Volodymyr Zelensky

Aug. 14 (UPI) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Downing Street on Thursday to maintain the momentum of a European push to influence a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The high-profile meeting between the British and Ukrainian leaders, reported by the BBC, Sky News and The Telegraph, was described as a carefully choreographed display of support timed for just hours before the historic U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska, which Zelensky was left out of.

Neither man commented nor provided any details of their discussion when the pair emerged from No. 10 after around 60 minutes.

The London talks came as the Kremlin confirmed “resolving the Ukraine crisis” would be the main focus of the summit and that the delegation headed by Putin would include top aide Yuri Ushakov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Russian sovereign wealth fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev.

Co-chairing a meeting of European leaders, Zelensky and Trump on Wednesday, Starmer said a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine was a “viable” outcome from what he called Friday’s “hugely important” meeting, but stressed Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” must be defended and international borders “must not be changed by force”.

“As I’ve said personally to President Trump for the three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on, we haven’t got anywhere near a prospect of actually a viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire,” said Starmer.

“And now we do have that chance, because of the work the president has put in.”

However, Starmer said any cease-fire would have to be lasting and therefore needed “robust and credible security guarantees” and that European allies had established “this Coalition of the Willing” to back a post-war Ukraine militarily, with troops if necessary, to preempt Russia from breaking any peace agreement.

The bloc backed Zelensky’s demand that no decisions be made without Ukraine at the table.

Trump emerged from the meeting to put Putin on notice he would face “severe consequences” if he did not agree to a cease-fire when the pair meet in Anchorage on Friday. Trump said that, provided the meeting went well, he would also seek a second meeting between Putin and Zelensky to hammer out the details of a peace deal.

Aug. 13 (UPI) — Ahead of President Donald Trump‘s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, the European Union will have a call with him Wednesday to remind him that he shouldn’t negotiate without Ukraine.

The call on Wednesday, organized by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, will include Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders who are friendly with Trump, like Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Zelensky will be in Berlin for the meeting, his office said on Wednesday, and is expected to later brief reporters with Merz.

At the Friday meeting in Alaska, Trump will meet with Putin to try to end the war with Ukraine. But Zelensky hasn’t been invited.

“We cannot accept that territorial issues between Russia and America are discussed or even decided over the heads of Europeans, over the heads of Ukrainians,” Merz said in a TV interview Sunday. “I assume that the American government sees it the same way. That is why there is this close coordination.”

Merz, a center-right politician, has heavily courted Trump since taking office in May. He has tried to impress upon Trump that if the United States were to boldly intervene on behalf of Ukraine, it could drive Putin into a cease-fire and peace talks.

Trump’s recent frustration with Russia’s repeated bombing of Ukraine has made him more receptive to Merz’s pleas. But this week, he told reporters he wanted to see what Putin had on his mind, and if he could broker “a deal,” which could include swaps of land held by Ukraine and Russia.

But peace on bad terms for Putin might encourage him to send troops to another neighbor and threaten Europe.

“It’s really a concern that Putin might feel emboldened,” Anna Sauerbrey, foreign editor for Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper, told The New York Times. “Not to go for Berlin, of course, but to cause some unrest in other Baltic countries, other European countries.”

Europe’s leaders seemed optimistic that Trump will hear their pleas and take Europe’s needs into consideration.

The EU on Tuesday demanded that the Ukrainian people should determine their own future and that no peace deal with Russia could be decided without Ukraine at the table. Hungary disavowed itself from the calls.

Leaders of 26 of 27 European Union nations said in a statement that viable negotiations must be within the framework of a cease-fire or easing of hostilities and warned of the threat the war posed to European and international security.

There appears to be “more of an understanding from the Americans that you can’t just go for land swaps which would somehow give a prize to Russia,” said one European Union official, who was granted anonymity by the Washington Post. But, the official said, “it’s clear that there are sort of discrepancies, and as we’ve seen it in the U.S. system by now, you have one man who will decide.”

Trump told reporters Monday that “It’s not up to me to make a deal,” echoing what Europe is saying, that Ukraine must be part of the negotiations.

“I guess everyone’s afraid Putin will play Trump’s ego again like he has in the past,” said a second European official to the Washington Post. “Who knows, maybe he comes there with another noble-sounding offer or maybe they give [Trump] some state award.”

Aug. 9 (UPI) — U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy and U.S. Vice President JD Vance met with Ukrainian officials and others to discuss ending the war when Russia attacked its neighbor in February 2022.

Ukraine Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak and Ukraine Defense Secretary Rustem Umerov joined Lammy and Vance on Saturday to discuss matters in Ukraine and its defensive war with Russia.

“The U.K.’s support for Ukraine remains ironclad as we continue working toward a just and lasting peace,” Lammy said Saturday in a post on X.

The meeting occurred at Lammy’s official residence in Kent, England, where Vance is staying with his family through the weekend.

Yermak and Umerov were invited to join Lammy and Vance on short notice and ahead of Friday’s scheduled summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also might join the meeting with Trump and Putin, but he has not been invited as of Saturday evening.

Officials from the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and NATO also attended Saturday’s meeting at Lammy’s official residence, the BBC reported.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not join the meeting, but he talked with Zelensky by phone before it occurred.

Starmer and Zelensky agreed the meeting at Lammy’s residence is an important prelude to Friday’s scheduled summit in Alaska, Starmer’s office said in a news release.

Zelensky afterward told Ukrainians Putin is the only one standing in the way of ending the war.

“His only card is the ability to kill, and he is trying to sell the cessation of killings at the highest possible price,” Zelensky said during a national address.

He also dismissed the notion of a cease-fire instead of ending the war.

“What is needed is not a pause in the killings but a real, lasting peace,” Zelensky said.

He said Trump supports an immediate cessation of hostilities and said the United States has the “leverage and determination” to make it happen via sanctions against Russia.

