Egypt Daily News – U.S. President Donald Trump said today that Russia made a significant concession in peace talks with Ukraine by not “taking the entire country.”
In response to a reporter’s question about what Russia is offering in the peace talks, Trump replied, “Stopping the war.”
Trump added during a meeting in the Oval Office with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre: “Stopping the process of taking the entire country, that’s a big concession.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been widely condemned by other countries for invading Ukraine in February 2022, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has strongly rejected official recognition of Russian control over Crimea.
Earlier this week, Trump claimed that Zelensky was hindering negotiations, saying the besieged leader “has no cards to play.” After expressing his frustration over the deadly Russian strikes on Kyiv, Trump stated today that he still believes Putin is serious about a peace agreement.
However…
President Donald Trump expressed dissatisfaction after Russia launched its deadliest wave of attacks on Kyiv in nine months, urging President Vladimir Putin to “STOP!” as he continues to push Ukraine to consider a controversial ceasefire proposal.
Russia fired 70 missiles and 145 drones at Ukraine, primarily targeting Kyiv, in an assault that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described as aimed at pressuring the United States.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday. He later elaborated on these comments in the Oval Office, warning that “things will happen” if Russia continues its attacks.
According to Ukraine’s emergency services, at least 12 people were killed in the strikes and 90 injured, with more casualties possibly trapped under rubble. The strikes hit 13 locations in Kyiv, including residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.
This was the most devastating attack on the city since July 2024, when 33 people were killed in a bombing that targeted a hospital and residential areas. Zelensky, during a visit to South Africa, claimed that the bombardment was “first and foremost” designed to pressure the United States.
He also pushed back against Trump’s efforts to coerce Kyiv into making concessions, stating, “The fact that Ukraine is ready to sit down at a negotiating table after a full ceasefire with terrorists, is a big compromise.” Zelensky, speaking just before Trump’s social media post, also noted the imbalance in the administration’s approach toward Kyiv and Moscow.
“This is a matter of our survival. We are very direct and transparent on this matter,” Zelensky stated. “I don’t see strong pressure against Russia and new strong sanctions packages against the Russian aggression for now.”
Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Trump acknowledged “a lot of hatred” between Ukraine and Russia but maintained, “I think they both want to make peace, I do believe so.”
“We are thinking very strongly that they both want peace, but they have to get to the table, we’re waiting a long time, they have to get them to the table, and I think we’re going to get peace,” Trump told reporters in response to a question during a meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
Zelensky described the Russian attack as “one of the most complex, most daring attacks coming from Russia.” Russia’s defense ministry stated it had conducted “a massive strike with high-precision long-range air, land, and sea-based weapons, unmanned aerial vehicles targeting enterprises in Ukraine’s aviation, missile, and space industries, mechanical engineering, and the production of rocket fuel and gunpowder.”
“The strike objectives were achieved. All targets were hit,” Moscow claimed.
A search-and-rescue operation is ongoing to locate those trapped under debris, according to local and national Ukrainian authorities.
Zelensky suggested the Russians had used a missile manufactured in North Korea, and Ukrainian special services were verifying the details. If confirmed, Zelensky said, “this will be further proof of the criminal nature of the alliance between Russia and Pyongyang.”
Following the Kyiv attack, Zelensky announced he would cut short his visit to South Africa, where he arrived late on Wednesday, to return to Ukraine.
“It is extremely important that everyone around the world sees and understands what is really happening,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine would immediately contact its international partners to strengthen air defenses.
French President Emmanuel Macron strongly condemned the attacks, accusing Putin of hypocrisy, saying: “He says ‘I want peace’ and continues to bomb and kill in Ukraine.” Macron stressed to reporters during a visit to Madagascar that “America’s anger should be focused on one person: President Putin.”
‘The First Thing I Felt Was Fear’
Air raid sirens rang through Kyiv for six hours early Thursday, as the Russian strikes gripped the city in fear. A source described waiting in a corridor with their child while missiles hit the city and drones could be heard outside their window.
Though air raid sirens are now a near daily occurrence in Kyiv, Thursday’s attack reminded many of the early days of the war. Images provided by emergency services showed buildings in flames from the strikes.
“The first thing I felt was fear,” said Iryna Dzen, a resident of an affected neighborhood. “You don’t understand anything when you wake up at night from an explosion. You are alive, but your parents, children, you don’t know if they are alive, where was the hit.”
“We went to the corridor, it was safer there, and started calling our relatives (to find out) whether they were alive or not,” she added. “And when we came (outside) and saw everything, it was a horror.”
Engineers, rescue workers, and recovery dogs were searching for people trapped under the rubble of a home destroyed in the Sviatoshyn district, according to Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
“Rescuers are doing everything they can to clear the rubble as quickly as possible,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. “We are currently clearing the rubble manually, we are not using any equipment because there may still be people under the rubble.”
Klymenko reported that eight regions of Ukraine were targeted in what he called “a massive combined Russian attack,” which also hit Zhytomyr, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Poltava, Khmelnytsky, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia.
The Russian attacks followed a new public dispute between Trump and Zelensky, particularly over the future of Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that Russia illegally annexed in 2014.
As part of efforts to negotiate a peace deal to end the three-year war, the US administration has reportedly proposed recognizing Russia’s control of Crimea, a move that would reverse a decade of US policy and could undermine the post-World War II consensus that borders should not be changed by force.
Zelensky has consistently rejected this proposal, asserting that it would violate Ukraine’s constitution. On Wednesday, Trump called Zelensky’s stance “very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia,” posting on Truth Social: “It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War. He has nothing to boast about!”
Hours after meeting with Ukrainians and Europeans in London on Wednesday in an effort to advance US diplomacy, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said that he considered the talks to be “candid, positive, and productive.” However, a senior US official noted that disagreements remain with Ukraine, including over the sequencing of negotiations and whether a ceasefire or an agreement on a broader framework should come first.
Despite the challenges, US officials are not ruling out the possibility of a ceasefire, though they continue to push for an agreement based on the framework they’ve proposed.
