What US, Russia and Europe are thinking ahead of fresh Ukraine talks

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What US, Russia and Europe are thinking ahead of fresh Ukraine talks

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It’s been another turbulent week in global politics.

The world digested the extraordinary exchange between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader visited European allies, who have sprung into action to beef up their defences. Russian bombs hit Ukraine.

But what are these major players thinking ahead of fresh US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia next week?

Five BBC correspondents have analysed the week’s events.

US: Rare criticism of Moscow, as Trump opponents insist he is aligned with Russia

Tom Bateman, State Department correspondent, Washington DC

After Donald Trump and JD Vance’s

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, the US president on Monday suspended military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine.

Over time, this will have a fundamental impact on Ukraine’s ability to defend itself – and Trump’s Democratic opponents say it’s now beyond question that he is aligned with Russia.

The administration has been plain that it sees the move as pressure on Zelensky to sign the president’s minerals deal and cede to a quick ceasefire.

Trump’s envoy Gen Keith Kellogg characterised the withdrawal of US military support as “like hitting a mule in the face with a [plank of wood]… You got their attention and it’s very significant… and it’s then up to them to do [what the president wants].”

After all the arm-twisting, the week ends with a more conciliatory tone from some of Trump’s top foreign policy team who will meet with the Ukrainians next week in Saudi Arabia.

There was a rare moment of criticism for Moscow by Trump on Friday as he threatened sanctions, even though it is already heavily sanctioned, to try to deter its intensifying bombardment of Ukraine.

But other than that this is an administration that has repeatedly reprimanded its supposed ally but refrained from any such criticism of its adversary.

On Thursday I asked the US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce for her reaction to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov ruling out the presence of European peacekeepers in Ukraine. He had called it a “hostile aim” by the West over which there was “no room for compromise”.

Ms Bruce declined to respond, saying it wasn’t for her to comment on the remarks of foreign leaders or ministers, even though she had just repeated Trump’s label of Zelensky as “not ready for peace”.

Russia: Leaders enjoy spectacle of Western rift as deadly attacks on Ukraine continue

Vitaliy Shevchenko, BBC Monitoring Russia editor

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Until Trump’s sanctions threat, this was another week when all the pressure seemed to be on Kyiv, giving Russia little reason to tame its appetite.

The suspension of American military aid and intelligence is one of the worst setbacks for Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion, and a huge boost to Russia’s chances.

The deadly attacks across Ukraine which have followed suggest that Moscow is happy to continue with business as usual in the war.

It still insists that the original objectives of the “special military operation” must be achieved and more Ukrainian land captured.

It has also rejected efforts by Ukraine supporters to relieve this pressure on Kyiv, through a truce or a peacekeeping force.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks this week that Trump’s America may no longer be “on our side” are music to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ears, too.

It’s a situation in which Putin can sit back and enjoy the spectacle of cracks appearing in the Western alliance. It’s a situation that he’s been working to achieve for years, if not decades.

And he has achieved it not because of shots fired on the battlefield, but because of a breathtaking U-turn by Ukraine’s biggest ally.

Next Tuesday, Ukrainian and US representatives are sitting down for

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. Russia will be watching closely, but feeling confident.

Ukraine: After bruising week, Zelensky gears up for fresh US talks

Myroslava Petsa, BBC Ukraine and Daniel Wittenberg, BBC World Service

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It’s been a bruising, emotional, and relentless week for the embattled Ukrainian president, as he fought to keep Western military support intact while reiterating his commitment to peace.

The fallout from his spectacular Oval Office clash with Trump was compounded in Kyiv after the US suspended

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.

“There’s a scent of betrayal in the air,” one source close to the Ukrainian government said. “The whole country feels it – including the president and his team.”

Zelensky refused Trump’s demand for an “explicit public apology”,

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and calling their White House showdown “regrettable”.

To counter the damage, Zelensky was on the road again, seeking to shore up European support in Brussels. But while he secured public displays of solidarity, he didn’t get the firm military commitments he was hoping for.

Meanwhile, Zelensky urged EU leaders to support a limited truce at sea and in the air –

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Ukrainian and US delegations will hold talks in Saudi Arabia next week, but the path to peace remains uncertain.

Despite the setbacks, a source close to the president’s team insisted he remains defiant: “Three years ago, he could have been killed, but he decided to stay in Kyiv. The more pressure he’s under, the tougher he gets.”

Europe: Could France extend nuclear umbrella as US support falls away?

Paul Kirby, Europe digital editor

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There have been so many European summits it has been hard to keep up. And more are to come.

Europe’s leaders have suddenly realised the security umbrella they have relied on since World War Two may no longer be there, and proposals are flashing by at warp speed in European terms.

There is a broad consensus Europe needs to help Ukraine. France and the *** are offering “a coalition of the willing” on the ground if a peace deal can be found.

Russia hates the idea but Macron will bring together army chiefs on Tuesday to work on a plan.

But far ******* questions are now being asked about how Europe protects itself from what EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen calls a “clear and present danger”.

“We have to be ready” if the US is not there to help, says Macron. The EU is now talking about a multi-billion euro plan for beefing up defences.

And Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting, Friedrich Merz, has raised the possibility of France and the *** extending their nuclear deterrent across Europe.

Macron has been receptive to that, although France’s nuclear umbrella would stretch only so far and final decisions would be made in Paris.

That goes to the heart of Europe’s defence problem.

Without the US, can individual European countries pool their resources and rely on each other?

For smaller states such as Lithuania there is no choice.

But the debate has begun, and Poland’s Donald Tusk says clearly it would be safer “if we have our own nuclear arsenal”.

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