Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the US for talks with Donald Trump – who adopted a different tone on the Ukrainian leader after previously making false claims. It comes amid reports of Vladimir Putin’s efforts to „manipulate“ Trump. Listen to a Trump 100 podcast on their meeting as you scroll.
Friday 28 February 2025 11:46, UK
Ukraine’s military says it struck a Russian oil refinery and a weapons warehouse overnight.
The general staff said on Telegram that the refinery, located in the Krasnodar region close to Crimea, is supplying fuel to the Russian military.
The weapons warehouse was located in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s military said it contained thermobaric weapons – also known as vacuum bombs or aerosol bombs – which create high temperature explosions.
It said three other „important facilities of the Russian invaders“ were also hit.
Russia’s foreign ministry has just provided some details over what was discussed during yesterday’s meeting with US officials in Istanbul.
The meeting, which Russian state news said lasted for six hours, had been framed as a chance for the two countries to discuss the operation of their respective embassies in Moscow and Washington.
The Russian foreign ministry says talks were „substantive and businesslike“ and both sides agreed to take steps to ensure the „uninterrupted financing and conditions for diplomatic work“ for their respective embassies.
It also said the delegations had discussed issues related to what it said was the illegal confiscation of Russia’s diplomatic property in the US and that they had asked the Americans to consider restoring direct air links.
Wes Streeting has supported Donald Trump’s suggestion that US workers stationed in Ukraine as a result of a minerals deal would deter further attacks from Russia.
The health secretary told Sky News presenter Anna Jones the US president „is right about the US’s interests and presence in Ukraine acting as a deterrent“.
Trump is yet to offer any specific security guarantees for Ukraine, such as a commitment of US military support following any potential peace deal with Russia.
Asked whether more than the minerals deal was needed for security in Ukraine, Streeting added: „This is a fast-moving situation and we’ve been clear throughout we will back Ukraine to the hilt, and there can be no decision about Ukraine without Ukraine.
„That’s why President Zelenskyy’s visit today is going to be particularly important, but I think we’ve seen real signs of progress in recent weeks.“
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has foiled an attempt by Ukraine’s military intelligence service to assassinate a senior priest in Russia’s Orthodox Church.
Tikhon Shevkunov is a famous figure in Russia and has maintained a public acquaintance with Vladimir Putin since the late 1990s.
He has regularly been described in Russian media reports as Putin’s personal „confessor“.
In 2023, he was appointed metropolitan of Crimea, becoming one of the top Russian Orthodox Church officials on the peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The FSB said in a statement it had detained one Russian and one Ukrainian man in connection with the plot and had confiscated an improvised explosive device.
It said the two suspects, whom it did not name, had confessed and planned to kill Shevkunov in Moscow.
There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv to the allegation.
The Kremlin’s guidelines to Russian state media about coverage of recent US-Russian meetings indicate Vladimir Putin’s „determination to manipulate“ Donald Trump, according to a leading US-based thinktank.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) cites reports from Russian opposition outlet Verstka that says outlets had received instructions from the Kremlin to create an image of Trump as a man who „had the wisdom“ to respond to the Kremlin’s „outstretched“ hand.
A source who regularly participates in Kremlin meetings with major media editors reportedly stated that the Kremlin told outlets to demonstrate that Trump is „a man who was oppressed in every way both at home and in Europe.“
At the same time as this, Putin has claimed „some Western elites“ are trying to „maintain instability“ in the world and will try to „disrupt or compromise“ the US–Russian dialogue that has begun.
The ISW says this claim is likely an attempt to drive wedges between Trump and other US actors and European leaders, manipulating the US president in the process.
Putin praised the Trump administration again yesterday, claiming Russia’s first contacts with the administration „inspire certain hopes“ and that the Trump team is displaying a „reciprocal determination“ to restore US-Russian relations.
Today’s meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump is centred around an agreement that would give the US access to Ukraine’s deposits of rare earth minerals.
The prospect of a minerals deal was first raised by Zelenskyy last year as a way to offer America a tangible reason to continue supporting Ukraine.
Kyiv estimates that about 5% of the world’s „critical raw materials“ are in Ukraine. Before Russia’s invasion in February 2022, minerals made up 6.1% of the country’s GDP and 30% of its exports.
It is home to minerals including lithium, used in batteries, and uranium for nuclear power, medical equipment and weapons.
What’s in the deal?
