Trump's envoy Witkoff expects progress on Russo-Ukrainian war in coming weeks

Keir Starmerprime Minister

The 'yes, but' from Russia is not good enough,

Starmer said, calling for a stop to the "barbaric attacks on Ukraine once and for all".

Sergei Lavrov and Marco Rubio agreed to remain in contact,

the Russian foreign ministry said, with no mention of the US-suggested ceasefire

I expect that there will be a call with both presidents this week, and we're also continuing to engage and have conversation with the Ukrainians,

said Witkoff, who met with Putin on Thursday night,

Are we going to drive every Russian off of every inch of Ukrainian soil?"

Asked on ABC whether the U.S. would accept a peace deal in which Russia was allowed to keep stretches of eastern Ukraine that it has seized, Waltz replied ... He added

We’re going to have teams of US negotiators meeting with the Ukrainians this week. Same thing with the Russians,

Witkoff said

We can talk about what’s right and wrong. And we also have to talk about the reality of the situation on the ground. And that’s what we are doing through diplomacy, through shuttle diplomacy, through proximity talks.”

He said

I'm really hopeful that we're going to see some real progress here. I think everybody has to focus on the progress that has been made since the president was inaugurated. Nobody expected progress this fast,

he added

Emmanuel Macronfrench President

This is a moment of truth because if Russia does not sincerely commit to peace, President Trump will toughen sanctions and retaliation, and so that will completely change the dynamic,

Macron told French regional papers in an interview posted late Saturday

Russia must respond clearly and the pressure must be clear, in conjunction with the United States, to obtain this ceasefire,

he said in a statement to AFP

The damage is significant. Energy workers are already working on the ground. We are doing everything possible to restore power to homes as soon as possible,

the energy firm said

Volodymyr Zelenskyypresident

The operation of our forces in the designated areas of the Kursk region continues,

Zelenskyy said

Emmanuel Macronfrench President

If Ukraine asks allied forces to be on its territory, it is not up to Russia to accept or not."

But Macron said on Saturday

Sooner or later, Putin will have to come to the table."

And he insisted

The group that met this morning is a bigger group than we had two weeks ago, there is a stronger collective resolve, and new commitments were put on the table this morning,

he said

The war aims that Putin set out to achieve have simply not been achieved at the moment. There’s not enough there for him to walk away and claim any form of victory,

said Gen Everard, who served as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe for Nato between 2017-2020

Volodymyr Zelenskyypresident

I think the delaying of the process is exactly because of what I said. They want to improve their situation on the battlefield,

Zelenskyy told a group of journalists in a briefing at the presidential administration

To be credible, it needs US support. But Britain and our allies recognise that the bulk of the contribution must come from Europeans.”

Referring to the security guarantee that these nations plan to offer, Lammy added

Our position is that we do not recognise the occupied Ukrainian territories as Russian in any case,

he said

This is a ceasefire for 30 days; it’s not for ever, it’s 30 days, during which all sides have the chance to demonstrate their willingness to end the war,

he said

They are not saying it explicitly, but the idea is that with Ukraine as it is now, with Zelenskyy in power, there won’t be a deal, there will be nothing. Ukraine must admit it has lost the war, it has no chances to reverse the military situation, and that the only way to get out is to start talking to Russians about Moscow’s peace terms,

she said