A file image of European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen.
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, senior Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz meet with U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Berlin, Germany on December 14, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Sweden will host a NATO logistics headquarters in the town of Enkoping. File
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Washington:

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he did not think it was practical for Ukraine to join NATO and that it was unlikely Ukraine will get back all of its land.

Trump discussed the war in Ukraine on Wednesday in phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in the U.S. president’s first big step toward diplomacy in a conflict he has promised to end.

Trump said he and Putin expect to meet in the future, probably in Saudi Arabia.

Trump described his call with Putin as a good conversation and said it lasted over an hour. He made the remarks to reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

Zelenskiy’s office said Trump and Zelenskiy spoke by phone for about an hour, while the Kremlin said Putin’s call with Trump lasted nearly an hour and a half.

The Kremlin said Putin and Trump had agreed to meet, and Putin had invited Trump to visit Moscow.

There had been speculation the two leaders would meet in a third country, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates seen as possible venues, according to Russian sources.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It had annexed Crimea in 2014.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he understands the Russian feeling with NATO being on their doorstep.

“You know, a big part of the problem was Russia for many, many years, long before (Russian President, Vladimir) Putin said, you could never have NATO involved with Ukraine. Now they’ve said … that’s been like written in stone. Somewhere along the line (US President, Joe) Biden said no, they should be able to join NATO. Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep and I could understand their feeling about that,” Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

“There were a lot of mistakes made in that negotiation. When I heard the way that Biden was negotiating, I said you’re going to end up in a war and it turned out to be a very bad war. That war could escalate to be much worse than it is right now,” he said in response to a question.

“My view is that it was always understood. In fact, I believe that they had a deal and then Biden broke it. They had a deal which would have been a satisfactory deal to Ukraine and everybody else. But Biden said, no, you have to be able to join NATO.

“That’s always been, and nobody knows more about NATO than I. You know, years ago when I first started this, I didn’t know too much about NATO, but I got it right anyway,” he said.

Ukraine now wants to be a NATO member. In 2008, NATO had expressed support for Ukraine joining NATO. However, NATO has not yet extended its membership to Ukraine.

Trump also told reporters that he wants NATO members to contribute five per cent of their GDP. “NATO should have five per cent,” he said.

“Well, you can’t do it at two. I mean at two per cent, if you’re going to have a country and a regular military, you’re at four per cent. I think they’re in dangerous territory. They can all afford it, but they should be at five per cent, not two per cent. I’m the one that got him to pay two per cent,” he said.

“They’re taking advantage. I’m the one that got, and the (NATO) secretary general was here two weeks ago, saying that if it weren’t for me, NATO wouldn’t even exist right now. Because I raised, from countries that weren’t paying their bills, at that time 28 countries, 20 of them were not paying their bills, 21 to be exact,” he asserted.

“They weren’t paying or they were paying a very small portion, and I raised over USD 680 billion, that was the number he gave, by saying, if you don’t pay, we’re not going to protect you. As soon as I said that, the money came pouring in. But Obama could have said it, other people could have said it, Bush could have said it. Nobody said it but me. I took a lot of heat,” he said.

“They said, that’s a threatening statement. Well, they weren’t paying their bills. I said we’re not going to protect you if you’re not paying the bills. So, in a true sense, I saved NATO, but NATO has taken advantage of us. And one of the problems that I have, and I’ve said it openly, I said it to President Zelenskyy,” Trump said.

“Europe is in for a tiny fraction of the money that we’re in. Now, whether you like that situation or not, Europe is much more affected than the United States. We have a thing called the ocean in between us. Why are we in for billions and billions of dollars more money than Europe? And you know, they’re a similar size, a little smaller, but they’re a similar size economy as the United States when you add them up. And yet Europe is in for a small fraction of the number the United States is in,” he said.

“I said you have to pay your bills and they all — one stood up, I won’t say who, you’ll probably have it because the papers — the media hated to report on it. But a prime minister stood up from a country, you know, a famous meeting of 28 nations with no press, he stood up and he says, does that mean if we don’t pay our bill… I said, if you don’t pay, you mean you’re delinquent? He said, yes. I said, if you’re delinquent, we will not protect you,” Trump said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

 Republican U.S. President-elect Donald Trump held a press conference on Tuesday and spoke about a range of issues including NATO, Israeli hostages in Gaza, his wish for the U.S. to buy Greenland and take control of the Panama Canal.

