Ukraine needs ‘reliable and clear’ security guarantees to end war, Zelenskyy tells Trump envoy
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he told Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy his country needs a “reliable and clear system of security guarantees” before a peace deal can be struck with Russia.
Ukraine’s president met with retired US Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg in Kyiv on Thursday as political tensions deepened between the two countries.
The event was originally supposed to include comments to the media by both parties, but it was changed at the last minute to a simple photo opportunity as neither side delivered statements or questions from the media.
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President Zelenskyy said the meeting ‘restores hope’. Pic: Reuters
The change was requested by the US side, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nikiforov said.
The trip came after feuding between Mr Zelenskyy and the US president, who labelled his Ukrainian counterpart “a dictator without elections”.
Despite this, Mr Zelenskyy said his talks with Mr Kellogg “restores hope”.
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What could peace deal look like?
In his nightly address, Ukraine’s president said: “We need strong agreements with the United States – agreements that will truly work. I gave instructions to work swiftly and very sensibly.
“Economy and security must always go hand in hand, and the details of the agreements matter – the better they are structured, the greater the results.
“With General Kellogg, we discussed the frontline situation, the need to release all our prisoners held in Russia, and the necessity of a reliable and clear system of security guarantees – one that ensures this war will never return and that Russians will never again destroy lives.”
White House avoids blaming Russia for war it launched
During a White House briefing on Thursday, national security adviser Mike Waltz said “some of the rhetoric” coming out of Kyiv and “insults to US President Donald Trump were unacceptable”.
His comments were in response to Mr Zelenskyy accusing his US counterpart of living in a “disinformation bubble” after Mr Trump blamed Ukraine for the war.
When asked if Mr Trump blames Russia or Ukraine for the war – which was launched by Moscow in February 2022 – Mr Waltz would not give a direct answer.
Instead, he said Mr Trump is “obviously very frustrated” with the Ukrainian leader.
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“Well, look, his goal here is to bring this war to an end, period,” he said, referring to Mr Trump.
“And there has been ongoing fighting on both sides. It is World War One style trench warfare.”
US national security adviser Mike Waltz said Mr Trump was ‘very frustrated’. Pic: Reuters
He went on to insist Mr Trump is the best person to negotiate with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, despite concerns the US will force Ukraine into concessions after kicking off talks this week without Europe or Kyiv.
Meanwhile, Trump ally Elon Musk claimed that Mr Zelenskyy “is despised by the people of Ukraine, which is why he has refused to hold an election”.
He added that Mr Trump is “right to ignore him” and Kyiv’s “disgusting, massive graft machine feeding off the dead bodies of Ukrainian soldiers”.
In recent days Mr Trump has wrongly claimed Mr Zelenskyy has an approval rating of just 4% in Ukraine – despite recent polling which showed it is at 57%.
Mr Zelenskyy has delayed elections while the war continues and Ukraine remains under martial law.
Has Russia got an ‘appetite’ for peace?
European leaders, including the UK government, have reacted strongly to the way Mr Trump has begun talks.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK will be a “bridge” between the US and Europe during Ukraine peace negotiations, adding he doubted whether Russia had “an appetite to really get to that peace”.
“That peace could be achieved by leaving Ukraine tomorrow,” he said after a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in South Africa.
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Is Zelenskyy a dictator?
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is due to meet with Mr Trump in Washington on Monday, said he would tell
the president not to be “weak” on Mr Putin.
He also spoke with Mr Zelenskyy to discuss recent diplomatic efforts between European partners and allies, ahead of his visit to the US.
Russian officials, meanwhile, are basking in Washington’s attention and offering words of support in light of Mr Trump’s stance.
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What could a UK-Europe force in Ukraine look like?
Farage says Zelenskyy is not a dictator
Who said what?
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “the rhetoric of Zelenskyy and many representatives of the Kyiv regime in general leaves much to be desired” – a veiled reference to Ukrainian criticism of Mr Putin.
The divisions between Ukraine and the US come as it nears three years to the day that Russia launched its invasion.
Moscow’s army crossed the border on 24 February 2022, in an all-out invasion that Mr Putin sought to justify by saying it was needed to protect Russian-speaking civilians in eastern Ukraine and prevent the country from joining NATO.
World
Israel says Hamas commander – who was one of the architects of the 7 October 2023 attacks – killed in strike
A senior Hamas commander who was one of the architects of the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel has been killed in a strike on Gaza City, according to the country’s military.
Raed Saad was targeted in response to an attack by Hamas in which an explosive device injured two soldiers on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement.
It is the highest-profile killing of a senior Hamas figure since the Gaza ceasefire came into effect in October.
Gaza health authorities said the attack on a car in Gaza City killed five people and wounded at least 25 others, but there has been no confirmation from Hamas or medics that Saed was among the dead.
Raed Saed
Hamas condemned the attack in a statement as a violation of the ceasefire agreement but stopped short of threatening retaliation.
An Israeli military official described Saed as a high-ranked Hamas member who helped establish and advance the group’s weapons production network.
