Trump puts pressure on Ukraine to make concessions as peace talks are rekindled

Washington is becoming more forceful as it seeks to push Ukraine to the bargaining table. Talks may begin again on ending the war.(CN) — Diplomatic efforts to bring the war in Ukraine to an end picked up Wednesday following talks between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.On Wednesday, a new round of peace talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States were announced for mid-November in the United Arab Emirates. European powers, Ukraine’s main allies, were notably excluded from these planned talks, as in previous rounds.Meanwhile, Putin has invited U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss ending the war with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Nov. 18–19 in China.The momentum for diplomacy is driven by Trump, who has become openly hostile toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the past 12 days. Trump has denounced Zelenskyy as the main obstacle to ending the war and called for his resignation after Zelenskyy ignored Trump’s demands to cease drone strikes against Russian refineries.Trump has blamed Ukraine’s hits on Russian refineries as the chief cause for a global shortage of diesel; Zelenskyy has rebuffed that and said the closing of the Strait of Hormuz is the reason.Reportedly, Trump has sought to apply pressure on Zelenskyy by intermittently cutting back on U.S. intelligence-sharing and restricting access to Starshield, the military-grade version of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network. Trump also suspended delivery of Patriot interceptors, Ukraine’s only defense against Russian ballistic missiles.On Tuesday, Trump told reporters it was in Ukraine’s best interest to strike a deal.“Russia is a big machine. They just keep grinding forward, and that’s what they’ve done,” Trump said. “We want Zelenskyy to make a deal. He can make a deal … In my opinion, it’s just really just going to get worse.”At the same time, Trump has rekindled relations with Putin by striking a deal to allow Russian shipments of diesel into the United States. The first shipment is expected to leave Thursday. Additionally, Trump has rejected imposing Congress’ new sanctions on countries that buy Russian energy, most significantly China and India.Trump’s desire to please Putin was on display Wednesday, with Witkoff going so far as praising the Russian president as a “humanitarian.”“You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian,” Witkoff told Putin during their meeting at the grand Constantine Palace. “You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that.”His reference apparently was linked to Moscow’s release Wednesday of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old former American teacher held in jail for four years in Russia on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.The U.S. State Department called the charges against Hubbard fabricated. The New York Times reported he was living in eastern Ukraine when Russia invaded in February 2022 and that he was likely captured while trying to flee the conflict. People in prison with him said he was tortured, the newspaper reported.Trump hailed his release as evidence that opening diplomacy with Moscow had paid off. He noted Russia set Hubbard free without asking for a prisoner in exchange.This was Witkoff’s ninth visit to Russia since Trump asked him to broker an end to the war.But the prospects that Trump’s pressure campaign will force Ukraine into making concessions are very uncertain.With strong backing from Europe, Zelenskyy has so far not buckled and continues to insist that Ukraine cannot give up its territory. He remains firm in seeking entry into the European Union and NATO.European leaders, meanwhile, have warned against negotiating with Russia and insist on the need to continue supplying Ukraine with the military and financial aid it needs to keep fighting Russia. Europe and Ukraine would likely reject peace plans put forward at a meeting involving Trump, Putin and Xi.Witkoff met Zelenskyy in Oslo on Tuesday before he traveled to St. Petersburg. Also present at those talks were Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads