Pay back the billions of aid, Trump tells Ukraine

Published

13 hours ago

February 22, 2025

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Donald Trump has said a deal for Ukraine’s rare earth metals is “pretty close” and the US is targeting “anything we can get” in exchange for the aid it’s provided.

Mr Trump told a conference he was determined to get payback for billions of dollars of military hardware and other assistance.

However, a source has told Sky News that President Zelenskyy is not ready to accept the agreement that’s been drafted.

“I want them to give us something for all the money we put up,” Mr Trump told the CPAC conference. “So we’re asking for rare earth and oil – anything we can get!”

He claimed European countries had given their aid as a loan but the US had not – meaning they were due some compensation.

“We’re going to get our money back because it’s not fair,” Mr Trump told the event in Maryland.

“And we will see, but I think we’re pretty close to a deal. We better be close to a deal”.

Mr Trump claimed the US had given $350bn in aid, but some international bodies – such as Kiel’s Institute for the World Economy – estimate it’s around $120bn.

Rare earth metals are elements used in high-tech goods such as mobile phones and electric vehicles. Demand is increasing but there are concerns over future availability.

Mr Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told the same conference on Friday that he also believed a deal would be struck.

Despite US optimism, a Ukrainian source said an agreement was not yet close due to “a number of problematic issues”.

They said drafts did not “reflect a partnership in the agreement and contain only unilateral commitments by Ukraine“.

Kyiv is likely to be pressing for robust security guarantees from America in any future peace deal with Russia.

Mr Trump’s speech on Saturday evening spanned many subjects, taking numerous digs at opponents such as Joe Biden and heralding what he said were numerous achievements since he regained the White House.

He also shouted out visitors in the audience such as Reform leader Nigel Farage, calling him a “great guy”, and Argentinian President Javier Milei – who spoke to the conference in Spanish on Saturday.

Italian premier Giorgia Meloni, seen as a key Trump ally in Europe, also delivered a video message defending the political direction of the continent.

“I know you can perceive Europe as distant and lost, but I can tell you it’s not,” said Ms Meloni – who also reaffirmed support for Ukraine, saying it was resisting “a brutal aggression” from Russia.

President Trump repeated his optimism that a deal to end the war is possible under his watch, saying he was “dealing” with both the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.

“I’ve spoken to President Putin and I think that thing [the war] is going to end,” he told the conference.

Ukraine has insisted it won’t accept any deal agreed without its participation, after it was excluded from this week’s meeting between top US and Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia.

Tensions have been rising in recent days between President Trump and President Zelenskyy.

The US leader referred to Mr Zelesnkyy as a “dictator”, apparently in response to the Ukrainian president saying Mr Trump was living in a Russian “disinformation space”.

Sir Keir Starmer again lent his unwavering backing to Ukraine’s leader in a phone call on Saturday.

Downing Street said the prime minister “reiterated his ironclad support” and “commitment to securing a just and enduring peace to bring an end to Russia’s illegal war”.

It comes days before Sir Keir and French President Emmanuel Macron head to Washington for tricky talks in which they must press Ukraine’s case while keeping the US leader onside.

President Trump told a radio show on Friday that the two European leaders “haven’t done anything” to end the war.

US

Day 34: Why Trump really flipped the script on Ukraine

Published

11 hours ago

February 23, 2025

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Day 34: Why Trump really flipped the script on Ukraine

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As President Trump claims he is “close” to signing a mining deal with Ukraine, and his secretary of state Marco Rubio talks about a lack of “gratitude” from President Zelenskyy for US military assistance, our US correspondents Mark Stone, Martha Kelner and James Matthews discuss if this is the real reason Trump’s administration appears to have turned its back on Ukraine.

And, why Canada is taking its feud with Donald Trump on to the ice.

You can email James, Mark and Martha on trump100@sky.uk

US

Trump fires top US military officers – including America’s most senior commander

Published

11 hours ago

February 23, 2025

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Trump fires top US military officers - including America's most senior commander

Donald Trump has purged top military figures in the Pentagon, including firing America’s most senior commander.

