Donald Trump is growing pessimistic about the likelihood of an end to the Ukraine war, according to insider reports. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has issued an invitation to Volodymyr Zelenskyy he would never accept: to go to Moscow for peace talks. Follow the latest.
Friday 5 September 2025 15:55, UK
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Both during his recent trip to Beijing, and during today’s economic forum in Russia, Vladimir Putin has spoken about the planned Power of Siberia 2 (PS-2) gas pipeline.
The project could one day deliver an additional 50 billion cubic metres of gas per year to China via Mongolia, allowing Beijing to hedge against any future reliance on American gas.
While Xi Jinping’s guest of honour, Russian media announced a “breakthrough” agreement was signed on PS-2, but Gazprom have said that pricing is yet to be agreed.
Speaking on Wednesday, Putin claimed there was “no charity” involved in the pipeline agreement – with Russia reliant upon China’s trade to keep its economy afloat. However, he added Moscow would give Beijing gas at a price lower than Europe.
“The growing Chinese economy has needs, and we have the opportunity to supply these raw materials,” he said.
“Everyone is satisfied, everyone is happy with this result, to be honest, and so am I.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had held “substantive” talks with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during his visit to Ukraine’s western city of Uzhhorod today.
“We covered key topics – matters of principle for Ukraine and matters of principle for Slovakia,” he said on X.
Slovakia, together with Hungary, is still heavily reliant on Russian gas imports and repeatedly criticised Ukraine for attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
Fico has also faced criticism this week for breaking ranks with the EU and taking part in a military parade in China, meeting Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin for bilateral talks.
Donald Trump is to rebrand the US Department of Defence as the Department of War, according to the White House.
The president will sign an executive order tonight allowing it to be used as a secondary title for the US government’s biggest organisation.
It also means defence secretary Pete Hegseth will be able to refer to himself as the “secretary of war” in official communications and ceremonies.
Permanently renaming the department would need congressional approval, but the White House said the executive order will instruct Hegseth to begin the process.
The US has spent $134.5bn (£99.5bn) on Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began in 2022, according to the Kiel Institute, a German think tank tracking international support for Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin denied this morning that Russia’s economy was stagnating, despite a report from his own central bank that suggests it is technically in recession.
At an economic forum in Vladivostok, Putin tried to paint an optimistic picture of his country’s economy, and defended its use of very high interest rates – currently 18%.
But is a recession already upon Moscow?
A graph published in a central bank report this week showed Russia’s gross domestic product shrank for two consecutive quarters.
This is a standard definition of what economists call a technical recession.
“The recession has happened,” economist Evgeny Kogan said, referencing the graph. He argued that state spending couldn’t continue without such inflation.
Moscow’s central bank hiked interest rates to 21% in October last year to bring inflation down.
But with Putin still fighting his war, the Russian leader is keen to spend more, telling the forum earlier he had room to take on more debt.
Russia claims its forces have captured two towns in the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions of Ukraine.
The defence ministry said it had “established control” over Kamyshevakha, a village between Donetsk city and Zaporizhzhia.
It also said it had captured Novoselovka in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Russia has been making slow but steady progress in the east for months now, capturing smaller settlements, but unable to take larger cities.
Take a wider look at the frontlines:
Vladimir Putin says any foreign troops in Ukraine on a peacekeeping mission would be viewed as a “legitimate” target by Moscow.
The threat comes after yesterday 26 European nations said they were willing to contribute to a post-war force in Ukraine.
Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett explains what we’ve learned from the Kremlin leader’s comments…
The Kremlin says no one should be taken at their word on negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has been doing the rounds this morning, speaking to a number of outlets (see our 9.08 post for more from him).
In an interview with Russian news outlet Argumenty i Fakty, he said: “We have a solid experience here, and no one should definitely be taken at their word.”
Peskov said there have to be “legally binding documents” when asked if the US could be trusted.
“First, the principles need to be agreed on, and then these principles should be put on paper,” Peskov added.
Germany is planning a swathe of defence spending, according to the Reuters news agency.
Citing a budget document, it reports the purchases include a number of Eurofighter jets, Boxer armoured personnel carriers and IRIS-T SLM missiles, among other weapons.
The document listed 81 defence projects that surpass £21m in spending.
The orders were for the second half of this year, it added.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, European countries have scrambled to bosot their defensive capabilities after years of reliance on the US.
Donald Trump is growing pessimistic about ending the war in Ukraine, according to an inside report from our US partner NBC News.
Citing two senior administration officials, NBC says that while Trump isn’t abandoning hope of ending the fighting, he isn’t hopeful about the odds of peace, or getting Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet.
A whirlwind of peace efforts in the past month have borne little fruit.
Russia has repeatedly resisted any efforts to progress towards an end to the war, but Moscow has walked a tightrope trying to keep Trump onside.
Buffer zone
NBC also reports that if a peace deal is reached, a possible part of it could be a buffer zone monitored by the US.
Citing four people familiar with the plan, NBC says it would be comprised of a large demilitarised zone, the borders of which have not been decided.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine and its allies need to implement security guarantees during the war, not only when an end to fighting is achieved.
Speaking alongside EU chief Antonio Costa in Uzhgorod, western Ukraine, at a news conference, Zelenskyy said the two discussed Kyiv’s accession to the EU and that a “security system” was being worked out to deal with Russia’s aggression.
Zelenskyy also said European and US officials were due to meet in the coming days to coordinate sanctions and said he felt like “now there is a chance” to push for peace.
The meeting with Costa today was focused around Ukraine joining the EU.
Similarly, the Ukrainian leader also confirmed reports that during a call between Trump and Ukraine and its allies yesterday, the US president called on European countries to stop buying Russian oil.
Zelenskyy went as far as naming the offenders: “Slovakia, Hungary and possibly others.”
He is meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico later to discuss weaning the country off Russian oil.
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