Putin “fears sanctions and is doing everything to bail on them,” Zelensky said.

“He wants to exchange a pause in the war, in the killings, for the legalization of the occupation of our land,” Zelensky told Ukrainians.

“We will not allow this second attempt to partition Ukraine.”

Aug. 9 (UPI) — President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to meet Friday in Alaska and might invite Russian President Volodymyr Zelensky to join them.

It will be the first in-person meeting between Trump and Putin since the G20 summit in Japan in 2019 during Trump’s first term.

Zelensky initially was not invited, a source told The Washington Post, but Trump is considering inviting him, NBC News and The Hill reported on Saturday.

Putin on Thursday said he opposed meeting with Zelensky, saying “for this to happen, certain conditions must be created. Unfortunately, we are still far from creating such conditions.”

Trump announced the meeting on Friday night on Truth Social.

“The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska,” Trump posted.

The presidents also considered meeting in the United Arab Emirates and Rome.

Because the United States does not recognize the International Criminal Court, it does not have to abide by a warrant issued in 2023 for Putin’s arrest on allegations he was involved in the abduction of children from Ukraine during the war. Had the meeting been held in Rome, there were concerns officials would attempt to arrest Putin.

On chances for a deal, Trump told reporters this week that he thinks “we have a shot at” achieving a deal and refused to call the meeting a last chance.

“I don’t like using the term ‘last chance,” he said.

Trump has floated the idea that a peace deal with Ukraine may require the European nation to give up territory — something Zelensky and many European leaders oppose.

“You’re looking at territory that’s been fought over for 3½ years with — you know, a lot of Russians have died, a lot of Ukrainians have died,” Trump said. “There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.”

Ukraine currently controls around 4 square miles of Russian land in the western Kursk region, while Russia has one-fifth of Ukraine’s sovereign territory — including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Enerhodar, which is the largest generating station in Europe.

Ukraine had also seized around 500 square miles in August 2024 but later retreated.

Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and four other regions in eastern Ukraine — Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — and Putin has proposed Crimea be formally recognized as Russian sovereign territory.

“We’re looking at that, but we’re actually looking to get some back and some swapping. It’s complicated. It’s actually nothing easy, [and] it’s very complicated. But we’re going to get some back, and we’re going to get some switched. There will be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both,” Trump told reporters when asked if Ukraine will need to give up territory in a peace deal.

Trump also said that the self-imposed deadline for Putin to agree to a cease-fire or face “secondary sanctions” against nations that buy oil from Russia would “be up to him. We’re going to see what he has to say — it’s up to him.”

On Wednesday, he signed an executive order that doubled the tariff against India to 50% over the Asian nation’s imports of Russian oil. The order followed a 50-day ultimatum Trump gave to Putin to reach a truce with Ukraine, and later moved the deadline up to 10 days.

After a three-hour meeting with Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday, Putin said told Witkoff that he would agree to a cease-fire if Ukraine withdrew from the Donbas region.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Putin for the first time provided “concrete examples of the kinds of things that Russia would ask for in order to end the war.”

On Saturday, Zelensky reiterated his opposition to giving up land.

“Ukrainians are defending their own. Even those who are with Russia know that it is doing evil. Of course, we will not give Russia awards for what it has done. The Ukrainian people deserve peace. But all partners must understand what a worthy peace is. This war must be ended, and Russia must end it. Russia started it and is dragging it out, not listening to any deadlines, and this is the problem, not something else,” he said in Ukrainian in a video posted on Instagram.

He also “Ukraine is ready for real decisions that can bring peace. Any decisions that are against us, any decisions that are without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not achieve anything,” Zelensky added in a post on X.

Zelensky also said he spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday and he was “grateful for his support.”

He said they both see the danger of “Russia’s plan to reduce everything to a discussion of the impossible.”

The meeting between Trump and Putin was confirmed by Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin official.

“The economic interests of our countries intersect in Alaska and the Arctic, and there are prospects for implementing large-scale, mutually beneficial projects,” he told reporters, according to state-run TASS. “But, of course, the presidents themselves will undoubtedly focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.”

Saturday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance will attend a summit of national security advisers in Britain that includes Ukraine and other European allies.

UKRAINE’S fight against Putin’s illegal invasion is vital for all of Europe.

The Ukrainian people are fighting bravely for their freedom, their independence and their rights.

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But American security is on the line there, as well as British and European security.

That is why we and European allies have been providers of military aid to Ukraine.

And we recognise the indispensable role of the US in that.

It is also why President Trump’s recent decision to make more weapons available for Ukraine’s brave resistance is very welcome.

And we share the President’s frustration with Putin’s continual delaying tactics and maximalist demands.

It is clear that Putin is not negotiating in good faith.

Tighten screws

The pressure must continue to grow on Putin, to make clear that this awful war, and his wanton campaign of aggression, must come to an end.

As the UK and US get down to hard talks ahead of next week’s summit, Europe must ramp up the pressure, too.

We, as HM Opposition, will not write the Government a blank cheque.

But we stand squarely with them in defending our national interest and that means resisting Putin’s illegal war.

Russia has so far failed to achieve its war objectives.

It has suffered enormous casualties and, in desperation, Putin has had to turn to Iran for weapons and North Korea for troops.

Three years on, and despite what Russia claims, the cost to its economy has been enormous and is unsustainable.

I am proud the Conservative government, working with allies, helped to drive forward the largest and most severe set of sanctions Russia has ever seen to cripple Putin’s war machine.

Through the tough and wide-ranging sanctions delivered by the international community, Putin has been denied $400billion of funds since February 2022 — money that could otherwise have been spent on this illegal war.

But we cannot stop here. The screws must continue to tighten.

Pulling in the same direction

The US is right that we need all the world’s major economies to be pulling in the same direction.

President Trump’s tariffs on India in part show that there can be no place for Russian oil.

Europe must adopt the same approach.

