Global news is in overdrive, with each day bringing breaking news on U.S. President Donald Trump, the Ukraine war, NATO, Russia, and a dizzying whirl of diplomatic moves.
It’s hard to keep up, so here are four things to know.
Ukraine's Rare Earth Minerals
The previous U.S. administration saw Russia’s war on Ukraine as an unprovoked invasion that needed to be resisted to preserve international law, using sanctions to isolate and punish Moscow.
Trump has adopted transactional diplomacy. He has put a deal on the joint development of Ukraine’s critical minerals at the heart of his strategy to end the war.
The president says signing the deal giving Washington access to those minerals is about recouping the huge amounts of cash it has invested in Ukraine’s defense. It’s very much an America First approach.
For Ukraine, getting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into the White House to sign on the dotted line is about saving an alliance that has recently looked torn to shreds.
Macron and Starmer's Double Act
Trump’s other visitors in the Oval Office this week are the heads of longstanding U.S. allies. But they’re also trying to save the relationship, as Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO allies for freeloading on U.S. defense dollars.
French President Emmanuel Macron got plenty of smiles and trademark long handshakes. But it wasn’t immediately clear whether anything substantial emerged. And the two clashed -- albeit politely -- over who had given more assistance to Ukraine.
Trump praised British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for a pledge to boost U.K. defense spending. The February 27 visit is being billed in parts of the British media as the most important in Starmer’s career.
One of Starmer’s key aims will be to win a U.S. “backstop” for a possible European military mission to Ukraine to defend a future cease-fire or peace deal.
European Troops In Ukraine
A backstop is necessary because European forces couldn’t tackle it on their own. Military analysts point to areas like intelligence, logistics, and air support where NATO’s European wing comes up short.
Whether any of this can happen is still unclear. Macron suggested it a year ago but only now have leaders started speaking of it openly as a real possibility.
Trump said he asked Russian President Vladimir Putin about it, and that he was willing to accept it. Russian officials have since cast doubt on this: first Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, then Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
We’re still waiting for Putin to respond to Trump’s comments.
Trump And Putin
Direct telephone conversations between Trump and Putin in recent weeks have shaken everything up and led to last week’s high-level U.S.-Russia talks in Riyadh. The mere fact of bilateral communication is new and has completely changed the dynamic.
Suddenly, the idea of peace talks is no longer theoretical. Washington has said it’s pursuing a dual track approach to get Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table.
But it’s clear the Russia track goes beyond Ukraine. After Riyadh, moves have started on restaffing embassies depleted by tit-for-tat expulsions and on exploring economic ties.
This has shocked both Ukraine and European nations, leading to many of the rapid changes outlined above.