He also discussed Elon Musk and speculation about Canada becoming a U.S. state.

Here are some of his key quotes, ahead of his Jan. 20 inauguration.

CANADA

Asked about his idea that Canada should be a U.S. state, Trump said: “You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security. Don’t forget, we basically protect Canada. But here’s the problem with Canada. So many friends up there, I love the Canadian people. They’re great, but we’re spending hundreds of billions a year to protect it. We’re spending hundreds of billions a year to take care of Canada. We lose in trade deficits.”

ISRAELI HOSTAGES IN GAZA

“All hell will break out. If they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East, and it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out.”

MEXICO

“We have a massive deficit with Mexico, and we help Mexico a lot. They’re essentially run by the cartels, and can’t let that happen, because Mexico is really in trouble, a lot of trouble, very dangerous place. We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate. And Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country.”

PANAMA CANAL, GREENLAND

Since he won the Nov. 5 election Trump has talked about the U.S. buying the Danish territory of Greenland, and the U.S. retaking control of the Panama Canal. He declined on Tuesday to rule out military or economic action as part of those desires.

Trump added: “I can say this, we need them for economic security.” Trump did not commit to negotiating a treaty with Panama, but said: “Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country.” He added: “It’s being operated by China, China, and we gave the Panama Canal to Panama. We didn’t give it to China, and they’ve abused it. They’ve abused that gift. It should have never been made.”

ELON MUSK

Musk, the Tesla chief executive and Trump’s choice to co-chair a commission aimed at cutting government spending, has criticized British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in recent days over his performance when Starmer was the UK’s director of public prosecutions.

Musk has said Starmer failed to prosecute gangs of men who raped young girls. Starmer said on Tuesday that Musk knew “absolutely nothing” about the scandals he has been commenting on.

Musk has also expressed support for the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Asked for his reaction to Musk’s “provocative statements” about foreign affairs in Europe and elsewhere, Trump said: “I can say Elon’s doing a good job. Very smart guy. I don’t know the people you’re talking about. He was, I know he said some negative things about a couple of people that are running for office, but it’s not so unusual.”

TRUMP ON NATO

Trump said he believes European members of NATO should spend 5% of their GDP on the alliance’s defense. “I think NATO should have 5%, yeah. Well, you can’t do it at two I mean, at 2% every country, if you’re going to have a country and a regular military, you’re at 4% I think they should be, you know, they’re in dangerous territory. They can all afford it, but they should be at 5% not 2%.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kyiv, Ukraine:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Friday for NATO to offer guaranteed protections to parts of Ukraine controlled by Kyiv in order to “stop the hot stage of the war.”

Zelensky also implied he would be willing to wait to regain the almost one-fifth of his country that Russia’s army has seized, if such a deal could offer security for the rest of Ukraine and end the fighting.

The comments came amidst escalating tensions in the near three-year war.

Russia has this week threatened to strike government buildings in Kyiv and launched a massive aerial attack on Ukraine’s energy sector — something it called a response to Ukraine firing US and British supplied missiles on Russian territory.

“If we want to stop the hot stage of the war, we should take under NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control,” Zelensky told Britain’s Sky News, according to a voiceover translation of his remarks from Ukrainian into English.

“That’s what we need to do fast, and then Ukraine can get back the other part of its territory diplomatically,” he added.

Talk of a possible ceasefire or peace deal has ratched up since Donald Trump won the US presidential election earlier this month.

The Republican has criticised US aid to Kyiv and claimed he could halt the conflict within hours, without saying how.

Russia controls around 18 percent of Ukraine’s internationally recognised territory, including the Crimean peninsula which Moscow annexed in 2014.

Since invading in 2022, Moscow has claimed four more eastern and southern regions of Ukraine — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia — as its own, despite not having full control over them.

Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out ceding territory in exchange for peace, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukraine’s army withdraw from swathes more land.

‘Guarantees’

Zelensky insisted any offer to join NATO must be given to the whole of Ukraine, but his comments about the “NATO umbrella” suggest he might accept the alliance’s practical protections, like the Article Five collective defence clause, only be extended to territory controlled by Kyiv.