There can be no place for Russian oil on our continent. There must be no safe harbour for Russian ships.

There must be no let-up in our collective fight against Russia in every corner of the continent.

That is why Britain must continue to maintain a leadership position in this fight.

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We must take the lead in mobilising sanctioned Russian sovereign assets to help Ukraine.

We must ensure our Government is using the full weight of the Whitehall legal machine to find more creative mechanisms through which those assets can be legally leveraged to support Ukraine’s military efforts.

And we must encourage all our European partners to do exactly the same.

It is clear that by leveraging our full economic might, and crippling Russia’s, we can continue to support Ukraine, and force Putin to the table.

The entire Euro-Atlantic alliance must be unflinching in the face of Putin’s aggression.

From sanctions, to Operation Interflex and the 100-year Partnership, Britain’s support for Ukraine has been unwavering and must continue to be so.

Shoulder to shoulder

So we must stand up for the territorial integrity of Ukraine and ensure that at no stage is Putin’s aggression rewarded.

Because the lesson of the past 20 years is crystal clear: Putin only comes back for more.

We must stand shoulder to shoulder with our Ukrainian friends as they fight not just an imperialist Russian, but a whole axis of authoritarian states seeking to sow destruction on our own continent.

Ukraine is in a battle for its own sovereignty as well as the principles that underpin our whole way of life — democracy, liberty and the rule of law.

Britain has a history of standing up to threatening authoritarianism.

The invasion of Ukraine demands that we do so again.

We must keep rising to the challenge.

Putin has to know that if he tests the Euro-Atlantic alliance, he will fail.

Aug. 8 (UPI) — President Donald Trump‘s deadline for Russia to end its ongoing war in Ukraine or face stiffer U.S. economic sanctions arrived Friday.

Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had been pushing for trilateral negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Moscow announced Thursday that Putin and Trump would hold a meeting about cease-fire talks in the coming days.

“It’s gonna be up to him (Putin),” Trump responded Thursday when asked about the looming deadline.

“We’re going to see what he has to say. It’s gonna be up to him. Very disappointed.”

There was no official word from Washington as Trump’s deadline arrived Friday.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow this week and has met with Putin. Officials have described those talks as constructive, while Trump this week called them “highly-productive.”

Russian and U.S. negotiators were reportedly close to a deal, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing sources close to the matter.

The deal would reportedly allow Russia to keep the territory it has gained thus far since it invaded Ukraine in February of 2022.

Last month, Trump announced he would enact “severe tariffs” if Russia failed to reach a peace deal with Ukraine within 50 days. Those sanctions were to encompass 100% secondary tariffs on countries doing business with Moscow, including those buying Russian oil.

Weeks later, Trump said he would shorten that 50-day window to reach a deal.

“I want to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made,” Trump told reporters at the time.

Trump this week imposed new tariffs on India in response to that country’s continued purchases of oil from Moscow.

Aug. 7 (UPI) — The Kremlin announced Thursday that a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump will be held in the coming days, as the American leader has been pushing for trilateral cease-fire talks between Moscow and Kyiv.

Yuri Ushakov, foreign affairs advisor to Putin, made the announcement to reporters, stating a venue has also been decided upon, in principle, for the Trump-Putin summit, but that it will be announced later, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported.

The meeting will mark the first face-to-face conversation between the world leaders since they spoke on the sidelines of a G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, in 2019. The pair also held a summit in Helsinki in 2018.

Since then, their conversations have been via telephone or through envoys.

On Wednesday, Trump said he was working to schedule a trilateral meeting between himself, Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

His special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had met with Putin on Wednesday, and Trump described their meeting as “highly productive” in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“Great progress made,” the U.S. leader said.

Trump has been seeking a cease-fire since his inauguration in January. During his campaign, the American leader repeatedly said he could end the war within 24 hours of returning to office.

Amid his second term, the United States, once Ukraine’s most ardent supporter, drastically shifted its policies, stating Kyiv would have to give up land to Russia in a cease-fire while pulling back on its military commitments to the besieged ally, demanding that others, especially Europe, it’s largest backer, due more.

However, Trump’s tone has changed slightly as the war has dragged on, and he has begun to direct his ire at Putin for the lack of a cease-fire agreement. Early last month, he lifted a pause he had placed on U.S. military aid transfers to Ukraine.

The announcement of the agreement comes a day after The New York Times reported that Trump intends to meet with Putin next week, followed by a meeting with him, Putin and Zelensky sometime after that.

Zelensky has been vocal about his willingness for cease-fire talks, and early Thursday said on X that a meeting between the world leaders “can lead to a truly lasting peace.”

“We in Ukraine have repeatedly said that finding real solutions can be truly effective at the level of leaders,” he said in the statement.

“Ukraine has never wanted war and will work toward peace as productively as possible. The main thing is for Russia, which started this war, to take real steps to end its aggression.”

The war between Ukraine and Russia began with a Kremlin invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. Russia also annexed Crimea in February 2014.

Aug. 6 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said he will work to schedule a trilateral meeting soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump announced his intent to meet with the leaders of the warring nations as early as next week after special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin on Wednesday.

“Steve Witkoff just had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “Great progress was made.”

Witkoff and Putin met ahead of Friday’s Trump-imposed deadline for a cease-fire in Ukraine.

Trump said he apprised some of the nation’s allies in Europe of the meeting’s content.

“Everyone agrees this war must come to a close,” he said, “and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come.”

The president also said he would meet with Putin as early as next week and afterward wants to meet with Putin and Zelensky at the same time, The New York Times reported.

Trump and Zelensky spoke by phone after the Witkoff-Putin meeting and said “it seems Russia is more inclined toward [a] cease-fire,” as reported by CNN.

Putin called the meeting “constructive and useful,” Russian state media outlet TASS reported.

“Putin conveyed some signals to the United States on the Ukrainian issue,” the Kremlin told state-controlled RIA Novosti.

