effective security guarantees," the Ukrainian president said.

Zelenskyy added that Kyiv is working "productively" on an economic deal with Washington amid ongoing tense talks on access to Ukrainian mineral resources in exchange for continued aid.

Trump has roiled America's traditional allies in Europe with his readiness to restart diplomatic ties with Putin and negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, raising concerns that Europe -- and even Kyiv itself -- will be sidelined in the process.

Macron's trip comes after Zelenskyy met with at least 13 foreign officials in Kyiv on February 24 -- with another two dozen or more joining online -- to discuss support for Ukraine in the face of questions over U.S. assistance.

Those concerns -- which have expanded since U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia last week -- were borne out in comments from European governments at a summit in Kyiv where leaders looked to reaffirm their support for Ukraine.

"It is Russia that started this war," German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said via video link. "Russia may have gained an open ear in the White House but they have not gained an inch of legitimacy."

During the summit in Kyiv, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowed to "speed up the delivery of weapons and ammunition" to Ukraine and announced 3.5 billion euros in new aid. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also promised 1 billion euros in new military support and equipment, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa would contribute new military support and donate frozen Russian funds to Kyiv.

The European Union also announced a new sanctions package against Russia and von der Leyen said Ukraine could join the bloc before 2030 if the country continues its reforms at their current speed and quality.

"President Trump has changed the global conversation over the last few weeks, and it has created an opportunity," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told world leaders over video connection. "If we want peace to endure, Ukraine must have a seat at the table, and any settlement must be based on a sovereign Ukraine backed up with strong security guarantees."

The prospect of a normalization of ties between Russia and the United States, Trump's stated desire to quickly end the war, and a public war of words between the U.S. president and Zelenskyy have worried European leaders and launched a wave of outreach to Washington.

"If you look at the messages that come from the U.S., then it's clear that the Russian narrative is there, very strongly represented," Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, told reporters in Brussels. She is scheduled to travel to Washington on February 25 and meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Kallas will follow Macron in visiting Washington, and Starmer is also set to meet with Trump on February 27 at the White House.

Polish President Andrzej Duda also met with Trump over the weekend.

During a trip to Turkey on the war's anniversary, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow remains open to negotiations but its military campaign will only stop if the outcome is satisfactory to Russia.

Lavrov added he believes many countries have become more "realistic" in their position around the war and that the recent meeting in Saudi Arabia raised hopes of having normal dialogue between Moscow and Washington.

Alongside Lavrov, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkey -- a NATO member that has previously helped broker agreements between Moscow and Kyiv -- was ready to host future peace talks on ending the war in Ukraine.

In addition to unfolding Western divisions at the G7, a diplomatic battle over Ukraine took place at the United Nations in New York City, where the United States proposed a draft resolution that uses less critical language of Russia's full-scale invasion than a draft resolution put forward by the EU and Ukraine.

The United States abstained during a vote at 193-member UN General Assembly on February 24, allowing the body to reaffirm Ukraine's territorial integrity and adopt a strongly worded resolution condemning Russia's invasion.

But Washington also joined Russia in voting against a UN resolution proposed by Ukraine and European countries that refers to "the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation" and demands that Russia immediately withdraw its forces.

The U.S. then abstained from voting on its own resolution after three amendments proposed by France passed. One of the amendments added that the conflict was the result of a “full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation." Another reaffirmed the assembly’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity, and the third called for peace that respects the UN Charter.

All the amendments were approved and the resolution passed 93-8 with 73 abstentions. Ukraine voted yes, the U.S. abstained, and Russia voted no.

The UN Security Council later approved the original U.S.-sponsored resolution. The vote in the 15-member council was 10-0 with five countries abstaining. In order to be adopted, a council resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States.

In contrast, the General Assembly has no vetoes and despite being a closely watched way to gauge world opinion, its resolutions are legally nonbinding unlike those adopted by the Security Council.

Friedrich Merz, the presumptive next German chancellor and a longtime supporter of transatlantic ties, said he now seeks security "independence" from the United States and expressed doubts about the future of NATO, the alliance that has underpinned Western defense interests since World War II.

The 69-year-old, who faces tough coalition talks after his party's first-place finish in Germany's parliamentary elections over the weekend, said on February 24 that the country can't afford political paralysis at a time when Washington's foreign policy is shifting and the German economy is slumping.

"For me, the absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA" in defense matters, Merz said.

Merz, leader of the center-right CDU/CSU alliance, said he had "no illusions at all about what is coming out of America."

"After Donald Trump's statements in the last week, it is clear that the Americans are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe," he said in a televised postelection discussion with other party leaders, a traditional event following German elections.

"I'm very curious to see how we head toward the NATO summit at the end of June -- whether we will still be talking about NATO in its current form or whether we will have to establish an independent European defense capability much more quickly," Merz added.

In one of Germany's most important elections in the post-World War II era, the CDU/CSU finished on top with 28.5 percent of the vote, according to official figures, which isn't enough to form a government alone.

However, in what likely caused a major sigh of relief in many EU capitals as well as inside Germany, the results will likely allow mainstream parties to keep the far-right AfD party out of government.

Coalition partner candidates are the center-left SPD of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which lost nearly 10 percentage points compared with four years ago, receiving 16.4 percent, and the Greens, who finished fourth with 11.6 percent. AfD was second with 20.8 percent.

Scholz will likely remain in place as a caretaker chancellor until a new government is formed.

Despite the recent tensions within the transatlantic alliance, Trump hailed the results, posting on his social media platform that the conservatives' victory was "a great day for Germany."

"Much like the USA, the people of Germany got tired of the no common sense agenda, especially on energy and immigration," Trump wrote.

Left-leaning British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and centrist French President Emmanuel Macron, both key NATO allies, congratulated Merz on his party's victory and also underlined the need for enhanced European security efforts.

"I look forward to working with the new government to deepen our already strong relationship, enhance our joint security, and deliver growth for both our countries," Starmer posted on X.

Macron, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on February 24, said, "We are more determined than ever to achieve great things together for France and for Germany and to work for a strong and sovereign Europe."

"In this period of uncertainty, we are united to face the great challenges of the world and of our continent."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also congratulated Merz, writing on social media that "Europe must be able to defend itself, develop its industries, and achieve the necessary results."

"Europe needs shared successes, and those success will bring even greater unity to Europe," he wrote.

Zelenskyy on February 23 also said he was ready to give up his position as president to bring peace, saying it could be in exchange for his country joining NATO.

"If there is peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to leave my post, I am ready.... I can exchange it for NATO," Zelenskyy told a news conference in Kyiv, adding he would depart "immediately" if necessary.

Following recent speculation about sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine following a truce deal, Merz said it was too early to discuss such efforts.

"I see it the same way as the chancellor [Scholz]. This is not a question at all at the moment," said Merz, who has regularly backed continued aid for Kyiv.

Scholz on February 18 said discussions over sending peacekeepers were "completely premature" and "highly inappropriate" while the war is ongoing.

Trump has roiled America's traditional allies in Europe with his readiness to restart diplomatic ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, raising concerns that Europe -- or even Kyiv itself -- will be sidelined in the process.

Trump has also long complained that European nations are not paying enough for their own defense and has often questioned the long-term viability of NATO itself.

