Former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance “was letting Ukraine down” by failing to deliver enough support during 2023-24, describing a “defeatist” mood in Washington and European nations as they failed to make promised arms deliveries.
US President Donald Trump said on October 20 that attempts to reach an agreement between Russia and Ukraine to end the war are ongoing, and warned that if an agreement is not reached the consequences will be serious.
Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region is central to the Kremlin’s political and military priorities; its importance -- economic, cultural, historic -- stretches back decades, if not centuries. Why the fixation?
Europe jumped into action on October 20 with a flurry of moves and announcements at it looked to ratchet up pressure on Russia and bolster support for Ukraine after US President Donald Trump reportedly pushed his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy to give up land as part of a peace deal.
A Ukrainian drone attack on a gas plant in Russia's Orenburg, one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world, continues to impact production in neighboring Kazakhstan as the European Union moved to phase out Russian gas imports by end of 2027.
Ukrainian drone strikes crippled a major Russian gas-processing plant in Orenburg on October 19, causing massive fires. It's the largest facility of its kind in the world and had to suspend gas intake from Kazakhstan. A second strike on a Novokuibyshevsk oil facility also set off a major blaze.
The European Union and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed doubts about Russian President Vladimir Putin's willingness to end the more than three-year war in Ukraine as the prospect of a summit in Budapest with US President Donald Trump looms.
The EU is considering training Ukrainian troops inside Ukraine and expanding its support with border monitoring, cybersecurity aid, and war veteran reintegration -- moves that would deepen Brussels’ role as Kyiv pushes for stronger defense and eventual EU membership.
Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to an immediate cease-fire during talks mediated by Qatar and Turkey in Doha, Qatar's Foreign Ministry announced early October 19 on X.
Analysts and Ukrainian lawmakers told RFE/RL that the lack of a commitment on Tomahawk missiles, another summit between Putin and Trump, and the US president’s apparent softening rhetoric towards Putin raises the anxiety level in Kyiv.
US President Donald Trump gave no indication that the United States would provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, saying after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House that the warring sides should “stop where they are” on the battlefield.
The talks in Washington between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not produce any major breakthroughs, but nor did they break down in acrimony, and the diplomatic process has been kept on the road -- next stop Budapest.
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