Witkoff and Putin met for about three hours after Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on nations that buy oil from Russia if a cease-fire isn’t declared by Friday.

He also announced a 25% tariff on India for buying and reselling “massive amounts of Russian oil” and intends to increase the tariff to 50% in three weeks, The Washington Post reported.

Trump says such trade with Russia funds its war against Ukraine, which Russia started on Feb. 24, 2022.

Aug. 2 (UPI) — Four Ukrainians have been detained in an investigation of “large-scale” governmental corruption, the nation’s two anti-corruption agencies said Saturday.

A member of parliament, two current and former officials, and a member of the National Guard military were involved, according to the nation’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.

They allegedly were involved in a plot to take funds appropriated for drones and electronic warfare in 2024 and 2025, NABU posted on Telegram. They also acquired and distributed “unlawful benefits on an especially large scale,” the agency said.

On Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law passed unanimously by the parliament that restores the independence of the two agencies. One week earlier, the parliament had passed the law and Zelensky signed it that essentially ends their independence.

The former law sparked large protests and international rebuke, the Kyiv Independent reported.

In his daily video address, he said the schemes were “absolutely immoral.”

“I am grateful to the anti-corruption agencies for their work,” Zelensky posted on X. “There can only be zero tolerance for corruption, clear teamwork in uncovering it, and ultimately, a fair sentence. It is important that anti-corruption institutions operate independently, and the law passed on Thursday guarantees them all the tools necessary for a real fight against corruption.”

Detained were Oleksii Kuznetsov, a member of Zelensky’s Servant of the People party; Serhii Haidai, a former Luhansk governor; Andrii Yurchenko, head of Luhansk Oblast’s Rubizhne district and the guard member.

Kuznetsov will be dismissed from the Servant of the People in the parliament during the investigation, party leader David Arakhimia said.

In one scheme, they are accused of inflating a state contract for the purchase of electronic warfare with officials receiving a kickback of 30% of the conteact in exchange for inflating the price.

They were also involved in a similar way in state contracts for drones. A military unit signed a $239,000 contract with a producer with an overpaymernt of $80,000, the agencies said.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko announced the National Guard was implementing “systemic safeguards” to prevent power abuse.

“We are building a system in which honest service is protected, and there will be inevitable responsibility for violations,” Klymenko posted on Telegram.

Ukraine has been purchasing drones and weapons from other nations since Russia invaded the nation in February 2022.

July 19 (UPI) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants cease-fire negotiations with Russia next week and said he would be willing to meet directly and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian officials have proposed cease-fire negotiations next week, and Russian officials confirmed their receipt of the proposal for a high-level talk, CNN reported on Saturday.

“We need to do everything possible to achieve a cease-fire,” Zelensky told Ukrainians Saturday during his daily address.

“The Russian side must stop avoiding decisions regarding prisoner exchanges, the return of children and the cessation of killings,” Zelensky said.

“A meeting at the leadership level is essential to genuinely secure peace,” he added. “Ukraine is ready for such a meeting.”

That meeting could be between Putin and Zelensky, the BBC reported.

Ukraine’s call for cease-fire negotiations comes after Russia attacked 10 Ukrainian cities and other locales during the overnight hours from Friday into Saturday.

Russia launched more than 340 explosive drones and decoys and 35 ballistic missiles at targets in Ukraine, many of which the Ukrainian military said it intercepted.

President Donald Trump on Sunday announced the United States will sell Patriot missile-defense systems to NATO, which will provide them to Ukraine.

Trump also threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Russia if Putin does not end its war against Ukraine within 50 days.

Russian and Ukrainian officials last met in Istanbul in early June, but that meeting ended quickly with no cease-fire agreement.

July 12 (UPI) — Poland on Saturday scrambled fighter jets in response to Russian military aircraft near its border with Ukraine.

“Attention. Due to the activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, conducting strikes on targets located, among others, in western Ukraine, Polish and allied aviation have begun operations in Polish airspace,” the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said on X.

“Duty fighter pairs have been scrambled, and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest state of readiness.”

Russian drone and missile strikes killed at least two people and injured more than 20 others overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on X.

The attacks targeted Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Sumy, Lviv and Bukovyna regions and involved 26 cruise missiles and 597 attack drones, Zelensky said in the post.

Ukrainian officials separately reported at least 13 civilian deaths and 46 injuries over the previous 24 hours due to Russian missile strikes.

Poland later canceled its military alert.

“The operation of Polish and allied aviation in our airspace has been concluded due to the cessation of long-range aviation strikes by the Russian Federation on Ukraine,” the country’s armed forces said in a different statement.

“Activated ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have returned to standard operational activities. We thank you for the allied support NATO.”

Zelensky on Friday met with U.S. lawmakers in Rome at the Ukraine Recovery Conference. The Ukrainian president said during the conference he was prioritizing strengthening the country’s air defenses.

July 11 (UPI) — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome on Friday.

The meeting, called the Coalition of the Willing, also was attended by U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg.

Zelenskyy said that strengthening Ukraine’s air defense is a top priority.

Ukrainian intelligence says Russia plans to launch attacks with up to 1,000 drones at a time. Ukraine’s defense against these attacks are interceptor drones, but there must be more investment in their production, according to a statement from Zelensky. He also said Ukraine is ready to purchase a large defense package from the United States.

To prevent Russia’s ongoing attacks, Zelensky said there needs to be more sanctions against Russia. Graham and Blumenthal discussed a bill they are sponsoring that addresses that.

“We also touched on the bill introduced by Senators Graham and Blumenthal regarding additional restrictive measures against Russia and those supporting its war effort,” Zelensky said on X. “Without a doubt, this is exactly the kind of leverage that can bring peace closer and make sure diplomacy is not empty.”

Blumenthal added that other nations at the conference were supportive of the bill.

