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Trump has pitched any end to the fighting as a precursor to both countries doing ‘BIG BUSINESS’ with the US
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Donald Trump has said he is hopeful Russia and Ukraine can come to a deal to end the war this week after both sides accused each other of violating a supposed Easter ceasefire.
Despite the Russian president’s declaration of a truce on Saturday, which has now expired, the Ukrainian president said in a post on X that the Russian army has violated the ceasefire more than two thousand times.
He also proposed Russia abandon drone and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure for at least 30 days.
Russia‘s defence ministry has claimed that Ukraine had broken the ceasefire more than a thousand times, inflicting damages to infrastructure and causing civilian deaths.
Mr Zelensky also accused Russia of stepping up its attacks despite the ceasefire, proving either that Mr Putin “does not have full control over his army” or that the truce is merely a PR exercise.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, president Trump said: “Hopefully Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week. Both will then start to do big business with the United States of America, which is thriving, and make a fortune!”
Meanwhile, Ukraine has brought home hundreds of its soldiers in an exchange of prisoners of war with Russia.
Volodymyr Zelensky has said some Ukrainian troops were killed in a Russian “ambush” on Sunday in the Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian president vowed the Russian soldiers responsible would be “eliminated”.
US President Donald Trump has said he hopes Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week to end the conflict in Ukraine.
“BOTH WILL THEN START TO DO BIG BUSINESS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WHICH IS THRIVING, AND MAKE A FORTUNE!” He said in a post on Truth Social.
Are the Americans and the Europeans finally converging on a peace plan for Ukraine? Or was this week’s Paris meeting the prelude to an imminent parting of the ways?
The outcome, judging by the sparse statements produced by the two sides, can be read either way – although neither would seem to offer great hope of an early end to the war or of stronger support for Ukraine against Russia.
The first, suggested by the brief statement from the Elysee Palace soon afterwards, was that the Europeans and the Americans had found some common ground. Discussions, it said, had “focused mainly on the peace negotiations aimed at ending the Russian aggression in Ukraine”, and crucially went on: “building on the talks between the President of the Republic and President Trump, as well as on the work of the Coalition of the Willing, co-chaired by France and the United Kingdom…”
Mary Dejevsky writes:
Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated Ukraine’s offer to extend the truce for 30 days, starting midnight Sunday.
The Ukrainian president said the proposal “remains on the table” and added: “We will act in accordance with the actual situation on the ground.”
Vladimir Putin’s “unilateral” ceasefire declaration this weekend – a bid to use Easter as a propaganda tool – is a deliberate waste of time intended to shift attention away from the Russian president’s original sin.
That sin – better understood as an international crime that led to more crimes against humanity – was the 2014 invasion of Ukraine, and the 2022 attempt at a full-scale Anschluss, along with the mass murder and deliberate targeting of civilians that followed.
Of course, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, has been quick to point out that Putin immediately ignored his own declaration.
World affairs editor Sam Kiley writes:
Ukraine has proposed Russia abandon drone and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure for at least 30 days, president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“If Russia does not agree to such a step, it will be proof that it intends to continue doing only those things which destroy human lives and prolong the war,” Mr Zelensky said on X.
Volodymyr Zelensky has said that despite Ukraine declaring a symmetrical approach to Russian actions, “the trend of increasing the use of heavy weaponry by Russian forces continues.”
The Ukrainian president added, however, that it was “a good thing, at least, that there were no air raid sirens.”
The US State Department hsd said it would welcome the extension beyond Sunday of a one-day Easter ceasefire declared by Vladimir Putin even as the Kremlin said earlier there was no order for an extension.
“We have seen President Putin’s announcement of a temporary ceasefire due to Easter. We remain committed to achieving a full and comprehensive ceasefire,” a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement on Sunday.
“As we assess their seriousness in this instance, we would welcome it extending beyond Sunday.”
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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump ‘hopeful’ on peace deal this week as Putin’s ‘Easter truce’ ends – The Independent