Against the backdrop of Russia's war against Ukraine, Merz will also have to balance relations between Berlin and Moscow amid an environment of shifting geopolitical winds brought about by the new administration in the White House.

"Each time [there's a new government] we want to hope for a more sober approach to reality, for a more sober approach to what could be issues of mutual interest [between Russia and Germany], mutual benefits," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow on February 24.

"But let's see how it will be in reality."

In his postelection remarks, Merz said, "The interventions from Washington were no less dramatic and drastic and ultimately outrageous than the interventions we have seen from Moscow," referring to Trump ally Elon Musk’s remarks ahead of the vote in favor of the far-right AfD.

"We are under so much pressure from two sides that my absolute priority now really is to create unity in Europe," Merz added.

With reporting by Reuters and dpa

PRAGUE -- The headlines indicate that the far-right AfD party had its best-ever result in the German parliamentary elections, finishing second with some 20 percent of the vote, nearly doubling the result they got four years ago.

But there will be a sigh of relief in many EU capitals, governed by centrists, as well as inside Germany itself, that the vote results matched what polls had long predicted.

Despite vocal endorsements from the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, as well as far-right populist leaders, from both the United States and Europe, the AfD came in a distant second behind the establishment center-right CDU/CSU party.

The CDU/CSU finished top with 28.5 percent of the vote and Merz has indicated that he would prefer to have just one coalition partner, avoiding the unwieldy three-party set-up of the previous German government that was marred by infighting, which eventually led to snap elections.

As long predicted, it will be up to Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU, to try to piece together a government.

And the only thing that is more or less sure is that the AfD -- which received 20.8 percent -- won’t be part of those talks, shunned as they are by the other major political parties in Germany.

The question is if Merz will get his way. The numbers indicate he might have to take in at least two parties to get a parliamentary majority, although seat allocations could differ slightly from the overall vote total.

The two prime candidates are the center-left SPD, led by current Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which lost nearly 10 percentage points compared to four years ago, getting just 16.4 percent and the Greens, who finished fourth with 11.6 percent.

However, some initial seat estimates indicate the CDU/CSU and the SPD together could manage a slight majority by the two groups and form a so-called "grand coalition."

Before the election, Merz said he wanted to have a new government in place by Easter, April 20.

Following the vote, he said that “we have nearly eight weeks until Easter now and I think that should be enough time — the maximum time — to form a government in Germany.”

The key thing to look out for is if the liberal FDP and Sahra Wagenknecht and her far-left BSW party clear the required 5 percent threshold to enter parliament. If both parties manage that, Merz will likely be forced to look for more than one coalition partner.

The big issue is now how long it will take to form a new government with Merz indicating that he wants it all done and dusted by the latter half of April, at the very latest.

The faster he manages, the better, given that there is a bulging in-tray waiting for the government. The German economy has endured two consecutive years of recession and many voters will expect immigration rules to be tightened, with several deadly attacks by immigrants linked to radical Islam capturing the headlines in recent months.

But the biggest immediate challenge will be how to deal with the new U.S. administration in and making sure that Europe has a say in any potential deal made between the United States and Russia over Ukraine. Merz does share certain traits with U.S. President Donald Trump: they both cut their teeth in business and are keen golfers for example, but will that be enough?

Following the release of exit polls, Trump hailed the results, posting on his social media platform that the conservatives' victory was "great day for Germany."

""Much like the USA, the people of Germany got tired of the no common sense agenda, especially on energy and immigration," Trump wrote.

A likely, impending transatlantic trade war will hit the export-oriented German economy hard, with Trump saying he will soon impose steep tariffs on German cars and most German political parties, including CDU/CSU, are adamant that they want to continue to support Ukraine both economically and politically.

Many challenges will face the new German chancellor. And Europe will be looking to Germany to take the lead on many issues. For example, other European countries will be looking to Germany to see if it is willing to send troops to oversee a potential cease-fire in Ukraine. And they will also be looking to see whether Germany is willing to drop its traditional opposition to borrowing, so that EU bonds can be issued by the union as a whole, in order to allow the continent to quickly increase its defense spending.

Following the election, Merz said it was too early to discuss the potential deployment of peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.

"I see it the same way as the chancellor (Scholz). This is not a question at all at the moment," said.

Scholz on February 18 said discussions over sending peacekeepers were "completely premature" and "highly inappropriate" while the war is ongoing.

Merz also expressed concerns about the future of the transatlantic alliance in the face of consistent remarks by Trump over the viability of NATO -- "or if we need to develop independent European defense capabilities much faster."

"That is my absolute priority, and I have absolutely no illusions about what is happening in America," said Merz, who has long favored strong U.S. ties.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Merz on his party's victory, writing on social media that "a clear voice from the voters, and we see how important this is for Europe."

"Europe must be able to defend itself, develop its industries, and achieve the necessary results. Europe needs shared successes, and those success will bring even greater unity to Europe," he wrote.

With reporting by

Polish President Andrzej Duda held a private discussion with U.S. President Donald Trump during which they addressed several key topics, including the ongoing war in Ukraine.

According to the Polish president’s office, Duda and Trump met on February 22 in Washington to discuss Polish-American relations, security cooperation, and the U.S. military and economic presence in Poland.

Regarding Ukraine, Duda stated that Trump shared his concise plan for resolving the conflict, emphasizing the need for negotiations as the only viable path to ending the war.

"I had a private conversation with President Donald Trump, during which he briefly outlined his plan. He said negotiations are necessary, as that is the only way to end the war," Duda's office reported.

The meeting comes against increasing tension between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who recently exchanged sharp criticism. Trump called Zelenskyy a "dictator" and suggested Ukraine bears responsibility for starting the war with Russia -- remarks that sparked concern in Kyiv, European capitals, and among some high-ranking Republican lawmakers in the United States.

Speaking to journalists, Duda emphasized Trump's interest in strengthening Ukraine, including through economic ties. He noted that the U.S. economic presence in Ukraine could serve as a form of security guarantee, ensuring Ukraine remains stable and protected.

Duda's visit to the United States followed a conversation with Zelenskyy on February 21. The Polish leader described the talk as "frank" and urged Zelenskyy to maintain a calm and constructive approach to relations with Trump amid recent diplomatic tensions.

Zelenskyy previously said Trump had been influenced by Russian disinformation and allowed the United States to help Russia escape years of international isolation by engaging in high-level diplomatic talks in Riyadh on February 18.

As Ukraine continues to defend itself against Russia's military aggression, the diplomatic landscape is becoming increasingly complex. Trump's statements and shifting U.S. policy stances have raised concerns in Kyiv and across Europe about the future of Western support for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, efforts by Poland, the United Kingdom, and the EU signal ongoing international backing for Ukraine, even as diplomatic challenges persist.

Russian forces launched the largest-ever attack on Ukraine overnight, deploying 267 Shahed-type attack drones, various decoy UAVs, and three Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force said on February 23.

Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the night of February 22-23 had seen the highest number of Russian drone attacks since the beginning of Russia's all-out invasion on February 24, 2022

Writing on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it "the largest attack since Iranian drones began hitting Ukrainian cities and villages."

The Ukrainian military said it managed to shoot down 138 drones over multiple regions, including key cities and strategic locations such as Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskiy, Rivne, Mykolayiv, Odesa, and Dnipropetrovsk.