“Deeply inspired & energized by strong solidarity among European heads of state — hearing from Sen. Graham & me about our Russia Sanctions bill at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome,” he said on X. “Powerful commitment to Ukraine’s cause & our legislation.”

He hinted that the sanctions would hurt Russia-supporting nations.

“Momentum building for our Russia Sanctions bill, shown by repeated statements of support from heads of state in Rome at the Ukraine Recovery Conference,” he tweeted. “Bone crushing sanctions should help halt China, India & Brazil from fueling Russia’s war machine by buying its oil & gas.”

In recent weeks, Russia has intensified its attacks, launching record numbers of drones at Kyiv and other civilian targets. The United States has begun sending arms to Ukraine after a pause.

The Ukraine Recovery Conference is a two-day event focused on building political and private-sector support for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.

July 10 (UPI) — A second consecutive night of Russian drone and missile strikes on Kyiv killed at least two people and injured 24, authorities said.

Residential, healthcare, education, commercial and transport infrastructure was damaged across eight districts of the capital, including Podilskyi, where a 22-year-old woman police officer and a 68-year-old woman were killed, Kyiv Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said in a social media update.

“House-to-house inspections of the affected building are underway with the police checking whether anyone was left without help. About 400 rescuers and 90 units of fire and rescue, engineering and robotic equipment of the State Emergency Service are involved in clearing the rubble and dealing with the consequences of the shelling,” he said.

Tkachenko said apartment blocks, vehicles, warehouses, offices and other non-residential buildings were burning.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that apartment buildings in Shevchenkivskyi and Darnytskyi were set ablaze, gas stations and garages damaged, and a primary healthcare center “almost completely destroyed” in Podilskyi district.

The attack started shortly after 1 a.m. local time when explosions were heard and a swarm of Shahed-type attack drones was detected over the Pechersk district in old Kyiv, kicking off a three-hour-long intense bombardment in which the city was also targeted with ballistic missiles.

The Ukraine Air Force said 18 ballistic, cruise and S-300 guided missiles, mostly targeting Kyiv, were part of a much larger attack targeting the Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovohrad and Kharkiv regions that involved almost 400 real and decoy drones in an effort to throw off Ukrainian air defenses by swamping them.

However, air defenses succeeded in downing 14 of the missiles and while more than 350 drones were shot down, jammed or went the wrong way, at least two people, a man and a woman, were injured in the southern province of Kherson.

“This is a clear escalation of terror by Russia — hundreds of ‘shaheds’ every night, constant strikes, and massive attacks on Ukrainian cities,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on X.

“This demands that we speed things up. Sanctions must be imposed faster, and pressure on Russia must be strong enough that they truly feel the consequences of their terror. There’s a need for quicker action from our partners in investing in weapons production and advancing technology,” Zelensky wrote.

The latest attacks came as the United Nations released figures for June showing 232 people were killed and 1,343 injured in Ukraine due to enemy action, the highest number of civilian casualties in any month since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

July 4 (UPI) — One person died and 26 were injured in record Russian airstrikes throughout Ukraine‘s capital Kyiv on Friday, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “disappointed” that Russian President Vladimir Putin wasn’t ready to end the three-year war.

Several thousand residents spent the night in shelters, including subway stations or underground parking lots during eight hours of drone and missiles strikes, CNN reported.

“Absolutely horrible and sleepless night in Kyiv,” Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said about the nonstop strikes.

After the two presidents spoke on the phone, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the “Special Military Operation,” which started in February 2022, will continue until they’ve met their objective.

Trump said that “no progress” had been made to end fighting, which began after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Trump said he planned to speak with Zelensky on Friday.

Ukraine’s air force said the the 550 drones, 72 of which penetrated air defenses, surpassed the previous record of 537 launched last Saturday night.

Air raid alerts sounded overnight in Kyiv, the “main target of the strikes,” the Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was a “brutal, sleepless night” as he condemned one of the most “demonstratively significant and cynical” attacks of the war.

“Notably, the first air raid alerts in our cities and regions yesterday began to blare almost simultaneously with media reports discussing a phone call between President Trump and Putin,” Zelensky posted on X. “Yet again, Russia is showing it has no intention of ending the war and terror.”

Again, he urged international allies, including the United States, to put more pressure on Russia to end the war and to impose harsher sanctions.

“All of this is clear evidence that without truly large-scale pressure, Russia will not change its dumb, destructive behavior,” Zelensky said. “For every such strike against people and human life, they must feel appropriate sanctions and other blows to their economy, their revenues, and their infrastructure. This is the only thing that can be achieved quickly to change the situation for the better. And it depends on our partners, primarily the United States.”

Some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine have been halted by the United States.

Trump blamed former President Joe Biden for “emptying out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves.”

A German government spokesperson said his nation is in talks with the U.S. to buy Patriot air defense systems to give to Ukraine.

The commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces warned the number of long-range drones used by Russia could reach 1,000 or more daily.

The airstrikes damaged railway infrastructure, as well as schools, businesses and vehicles in the capital, including five ambulances that were summoned.

The Polish consulate also was damaged, said Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, who called on the U.S. to “restore supplies of anti-aircraft ammunition to Ukraine and impose tough new sanctions on the aggressor.”

With air pollution levels in the city “high,” according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, residents were warned to stay indoors, not to ventilate rooms and use air purifiers at maximum if possible.

“This attack happened immediately after Putin’s conversation with Trump, and it confirms that Trump is a scoundrel, just like the fact that the U.S. wants to stop aid deliveries and he is not helping in any way during his presidency,” one Kyiv resident, Yuriy, told CNN.

One body was found in the rubble in the Svyatoshynsky district, the leader of the Kyiv city military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said.

Also hit were the Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Chernihiv regions.

Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov said the “massive” strikes were in response to the “terrorist acts of the Kyiv regime.”

A woman was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on a village not far from the border on Friday night, the acting governor of Russia’s southern Rostov region said.