Key details have not yet been made public, but Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal said this week the preliminary agreement envisaged an „investment fund“ would be set up for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Kyiv and Washington would manage the fund on „equal terms“, he added.
He said Ukraine would contribute 50% of future proceeds from state-owned mineral resources, oil and gas to the fund, and the fund would then invest in projects in Ukraine itself.
Zelenskyy said an initial request from Washington to receive $500bn (£395bn) worth of minerals was „no longer“ a part of the agreement.
What has Zelenskyy said?
Ukraine’s president hasn’t revealed many details about the deal, besides confirming an agreement was on the table when he spoke in a news conference on Wednesday.
Zelenskyy framed it as a broader economic partnership, as opposed to a deal strictly on minerals.
He also confirmed Kyiv, so far, had no security guarantees from the US against further Russian aggression.
Zelenskyy said he „really wanted at least one sentence“ that mentions security guarantees in the deal, adding that US government officials had told him it is there.
„It is important that there is this mention, I am yet to read the detail of it,“ he said.
„If we don’t get security guarantees, we won’t have a ceasefire, nothing will work, nothing,“ he added.
What has Trump said?
The US president has framed the deal as a way of helping American taxpayers „get their money back“ for aid sent to Ukraine throughout the war.
He said Ukraine would get „the right to fight on“ in return for access to its minerals, adding it would continue to supply Kyiv equipment and ammunition „until we have a deal with Russia“.
He said this week the US wouldn’t provide security guarantees „beyond very much“, saying responsibility for this fell to Europe.
„We’re going to have Europe do that because… we’re talking about Europe is their next door neighbour, but we’re making sure everything goes well.“
But Trump added that the presence of American workers in Ukraine would provide „automatic security“.
Ukraine’s military says it shot down 107 out of 208 drones launched by Russia overnight.
Another 97 drones were „lost“, it added, in reference to the military’s use of electronic warfare to redirect them.
Kyiv has reported increasing numbers of Russian drones fired at Ukraine of late, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying 267 were fired on the eve of the third anniversary of the war.
In the past three nights alone, Kyiv has reported 551 drones launched at Ukraine by Moscow.
A Russian glide bomb attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka this week killed at least five people, according to its regional governor.
Sir Keir Starmer worked his charm on Donald Trump during his visit to the White House yesterday.
The meeting couldn’t have gone much better for the UK leader, who arrived baring an invitation for Trump from Buckingham Palace and left with the possibility of a UK-US trade deal.
On day 40 of Trump 100, US correspondents Mark Stone and James Matthews are joined by political editor Beth Rigby, who spent the day following the two leaders.
They discuss the highs of the trip, but question whether people back in the UK will be impressed. Plus, how do you get Trump’s attention in a crowded room? Rigby tells all.
You can email James, Mark and Martha on trump100@sky.uk
👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈
By David Blevins, Sky correspondent in Washington
It feels like „the draft“ has come six weeks early – the annual selection meeting in American football.
For three or four days, teams in the NFL attempt to woo players with the most lucrative contracts.
In a classic Emmanuel Macron manoeuvre, the French president deployed flattery in the Oval Office.
Three days later, Sir Keir Starmer the charmer upped the game, whipping out a letter from the King.
In their determination to entice the key player back on to Europe’s side, their tactical game was top-notch.
But Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s arrival at the White House is the moment of truth for their charm offensive.
The Ukrainian leader has stressed the need for security guarantees before signing any agreement.
Donald Trump seems to be suggesting that a deal on rare earth minerals provides such security.
„Digging our hearts out,“ as he put it, in an economic partnership, would certainly be ground-breaking diplomacy.
This week’s flurry in Washington reflects Europe’s concern about Trump’s push to end the war.
Ten days ago, his apparent concessions to Russia sounded alarm bells across the Atlantic.
But his meetings with Macron and Starmer were more amicable than France and the UK dared hope.
Both fact-checked him in real time when he claimed European aid for Ukraine had been given as a loan.
Donald Trump prompted a combination of outrage and deep concern with false allegations about Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.
The US president first labelled his Ukrainian counterpart a „dictator without elections“ in a post on Truth Social last Wednesday, before repeating the claim at a tech summit in Miami hours later.
However, asked about the comments during his Oval Office meeting with Keir Starmer last night, he attempted to laugh them off – smiling while suggesting he could not recall having made the untrue statements.
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Ukraine war latest: Zelenskyy arrives in US for crucial talks; Putin 'determined to manipulate Trump' – Sky News
