No 10 says Russian president ‘has killed thousands of people, both innocent Ukrainians and his own people’

Downing Street has rejected the description of Vladimir Putin as a “humanitarian” made by Donald Trump’s chief negotiator on the Ukraine war.

Steve Witkoff met the Russian president in St Petersburg on Wednesday as he sought to make a new push to end the invasion of Ukraine, with the US putting pressure on Kyiv to agree to a settlement.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has backed plans for the resumption of talks between Ukrainian, American and Russian negotiators, saying that preparing the ground for a future meeting of national leaders is “very important for everyone.”

Zelenskyy, who has previously called on Putin to meet him to thrash out a peace deal, emphasized that making progress toward a presidential-level summit should be part of the agenda.

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Steve Witkoff’s flattery of the Russian leader could be just the start of a mendacious stratagem from a US president who says Moscow ‘has been fine on Ukraine’

They say the first casualty of war is truth. For the Trump administration, the road to peace with Russia now encompasses some extraordinary lies.

Steve Witkoff delivered one as he sat down with Vladimir Putin in his native St Petersburg on Wednesday, aiming to close the deal on Russia’s land grab in Ukraine with the White House’s strategy of maximum pressure on Kyiv and saccharine flattery of the Kremlin.

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Russia unilaterally frees Stephen Hubbard after US request while Steve Witkoff praises Putin as a ‘humanitarian’

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Vladimir Putin ordered the release of an American from a Russian jail as he met Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on Wednesday for fresh talks on ending the war in Ukraine, amid increasingly close relations between Moscow and Washington.

Trump had previously asked Putin to free Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old former teacher who had spent more than four years in Russian jails on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.

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The meeting comes after the US official held ‘constructive’ talks with Zelenskyy in Norway

Overnight, a handful of Republicans have spoken out against Donald Trump’s softening stance on Russia, threatening to pull financial support for his agenda over his “embarrassing” handling of the Ukraine war.

Don Bacon, an outgoing congressman in Nebraska, condemned Trump’s actions – which include a stunning agreement to buy Russian diesel and the pausing of sanctions on Moscow – as “absolutely disgraceful” and accused the US president of cozying up to a “war criminal” in Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart.

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A possible summit between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping on Ukraine without Kyiv's participation risks repeating the mistakes of the 1945 Yalta Conference, former Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský told TVP World.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed meeting Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next month’s APEC summit in China to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

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The Wall Street Journal reported Vladimir Putin had reportedly suggested a summit between himself, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping for a deal to end the Ukraine war. The summit is not confirmed, but if it takes place will not involve Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The report comes amid mounting tensions between Ukraine and the U.S., its largest military backer. submitted by /u/Any-Original-6113
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