Quotes
We know him, and this is the issue. So it's not about telling him how good Ukraine is and how it deserves his support. It doesn't make sense, because that's not how he thinks,
Kuleba said
[Putin] wants to avoid upsetting Donald Trump. That's his strategy. He does not want a deal. He does not want a strip of Ukrainian land. He does not want Ukrainian NATO. He wants no Ukraine. He wants Ukraine not to exist. And there should be no illusions about that,
Kuleba said
I don't think he cares. Okay, let me put it even simpler. I believe he doesn't care. I believe he does not care about any single country in the world except the United States,
he told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick ThursdayYou can already see very different tones and approaches on both sides. And the fact that the United States delegation seems so excited is a bit weird. I think they need to slow down, because they have to understand the side they're working with,
he saidI want to thank President Putin for his time and effort with respect to this call,
Trump said afterward
I’d love to have them back. I think it was a mistake to throw them out,
he told reporters in the Oval Office the day after the Putin callWe both reflected on the Great History of our Nations, and the fact that we fought so successfully together in World War II,
he saidIf you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you,
he saidRussia's highly censored state television has, over the past two years, consistently promoted the rape of Ukrainians, the drowning of children, the levelling of cities, the eradication of the Ukrainian elite, and the physical extermination of millions of Ukrainians.
An insight into just how traumatic rule by Moscow could be has been given by Foreign Policy magazine
We have to bring an end to the conflict. President Trump is exactly right. It's time for it to end, and he (Trump) is the brute force, I think, that can make that happen."
Noting
I mean, what Trump's trying to do is... put the conditions in place for that real negotiation, negotiation to happen and we've got to allow him to do what he does,
Johnson saidWe have to bring (the war) to an end. And I can tell you that our European allies understand the necessity as well. It's (dragged) on too long,
Johnson saidThere's no appetite for that,
Johnson told Newsmax during the Conservative Political Action Conference when asked - to a chorus of boos from the right-leaning audience - if he foresaw another funding bill for Ukraine, if it takes several more months before the war ends
I have no doubt it would not have happened under President Trump,
Waltz said
Strong Ukraine-U.S. relations benefit the entire world,
Zelensky saidThere was significant improvement in the recent draft and it is in conformity with Ukrainian law,
a source said
Trump’s goal is to bring this war to an end. Period."
He reiteratedThis is a negotiation. And in a negotiation, you negotiate. Ukraine wants to negotiate minerals, so we're talking about it."
A White House official added30,000 feels still on the high side, because the purpose of that force would be predominantly around reassurance and trying to instil some confidence in the Ukraine population and in the state.”
But a senior western official saidEurope needs to step up for their own defence as a partner - we can be friends and allies and have those tough conversations,
he said