Trump spoke to @BretBaier on Fox News on Friday. Here's what the US president said about Putin and Russia, Zelensky and Ukraine. Link to the interview here: foxnews.com/video/63729349…
Baier: "You said [to Putin], get to the table... stop bombing. He hasn't stopped bombing..."
Trump: "Well he is at the table. And he wanted this meeting. And I always felt there can't be a meeting without me because I don’t think a deal is gonna get through. There’s a lot of hatred on both sides. I have a very good relationship with Putin, I think we’ll make a deal. We have to get together and I think we’ll probably schedule it up, because I’m tired of having other people go and meet and everything else. With that I think Steve Witkoff is doing such an incredible job, but it’s a very tough job and it’s a job that because of position that I think I’m the only one that’s gonna be able to do that one and I think we’ll do it fast too. I think Putin is tired of this whole thing and he’s not - he’s not looking good. And he wants to look good. Don’t forget this was supposed to end in one week and if he didn’t get stuck in the mud with his army tanks all over the place, they would’ve been in Kyiv -- Kiev -- in about five hours. And who gave the javelins? Do you remember who gave the javelins? Was it Barack Hussein Obama who gave the javelins? No it was Donald Trump who gave the javelins."
Trump on Zelensky: "I had a real rough session with Zelenskyy because I didn't like what he said. And he was not making it easy. And I always said he doesn't have the cards, and he doesn't have the cards. And I'm being honest, he doesn't have the cards."
"You're dealing with a massive army and you're dealing with someone that's brave and had great equipment." [Unclear if he's talking about Putin or Zelensky, I think the latter?] foxnews.com/video/63729349…
Baier asks Trump about hitting Russia and its banking sector with sanctions...
Trump goes on a tangent about making "money in a few days" on his Middle East trip.
Trump then repeats a previous remark about Zelenskyy's salesmanship: "I think he's the greatest salesman in the world, far better than me. Zelenskyy, he comes to Washington, he walks out with $100 million every time he walks away. ... We send checks, we dont' send equipment, we send cash." (This is false.) foxnews.com/video/63729349…
President Zelensky has rejected a US proposal to take ownership of around 50% of the rights to Ukraine's rare earth minerals and is trying to negotiate a better deal, according to several people familiar with the matter.
w/ @felschwartz @HenryJFoy via @FTft.com/content/b08b72…
Ukraine’s main concern with the US offer is the lack of connection to broader security guarantees, according to people who reviewed the proposal. Ukrainian officials asked how the agreement would contribute to their country’s long-term security, but were only told it would ensure an American presence on Ukrainian soil — a vague response that left key questions unanswered. ft.com/content/b08b72…
Another sticking point is the document’s specification that New York would be the jurisdiction in which disputes over the mineral rights are resolved, according to two people familiar with the matter. ft.com/content/b08b72…
Zelensky really hammered Europe in his Davos speech, addressing its future and the threats facing it.
"Right now, all eyes are on Washington. But who’s actually watching Europe at the moment?"
Here are some highlights from his speech 🧵
Zelensky: "Most of the world’s now thinking – so, what’s gonna happen to their relationship with America? What will happen to alliances? To support? To trade? How does President Trump plan to end wars? But no one is asking these kinds of questions about Europe. And we need to be honest about that."
Zelensky: "Europe can’t afford to be second or third in line for its allies. If that happens, the world will start moving forward without Europe, and that’s a world that won’t be comfortable or beneficial for Europeans."
New poll by Kyiv-based @NEC_Ukraine. Ukrainians surveyed in Nov. In sum: 'Mix of disappointment & optimism. More faith in ourselves than partners. Trust in Western leaders has fallen. Most Ukrainians believe partners not doing enough to ensure victory.' neweurope.org.ua/en/analytics/z…
Some bits that stand out: 64.1% of Ukrainians believe negotiations with Russia not worthwhile unless Ukraine receives real security guarantees from West, because "Russia will start the war again after a short pause." Those 30–39 years old are most in favor of negotiations (~40%).
Ukrainians are almost equally likely to consider the development of nuclear weapons by the state (31.3%) and gradual accession to NATO (29.3%) to be the best guarantees of Ukraine’s security. Only 6.4% believe in effectiveness of European troops on the territory of Ukraine.
New and terrifying: Kherson’s civilians have been the target of an experiment without precedent in modern European warfare: a concerted Russian campaign to empty a city by stalking its residents with drones.
w/ @samjoiner @inari_ta @FT + @Cen4infoRes on.ft.com/4fTNzAL
“They are hunting us,” Oleksandr Prokudin, head of Kherson region military admin, told me when I visited last week. Since mid-July Kherson residents suffered 9,500+ attacks with small drones, killing at least 37 people and injuring hundreds more. ft.com/content/31b630…
Russia has deployed some of its best drone units across the Dnipro river, which bisects Kherson. The Russians are launching advanced drone models, refining combat techniques and training new operators – and their using civilians as "target practice." ft.com/content/31b630…
Ukraine today: A fresh poll shows Ukrainians’ interest in negotiations; and Zelensky tells Ukrainian reporters he’s “not afraid” of Trump 2.0, and signals more govt shakeups likely ahead. (Rumors of PM Shmyhal’s departure, etc. have swirled for months.) 🧵
A new poll by @RazumkovC for @zn_ua found that 44% of Ukrainians believe it’s time for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia (35% say not yet; 21% undecided). That's a big shift compared to last year, when 64% of Ukrainians opposed talks with Moscow. zn.ua/ukr/UKRAINE/44…
@RazumkovC @zn_ua But vast majority of Ukrainians – 83% – disagree with Putin's conditions, which would include the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from beyond the administrative borders of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia regions just to start talks. zn.ua/ukr/UKRAINE/44…