July 1 (UPI) — Russian authorities said at least three people were killed as Ukraine claimed an attack on a military plant in the city of Izhevsk.

Head of Russia’s Udmurt Republic Aleksandr Brechalov posted to Telegram Tuesday that “at the moment 35 people have been hospitalized, 10 of them are in serious condition.”

“Unfortunately, we have [three] dead,” he also explained.

Brechalov also confirmed that “One of the enterprises in Izhevsk was attacked by drones” from Ukraine.

The Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, announced Tuesday that two Ukrainian drones struck the Kupol Electromechanical Plant in Izhevsk, more than 800 miles from the warfront in Ukraine. The plant is purportedly a producer of drones, as well as radar stations and surface-to-air missile systems.

Russia’s Defense Ministry also purported Tuesday that 60 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight across several Russian regions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky further announced Sunday that Russia sent 477 drones and 60 missiles in a wide-ranging blitz that he alleged were “targeting everything that sustains life.” A residential building in the city Smila in Ukraine’s Cherkasy province was reportedly among the structures attacked, which left a child injured.

Zelensky, who alleged that most of the Russian drones and missiles were shot down, also noted that a Ukrainian F-16 pilot, Maksym Ustymenko, was killed in action after reportedly have destroyed seven “aerial targets.” Ustymenko was granted the Hero of Ukraine award posthumously Monday.

Zelensky also announced Monday that the Ukrainian domestic production of drones will be “ramped up,” and as for weaponry to be used in battle, “The priority is drones, interceptor drones and long-range strike drones.”

“Russia is investing in its unmanned capabilities,” he added. “Russia is planning to increase the number of drones used in strikes against our state. We are preparing our countermeasures.”

June 25 (UPI) — At least 20 people were killed and up to 300 injured in a massive Russian airborne assault on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro in the country’s industrial heartland, authorities said Wednesday.

Dnipropetrovsk Gov. Serhii Lysak said in a social media update that the strikes during the daytime on Tuesday killed 18 people in Dnipro and two in a separate attack on Samar, 10 miles away to the northeast, with nearly 300 people injured across the province.

“The entire Dnipropetrovsk region is in mourning. This is a pain that resonates in every heart. That never goes away,” Lysak wrote.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in The Hague meeting with European heads of government at an annual gathering of NATO, said many of the injured were passengers on a train.

“This strike hit numerous civilian infrastructure: homes, schools, and even a regular passenger train. There were more than 500 passengers on board. Five train cars were destroyed. There were no fatalities. All the injured have received medical assistance. It was another Russian strike on life,” he said in a post on X.

State-run Ukrainian Railways confirmed a missile struck near one of its trains en route from Odessa to Zaporizhzhia as it was passing through Dnipro and that dozens of passengers had been injured by flying glass.

The company said emergency workers moved passengers who were unhurt to the nearest subway station, from where they were able to make their way into Dnipro to catch a replacement train service to continue their journey to Zaporizhzhia, if they so wished.

Dnipropetrovsk is Zelensky’s home province.

The attacks mirrored a deadly wave of airstrikes on Kyiv last week that coincided with a meeting of the G7 group of countries in Canada. The group was formally the G8 — until Russia was ejected in 2014 over its invasion and annexation of Crimea.

Elsewhere, one person was killed and 10 injured in Kharkiv city and Kupiansk and surrounding areas after residences and other civilian infrastructure were targeted by Russian attack drones and warplanes launching air-to-surface rockets and glide bombs.

In the neighboring part-Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia province, which lies to the south of Dnipro, five people were injured after Russian forces carried out missile, drone and airstrikes on more than a dozen towns and opened fire with artillery.

Three people were killed near the frontline in Donetsk, according to Gov. Vadym Filashkin, less than 100 miles east of Dnipro, where Ukrainian forces are battling to hold off a Russian advance poised to break through to the west into Ukraine‘s industrial heartland.

Earlier this month, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Russian troops and units of its 90th Guards Tank Division had penetrated into Dnipropetrovsk without resistance and were pushing forward.

Ukraine rejected the claim outright as fake news, but Emil Kastehelmi, an analyst at the Finland-based Black Bird Group, told the Kyiv Independent that geolocation data indicated an incursion by Russian troops had occurred.

Kastehelmi said that while he thought Russian forces would push on “at least somewhat” further west over the summer, he didn’t expect it to have much impact on the net state of play across the frontline.

Other military experts agreed.

They said the southeastern region of Ukraine would ultimately be penetrated by Russian forces, but only to a degree, as Moscow’s overarching goal was to capture the remaining areas of Donetsk it does not already control, and therefore neither side was likely to divert significant forces to the theater.

June 16 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday night cut short his participation at the G7 summit to leave Alberta, Canada, and returned to Washington, D.C., to focus on the conflict between Israel and Iran.

French President Emmanual Macron announced Trump had made a cease-fire offer between the two countries.

“There is an offer that has been made, especially to have a cease-fire and to initiate broader discussions,” Macron told reporters at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada on Monday.

“If the United States of America can achieve a cease-fire, it is a very good thing and France will support it and we wish for it,” Macron said, using a translator.

“It is absolutely essential that all strikes from both sides against energy, administrative and cultural infrastructures, and even more so against the civilian population, cease,” Macron added. “Nothing justifies this.”

The conflict became the top issue among the G7 leaders during the three-day summit after Iran and Israel began exchanging airstrikes Thursday night. Trade issues, which became a major issue following tariffs imposed by Trump, also are occupying their time.

Trump arrived in Canada on Monday and flew back to Washington, D.C., after a dinner with heads of state. Trump was previously scheduled to depart Canada on Tuesday after a news conference.

“Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt

During the dinner, he said to Canada’s host, Prime Minister Mark Carney: “I have to be back early for obvious reasons. They understand. This is big stuff.”

