Ukraine war briefing: US tussles with Kyiv over UN vote on third anniversary of invasion
www.theguardian.com
Mon, 24 Feb 2025 06:07:21 +0200
The Trump administration is urging countries to back its rival resolution and vote against Ukraines.
What we know on day 1,097See all our Ukraine coverageThe US is pressuring Kyiv to ditch its draft UN resolution condemning Russias war in the country, ahead of a vote on Monday to mark the conflicts third anniversary, AP reports, citing an unnamed US official and European diplomat.
The Trump administration is urging countries to back its rival resolution and vote against Ukraines, which demands Russia withdraw its troops and halt hostilities, Reuters reports.
A draft text of the US resolution calls for a swift end to the conflict but makes no reference to Ukraines territorial integrity.Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he would be willing to resign in exchange for peace or Nato membership, telling reporters he doesnt plan to stay in power for decades.
But we wont let Putin stay in power over Ukrainian territories either, he said Sunday.He made his remarks just hours after Russia launched its biggest ever aerial attack on Ukraine, using 267 drones, killing at least four people across the country.
Kyiv echoed with the booms of antiaircraft fire as crews spent the night trying to shoot the drones down.Zelenskyy also said he would not bow to pressure from Washington to hand over 500bn worth of Ukraines minerals, adding Im not signing something that 10 generations of Ukrainians are going to pay later.
Around 350bn worth of Ukraines critical resources are in areas captured by Russia, Ukraines deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, told reporters.Zelenskyy also revealed the Trump administration was asking Ukraine to pay back 2 for every 1 of military aid the US provides Ukraine going forward an interest rate of 100.The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, will separately meet Trump early this week and have agreed to show united leadership in support of Ukraine.EU and world leaders are heading to Kyiv on Monday to show their support for Ukraine and Zelenskyy, and discuss security guarantees.
Among those expected to attend are the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Snchez, European Council president, Antnio Costa, and European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen.EU leaders will also meet on 6 March for a special summit to take decisions on Ukraine and European defence, Costa said, as pressure mounts on European nations to boost defence spending.Meanwhile, US and Russian officials are planning to meet again at some point in the next two weeks, Russian state news agency RIA reported over the weekend, citing the deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov.Russian government spokesperson Dmitry Peskov supported comments made by Trump about Zelenskyy such as calling the Ukrainian leader a dictator as understandable after Zelenskyy made inappropriate remarks about Trump.
Zelenskyy had accused Trump of being trapped in a Russian disinformation bubble.Despite Zelenskyys growing frustration with the Trump administration, he repeated his hopes in keeping the US allied with Ukraine, and to be included in any peace talks.
We would really like it as a priority for the US to first talk to us, then to Russia.
He added, it is not possible to decide anything about Ukraine without us.
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