An additional 119 decoy drones reportedly lost signal without causing any confirmed damage.

Nevertheless, there were reports the attack caused significant damage and numerous casualties in several regions.

The exact number of casualties and the extent of the damage were still being assessed. Still, the toll on civilians was expected to be high.

According to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, drone strikes caused fires and structural damage in three districts of Kyiv. A private house caught fire, while two houses sustained damage. In the Pechera district, an explosion shattered the windows of a nonresidential building.

In Kryviy Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian forces struck civilian infrastructure, killing one person and injuring five others. Emergency services reported that a 60-square-meter fire broke out following the attack. Rescuers pulled a man and a woman from the rubble, but the man later died in the hospital. Among the injured were four women and one man, with three still hospitalized, one in critical condition.

Meanwhile, in Zaporizhzhya, a 53-year-old woman was injured and hospitalized following another Russian drone strike. The explosion caused a fire in a two-story residential building and a truck, with flames covering an area of 80 square meters. The blast wave and debris also damaged nearby houses.

Despite ample evidence, the Russian government denies targeting civilian infrastructure during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials and international organizations classify these strikes as war crimes, emphasizing they are not only deliberate but also indiscriminate, targeting residential areas, schools, hospitals, and essential infrastructure such as power grids and water supply facilities.

London will unveil a significant package of sanctions against Russia on February 24, the anniversary of the start of Moscow's full-scale war with Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on February 23.

The sanction will be the largest package against Russia since the early days of the war, he said. They will be aimed at "eroding their military machine and reducing revenues fueling the fires of destruction in Ukraine," Lammy said in a statement.

"This is also the time to turn the screws on [President Vladimir] Putin's Russia," Lammy said.

Lammy reiterated Britain's military backing for Kyiv, which includes a pledge to provide £3 billion ($3.78 billion) annually and its readiness to provide British troops as part of peacekeeping forces if necessary.

"Off the battlefield, we will work with the U.S. and European partners to achieve a sustainable, just peace, and in doing so, remaining clear that there can be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine," Lammy added.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on February 22 held separate phone calls with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, repeating a similar message to Lammy's.

EU countries last week agreed a new round of sanctions that are set to be formally adopted on February 24. They include a ban on imports of Russian aluminum.

Starmer is scheduled to travel to Washington to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on February 27, hoping to act as a "bridge" between the United States and Europe to ensure territorial and security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a deal to end the war.

Lammy's announcement comes after the United States alarmed Kyiv and its European backers by starting talks with Russia on the future of the conflict without the participation Ukraine or the European Union.

"This is a critical moment in the history of Ukraine, Britain, and all of Europe.... Now is the time for Europe to double down on our support for Ukraine," said Lammy.

London already has imposed sanctions on 1,900 people and organizations with links to Putin's government since the start of the war.

With reporting by AFP

As Ukraine prepares to mark three years since Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, leaders in Kyiv are weighing U.S. proposals for access to Ukrainian mineral resources.

Speaking on February 23, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said talks with the United States on the matter were "making progress." The same day, Trump aide Steve Witkoff told CNN that he expected the deal to be signed this week.

But details still need to be ironed out. Zelenskyy mentioned a potential stumbling block, suggesting that clinching the deal would require security guarantees from Washington.

According to another senior Ukrainian politician, a working group will form even as commemorations of the anniversary are taking place.

Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of Ukraine's parliament, has told multiple media outlets that the group would begin working on the agreement text proposed by Washington on February 24.

He added that Ukraine wants to receive specific security guarantees in exchange for signing up, something Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also suggested.

U.S. President Donald Trump on February 22 said he wants Ukraine to pay back the billions of dollars the United States sent to the country to help it defend against Russia's full-scale invasion.

"I want them to give us something for all of the money that we put up. We're asking for rare earth and oil -- anything we can get," Trump said at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) near Washington. "I'm trying to get the money back or secured."

Trump made the comments amid negotiations between Washington and Kyiv on a deal that would involve the rights to Ukraine's mineral resources, including those used to make batteries for electric vehicles and other technology.

Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, traveled to Kyiv earlier this week and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying afterward that the Ukrainian president understood signing a deal with the United States was "critical." Kellogg also praised Zelenskyy as "courageous" after the visit.

Trump told supporters at the annual CPAC gathering that he thinks a deal can be reached.

"We're going to get our money back because it's just not fair," he said. "And we will see, but I think we're pretty close to a deal, and we better be close to a deal," Trump said.

A proposed deal reportedly would grant the United States rights to Ukraine's rare earth minerals to make up for U.S. aid given to Kyiv. Zelenskyy reportedly balked at signing the initial deal, but reports on February 22 quoting unidentified Ukrainian officials said he is now seriously considering a revised version of the deal.

Some of the terms appear even tougher than those of the earlier draft, The New York Times reported on February 22. The latest proposal, which the newspaper said it had reviewed, calls for Ukraine to contribute revenue from its resources to a U.S.-held fund until the amount contributed reaches $500 billion, The New York Times said.

Trump's diplomatic overtures toward Russia, including the possibility of a summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have alarmed Ukraine and Europe over the possibility that the United States would sign a deal unfavorable to them.

The conflict has reached a critical stage just ahead of its third anniversary on February 24 and with Kyiv's forces slowly ceding ground on the front line.

The Russian Defense Ministry earlier on February 22 claimed the capture of Novolyubivka in the Luhansk region.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and The New York Times

The U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has released six Israeli hostages -- the last living hostages from a group of 33 that were expected to be freed in the first phase of the Gaza cease-fire.

Hamas had held two of those released for around a decade since they entered Gaza on their own.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a statement on X celebrated their release "from the depths of hell to begin the process of healing and recovery alongside their loving families."

In return, Israel is set to free 602 Palestinian prisoners, including convicted felons and Gazans detained following the start of the war, to complete the final hostage-prisoner swap of the first phase of the truce. Those handed the longest sentences are not allowed back in Gaza and will be sent to a third country.

The multiphase ceasefire went into effect on January 19, but negotiations have not yet started to move to the crucial second phase, which involves a permanent end to the Gaza war.

"The completion of a hostage deal is a humanitarian, moral, and Jewish imperative," Herzog wrote on X.

The conflict broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked settlements in southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages to Gaza.

Israel retaliated by launching a devastating war in the Palestinian enclave that has killed tens of thousands of people, according to local authorities, and displaced most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.

Hamas has been strongly criticized for its stage-managed release of Israeli hostages, which have included public ceremonies during which hostages are taken on stage.

The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross slammed Hamas this week for parading the bodies of dead Israeli hostages in Gaza.

The militant Palestinian group on February 20 handed over the bodies of four hostages to the Red Cross, after presenting their coffins on a stage surrounded by armed militants.

The bodies included two children and their mother Shiri Bibas, but Israeli authorities said the body in the coffin was not hers. This threatened the tenuous cease-fire as Israel accused Hamas of being in “serious violation” of the truce.

However, Hamas delivered another body late on February 21, which Bibas’s family confirmed to be hers.

The Palestinian group insists the family was killed in an Israeli airstrike, but Israel says forensics show the mother and her young children were “deliberately” killed by their captors.

