timelets

The ballyhooed Alaska summit seems to have come to nothing, except let Mr. Putin stave off further sanctions pressure. Mr. Trump now says he needs another two weeks to figure out what to do. He puts the onus on both sides. “I’ll see whose fault it is,” he said. “We’re going to see whether or not they have a meeting.”

The same error was captured in Mr. Vance’s interview on NBC this weekend. “We are trying to negotiate as much as we can with both the Russians and the Ukrainians to find a middle ground to stop the killing,” he said. “We’re effectively mediating.”

How much more evident can it be that Russia is the obstacle to peace? Mr. Putin’s intent is to wipe out a relatively free and Western neighbor whose existence threatens his vision of a Greater Russia. What is the compromise position for that project? It won’t be settled by choosing parcels of land to swap.

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-russia-ukraine-volodymyr-zelensky-vladimir-putin-sergei-lavrov-185b324d

Finally, on Friday, European officials demanded a third call with Witkoff to clarify the growing confusion about what Putin actually proposed. In that call, Witkoff clearly stated that the only offer on the table was for Ukraine to withdraw unilaterally from Donetsk in exchange for a cease-fire.

Vance, Rubio and Kellogg attended some of the calls.

“The proposal is much worse than Trump said on the call,” a European official said.

“It’s just giving Putin everything he wants in exchange for nothing,” said another.
...
The European proposal includes demands that a cease-fire must take place before any other steps are taken. It also says that territory can be exchanged only in a reciprocal manner—meaning that if Ukraine pulls out of some regions, Russia must withdraw from others. “You can’t start a process by ceding territory in the middle of fighting,” one European negotiator said.

https://www.wsj.com/world/ukraine-and-europe-counter-putins-cease-fire-proposal-6a16133c

Meanwhile, the enrichment site at Fordow, which is buried deep under a mountain, has barely been touched. The enriched uranium at Fordow is believed to be enough to produce several bombs.
...
Israel lacks the deep penetrating bombs, and the heavy bombers to deliver them, that could do more damage to buried sites. The U.S. has both, and Israel would like U.S. help in taking out those nuclear sites.

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-fordow-imperative-for-trump-and-israel-nuclear-enrichment-site-iran-7981fbc0

Trump told the leaders that Putin agreed to start direct negotiations on a ceasefire immediately. A source on the call said there were a few seconds of puzzled silence.

Zelensky then pointed out that Putin had previously agreed to negotiate, and the first round of ceasefire talks took place on Friday in Istanbul. Trump didn't directly respond, the sources said.
The sources said Zelensky and several other leaders on the call told Trump it had been his idea to start the peace talks with an immediate 30-day ceasefire.

https://www.axios.com/2025/05/20/trump-putin-call-european-leaders-zelensky

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/04/22/trumps-plan-to-let-putin-keep-land-seized-from-ukraine/


Donald Trump will let Vladimir Putin keep almost all the territory he has seized from Ukraine under the terms of a proposed peace deal.

The condition is part of a seven-point plan to end the war that leaves Ukraine with no clear US security guarantee.

The Trump administration’s peace proposal involves the US offering formal recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea and implies de facto recognition of other occupied territories.

A source with knowledge of the plan’s contents said that its points one and two cover an immediate ceasefire and direct talks between Ukraine and Russia, which Mr Zelensky has already accepted in principle.

Point three requires Ukraine to refrain from seeking membership of Nato, though the country would still be free to join the EU.

European countries could deploy an assurance force to deter Putin from invading again, but The Telegraph understands that the plan does not commit the US to guarantee the security of any such deployment.

Point four covers territory, with America offering de jure recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, the region of Ukraine which Putin illegally annexed in 2014.

Recognising Russian control of Crimea would violate a central principle of international law – and of the post-1945 world order – that no country can annex the territory of another. If land is seized then no nation is supposed to recognise this change.


As well as some territory switching hands to Ukraine, the nuclear power station at Zaporizhzhia, the largest in Ukraine and currently held by Russian forces, would be transferred to American control.

Under point six, Ukraine would sign the minerals deal allowing US companies access to the country’s natural resources.

Point seven raises the possibility of a new relationship between America and Russia, saying that all US sanctions would be lifted and the two countries could begin to co-operate on energy.

The plan contradicts several of Britain’s stated policy objectives. As recently as Feb 14, the Prime Minister told Mr Zelensky that Britain was committed to “Ukraine being on an irreversible path to Nato” membership. This proposal would block that path indefinitely.

President Trump has ordered a pause to intelligence sharing with Ukraine, said Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, a move that deprives Kyiv of a key tool in fighting Russian forces.

The suspension of intelligence sharing to Ukraine is a major concession to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has said that U.S. involvement in weapons targeting has made Washington a virtual combatant of the war.
https://www.wsj.com/world/trump-suspends-intelligence-sharing-with-ukraine-147c7f2c