Trump slams Zelensky for saying the end of the Russia war ‘is still very, very far away’

Trump slams Zelensky for saying the end of the Russia war ‘is still very, very far away’
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, is greeted by President Donald Trump, center, as he arrives at the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP)
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Updated 04 March 2025
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Trump slams Zelensky for saying the end of the Russia war ‘is still very, very far away’

Trump slams Zelensky for saying the end of the Russia war ‘is still very, very far away’
  • “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform about the comments Zelensky made late Sunday

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday for suggesting that the end of Russia’s war against Ukraine likely “is still very, very far away.”
The comments come as prominent Trump allies escalate pressure on Zelensky to dramatically change his approach to the US president, who has made quickly ending the war a top priority, or step aside.
The long complicated relationship between the leaders has reached a nadir following a disastrous White House meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance excoriated Zelensky for not being sufficiently thankful for US support for Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the February 2022 invasion.
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform about the comments Zelensky made late Sunday while speaking to reporters in London.
Trump at an event at the White House later on Monday referred to Zelensky’s reported comments, and asserted the Ukrainian leader “better not be right about that.”
“If somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long,” Trump added. “That person will not be listened to very long.”
Trump took issue with Zelensky suggesting it would take time to come to an agreement to end the war. The Ukrainian leader also tried to offer a positive take on the US-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of last week’s White House meeting.
Asked by a reporter about the outlines of a new European initiative to end Russia’s war, Zelensky said: “We are talking about the first steps today, and, therefore, until they are on paper, I would not like to talk about them in great detail.”
“An agreement to end the war is still very, very far away, and no one has started all these steps yet,” he added.
But Trump was only further irritated by Zelensky’s suggesting it will take time for the conflict to come to a close.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelensky, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US — Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” Trump added in his post. “What are they thinking?”
Zelensky took to social media soon after Trump’s latest criticism. He did not directly refer to Trump’s comments, but underscored that it “is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible.”
“We need real peace and Ukrainians want it most because the war ruins our cities and towns,” Zelensky added. “We lose our people. We need to stop the war and to guarantee security.”
Trump’s national security adviser said Zelensky’s posture during Friday’s Oval Office talks “put up in the air” whether he’s someone the US administration will be able to deal with going forward.
“Is he ready, personally, politically, to move his country toward an end to the fighting?” Mike Waltz said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” earlier Monday. “And can he and will he make the compromises necessary?”
Waltz added another layer of doubt about US support as other high-profile Trump allies have suggested that the relationship between Trump and Zelensky is becoming untenable.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that Zelensky “needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country” for Ukraine to continue pursuing a peace deal negotiated by the United States.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally who has been a vociferous supporter of Ukraine, said soon after the Oval Office meeting that Zelensky “either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change.”
Angela Stent, a former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council, said Putin is likely in no rush to end the war amid the fissures between Trump and Zelensky and Europe and the US about the way ahead.
“He is not interested in ending the war,” said Stent, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “He thinks Russia is winning. ... And he thinks that as time goes on, the West will be more fractured.”
Trump administration and Ukrainian officials had been expected to sign off on a deal during Zelensky’s visit last week that would have given the US access to Ukraine’s critical minerals in part to pay back more than $180 billion in aid the US has sent Kyiv since the start of the war. The White House has also billed such a pact as a way to tighten US-Ukrainian relations in the long term.
The signing was scrapped after the leaders’ Oval Office talks went off the rails and White House officials asked Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation to leave.
Trump on Monday, however, suggested he hasn’t given up on the economic pact, calling it “a great deal.” He added that he expected to speak to the deal during his Tuesday address before a joint session of Congress.


Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russian artillery fire has not subsided

Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russian artillery fire has not subsided
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Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russian artillery fire has not subsided

Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russian artillery fire has not subsided
“Therefore, there is no trust in words coming from Moscow,” Zelensky said

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that, according to his top commander, Russian artillery fire had not subsided despite the Kremlin’s proclamation of an Easter ceasefire.
“As of now, according to the Commander-in-Chief reports, Russian assault operations continue on several frontline sectors, and Russian artillery fire has not subsided,” Zelensky wrote on the social media platform X.
“Therefore, there is no trust in words coming from Moscow.”
He recalled that Russia had last month rejected a US-proposed full 30-day ceasefire and said that if Moscow agreed to “truly engage in a format of full and unconditional silence, Ukraine will act accordingly — mirroring Russia’s actions.”
“If a complete ceasefire truly takes hold, Ukraine proposes extending it beyond the Easter day of April 20,” Zelensky wrote.

Russia says Ukraine struck its energy infrastructure 10 times in last 24 hours

Russia says Ukraine struck its energy infrastructure 10 times in last 24 hours
Updated 19 April 2025
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Russia says Ukraine struck its energy infrastructure 10 times in last 24 hours

Russia says Ukraine struck its energy infrastructure 10 times in last 24 hours
  • Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of violating a US-brokered 30-day moratorium

MOSCOW: Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukraine on Saturday of attacking Russian energy facilities 10 times over the past 24 hours.
The US brokered a 30-day moratorium in March between Ukraine and Russia against strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure. Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of violating it.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked if the energy moratorium was over, said it had already been a month but that no orders from the president had been received to change Russia’s position.