The final four sets of remains, completing the hostage release of the first phase, will be released next week.

Mediators say both sides plan to begin a second round of negotiations focused on securing the release of about 60 remaining hostages -- fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive --and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

However, prospects for an agreement have been complicated by disputes over Gaza’s future, further inflamed by regional outrage over U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to remove Palestinians from the enclave and transform it into a U.S.-controlled resort.

President Donald Trump on February 21 fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and dismissed five other admirals and generals in a major shake-up of the top leadership of the U.S. military.

Air Force General CQ Brown, who had served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since 2023 after being appointed by former President Joe Biden, was ousted in the move, which Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social.

Brown, the second black officer to hold the job of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had been expected to complete his four-year term in September 2027.

A Pentagon statement said Trump would nominate retired Lieutenant General Dan "Razin" Caine to succeed Brown. A former F-16 fighter pilot, Caine is a former associate director of military affairs at the CIA.

The Pentagon announced separately that Trump will replace the head of the U.S. Navy, a position held by Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead a military service, and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Jim Slife. The judge advocates general for the army, navy, and air force were also fired.

Slife led Air Force Special Operations Command prior to becoming the service's vice chief of staff and had deployed to the Middle East and Afghanistan.

The moves were part of a campaign led by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to rid the military of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Hegseth said that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would have "broad access" to root out such programs from the Pentagon.

DOGE will work to "find the redundancies and identify the last vestiges of Biden priorities" such as DEI programs. These are "not core to our mission, and we're going to get rid of it all,” Hegseth said.

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk -- the world's richest person -- has been tasked by Trump to lead DOGE. Musk’s efforts to achieve efficiencies thus far have resulted in the firing of tens of thousands of federal workers, which in turn has sparked legal challenges.

The Pentagon is already bracing for mass firings of civilian staff in a dramatic overhaul of its budget announced by Hegseth earlier this week.

Trump did not explain his decision to replace Brown but thanked him for “over 40 years of service to our country, including his time as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family," Trump wrote.

Brown’s public support of Black Lives Matter after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020 had made him a target for the administration's wars against “wokeism” in the military.

Hegseth had been skeptical of Brown before taking the helm of the Pentagon, questioning in a book he published last year whether Brown would have gotten the job if he were not black.

Representative Adam Smith (Democrat-Washington) said Trump's "Friday night massacre" unleashed even more chaos at the Pentagon. He defended Brown as intelligent, accomplished, and a true patriot.

"That wasn’t good enough for the president, who has chosen -- yet again --fealty over proven ability to do the job and loyalty to the Constitution," said Smith, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, in a statement.

“All of this continues to play into the hands of [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and others working to exploit the weakness Trump continues to broadcast and undermine the military, our government, our national security interests, and democracy worldwide,” Smith said.

The cut to the Pentagon’s civilian workforce will begin next week. Darin Selnick, who is performing the duties of undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in a statement that at least 5 percent of the workforce will be cut. The layoffs will focus on recently hired employees in a workforce of about 900,000.

"We anticipate reducing the department's civilian workforce by 5-8 percent to produce efficiencies and refocus the department on the president's priorities and restoring readiness in the force," said Selnick.

The dismissal of approximately 5,400 probationary workers will be followed by a hiring freeze "while we conduct a further analysis of our personnel needs," Selnick said.

A day before the announcement, Hegseth said in a video message that "it is simply not in the public interest to retain individuals whose contributions are not mission critical."

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP

The United States has proposed a draft UN resolution that uses less critical language of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine than a draft resolution put forward by the European Union and Ukraine.

The two drafts were proposed to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, when the UN General Assembly is scheduled to vote on the resolutions.

The U.S. draft, proposed on February 21, mourns “the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” calls for a swift end, and urges a lasting peace. But it fails to mention territory occupied by Russia and doesn't single out Moscow as the source of the conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the resolution "simple and historic," and urged UN members to support it "in order to chart a path to peace."

"This resolution is consistent with President Trump’s view that the UN must return to its founding purpose, as enshrined in the UN Charter, to maintain international peace and security, including through the peaceful settlement of disputes," Rubio said in a statement.

By contrast, the draft resolution from the European Union and Ukraine refers to “the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation” and demands an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all of Moscow’s forces.

The Ukrainian-European text stresses the need to redouble diplomatic efforts to end the war this year, while blaming Russia for the invasion and committing to Kyiv's "territorial integrity." It also recalls the need to implement all previous assembly resolutions “adopted in response to the aggression against Ukraine.”

The draft resolutions were circulated at the UN headquarters in New York amid a rift between the United States and Europe on how to negotiate an end to the war. The long-standing transatlantic alliance has been shaken over the Trump administration's decision to open negotiations with Russia this week in Saudi Arabia without representatives of Ukraine and the European Union at the table.

After Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not invited to take part in the talks in Riyadh on February 18, the Ukrainian president said President Donald Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.”

Trump responded by falsely blaming Zelenskyy for allowing the war to start and describing him as a “dictator without elections.” The country has been unable to hold a presidential election while under martial law.

“It’s a good move,” Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya told UN reporters in reference to the U.S. resolution.

Russia has also suggested an amendment to the U.S. resolution to add the phrase “including by addressing its root causes.” This would change the final line to read “implores a swift end to the conflict, including by addressing its root causes, and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.”

The General Assembly has become the most important UN body dealing with Ukraine. Unlike the UN Security Council, where permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States have veto power, no member state has a veto in the General Assembly.

Resolutions passed by the 193-member body are not legally binding but are closely watched around the world.

The General Assembly adopted six resolutions on the conflict in 2022, denouncing Moscow and demanding Russia withdraw all its troops. One of the other early resolutions condemned Russia's "attempted illegal annexation" of four regions of Ukraine. It won the greatest support with 143 states voting yes.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump said on February 21 that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin will have to "get together" to end the nearly three-year-old war in Ukraine.

"I think that President Putin and President Zelenskyy are going to have to get together. Because you know what? We want to stop killing millions of people," Trump told reporters at the White House after swearing in Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary.

“I think we have a chance to get the deal done. I had to make sure that Russia wanted to do it,” referring to a meeting on the war in Ukraine this week between the top U.S. and Russian diplomats in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Trump also said he would not go to Moscow for the May 9 Victory Day events marking the anniversary of the end of World War II and said the United States was close to signing a minerals deal with Ukraine.

“I think we are pretty close I think they want it,” Trump said. “It’s significant. It’s a big deal,” he added.

Three anonymous sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that while pursuing an agreement on critical minerals, Washington has also raised the possibility of cutting Ukraine's access to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite Internet system.

Darya Kalenyuk, an executive director of Kyiv's Anti-Corruption Action Center, told RFE/RL that the system is vital for Ukraine's defense.

"It provides an Internet connection at the frontline [...] it is very hard to fight without having access to Starlink," Kalenyuk said.

Ukraine has deposits of 117 of the 120 most widely used minerals and metals in the world. Access to these resources could be worth trillions in total.

Trump has been pushing for a deal to end the war in Ukraine soon and held separate calls this week with both leaders.

Zelenskyy referred to the minerals deal in his evening address, saying he hoped for a fair result.