Such an arrangement would be necessary to ensure Russia does not attack again in the future, he said.

“If we speak ceasefire, (we need) guarantees that Putin will not come back,” Zelensky said in English.

Putin has previously called on Kyiv to renounce its NATO ambitions if it wants a peace deal.

With the conflict escalating on the battlefield, Zelensky has held a string of phone calls with Western leaders in recent days — including Britain’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke to Ukraine’s foreign minister on Friday to brief him on “US goals for sustainable support for Ukraine,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Joe Biden’s administration has stepped up its support to Kyiv since Trump won the election, transferring more weapons and giving Ukraine permission to fire long-range missiles onto Russian territory.

That move triggered a furious response in Moscow, with Putin authorising the firing of a new hypersonic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro and threatening to strike government targets in Kyiv in response.

Zelensky on Friday appointed a new Land Forces Commander, Mykhailo Drapaty, in a move to bolster army leadership.

Drapaty previously led forces in the northeastern Kharkiv sector, defending against a surprise new Russian offensive earlier this year.

“These personnel decisions are aimed at strengthening our army, enhancing its combat readiness, and introducing new management approaches,” Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NATO pledged support for Ukraine at talks in Brussels Tuesday after Russia’s attempt to “intimidate” Kyiv’s backers by firing an experimental hypersonic intermediate-range missile last week. 

Russia on Thursday carried out a strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro which President Vladimir Putin said was a test of its new Oreshnik missile.

Putin said the missile attack was in response to Ukraine firing weapons supplied by the United States and Britain into Russia.

The Kremlin leader warned that Moscow felt “entitled” to hit military facilities in countries that allow Ukraine to use their weapons against Russia. 

“During the meeting, NATO allies reaffirmed their support for Ukraine,” the alliance said in a statement after the talks.  

“The attack, which targeted Dnipro, is seen as another attempt by Russia to terrorise the civilian population in Ukraine and intimidate those who support Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked aggression.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had called the strike “the latest bout of Russian madness” and appealed for updated air-defence systems to meet the new threat.

Kyiv called for “concrete and meaningful outcomes” after calling the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. 

A NATO official said Ukraine identified air defence systems that it needs to try to counter the new missile threat from Moscow ahead of a gathering of alliance foreign ministers in Brussels next week. 

Some allies hinted that they could make announcements at the meeting next week on fresh air defences for Kyiv, the official said. 

The escalating tensions over Ukraine come as questions hang over the future of Western support following the re-election of Donald Trump in main NATO power the United States. 

Moscow on Tuesday pledged “retaliatory actions” to fresh Ukrainian air attacks inside Russia using US-supplied ATACMS missiles. 

In a rare admission, Russia said the fresh strikes had caused damage to military hardware and wounded some of its personnel on the ground in the Kursk region.

Trump has cast doubt on maintaining Washington’s vast military aid for Kyiv and pledged a quick deal to end the war.  

On the battlefield, Ukraine’s fatigued troops are struggling to halt advances by Russian forces in the east of the country. 

NATO and Ukraine established the joint council in 2023 that allows Kyiv to call meetings with the alliance when it sees fit.
 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk accused a senior NATO officer of Orwellian tendencies in a post on X Wednesday, a day after Donald Trump named the world’s richest man to a top government post.

“Make Orwell Fiction Again! Guys like this think 1984 is an instruction manual,” Musk wrote in response to a clip of Admiral Rob Bauer — the chair of NATO’s military committee — speaking at a think tank event.

In remarks at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Bauer warned of “disinformation and cyber attacks and all the things that are happening influencing elections,” saying that the use of social media is “basically amplifying everything that is being done by bot factories.”

“I’m very much in favor of freedom of speech, but I’m not necessarily convinced that what… Mr Musk is doing on X is the right approach,” the admiral said.

The day before Musk made the comment about Bauer, Trump announced that he would lead a new US government efficiency group tasked with cutting federal waste — a potentially powerful position in the administration.

Trump said Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”

Musk became a key ally to Trump during his campaign, reportedly spending over $100 million to help the Republican win and repeatedly boosting Trump’s candidacy on X, the platform he owns.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)