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Trump urges Putin it's 'time to act' on ceasefire negotiations with Zelensky

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Trump urges Putin it's 'time to act' on ceasefire negotiations with Zelensky
BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 19: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to exit after viewing the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. SpaceX’s billionaire owner, Elon Musk, a Trump confidante, has been tapped to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency alongside former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to take action toward negotiating a truce, saying on Dec. 8: "I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!"

Trump's comments on his Truth Social platform followed his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris as world leaders gathered in the city for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Despite Trump's call, the Kremlin has said that Russia is not prepared to pause the war in Ukraine, arguing that such a move would allow Kyiv to rearm and regroup. However, Russia has expressed readiness to negotiate on its own terms to end the conflict, insisting that Ukraine must withdraw its forces from four regions annexed by Russia in 2022, even though Moscow does not fully control them.

Meanwhile, the outgoing U.S. administration has continued to supply Ukraine with weapons, aiming to bolster Kyiv ahead of any potential ceasefire talks.

On Dec. 7, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced a new military aid package worth nearly $1 billion for Ukraine. The package won’t arrive in Ukraine immediately, instead, it will involve contracts with U.S. defense companies to manufacture new drones and air defense munitions.

Since February 2022, the U.S. has spearheaded a coalition of nations to supply Ukraine with weapons and equipment, and Austin emphasized that abandoning Kyiv would be a grave mistake.

China says any Ukraine-Russia peace talks need ‘positive energy’ from international community
China has strengthened its ties with Russia since the beginning of its full-scale war against Ukraine. However, Beijing has denied allegations of aiding Russia’s war effort.
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Olena Goncharova

Head of North America desk

Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.

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