"This is an agreement that can add value to our relationship, and the main thing is to work out the details so that it can work," he said two days after Trump sharply criticized Zelenskyy, calling him a "dictator" who risks losing his country if he does not "move fast."

In his evening address, Zelenskyy said he spoke by phone on February 21 with the leaders of several European countries.

"Europe must and can do much more to ensure that peace is actually achieved,” he said after calls with the leaders of Germany, Poland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Croatia.

He said it would be possible to achieve an end to the war with Russia since Ukraine and its partners in Europe have "clear proposals."

"On this basis we can ensure the implementation of a European strategy, and it is important that this is done together with America," he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine says he held "extensive and positive" discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the White House continues to explore a peace deal and also strike an agreement with Kyiv on accessing the country’s valuable minerals in exchange for U.S. assistance.

"A long and intense day with the senior leadership of Ukraine,” Keith Kellogg wrote in a February 21 post on X in his first comments about his meeting with Zelenskyy since reporters gathered for a February 20 press conference only for it to be canceled at the last minute.

Kellogg called the Ukrainian president an “embattled and courageous leader” while Zelenskyy said that the meeting “restores hope” following a public rift between Kyiv and Washington, with Trump calling the Ukrainian president a “dictator without elections” and Zelenskyy accusing him of echoing Russian propaganda.

The conciliatory comments came on the final day of a multiday visit to Ukraine by Kellogg and a few days after U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia about ending three years of war in Ukraine.

Since those talks, Trump and Zelenskyy have traded public criticism amid growing tensions between Kyiv and Washington.

Trump continued his critique on February 21, saying there is "no need to include Zelenskyy in peace talks" because the Ukrainian leader has so far failed to end the war.

"I've been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards and you get sick of it...I've had it," Trump told Fox News radio.

In addition to exploring the path for a peace deal, Kellogg's visit came amid discussions on reaching a possible agreement that would grant the United States access to lucrative Ukrainian critical minerals and rare earth deposits as compensation for past U.S. aid following Russia’s full-scale invasion while also potentially securing future American assistance.

The exact terms of the U.S. offer are not known and it remains unclear if progress was made during Kellogg’s trip.

Both Reuters and Axios reported that U.S. officials during Kellogg’s visit presented a new streamlined minerals pact to Kyiv after Zelenskyy rejected an initial offer presented by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which would have given the United States a 50 percent stake in Ukraine’s natural resources, including minerals, metals, oil, and gas.

The new U.S. offer reportedly aims to quickly reach a new simplified agreement with Kyiv and then later negotiate detailed terms. Zelenskyy raised concerns when he rejected the offer last week about some provisions, including a lack of security guarantees for Ukraine. The new U.S. offer is said to have made “improved” modifications to the previous one, according to Reuters and Axios.

U.S. national-security adviser Mike Waltz said on February 21 while on a panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington that he expects Kyiv to sign the deal, adding that it would "recoup the hundreds of billions of dollars that have been invested in this war" for U.S. taxpayers.

"President Zelenskyy is going to sign that deal," he said. "And you will see that in the very short term."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also accused Zelenskyy of backtracking in discussions on a minerals deal during a February 21 interview. He said that an agreement was reached in principle with Zelenskyy that the United States would take a portion of Ukraine's desposits in exchange for previous and future aid.

"[Zelensky] said: "Sure, we want to do this deal, it makes all the sense in the world, the only thing is I need to run it through my legislative process -- they have to approve it," Rubio said. "I read two days later that Zelensky is out there saying: "I rejected the deal, I told them no way, we're not doing that", but that's not what happened in that meeting. So, you start to get upset."

Trump has repeatedly said that he wants some form of reimbursement for the assistance that Washington has invested in Ukraine’s defense and said that he wants a resource pact in place before authorizing more U.S. military support.

Access to Ukrainian resources, in particular the country’s rare earth deposits, could be worth trillions in total.

Ukraine has deposits of 117 of the 120 most widely used minerals and metals in the world -- with up to 50 percent of all Ukraine’s rare earth supplies in the eastern part of the country.

Rare earths are a valuable class of 17 minerals that make up a critical part of items like smartphones and laptops, but also advanced weaponry like missiles, fighter jets, tanks, and drones. China currently produces about 60 percent of the world's rare earths and refines more than 90 percent of them. This has left many countries, the United States in particular, looking to reduce their dependency on China and tap into other mineral reserves.

Washington said it wanted $500 billion worth of Ukraine's critical minerals, which Zelenskiy said during a February 19 press conference was “not serious.”

That disagreement over resources helped spark a wider crisis in relations between Kyiv and Washington amid an exchange of public criticism and fears in Kyiv and European capitals that the U.S.-Russia talks in Riyadh could sideline Ukraine and bring about a peace deal that favors Russia.

During his interview with Fox News radio, Trump said he stands by not inviting Zelenskyy to the meeting in Saudi Arabia because Russia "found it impossible to make a deal with [him]," but added that he would still take a call from Zelenskyy despite their recent exchange of words.

Amid Kellogg’s visit and the quickening pace of diplomacy to reach a peace settlement for the war, fighting continues in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials said that 12 civilians were killed and six more were injured over the past day in Russian attacks.

Local officials said the strikes -- which Ukrainian Air Force says involved 160 Russian drones -- hit dozens of homes and damaged infrastructure across the Donetsk, Kherson, Nikopol, and Zaporizhzhya regions.

The Kremlin has denied reports that Russian officials requested that the United States seek the withdrawal of NATO troops from countries near or bordering Russia.

"No, this is not true, this does not correspond to reality,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on February 21. “Our position is that the advancement of military infrastructure toward our borders is of concern to us. This position of ours is known to everyone; it is no secret to anyone.”

Those comments were in response to remarks by a top Romanian presidential adviser, who appeared to say that Russian officials had lodged the request during high-level talks in Riyadh between delegations from Moscow and Washington.

The Romanian official, Cristian Diaconescu, who spoke to a Romanian TV channel, later walked back his comments, clarifying that such a request had been made in the past -- in 2021, prior to the launch of the February 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has fumed for years, publicly and privately, about the presence of NATO troops in countries like the three Baltic states and Poland. It’s also complained loudly about NATO missile defense sites in Poland and Romania. And NATO’s expansion eastward -- first in 1997, and then in two rounds in the 2000s -- is seen by many Kremlin hawks as a fundamentally hostile act -- and a partial pretext for the Ukraine invasion.

With U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration signaling a radical new approach to European relations –- he has repeatedly complained that NATO members aren’t spending enough money on the alliance – there is rising alarm in Europe that the Trump White House could accede to Russian demands.

Earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth roiled the 32-member alliance when he pointedly ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine and ruled out U.S. troops joining any potential peacekeeping effort in Ukraine. He also said NATO would not come to the rescue of any European nation if it were involved in that effort, and it were attacked by Russia.

Speaking in an interview with Antena 3 CNN on February 19, one day after U.S and Russian delegations met in Riyadh, Diaconescu appeared to suggest that Moscow had lodged a new request for NATO withdrawal.

"Their [Russian] expectations are that, at some point, the U.S. would cause the European partners within NATO to withdraw NATO's security guarantees on the 1997 alignment,” he said.

In subsequent comments to other Romanian TV channels, Diaconescu walked back that statement saying he was referring to previous requests. The Americans and the Europeans do not accept Russian requests, he said, "not then, not now."