More than 100 inmates make deadly prison break in Chad

More than 100 inmates make deadly prison break in Chad
Updated 19 April 2025
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More than 100 inmates make deadly prison break in Chad

More than 100 inmates make deadly prison break in Chad
  • The break-out occurred late Friday when an uprising happened
  • A local Mongo official said prisoners broke into a manager’s office to steal guns

MONGO, Chad: More than 100 inmates escaped a Chad prison during a shoot-out that left three people dead, and wounded a state governor visiting the facility, officials told AFP on Saturday.
The break-out occurred late Friday when an uprising happened in the high-security penitentiary five kilometers (three miles) from the town of Mongo, in the center of the country.
“There are around 100 who escaped, three dead and three wounded,” Hassan Souleymane Adam, secretary general of the Guera province in which Mongo is located, said.
A local Mongo official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said prisoners broke into a manager’s office to steal guns.
“A shootout with guards ensued, at the same time the governor arrived. He was wounded,” he said.
The Mongo official confirmed there were three dead, and put the total number of escaped prisoners at 132.
He said the prisoners revolted after complaining about a lack of food.
Chad’s Justice Minister Youssouf Tom told AFP by telephone that he was about to fly to region and would be able to give “precise information once I am at Mongo in the coming hours.”


Russian President Vladimir Putin announces an Easter ceasefire in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin announces an Easter ceasefire in Ukraine
Updated 19 April 2025
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Russian President Vladimir Putin announces an Easter ceasefire in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin announces an Easter ceasefire in Ukraine
  • Ceasefire will last from 6 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday to midnight following Easter Sunday

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday announced an Easter truce in the conflict in Ukraine starting this evening and lasting till midnight on Sunday.
The short-term ceasefire proposal from Russia comes as President Donald Trump has been pressing both Moscow and Kyiv to agree a truce, but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin.
“Today from 1800 (1500 GMT) to midnight Sunday (2100 GMT Sunday), the Russian side announces an Easter truce,” Putin said in televised comments, while meeting Russian chief of staff Valery Gerasimov.
Easter, a major holiday for Christians, is celebrated on Sunday.
“I order for this period to stop all military action,” Putin said, calling the truce “based on humanitarian reasons.”
“We are going on the basis that the Ukrainian side will follow our example, while our troops must be ready to resist possible breaches of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions,” Putin said.
He said that Gerasimov had told him Ukraine “more than 100 times... breached an agreement on not striking energy infrastructure.”
Russia on Friday abandoned a moratorium on striking Ukrainian energy targets after each side accused the other of breaking a supposed deal without any formal agreement put in place.
The latest truce proposal will show “how sincere is the Kyiv’s regime’s readiness, its desire and ability to observe agreements and participate in a process of peace talks,” Putin said.
Previous attempts at holding ceasefires for Easter in April 2022 and Orthodox Christmas in January 2023 were not implemented after both sides failed to agree on them.


Cambodia welcomes Japanese navy ships to naval base that US suspects is for China’s special use

Cambodia welcomes Japanese navy ships to naval base that US suspects is for China’s special use
Updated 19 April 2025
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Cambodia welcomes Japanese navy ships to naval base that US suspects is for China’s special use

Cambodia welcomes Japanese navy ships to naval base that US suspects is for China’s special use
  • Tokyo has developed increasingly close ties with Cambodia in recent years
  • China and Cambodia have close political, military, and economic ties

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Two Japanese naval ships docked Saturday at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, whose recently completed Chinese-funded upgrade has heightened US concerns that it will be used as a strategic outpost for China’s navy in the Gulf of Thailand.
The visit by the two minesweepers, the 141-meter (463-foot) -long Bungo and the 67-meter (219-foot) -long Etajima, part of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force, marks the first foreign navy visit since the base’s expansion project was completed earlier this month.
Tokyo has developed increasingly close ties with Cambodia in recent years, seeking to offset China’s influence in the region, and Cambodia invited it to make the renovated port’s first port call, widely seen as an attempt to allay Washington’s concerns.
Both Japanese ships, making a four-day port call with a total of 170 sailors, docked at the base’s new pier, where Cambodian officials, including Rear Adm. Mean Savoeun, deputy commander of the base, held a welcome ceremony.
Concerns about China’s activities at the Ream base emerged in 2019 following a Wall Street Journal report alleging a draft agreement that would grant China 30-year use of the base for military personnel, weapon storage, and warship berthing. The US government has publicly and repeatedly aired its concerns.
China and Cambodia have close political, military, and economic ties. They commenced the port project in 2022, which included the demolition of previous naval structures built by the US at the base.
Cambodia has stated that warships from all friendly countries are welcome to dock at the new pier, provided they meet certain conditions. When Japanese Defense Minister Gen. Nakatani announced the planned visit on Tuesday, he said Japan’s port call symbolizes friendship with Cambodia and is key to regional stability and peace.
He stated that the visit would help ensure Cambodia has an open and transparent naval port, while noting the concerns over China’s growing efforts to secure overseas outposts for military expansion.
The port call came just one day after Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a two-day state visit to Cambodia aimed at further strengthening China’s strong ties with its closest ally in Southeast Asia.
A statement on Saturday from Japan’s embassy in Cambodia stated that the two vessels are on a mission that began in January to visit 11 countries across Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia. The port call in Cambodia is considered a “historically significant event for Japan-Cambodia relations,” it said.
The embassy emphasized that the journey of the Japanese vessels “underlines the importance of freedom of navigation, free and open international order based on international law, and its development.”
In December last year, a US Navy warship called at the nearby civilian port of Sihanoukville on a five-day visit. The visit by the USS Savannah, carrying a crew of 103, was the first in eight years by a US military vessel to Cambodia.