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Donald Trump says he sympathises with Vladimir Putin’s position that Ukraine should not be part of Nato, incorrectly accusing Joe Biden of changing US policy on the issue.
“A big part of the problem is, Russia – for many, many years, long before Putin – said, ‘You could never have Nato involved with Ukraine.’ Now, they’ve said that. That’s been, like, written in stone,” Mr Trump said, speaking at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach.
“And somewhere along the line Biden said, ‘No. They should be able to join Nato’ Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I could understand their feelings about that.”
Nato’s official position since 2008 has been that Ukraine should work towards membership, and that remains the case. No new invitation to join Nato has been offered, despite calls from Kyiv for the alliance to do so.
On the battlefront, Ukraine said its forces were “commencing new offensive actions” in Russia’s western Kursk region, finally confirming the renewed assault first reported over the weekend.
And in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv said it was still clinging on to part of Kurakhove, a strategic town that Russia claims to have captured.
Ukraine appears to confirm new offensive in Kursk
Ukraine confirmed its forces were “commencing new offensive actions” in Russia’s western Kursk region, before quickly deleting the phrase from an official update.
The first substantive remarks came more than two days after the first Russian reports of a renewed Ukrainian thrust in the area. The Russian defence ministry said on Sunday that Kyiv had launched a new counter-attack.
Ukraine’s general staff yesterday said Kyiv’s military had hit a Russian command post near Kursk settlement of Belaya.
The strike and other recent operations in the region were coordinated with Ukrainian ground forces who “are currently commencing new offensive operations” against Russian troops, it said.
The military later edited out any mention of a new attack in the Telegram statement, replacing the phrase with the much vaguer “combat operations”. It provided no explanation.
Ukraine first seized part of the Kursk region in a surprise incursion last August, and it has held territory there for five months despite losing some ground.
Arpan Rai8 January 2025 04:59
Biden set to announce ‘substantial’ final weapons package for Ukraine
The Biden administration is set to announce a massive, final weapons aid package for Ukraine as part of defence secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit to Germany tomorrow to meet with representatives of about 50 partner nations who have come to Ukraine’s defence since Russia invaded nearly three years ago, two senior defence officials said.
The officials did not provide an exact dollar amount but said the package was expected to be “substantial,” although it would not include all of the roughly $4bn left in the congressionally authorised funding for Ukraine.
There likely would be “more than a couple of billion dollars” remaining for the incoming Trump defence team to provide to Ukraine if it chooses to do so, the officials said yesterday in briefing reporters traveling with Mr Austin.
Mr Biden’s defence officials working on Ukraine have been in contact with Trump’s transition team to discuss “all the issues that we believe are important,” one of the officials said.
Ukraine is in the midst of launching a second offensive in Russia’s Kursk region and is facing a barrage of long-range missiles and ongoing advances from Russia as both sides seek to put themselves in the strongest negotiating position possible before president-elect Donald Trump takes office on 20 January.
Arpan Rai8 January 2025 03:15
Trump sympathises with Russia’s opposition to Ukraine’s Nato bid
President-elect Donald Trump said he sympathised with the Russian position that Ukraine should not be part of Nato, and he lamented that he will not meet Russian president Vladimir Putin before his inauguration.
“A big part of the problem is, Russia – for many, many years, long before Putin – said, ‘You could never have Nato involved with Ukraine.’ Now, they’ve said that. That’s been, like, written in stone,” Mr Trump said, speaking at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
He also blamed outgoing Democratic president Joe Biden for allegedly changing the US position on Nato membership for Ukraine.
“And somewhere along the line Biden said, ‘No. They should be able to join Nato’ Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I could understand their feelings about that.”
Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation have officially expressed support for Ukraine‘s eventual membership since the Bucharest Summit of 2008, and the Biden administration continues to support Ukraine‘s eventual Nato accession, though Ukraine has never been extended an invitation.
Arpan Rai8 January 2025 03:00
Bulgarians celebrate the feast of Epiphany with a ritual plunge into icy rivers
Tom Watling8 January 2025 03:00
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
Winged explosives weighing up to 1,500 kilograms – and nicknamed the ‘building destroyer’ – have had a devastating impact wherever they have been used, writes Tom Watling. Kyiv is battling them as best it can but needs Western allies to step up and provide more weapons, air defences and ammunition
Tom Watling8 January 2025 02:00
Ukraine is right to stop the flow of Russian gas – whatever the cost
Ukraine is right to turn off the flow of Russian gas – whatever the cost
Editorial: Almost three years after Putin’s invasion, it almost beggars belief that cheap energy from Russia was still being piped across war-ravaged Ukraine into Europe. Stopping it has triggered another global price spiral, and may yet have dire political consequences – but EU leaders cannot afford to maintain this habit
Tom Watling7 January 2025 23:00