Poland’s president, whose country has been the most vocal supporter of Ukraine and bolstered NATO troop deployment along NATO’s eastern flank, said on February 18 that he had received U.S. assurances that there will be no reduction in U.S. troops.

“There are no concerns that the U.S. would reduce the level of its presence in our country, that the U.S. would in any way withdraw from its responsibility or co-responsibility for the security of this part of Europe,” Andrzej Duda told reporters in Warsaw after a meeting with Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg.

The Kremlin pushed similar demands about a NATO pullback in discussions with the United States in late 2021 before it launched its full-scale invasion.

Back then, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov issued demands in talks with the United States that called for a ban on Ukraine joining NATO and withdrawing deployments of NATO troops and weapons to where they were stationed in 1997 before the alliance’s eastward expansion.

Beyond taking on new members in Eastern Europe, NATO bolstered its eastern forces following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and in the wake of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to reassure members -- particularly those who fell under Soviet control during the Cold War.

In total, there are eight NATO battlegroups -- an “enhanced forward presence” -- deployed in eastern Europe and the three Baltic states, totaling nearly 30,000 troops, as of the most recent alliance data.

"Putin’s objectives remain the same: to subjugate Ukraine and also to divide Europe and also to divide Europe and the United States," Oana Lungescu, a former NATO spokeswoman, said in an interview with RFE/RL's Romanian Service. "So, precisely for that reason, there is less reason to speculate or to panic, but to look at what the interests of Europe are and, obviously, what the interests of Romania are."

A possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will depend on whether progress is made on ending the war in Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on February 20.

Rubio said in an interview that he told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during their meeting on February 18 in Saudi Arabia that there won’t be a meeting “until we know what the meeting is going to be about.”

Such meetings usually are not held “until you know some outcome or some progress has been made,” he added.

At the talks in Riyadh, Russia and the United States agreed to establish teams to negotiate a path to ending the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Both Putin and Trump have said they want to hold a summit.

"So I think when that meeting happens will largely depend on whether we can make any progress on ending the war in Ukraine, and if we can, and that meeting is what seals the deal, I think everybody should celebrate that President Trump is a peacemaker," he said.

Rubio spoke with American journalist Catherine Herridge in an interview broadcast on X.

Trump has been pushing for a quick deal to end the war, but his tactics have alarmed Ukraine and European governments because they fear that Russia and the U.S. might cut a deal that ignores their security interests.

Trump on February 19 shocked Ukraine and its European allies by calling President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator" and falsely blaming Ukraine for the full-scale invasion by Russia.

Lavrov on February 20 attended a meeting of the Group of 20 nations in South Africa and met on the sidelines with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Lavrov said Russia's relations with China "have become and remain an increasingly significant factor in stabilizing the international situation and preventing it from sliding into total confrontation,” according to a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Wang told other G20 foreign ministers that a "window for peace" is opening for Ukraine, and China supports “all efforts conducive to peace," according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.

The G20 is made up of 19 of the world's major economies, the European Union, and the African Union. South Africa currently holds the rotating presidency of the organization, whose goal is to bring developed and developing countries together to create a foundation for global economic stability and foster cooperation.

Rubio decided not to attend the two-day G20 meeting amid tensions with South Africa over some of its policies that the Trump administration has characterized as anti-American. The U.S. was represented by Dana Brown, its acting ambassador to South Africa.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cast his talks with U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg in a positive light on February 20 despite a further sign of tension when a planned joint news conference was canceled.

Zelenskyy said in his evening address that the meeting with Kellogg “restores hope” and reiterated that Ukraine needs strong agreements with the United States.

“I gave instructions to work swiftly and very sensibly. Economy and security must always go hand in hand, and the details of the agreements matter -- the better they are structured, the greater the results,” Zelenskyy said.

He and Kellogg discussed the situation along the front line, the need to release all Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia, and the need for a reliable and clear system of security guarantees that ensure the war “will never return and that Russians will never again destroy lives.”

The meeting, which ended without the planned joint press conference and no comment from Kellogg, came as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for a quick deal to end the war. Trump alarmed European allies and Ukraine by leaving them out of initial talks with Russia that took place in Saudi Arabia on February 18.

He lashed out a day later against the Ukrainian president, suggesting he started the war and calling him a “dictator.”

White House national-security adviser Mike Waltz on February 20 tried to shift the narrative back to a potential deal involving Ukraine's rare mineral deposits.

"He needs to come back to the table," Waltz said at a press conference at the White House, urging Zelenskyy to reach an agreement soon granting the United States access to the minerals, which are critical in the manufacture of high-tech equipment and batteries for electric cars.

Zelenskyy previously rejected a proposal that would reportedly hand the United States $500 billion in mineral wealth, including rare-earth elements, as a form of payment for U.S. military and financial support for Kyiv's defense against the full-scale invasion that Russia launched in February 2022.

Zelenskyy has pointed out that the value of U.S. wartime aid so far is far less and that the U.S. proposal did not offer concrete security guarantees.

Zelenskyy also spoke by phone on February 20 with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss the latest diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Macron said on X that he used the call to advise Zelenskyy about all the contacts he had made with European partners and allies that are “keen to work toward a lasting and solid peace for Ukraine and to strengthen Europe's security."

It was his fourth call with Zelenskyy this week. Macron is due to meet Trump in Washington on February 24.

Macron said he will urge Trump to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and try to convince him that the interests of the United States and Europe are in line with one another.

"I will tell him: deep down you cannot be weak in the face of [Putin]," Macron said.

Macron hosted a summit of European heads of state and prime ministers on February 17 to discuss the question of European peacekeeping forces to secure a possible cease-fire.

Trump is also expecting a visit from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer next week. the White House said that meeting has been set for February 27.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed in his call with Zelenskyy that any deal to end the war must include Kyiv at the negotiating table, his office said.

Trudeau reiterated Canada's support for Ukraine and "emphasized that there can be no sustainable peace in Europe without security for Ukraine," according to the statement.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned on February 20 that he saw no indication that Russia wants peace in Ukraine after listening to a speech by Russia's top diplomat at a Group of 20 meeting in South Africa.

Lammy was speaking to reporters after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed other senior diplomats in a closed-door session at the G20 foreign ministers meeting. No details of Lavrov's speech were released. Lammy referred to it as “the Russian gentleman’s tired fabrications.”

Lammy said he was hoping to hear some sympathy for the innocent victims of the aggression or some readiness to seek a durable peace.

“What I heard was the logic of imperialism dressed up as a realpolitik,” he said. “I say to you all, we should not be surprised, but neither should we be fooled.”

Lammy said that Lavrov left his seat in the meeting room when it was Lammy's turn to speak.

Tensions at the meeting were underlined when a photo opportunity for the foreign ministers to pose together for pictures was canceled with no reason given.

With reporting by Reuters and AP

Three Tajik migrants have been killed in a Russian security forces raid, relatives and friends said, after local authorities claimed they had uncovered a terrorist plot in Russia's western Pskov region.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on February 13 that it had “neutralized” three members of an unnamed “international terrorist organization” who had been preparing an attack to “blow up the main railway station” in the provincial capital, Pskov, with makeshift bombs.