“In recent months, he operated to re-establish Hamas’ capabilities and weapons manufacturing, a blatant violation of the ceasefire,” the official said.
The 10 October ceasefire has enabled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to Gaza City’s ruins after a war that began after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and seized 251 hostages in an attack on southern Israel.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 70,700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health officials in Gaza.
Israel has pulled troops back from city positions, and aid flows have increased, but violence has not completely stopped.
Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed at least 386 people in strikes in Gaza since the truce, while Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed.
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World
Belarus pardons key opposition figure, among 123 prisoners, in exchange for US sanction relief
Belarus has pardoned 123 prisoners, including a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a key opposition figure who challenged the presidential elections in 2020, in exchange for US sanctions relief.
Human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski and Maria Kolesnikova, a key figure in the mass protests that rocked the country in 2020, were among those released.
Earlier on Saturday, the Trump administration confirmed that the US was lifting sanctions on Belarus’s potash sector after officials held two days of talks in Minsk.
John Coale, the US special envoy for Belarus, also hinted that around 1,000 remaining political prisoners in Belarus could be released in the coming months as authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia, seeks to improve relations with Washington.
Separately, Ukraine confirmed it had received 114 prisoners released by Belarus. The other nine were received by Lithuania.
Maria Kolesnikova, 43, known for her close-cropped hair and trademark gesture of forming a heart with her hands, was one of dozens of released prisoners who arrived in Ukraine by coach on Saturday.
Maria Kolesnikova (right) celebrates being released from detention. Pic: Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War
“Of course, this feeling is incredible happiness,” she said in a video released on X from the Military Intelligence of Ukraine.
“At the same time, of course, I think about those people who are not yet free. I am very much looking forward to the moment when we can all hug each other, when we can all see one another, when we will all be free,” she added.
Ms Kolesnikova became a symbol of resistance when Belarusian authorities tried to deport her to Ukraine in September 2020. She broke away from security forces at the border, tore up her passport and walked back into Belarus.
Maria Kolesnikova became a symbol of resistance to Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. File pic: AP
The professional flautist was convicted in 2021 on charges including conspiracy to seize power and sentenced to 11 years in prison, but then fell seriously ill and underwent surgery.
Ales Bialiatski, 63, who founded Viasna, Belarus’ oldest and most prominent human rights group, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 while awaiting trial for charges which were widely regarded as politically motivated.
After arriving in Lithuania, he spoke briefly to crowds outside the US embassy in Vilnius and said in English: “Never give up”.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski arrives in Lithuania after his release by Belarusian authorities. Pic: AP
He was seen by authorities as especially dangerous because of what Belarus alleged were his “extremist tendencies”.
Sentenced to 10 years in 2023, he had been held at a penal colony in Gorki, notorious for beatings and hard labour, and his health was deteriorating, according to his wife.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee expressed “profound relief and heartfelt joy” at the release of Mr Bialiatski and called on the Belarusian authorities “to release all political prisoners”.
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Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is an opposition leader in exile and a close ally of Ms Kolesnikova, posted her delight on X: “Maria is free!”
She added: “For five years, we fought for Maria Kolesnikova’s freedom. I am deeply grateful to the US administration and our European partners who worked tirelessly to secure her release.
“Maria is in a safe place, and we hope to hear from her soon.”
Ukrainian officials said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had also spoken to Ms Kolesnikova after her release, although they have not released any more details.
In a statement, published on the Telegram social media platform, the Military Intelligence of Ukraine confirmed more details of who had been released, including people “imprisoned for political reasons”.
Among the group were Viktar Babaryka, a former banker, jailed in 2021 after challenging Mr Lukashenko at the polls, and journalist Maryna Zolatava, who was imprisoned in 2023 on a range of charges including harming national security. Critics argue both sentences were politically motivated.
President Lukashenko has ruled the nation with an iron fist for more than three decades, but has been repeatedly sanctioned by Western countries both for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the invasion of Ukraine.
Following the two-day talks, US envoy John Coale posted on X: “Another 156 political prisoners released thanks to President Trump’s leadership! An important step in U.S.-Belarus relations.”
It is not clear whether the figure includes previously released prisoners.
Speaking to the Reuters news agency on Saturday, Mr Coale said around 1,000 remaining political prisoners in Belarus could be released in the coming months.
“I think it’s more than possible that we can do that, I think it’s probable… We are on the right track, the momentum
is there.”
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko meeting John Coale, US special envoy, in Minsk for talks. Pic: President of the Republic of Belarus/Reuters
US officials eased some sanctions after meeting with President Lukashenko in September 2025. In response, Minsk freed more than 50 political prisoners into Lithuania, taking the total number freed by Belarus since July 2024 to more than 430.
Mr Coale also spoke about weather balloons which have flying over the border from Belarus into Lithuania.
“He [Mr Lukashenko] agreed recently to do everything he could to stop the balloons,” Mr Coale told the Reuters news agency.
Lithuania has declared a state of emergency over the balloons, used by cigarette smugglers, which have caused over a dozen closures of Vilnius airport in recent months.
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