Trump met earlier with Carney, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

But before he left, Trump signed off on a joint statement about the Israel-Iran situation because language was added to seek a diplomatic resolution to the situation and uphold international law, CNN reported.

Trump hadn’t planned to sign the declaration because he had already made his stance clear.

“We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza,” the statement read.

“In this context, we affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel. We also affirm the importance of the protection of civilians. Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror. We have been consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”

Carney, Starmer, Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were seeking consensus among the leaders about the Middle East situation.

The other leaders are Japanese President Kishida Fumio and Italy’s President Giorgia Meloni. The European Union represents 27 members, including France, Germany and Italy.

No other nations have helped Israel fire missiles at Iran, including the United States. But the United States is concerned about protecting its airbases and embassies in the region.

The United States only possesses the bomb required to strike Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear site, Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. told Merit TV on Monday.

Trump said he believes Iran wishes to de-escalate the situation. They had been in talks for a nuclear deal, but Sunday’s negotiations in Oman were canceled because of the airstrikes.

Later Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social about stalled nuclear talks: “Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”

Trump also talked about the situation during a public meeting with Canada’s prime minister.

“They’d like to talk, but they should have done that before,” Trump said. “I had 60 days, and they had 60 days, and on the 61st day, I said, ‘We don’t have a deal.’ They have to make a deal, and it’s painful for both parties, but I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it’s too late.”

Carney cut off comments from Trump when he started to speak about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s plans to expand efforts to detain and deport illegal immigrants in America’s largest cities run by Democratic mayors in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

“If you don’t mind,” Carney said, “I’m going to exercise my role if you will as G7 chair, since we have a few more minutes with the president and his team, and then we actually have to start the meeting to address some of the big issues. So thank you.”

Trump was making his first appearance at the summit since attending a meeting in the south of France in 2019. The previous year’s gathering in Canada ended with him withdrawing support for the final communique.

Trade talk

Trump formalized tariff cuts on British goods, and said he anticipates reaching new trade deals in Canada.

“We just signed it, and it’s done,” Trump told reporters. “It’s a fair deal for both.”

Trump lowered tariffs on the British aerospace sector to zero at the end of the month. The deal also cuts tariffs on British auto imports to 10% on the first 100,000 vehicles, according to the White House. Previously, vehicles imported from Great Britain faced a 27.5% duty.

The agreement does not lower steel tariffs to none from 25% as the leaders agreed in May. Trump has imposed a 50% steel and aluminum in other countries that went into effect earlier this month.

Canada is among the countries hardest hit, with a 25% tariff on autos imported into the United and 50% on steel and aluminum. Canada also faces tariffs, along with Mexico on imports of goods not exempted by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

The EU, in particular, wants to get a deal done before the July 9 expiration of a 10% tariff implemented by Trump to allow time for negotiations.

Before going to the summit, Trump had said he expected to sign new trade agreements with other nations.

Russia

The nation hasn’t been invited to the summit in 10 years.

Like in the past, Trump called it wrong for Russia to have been removed from the G8 in 2014 for annexing Crimea.

“The G7 used to be the G8,” Trump said.” And I would say that that was a mistake, because I think you wouldn’t have a war right now if you had Russia in.”

“It was a mistake in that you spend so much time talking about Russia. And he’s no longer at the table, so it makes life more complicated.”

Trump also said he won’t impose more sanctions on Russia with more sanctions at the G7 summit, saying European nations should hit the target with more sanctions.

“Let’s see them do it first,” he told reporters in a joint news appearance with Starmer. “When I sanction a country, that costs the U.S. a lot of money — a tremendous amount of money.”

The president held a roughly 60-minute call with Putin on Saturday in which much of the focus was on the Israel-Iran fighting, and less on Russia’s war with Ukraine. Trump was scheduled to have a one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the summit.

June 16 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump participated in a meeting of the G7 in Canada on Monday that had a wide range of pressing issues including the Israel-Iran conflict and trade

He and counterparts from Europe and Japan, as well as six countries not in the group that were invited to attend, will meet for three days.

Ahead of the summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Trump held a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, their second in less than six weeks after the U.S. president hosted Carney in the White House after his unexpected general election victory April 28, attributed in large part due to “the Trump effect.”

Trump had said he expected to ink new trade agreements at the meetings, which are also being attended by the European Union, Ukraine, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, India and Australia, but ABC News said Israel’s strikes on Iran had “scrambled” the agenda.

The network said there were differences between the U.S. administration and its international allies, with Trump telling ABC he was open to an offer from Russian President Vladimir Putin to mediate between the parties.

French President Emmanuel rejected the idea, saying Putin lacked the necessary credibility due to his country’s military intervention in Ukraine.

The president held a roughly 60-minute call with Putin in recent days in which much of the focus was on the Israel-Iran fighting, and less on Ukraine. However, Trump was scheduled to hold a one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the summit.

Uncertainty generated by Trump’s positions on the big geopolitical issues was likely seen as forcing allies to seek reassurance on where he stands, from supporting Ukraine over the longer term to what to do about Iran, as well as looming fears of a global trade war.

Trump is expected to hold a series of bilateral meetings with the key trading partners at the summit, many of them slapped by the United States with hefty goods tariffs and separate tariffs on autos and steel and aluminum. Some have responded in kind.

Canada is among the countries hardest hit, with a 25% tariff on autos imported into the United and 50% on steel and aluminum. Canada also faces tariffs, along with Mexico on imports of goods not exempted by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Trump told reporters as he departed for Canada that deals with the United States’ trading partners were just a matter of formally notifying them “what you’re going to have to pay,” but the summit comes amid Trump’s 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs announced May 12.

The EU, in particular, wants to get a deal done before the July 9 expiration of a 10% tariff reduction implemented by Trump to allow time for negotiations.

So far, the only country with which a deal has been reached, but not implemented, is Britain. That deal announced in May allows Britain to export 100,000 cars annually to the United States at its standard 10% baseline tariff rate.