Footage released by the FSB shows heavily armed law enforcement agents raiding a house where the suspects had allegedly been making explosive devices. The video also depicts knives, nails, several bottles of a flammable chemical, acetone, and other items that the suspects had purportedly gathered to use as components for homemade bombs.

The recording also shows the body of a man on the floor, with what appears to be a gunshot wound to his stomach and a rifle beside his right hand.

Describing the men as “citizens of one of the Central Asian countries,” the FSB said in a statement that they had been acting “on the instructions of a foreign-based emissary” of a terrorist organization and had planned to flee to “a Near East county” after carrying out the attack.

The statement did not name the suspects, but several days later relatives and acquaintances of the men identified them as Tajik migrant workers Azizjon Azamqulzoda, Jovid Jumaev, and Parviz Rustamov.

They disputed Russian authorities’ claim that the migrants were members of a foreign terrorist group.

Fear Of Backlash

“I knew these young men very well, they had so many plans and dreams for the future,” said a Pskov-based Tajik migrant worker, who gave only his first name, Behzod.

“No one [among those who knew them] believes that they would be engaged in [terrorist] activity. Also, they were not the kind of people who would do something like this for money,” Behzod said, adding that he believes the Tajik workers “were made scapegoats” by Russian authorities.

Bozorboi Azamqulzoda, the father of one of the suspects, told RFE/RL's Central Asian Migrants Unit on February 17 that his son, Azizjon Azamqulzoda wasn’t religious and "did not pray."

The three men used to work together as waiters at the Chaikhona restaurant in Pskov, but Rustamov quit to become a taxi driver, while Azamqulzoda found a job at a shopping center.

Behzod and several other Tajik workers in Pskov told RFE/RL that the migrant community is concerned about a potential backlash following the FSB announcement.

Behzod said many Tajiks are too afraid to leave their homes.

Tajik and other Central Asian migrants reported a spike in xenophobic attacks after a terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue in the Moscow region killed 145 people in March 2024.

Russian authorities said the massacre was carried out by four Tajik nationals.

Tens of thousands of Central Asians have been deported or denied entry to Russia following the attack.

The White House national security adviser said that U.S. President Donald Trump is "obviously very frustrated" with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and urged the Ukrainian president to reach an agreement soon granting the United States access to Ukraine's critical minerals.

The remarks from Michael Waltz came after Zelenskyy and Trump traded sharp criticism in recent days, with Trump calling Zelenskyy a "dictator" and suggesting he started the war with Russia -- comments that caused concern in Ukraine and Europe and prompted pushback from some senior U.S. Republican lawmakers.

A day earlier, Zelenskyy rejected a proposal that would reportedly hand the United States $500 billion in mineral wealth, including rare-earth elements, as a form of payment for U.S. military and financial support for Kyiv's defense against Russia's full-scale invasion, which enters its fourth year next week.

"He needs to come back to the table," Waltz said at a press conference at the White House on February 20.

Zelenskyy has pointed out that U.S. wartime aid so far was far less than that amount and that the U.S. proposal did not offer concrete security guarantees.

Trump's harshest criticism to date of Zelenskyy came after Zelenskyy charged that Trump was pushing “a lot of information that is coming from Russia” and that the United States was helping Russia "break out of years of isolation" by holding high-level talks in Riyadh on February 18 and moving toward normalizing relations.

The bilateral U.S.-Russia talks, on the war in Ukraine and other issues, stoked worried in Ukraine and among some of its backers that Kyiv could be sidelined from negotiations and pressured to accept a cease-fire or peace deal that would favor Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he will travel to Washington, where he will urge Trump to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and try to convince him that the interests of the United States and Europe are in line with one another.

"I will tell him: deep down you cannot be weak in the face of [Putin]," Macron said. The White House said that Trump will host Macron on February 24 and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on February 27.

Zelenskyy struck a conciliatory tone following what he called a "productive meeting" on February 20 with Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, who is on his first visit to Ukraine.

The pair had "a good discussion, [covering] many important details," Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. "I am grateful to the United States for all the assistance and bipartisan support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people."

"Ukraine is ready for a strong, effective investment and security agreement with the President of the United States," he wrote, adding, "Strong Ukraine-U.S. relations benefit the entire world."

However, a joint press conference by Zelenskyy and Kellogg was canceled, and there was no immediate comment from Kellogg after the meeting.

Meanwhile, several senior U.S. Republican lawmakers have been pushing back against Trump's recent criticism of Zelenskyy. They worry that signaling a willingness to cut off support for Kyiv could embolden Putin.

Trump's framing of Zelenskyy in negative terms stands in stark contrast to those Senate Republicans who view Ukraine as a victim of Russian aggression.

They voiced strong support for Ukraine on February 19 and warned against appeasing Moscow.

Senator John Kennedy (Republican-Louisiana) did not mince words when addressing the threat posed by Putin, describing him as "a gangster with a black heart...who makes Jeffrey Dahmer (a notorious serial killer) look like Mother Teresa."

"It is Vladimir Putin who started the war." Kennedy said. "I also believe through bitter experience that Vladimir Putin is a gangster…. He has Stalin's taste for blood."

Senator Roger Wicker (Republican-Mississippi) echoed Kennedy's concerns, saying that talks to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine must be held with Ukrainians being involved while also taking account of European interests.

"Putin is a war criminal and should be in jail for the rest of his life, if not executed," he said.

At least seven people were killed and 30 injured over the past 24 hours due to Russian attacks, regional military officials said on February 20.

Targets included residential areas, social infrastructure, and essential services. Children were among the injured.

After Trump called Zelenskyy a "dictator without elections," the head of the Ukrainian Central Election Commission, Oleh Didenko, said in an interview with RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, that talk of elections in Ukraine only benefits Russia.

“This issue is being raised in order to undermine the legitimacy of the government in Ukraine, to weaken confidence in the government, to weaken support for Ukraine from international partners,” he said.

Trump also wrote that "we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia." He added that Zelenskyy “better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”

Trump’s remarks came after Zelenskyy accused Trump of living in a Russian “disinformation bubble” and said he would like Trump’s team to be “more truthful.”

Senator Thom Tillis (Republican-North Carolina) disagreed with Trump's characterization of Zelenskyy as a "dictator," although he avoided directly criticizing Trump.

"It's not a word I would use," he said, adding that there is "no moral equivalency between Vladimir Putin and President Zelenskyy."

"Clearly, Vladimir Putin is responsible for this war," Tillis told reporters in Washington on February 19. "His decision has resulted in the murder, rape, torture and kidnapping of untold numbers of Ukrainians. He owns responsibility for this war."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (Republican-North Dakota) also declined to criticize Trump for his remarks.

"The president speaks for himself," he told reporters. "I think what I'm in support of is a peaceful outcome and result in Ukraine… And I think right now, the administration, the president and his team are working to achieve that."

Although Zelenskyy's presidential mandate was due to expire in May 2024, the constitution bars elections under martial law, which was imposed when Russia launched its full-scale invasion and has repeatedly extended.

With reporting by VoA, ABC, and Forbes

The Kremlin's war on Ukraine has dented the vehicle stocks of the Russian military, which has increasingly relied on civilian trucks since its full-scale invasion three years ago this month -- including for the transport of equipment and personnel.

