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Russia stepped up its attacks on Ukraine after the US stopped sharing intelligence with the country last week
Ukrainian and American officials are meeting in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss how to bring an end to the war with Russia.
Ahead of the talks, which the US will use decide whether Kyiv is interested in a „realistic“ peace deal, Donald Trump said the US had “just about” lifted its suspension on intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
The suspension came after Donald Trump‚s Oval Office clash with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address that he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday to „continue to work for the sake of peace“.
On the eve of the talks, Mr Trump suggested that Ukraine may not outlast the Russian war even with support from the US but said the US has “just about” ended the suspension of intelligence sharing.
It also comes after Russia accused the UK of being the ‘main instigator’ in global conflict after expelling two British diplomats from Moscow, over what the British Foreign Office labelled “malicious and baseless” accusations of spying.
The UK remains “fully committed” to supporting Ukraine, and Sir Keir Starmer will host a virtual meeting with world leaders to discuss further aid to Kyiv.
Sir Keir Starmer will host another urgent meeting on Ukraine this weekend where world leaders will discuss using frozen Russian assets to assist Kyiv.
The virtual meeting will build on the prime minister’s summit earlier this month, where he announced a “coalition of the willing” to support Kyiv.
A spokesperson for the prime minister said the talks were vital for the collective security of Europe.
The spokesperson also said there would be a discussion about using frozen Russian assets to fund aid for Ukraine.
“We are working with G7 partners to look at the possibilities in this space,” they said.
“ We are very clear that Russia must pay for the damage it is causing Ukraine, so we will pursue all routes to that end, alongside our allies.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called on leaders to “respect” allies, a day after a social media fight between top Polish and US officials over Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites.
The spat began after Musk, now a senior advisor to Donald Trump, tweeted that his Starlink internet satellite system was the “backbone of the Ukrainian army”.
He continued: “Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off.”
It sparked a response from Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, who pointed out that Starlinks for Ukraine were funded by Poland at the cost of about $50 million a year.
Musk responded: “Be quiet, small man. You pay a tiny fraction of the cost. And there is no substitute for Starlink.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also weighed into the online fight, saying Sikorski was “[j]ust making things up” by suggesting that Musk was considering ending Starlink’s contracts with the Ukrainian military.
Without mentioning the spat, Tusk said on Monday that true leadership was never about arrogance.
“True leadership means respect for partners and allies.“Even for the smaller and weaker ones. Never arrogance. Dear friends, think about it,” he wrote on X.
Russia has stepped up its attacks on the UK after it expelled two British diplomats from Moscow, accusing the UK of being the “main instigator” of global conflict.
Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service said London had felt threatened by the repairing of relations between the US and Russia.
It said the UK feared this would cause its “strategy of containing Moscow” and having “control over Ukraine” to fail.
„As we can see, London today, just as it did on the eve of both world wars of the last century, acts as the main ‚instigator‘ of the global conflict,“ the agency said in comments reported by Sky News.
„At the same time, the British themselves, obviously, are again counting on sitting it out on their island.”
The British Foreign Office earlier said Russia was making “malicious and baseless accusations” of spying, after Moscow expelled two diplomats.
Donald Trump has been upbeat about the potential outcome of peace talks with Ukraine.
Teams of diplomats from the US and Ukraine are travelling to Saudi Arabia for negotiations on Tuesday, and the US wants to see material concessions from Ukraine to secure a lasting peace.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was travelling to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said his chief of staff Andriy Yermak will lead the Ukrainian team alongside Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the American team.
Sybiha spoke with Rubio on Friday ahead of Tuesday’s negotiations, and Sybiha described the call as “constructive”.
Trump also sounded positive when speaking ahead of the meeting.
“I think you’re gonna have eventually — and maybe not in the distant future — you’re gonna have some pretty good results coming out of Saudi Arabia this week,“ Trump said from Air Force One.
It’s a departure from his comments in a Fox interview, where he suggested Ukraine “may not survive” the war with Russia.
Donald Trump said the United States has “just about” ended its suspension of intelligence sharing with Ukraine, ahead of peace talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
The US halted intelligence sharing with Ukraine last week amid deteriorating relations between the countries following a White House clash between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russia stepped up attacks on Ukraine after US intelligence sharing was halted, but asked ahead of talks whether the US would end the suspension Trump said: „We just about have. We just about have.“
Britain has accused Russia of making “malicious and baseless accusations” after Moscow expelled two diplomats over spying claims.
Images from a video released by the Russian Foreign Ministry today show a representative of the British embassy exiting the Ministry’s main building in Moscow after a decision to revoke the accreditations of two British diplomats.
Russia claimed the diplomats had provided false personal information while seeking permission to enter Russia.
In response, a British Foreign Office spokesperson said: „This is not the first time that Russia has made malicious and baseless accusations against our staff.”
A UK minister said it was “the right thing to do” to support Ukraine in its peace negotiations with the US.
It comes after reports a senior adviser to Sir Keir Starmer travelled to Ukraine to advise president Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of Tuesday’s peace talks in Saudi Arabia.
Housing Minister Alex Norris said on Sky News Breakfast that the peace talks were a “big step forward” and the UK had a role to play.
„We collaborate as the UK government with the Ukraine government at lots of levels, and so I don’t think it’s a surprise that our people are talking to their people,” he said.
“Our role in this is to make sure that Ukraine is in the strongest position possible.
„Peace will only be secured through that strength, that’s why we did the aid package that we did last week, and then alongside that we’ve been doing significant diplomatic efforts with our European counterparts.“
Russia has ordered two British diplomats to leave the country within a fortnight after accusing them of spying, as relations between Moscow and the rest of Europe continue to strain.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer‚s recent statements about putting British boots on the ground and planes in the air in Ukraine as part of a potential peacekeeping force have angered Moscow, as has Britain’s continued support for Ukraine.
Russia’s Federal Security Service said that the two diplomats provided false information to gain entry into Russia and said they were found conducting „intelligence and subversive work“ that threatened Russian security.
Members of the National Police Special Purpose Battalion of Zaporizhzhia region fire a D-30 howitzer towards Russian troops on a front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia.
Russian attacks have intensified after the US ceased its intelligence sharing with Ukraine, attacking supply lines in the Kursk region.
Russia has no planned talks with the US this week, as American and Ukrainian officials prepare to meet for peace talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Russian state news agency TASS cited Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying on Monday that no talks were planned this week between Russia and the US.
CNN had reported on Sunday that US officials would meet Russian counterparts during talks with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia this week.
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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump claims cut in intelligence sharing ‘just about’ lifted ahead of Saudi talks – The Independent
