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Trump Launches Diplomatic Blitz to End War in Ukraine

The aftermath of a missile strike in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. (Photo: UNICEF/Ukraine)

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By Anita Powell

February 13, 2025
4:58 pm
Los Angeles, CA

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday set in motion a diplomatic charge aimed at ending the nearly 3-year-old war in Ukraine and laid down what appears to be his condition for continued U.S. support. “I’m backing Ukraine, but I do want security for our money,” he said in the Oval Office, when asked by reporters about his stance on the conflict sparked by the 2022 Russian invasion. Trump said he told former President Joe Biden on Biden’s support for Kyiv, “‘You ought to be asking for a loan or a security, like their oil and gas or something, for the money.'” U.S. lawmakers have approved nearly $183 billion in military and non-military support for Ukraine since 2022, according to an oversight report delivered to Congress on Wednesday, which also

“I’m backing Ukraine, but I do want security for our money,” he said in the Oval Office, when asked by reporters about his stance on the conflict sparked by the 2022 Russian invasion.

Trump said he told former President Joe Biden on Biden’s support for Kyiv, “‘You ought to be asking for a loan or a security, like their oil and gas or something, for the money.'”

U.S. lawmakers have approved nearly $183 billion in military and non-military support for Ukraine since 2022, according to an oversight report delivered to Congress on Wednesday, which also said that just under $40 billion remains available.

This followed a whirlwind day of developments between Washington and Moscow.

President welcomes teacher home

The events kicked off Tuesday night, when the president welcomed American teacher Marc Fogel into the White House after his release from Russian custody.

Before noon Wednesday, Trump announced that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed, by phone, to “immediately” begin negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to bring an end to the conflict.

Around midday, Trump dispatched Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to a Friday meeting in Munich with Zelenskyy.

And then, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office as the skies turned gray over snowy Washington, he teased to a future summit with Putin in Saudi Arabia “in the not-too-distant future.”

Zelenskyy conversation went ‘very well’

Earlier in the day, Trump said in a social media statement read aloud by press secretary Karoline Leavitt that the conversation with Zelenskyy went “very well.”

Likewise, of the meeting in Munich, he said, “I am hopeful that the results of that meeting will be positive.”

Zelenskyy confirmed that the two men spoke Wednesday. In a video released by the Ukrainian presidency, he described their conversation as long.

“We discussed many nuances, diplomatic, military, economic, and President Trump informed me of what Putin told him,” he said. “We believe that America’s power is enough to, together with us, together with all partners, pressure Russia and Putin toward peace.”

Earlier Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in Germany for a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, ruled out a key demand by Ukraine: eventual membership in NATO.

“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” Hegseth said.

When asked about Hegseth’s statement, Trump said NATO membership for Ukraine was “not practical.”

‘Great friendship’

A top Trump envoy on Wednesday credited Trump’s “great friendship” with Putin and with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as key in freeing Fogel from Russian custody late Tuesday. Fogel had been detained since August 2021 for bringing medically prescribed marijuana into the country.

“I think that getting Marc Fogel out was critical, and the Russians were very, very helpful in that effort and very accommodating,” said Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Mideast, speaking to reporters at the White House. “And I think that’s maybe a sign about how that working relationship between President Trump and President Putin will be in the future and what that may portend for the world at large for conflict and so forth.”

“I feel like the luckiest man on Earth right now,” Fogel said as he stood next to Trump at the White House late Tuesday.

Trump said he appreciated what Russia did in letting Fogel go home but declined to specify the details of any agreement with Russia beyond calling it “very fair, very reasonable.”

The White House on Wednesday said the U.S. would, in turn, release Russian cryptocurrency kingpin Alexander Vinnik.

On Wednesday, Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov directly linked Fogel’s exchange to the larger picture.

“In Washington, Fogel’s return is considered an important step in the Ukrainian crisis,” he said.

And he said such negotiations between Washington and Moscow build mutual trust, which he said “is now at its lowest point.”

The White House also announced the release of three prisoners held by Kremlin ally Belarus. Among them, Andrey Kuznechyk, a veteran journalist with U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Belarus service.

“This is a joyous day for Andrey, his wife, and their two young children. After more than three years apart, this family is together again thanks to President Trump,” RFE/RL President Stephen Capus said in a statement.

Capus added, “We remain hopeful that our journalist Ihar Losik will also be released and look to the Trump administration for its continued leadership and guidance.”

Source: VOAnews