U.S. and EU sanctions imposed not long after the February 2022 invasion aimed to choke off the supply of Western automotive parts that could help keep Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military humming.

But a leading Norwegian automotive supplier has exported millions of dollars in truck parts that ended up feeding Russia’s war machine via a Turkish intermediary, which resold them in circumvention of EU sanctions, an investigation by Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, and Norwegian public broadcaster NRK has found.

Kongsberg Automotive, based in Kongsberg in southern Norway, is a major supplier of parts to leading car brands like Volvo, Ford, Scania, and Jaguar Land Rover. It says it halted all direct exports to Russia in 2022 on its own initiative, calling sales to an “aggressor” state “immoral and reprehensible.”

But leaked Russian customs records obtained by Schemes show that at least 126 shipments of Kongsberg Automotive parts were made to Russia from July 2022 to April 2024 by Hidirusta Otomotiv, one of the Norwegian company’s customers in Turkey, which has not joined the Western sanctions coalition targeting Moscow.

The total listed value of these shipments was around $2.8 million, the leaked records show.

The roundabout route of the Norwegian company’s vehicle parts highlights the difficulties Western governments have faced in using sanctions to stem the flow of equipment and electronics critical to the Russian military.

Prior to Russia’s February 2022 invasion, Istanbul-based Hidirusta Otomotiv had no recorded shipments to Russia, according to records from the commercial customs-data aggregator ImportGenius. That changed seemingly overnight: By 2023, Russia had become the Turkish firm’s largest market -- and remains so today, ImportGenius records show.

Most of Hidirusta Otomotiv’s shipments to Russia consisted of Kongsberg Automotive parts it bought from other resellers, while it imported the rest directly from the Norwegian company.

Hidirusta Otomotiv did not respond to a request for comment. Kongsberg Automotive called the resale of its parts into Russia “unacceptable and contrary to our values.”

Norwegian Parts, Russian War Machine

While most Hidirusta Otomotiv shipments of Kongsberg Automotive parts were sent to Russian companies involved in truck repairs or transportation services, two -- A.P.R. and Gruzavtozapchast-36 -- have documented commercial ties to Russian defense firms.

A.P.R. supplied car parts to Orenburgagrosnabtekhservis, a partner of one of Russia’s oldest and largest machine-building and metallurgical enterprises, Kirovsky Zavod, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2023.

One of Kirovsky Zavod’s subsidiaries, St. Petersburg-based Universalmash, provides parts for Russian military hardware the Kremlin has deployed in Ukraine.

Gruzavtozapchast-36, meanwhile, has ties to Baltic Leasing, a Russian company that last year supplied bulldozers to one of Russia’s largest military training facilities, which has been under Ukrainian sanctions since 2023.

Neither A.P.R. nor Gruzavtozapchast-36 responded to requests for comment in time for publication.

Launching Attack Drones

Civilian vans and trucks have become increasingly vital to Russia's war effort due to the toll taken on its military vehicles during the all-out invasion, according to Aage Borchgrevink, a senior adviser at the Norwegian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and a sanctions project coordinator.

“The war in Ukraine is very much about logistics. The entire Russian economy is geared toward producing the goods and services that will make this war possible. One of the most important things here are trucks and car parts,” Borchgrevink said.

Moreover, civilian trucks can be used not only for transportation but also for launching attack drones like Iranian-made Shahed-136, which Russia actively uses in its strikes on Ukraine. In March 2022, the Iranian military-focused outlet IMA Media published a video detailing how this works.

“To keep the wheels turning -- literally -- Russia needed an entirely new fleet of trucks, which then required spare parts,” Borchgrevink said.

Research by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and the Norwegian risk-analysis firm Corisk shows that Russia’s truck imports surged in the winter of 2023. Since then, Moscow has increased its truck imports tenfold, according to a Corisk report, a move aimed at sustaining battlefield logistics despite severe Western sanctions.

Corisk researcher Erlend Bollman Bjortvedt said Russia increasingly relies on civilian vehicles to transport “everything from food to ammunition and grenades to the front lines.”

Russian media reports echoed this trend, urging citizens to donate civilian vehicles to the war effort, citing a severe shortage caused by Ukraine’s extensive use of drones.

“Just one small part can cause a truck to malfunction. So when you're a Western company and you produce perhaps small parts that look innocent, a rubber ring for a few dollars or a ball bearing, it can be that small part that actually makes a defective truck start working again,” Bjortvedt said.

Negligence Or Sanctions Evasion?

Confronted with these findings, Kongsberg Automotive distanced itself from the transactions, stating that it ceased direct sales to Russia in 2022.

In a written response, the Norwegian company said: “We believe that it is unacceptable and sad if our products end up in places where sanctions apply. The alleged resale by our customers is unacceptable and contrary to our values.”

Kongsberg Automotive, however, argued that tracking products after sale is difficult.

“Once we sell our goods, we lose ownership and control over the supply chain if they are resold multiple times, as seems to be the case here,” the company said.

Kongsberg also expressed shock that Hidirusta Otomotiv had resold such a high volume of its parts to Russia, saying it failed to properly vet its Turkish customer and claimed it did not know Hidirusta’s largest export market is Russia.

“We could have had better routines in place during the onboarding process,” Kongsberg said.

Following Schemes and NRK’s inquiries, the Norwegian manufacturer said it had terminated the relationship with Hidirusta Otomotiv and instructed all its customers to stop dealing with the Turkish firm. Moreover, the company said it now requires aftermarket customers to sign contractual commitments to uphold sanctions.

Legal experts say Kongsberg Automotive could face consequences if authorities determine it failed to conduct proper due diligence.

The obligation to check sanctions compliance falls on the authorities of the respective EU member states. In Norway, it is the Police Security Service (PST).

PST deputy head Inga Bejer Engh said a company can be punished -- including criminally -- if it fails to do enough to learn that its customer is violating sanctions.

Engh said she is unfamiliar with the Kongsberg Automotive case and that it would depend on whether the necessary degree of culpability has been demonstrated.

“To decide what constitutes prudent conduct, you have to ask yourself how an ordinarily reasonable and conscientious person would have acted in the same situation. To be punished for negligent breach of the sanctions rules, the company must therefore have acted differently from what can be expected of an ordinarily reasonable and conscientious company,” Stian Oby Johansen, an associate professor at the University of Oslo’s Department of Public Law, said.

Experts say Turkey is widely recognized as a sanctions loophole, meaning companies exporting goods there should exercise heightened scrutiny over potential resales to Russia.

Borchgrevink of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights said it was “disheartening” that Kongsberg Automotive appeared to “put in significantly less effort to track their goods and prevent these situations from occurring.”

After reviewing the findings of the Schemes and NRK, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy's sanctions policy commissioner, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, said the case “casts a shadow over the entire sanctions policy and its effectiveness in the EU.”

“Spare parts for trucks in particular are what help Russia to be strong on the battlefield. That's why this is a problem,” Vlasiuk said.

Oleh Symoroz, a 28-year-old veteran soldier who became an anti-corruption activist after a severe battlefield injury, said he wonders if the EU and its member states do enough to enforce sanctions.

“Western countries, including Norway, can make sanctions effective. And if they had used that power, these sales to Russia would not have happened,” he said.