Donald Trump says Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Washington on Friday. Earlier, Zelenskyy cast doubt on the trip going ahead over the terms of a US-Ukraine deal. Russia’s foreign minister has also dismissed the idea of peacekeepers after any ceasefire. Follow the latest on the war below.
Wednesday 26 February 2025 23:00, UK
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We’re pausing our updates for today and will be back with more in the morning ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s meeting with Donald Trump.
Before we go, here’s the key developments from the last 24 hours:
Trump confirmed Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the US on Friday to sign a “very big agreement” between the US and Ukraine.
It comes as Washington and Kyiv have been in discussions over a deal to share Ukraine’s minerals in return for aid provided by the US over the last three years since Russia’s invasion.
Trump said the deal will bring the US “great wealth” and suggested Ukraine will have “automatic security” because “nobody’s going to be messing around with people when we’re there”.
He also told reporters he will not be making security guarantees with Ukraine “beyond very much” before saying “we’re going to have Europe do that”.
That followed comments from Zelenskyy, who warned “without security guarantees we will not have a really just peace”.
Earlier in the day, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov labelled discussions about a peacekeeping force operating in Ukraine after a potential ceasefire with Russia as “empty talk”.
As Starmer prepares to meet Trump at the White House, can he return with a much-needed “win”?
Watch analysis from our political editor Beth Rigby below.
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy look set to sign a “framework agreement” when they meet on Friday which could pave the way for the creation of an investment fund.
The US president wants a chunk of Ukraine’s natural resources, with Ukraine in return wanting guarantees of protection from the US.
Trump said the mineral fund means US taxpayers will “get their money back and then some” for three years of providing aid to Ukraine – but why are the country’s minerals so important to Trump?
Our economics and data editor Ed Conway explains…
By Beth Rigby, political editor
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer brushed aside growing tensions between the White House and Europe over Ukraine, saying he trusted Donald Trump and wanted the “special relationship” to go “from strength to strength”.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a crucial meeting at the White House, Sir Keir insisted that the UK was working “in lockstep” with the US president on the matter of Ukraine.
Asked if he could trust Mr Trump in light of what has happened in recent weeks, the prime minister replied “yes”.
“I’ve got a good relationship with him,” Sir Keir said.
“As you know, I’ve met him, I’ve spoken to him on the phone, and this relationship between our two countries is a special relationship with a long history, forged as we fought wars together, as we traded together.
“And as I say, I want it to go from strength to strength.”
Ukrainians are worried over the complete change they’ve witnessed in the White House since Donald Trump returned, our security and defence editor Deborah Haynes has said.
Speaking on The World, Haynes explained that Trump’s approach to Ukraine and its allies as well as the increased interactions with Russia has “triggered huge alarm bells” over the question of long-term American support.
“Ukraine is a country that has learned how to survive, it’s the epitome of resilience given all that it has been through, not just in the last three years, but since 2014 when Russia first invaded,” Haynes said.
“It knows it has a transactional president now in the White House, not someone who, as Joe Biden had done, was talking all about Western values.”
On the prospect of a minerals deal being signed by Trump and Zelenskyy on Friday, Haynes described Ukraine as a “huge country with a lot of natural resources”, adding that’s what it hopes it can attract Trump in with.
“Donald Trump wants money, he wants what he calls payback and sees Ukraine owing the US a debt,” she added.
“Zelenskyy sees it very differently, he does not believe his country owes America payback or debts.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said a key part of his talks with Donald Trump on Friday will be to ensure there is no halt to Washington’s assistance.
In his nightly video address, the Ukrainian president confirmed he will meet Trump, and said: “For me and for all of us in the world, it is important that American aid is not halted.
“Strength is needed on the path to peace.”
For context: Zelenskyy’s comments come after Trump was speaking at his first cabinet meeting since his inauguration last month (see our 5.58pm post).
The US president said taxpayers “shouldn’t be footing the bill” for the money the US has given to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion – a figure he continued to claim is $350bn.
International bodies such as Kiel’s Institute for the World Economy estimate the figure is actually around $120bn.
Earlier this afternoon, our security and defence analyst Michael Clarke answered your questions on the war in Ukraine.
Some of those include:
Click below to see what he had to say.
We’ve received more confirmation about the leaders who will visit the UK this weekend to attend a summit convened by Sir Keir Starmer.
After it was announced earlier that Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be in attendance (see our 5.03pm post), French President Emmanuel Macron will also be joining the talks.
The two leaders will be fresh from their respective visits to the White House this week, while Starmer is currently travelling to the US right now ahead of his meeting with Trump tomorrow.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the commander of the Joint Forces of Ukraine’s Armed Forces after he was appointed to another position.
Andriy Hnatov, who has been appointed deputy chief of general staff, was dismissed by virtue of a presidential decree.
His appointment was made to replace Lieutenant-General Yuri Sodol after reports suggested he had performed badly in the war against Russia.
Previously, Hnatov has served as deputy commander of the southern theatre of operations and played a key role in recapturing much of the southern Kherson region from Russia.
By David Blevins, Sky correspondent in Washington
From Ukraine to the Middle East, Iran to Taiwan. Donald Trump covered the globe in his first cabinet meeting.
But his confirmation of a deal between the US and Ukraine steadies the ground for Keir Starmer’s first meeting with him.
Trump said he would not give “many security guarantees” to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, because “Europe has got to do that”.
He would not be drawn on any US commitment to peacekeeping, adding “let’s get this thing (the war) settled first”.
Branding Vladimir Putin “a smart guy” and “a cunning person”, he told reporters Russia would have to make concessions too.
There is nothing mundane about cabinet meetings when Donald Trump is in the White House.
One by one, those leading various departments competed for their opportunity to laud the president.
But the first person in the room invited to address the assembled media was Elon Musk, not a cabinet minister.
He defended his drastic cuts to federal government as “necessary” and “not optional”, claiming they would save America from bankruptcy.
The new cabinet – a mix of disrupters, loyalists and TV-friendly faces peddling the Trump agenda – is short on diplomatic experience.
Not that it matters when the man at the helm is openly boasting that they will “follow orders… no exceptions”.
We’ve got more details on the meeting between US and Russian diplomats in Istanbul tomorrow that we told you about earlier (see our 11.25am post).
It follows peace talks in Saudi Arabia between the two sides last week over the war in Ukraine that was sparked by a phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
The US says no political or security issues will be discussed in tomorrow’s talks with the focus set to be on tackling embassy disputes, however it does highlight a change in US policy to restore ties with Moscow.
In a statement, the US State Department said: “Ukraine is not on the agenda.
“The constructiveness of these talks will become apparent very quickly; either issues will get resolved or they won’t. We will know soon if Russia is really willing to engage in good faith.”
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