The deal also allows for British steel and aluminum quotas that will effectively reduce the tariffs to zero, although it currently remains at 25%, but still far below the 50% imposed on all other countries.

Trump is making his first appearance at the summit since attending a meeting in the south of France in 2019. The previous year’s gathering in Canada ended with him withdrawing support for the final communique.

June 10 (UPI) — Officials in Ukraine confirmed Tuesday that Russia attacked in four different places overnight with drones and missiles, leaving several dead and injured.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted to X Tuesday that the cities of Kyiv and Odessa were struck by missiles and drones, as were places in the Dnipro and Chernihiv regions.

Zelensky said that 315 drones were used, as were seven missiles, two of which he claimed were North Korean-made ballistic weapons. Homes and areas of infrastructure were damaged, and in Odessa a hospital was allegedly targeted. Thirteen people were injured, and there were fatalities, Zelensky said.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram Tuesday that the two people were killed and four injured in Odessa “as a result of a night attack on the city.” He further stated that a hospital was targeted there in a series of posts that described several drone strikes. Tuesday evening Klitschko described the drones as they attacked, which left residential buildings damaged and burnt by fires ignited during the strikes.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine also reported Wednesday that a woman was found dead under the rubble from a damaged domicile.

The Ukrainian Air Force posted to Telegram Tuesday that Russia used 322 types of weaponry during their air assault, including 315 Shahed drones, five Iskander cruise missiles and two KN-23 ballistic missiles.

Despite all the reports of destruction, the air force said in the same post that much of the attack was repelled with the use of anti-aircraft missiles, aviation, its electronic warfare units, drones and mobile fire groups from the Defense Forces of Ukraine.

The Air Force data, which was confirmed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, noted that 284 item launched by Russia were eliminated, with 220 shot down and 64 that failed to reach their targets.

Ukrainian Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi posted to Facebook Tuesday that a vital landmark in Kyiv, the Sofia Cathedral, was damaged by an “explosive wave” that he claims, “caused the destruction of the cornice on the main apse of the monument of national importance.”

“This temple of the [eleventh] century is the soul of all Ukraine,” Tochytskyi added.

He also said the Odessa Film Studio, “the place where Ukrainian cinema was made,” was struck, leaving several portions of the studio damaged.

Tochytskyi further said that the attack “completely destroyed decorations to the movie Dovzhenko a national project about the most famous Ukrainian director.”

“Russia is not only at war with our cities, it is waging a war against our culture, memory, future,” Tochytskyi concluded.

June 7 (UPI) — China has agreed to fast-track approvals for the shipment of rare earth minerals to the United States and some European Union nations.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke Thursday about easing trade tensions.

On Saturday, China’s Minister Seceary Wang Wentao said his nation is “willing to establish a green channel for qualified applications to speed up approval.” Details weren’t given, including the speed of the process and which EU nations are included.

China controls 90% of the global processing of rare earth minerals. Major deposits also are found in the United States, Australia and Russia. Smaller amounts are in Canada, India, South Africa and Southeast Asia.

Rare earth minerals are in the Earth’s crust, making them difficult to extract. They include lanthanide, scandium and yttrium, all on the Periodic Table of Elements. Some major minerals that contain rare earth elements are bastnasite, monazite, loparite and laterite clays.

The first rare-earth mineral was discovered in 1787 — gadolinite, a black mineral composed of cerium, yttrium, iron, silicon and other elements.

U.S. needs rare earth minerals

The minerals are critical to American industries and defense, including use in cars and fighter jets. Batteries contain the minerals

Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday “there should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of rare Earth products.”

On April 29, the United States and Ukraine created a Reconstruction Investment Fund that includes rare earth mineral rights in the European nation. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were originally set to sign the minerals deal on Feb. 28, but the plan was scrapped after a tense exchange between them in the Oval Office in which Trump accused him of “gambling with World War III.”

The United States wants access to more than 20 raw materials in Ukraine, including some non-minerals, such as oil and natural gas, as well as titanium, lithium, graphite and manganese.

The Chinese commerce ministry confirmed some applications have been approved without specifying industries covered.

Some Chinese suppliers have recently received six-month export licenses, the American Chamber of Commerce in China said Friday, but it noted that there is a backlog of license applications.

In a survey of member companies conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China late week, 75% say their stock would run out within three months, CNN reported.

Jens Eskelund, the chamber president, said member companies were “still struggling” with the situation.

“I hadn’t realized just how important this rare earth card was before. Now the U.S. side is clearly anxious and eager to resolve this issue,” he said a video on Thursday. “But of course, we’ll link this issue to others — the U.S. is restricting China on chips and jet engines, then China certainly has every reason to make use of this card.

“As for whether China will change its rare earth export control policy, that probably still needs to be negotiated in more detail,” Jin added.

Trump said Xi and himself “straightened out” some points related to rare earth magnets, calling it “very complex stuff.”

The U.S. federal government said China had reneged on its promise made in Geneva on May 12.

Delegations from Beijing and Washington plan to meet in Great Britain on Monday for trade negotiations.

At the height of tariff war, China had imposed export restrictions on some minerals on April 4. Trump two days planned a 120% “reciprocal” tax on top of 25% levy on Chinese goods.

But one week later it paused the bigger tariffs, including on other countries for 90 days.

European nations’ needs

China’s commerce ministry pledged to address the EU’s concerns and establish a “green channel” for eligible applications to expedite approvals. He went to Brussels, Belgium, earlier this week and met with European Union’s trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic.

It’s a problem for China and the EU.

Sefcovic said the pause was slowing deliveries for manufacturers of a wide range of items from cars to washing machines.

Wang urged the EU to “take effective measures to facilitate, safeguard and promote compliant trade of high-tech products to China.”

On Friday, the European Chamber, a Beijing lobby group, warned progress had “not been sufficient” to prevent severe supply chain disruptions for many companies.