He also pushed out five other admirals and generals in an unprecedented shake-up of US military leadership.

The Pentagon had been bracing for mass firings of civilian staff as well as a dramatic overhaul of its budget and a shift in military deployments.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown – America’s highest-ranking general and only the second black general to serve as chairman – was fired with immediate effect.

The president will also replace the head of the US Navy, a position held by Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead a military service, and the Air Force vice chief of staff, the Pentagon said.

He is also removing the judge advocates general for the Army, Navy and Air Force, critical positions that ensure enforcement of military justice.

The campaign to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks has been condemned by Democrats.

There is nothing apolitical about Trump

By David Blevins, Sky News correspondent

The purge of America’s top military officials, carried out by President Trump and his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, is unprecedented, writes Sky News correspondent David Blevins, in Washington.

Their dismissal late on Friday sent shockwaves through the defence establishment and raised concerns about the direction of military leadership.

General Charles Q Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was abruptly removed two years into his four-year term.

America’s most senior military officer comes into office two years into a presidential term, meaning they serve under two presidents.

The role is intended to be apolitical but there is no such thing as non-partisan politics in the Trump playbook.

Brown’s tenure had been marked by a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, putting him at odds with the administration.

Prior to his appointment as defence secretary, Hegseth questioned Brown’s promotion, hinting that it had been influenced by race.

In his book, The War on Warriors, Hegseth wrote: “The military standards, once the hallmark for competency, professionalism, and ‘mission first’ outcomes, have officially been subsumed by woke priorities.”

Supporters of the administration argue the changes are necessary to refocus military priorities in line with the president’s objectives.

But critics contend that such a sweeping overhaul of leadership undermines the apolitical nature of the military and unsettles the rank and file.

Rhode Island’s senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said: “Firing uniformed officers as a type of political loyalty test… erodes the trust and professionalism that our servicemembers require to achieve their missions.”

Representative Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat, said the firings were “un-American, unpatriotic, and dangerous for our troops and our national security.”

“This is the definition of politicising our military,” he said.

Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said: “Firing uniformed leaders as a type of political loyalty test, or for reasons relating to diversity and gender that have nothing to do with performance, erodes the trust and professionalism that our servicemembers require to achieve their missions.”

During the election, Mr Trump spoke of firing “woke” generals and those he saw as responsible for the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Defence secretary and former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth has questioned whether General Brown would have got the job if he were not black.

There is no indication his appointment was not based on merit.

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On Friday, Mr Trump said: “I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family.”

It’s unclear who Mr Trump will choose to replace the judge advocates. Mr Hegseth previously criticised military lawyers, saying most “spend more time prosecuting our troops than putting away bad guys”.

US

Dozens turn out in support of Luigi Mangione over killing of US healthcare boss Brian Thompson

Published

11 hours ago

February 23, 2025

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Dozens turn out in support of Luigi Mangione over killing of US healthcare boss Brian Thompson

Dozens of supporters were outside court as the man accused of fatally shooting the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare made his first appearance.

Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder following the 4 December killing of Brian Thompson, 50, outside a midtown Manhattan hotel.

The 26-year-old is accused of ambushing and shooting the executive as he walked to an investor conference.

Dozens of people who showed up in court to support the suspect including former army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning who was jailed for stealing classified diplomatic cables.

Dozens more queued in the hallway.

Mangione is also facing federal charges that could carry the possibility of the death penalty.

The judge set a deadline of 9 April to submit pre-trial motions.

In addition to the New York cases, Mr Mangione also faces charges of forgery, carrying firearms without a licence, and other counts in Pennsylvania, where authorities arrested him at a McDonald’s.

Police say he was in possession of a gun, bullets, multiple fake IDs and a handwritten document that expressed “ill will” towards corporate America.

He is being held in a Brooklyn jail alongside several other high-profile defendants, including music mogul and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, and disgraced crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried.

The killing prompted some to voice their resentment at US health insurers, with Mangione attracting a cult following.

A poll taken in the wake of the shooting showed most Americans believe health insurance profits and coverage denials were partly to blame for the incident.