The signing of a long-awaited minerals deal between the U.S. and Ukraine has come after months of tense negotiations as Kyiv worked on resetting its tumultuous relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump. The key deal, inked on April 30, creates an investment fund and grants the U.S.
Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy and longtime ally, is reportedly being considered as a possible replacement for Mike Waltz.
When asked about the current state of negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, Vice President JD Vance told Fox News "the first and necessary step of getting the Russia-Ukraine conflict solved is to get each of them to make a peace proposal.”
According to New York Post sources, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has even used Kremlin translators during discussions with Putin — a breach of standard U.S. diplomatic practice.
U.S. officials framed the agreement as a sign of lasting support for Ukraine, and it comes amid an apparent resetting of relations between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky.
This marks the first such move under the current U.S. government.
The bill would impose new penalties on Russia and slap 500% tariffs on imports from countries that buy Russian oil, petroleum products, natural gas, or uranium.
"I wanted to be protected... I didn’t want to be out there and look foolish," U.S. President Donald Trump said, referring to a minerals deal signed between Ukraine and the U.S. on April 30.
"The Ukrainians have already said they're willing to give up the land... not de jure, forever, but de facto because the Russians actually occupy it... That's what they're willing to go to, they told me that last week," U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg said.
Ukraine and the United States on April 30 signed a long-awaited minerals agreement that establishes a joint investment fund for reconstruction in Ukraine.
EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said the EU is also drawing up a “plan B” to maintain economic sanctions on Russia in case the Trump administration pulls out of Ukraine peace negotiations and moves to restore ties with Moscow.
Russia has used information warfare to promote its interests and undermine opponents across the world as a part of its foreign policy for decades. The Russian state was spending an estimated $1.5 billion annually on its foreign disinformation campaigns, Christopher Walker, National Endowment for Democracy vice president for studies
Reuters reported on April 30 that Washington expects Ukraine to sign two additional documents along with the minerals deal, while Kyiv maintains those texts are not yet finalized.
According to the source, the final version of the deal includes a 50-50 investment structure between the two countries and contains "a lot of good details."
"He could be tapping me along a little bit, I would say that he would like to stop the war," Trump said during the ABC News interview on April 29.
"Under Donald Trump’s presidency, if you come to our country and break our laws, you will be held accountable," U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem wrote.
Key developments on April 29: * Putin's Victory Day truce proposal 'is start of direct negotiations' with Ukraine, Lavrov says * Russia intensifies offensive operations in 3 regions, pushes toward Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine's military says * Ukrainian drones reportedly target Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod oblasts in Russia * Dnipropetrovsk Oblast's eastern villages evacuating families as
The figure has almost doubled since November, according to the New Europe Center.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he believes Ukraine will be "crushed very shortly," as it is up against Russia's "big war machine" that it cannot defeat. "I think I'm saving that nation. I think I'm doing a great service to Ukraine. I believe that," he said in an
"I think I'm saving that nation ... I think I'm doing a great service to Ukraine," Trump told the Atlantic, while refusing to promise to send military aid to Kyiv.
"I think there's this weird idea among the mainstream media that if this thing goes on for just another few years, the Russians will collapse, the Ukrainians will take their territory back, and everything will go back to the way that it was before the war. That is not the reality that we live in."
The U.S. has not granted the necessary formal permission to allow the transfer of Australia's retired tanks to another country, Australian defense officials told the ABC.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio "underscored to his Russian counterpart the next steps in Russia-Ukraine peace talks and the need to end the war now," U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
"In the next eight to ten days, we will increase pressure on Russia. I remain cautious (of a ceasefire) because part of the equation depends on Moscow," French President Emmanuel Macron said.
Germany will continue to support Ukraine with military aid even if the U.S. cuts back its assistance, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.
The statements come as both Moscow and Pyongyang admitted for the first time that North Korean soldiers were dispatched to fight alongside Russia in Kursk Oblast, with Russian President Vladimir Putin lauding them as "heroes."
"Since March 11, when America proposed a complete and unconditional ceasefire at talks in Saudi Arabia, the Russians have used almost 8,500 aerial bombs, almost 200 missiles of various types, and almost 3,000 Shaheds," Zelensky said on April 27.
"It has been agreed that the document does not count the assistance provided before its signing," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on April 27, following talks on the minerals deal in Washington.
Key developments on April 26-27: * Ukraine, Europe's ceasefire proposal includes US security guarantees, no recognition of Crimea, Reuters reports. * Next week could be critical in deciding future US involvement in Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations, Rubio says. * 'He's just tapping me along' — Trump admits Putin may not be interested in ending war
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the upcoming week will be crucial for determining whether the U.S. will continue its involvement in efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, NBC News reported on April 27.
Donald Trump has the chance to become the "greatest president in U.S. history" if he follows the "iconic" examples of previous incumbents such as John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, a Ukrainian lawmaker has told the Kyiv Independent. "He wants to be great, and he wants to be remembered
"As to additional sanctions on Putin's Russia, I have bipartisan legislation with almost 60 cosponsors that would put secondary tariffs on any country that purchases Russian oil, gas, uranium, or other products," U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said on April 26.
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