Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Berlin Wednesday for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and virtual meetings with other European and U.S. leaders ahead of the Friday summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
European and Ukrainian leaders want to be heard before Trump sees Putin in Alaska, where they've been left out. Zelenskyy is due to meet with the Europeans first and then have a call with Trump and Vice President JD Vance about an hour
later. Leaders of the “coalition of the willing” — the nations that would help police any future peace agreement — will take place last.
Here's the latest:
Candidate Trump repeatedly said he could end the war in Ukraine “in 24 hours.” But since President Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, the road to a peace deal has been fraught with changing dynamics among Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The summit between Trump and Putin set for Friday in Alaska could now be a pivotal moment in the 3 1/2-year-old war.
“At the end of that meeting, probably the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” Trump said Monday.
▶ Read more about what Trump has said about Zelenskyy and Putin.
The troops reported for duty on Tuesday, ramping up after the White House ordered federal forces to take over the city’s police department and reduce crime in what the president called — without substantiation — a lawless city.
The law lets Trump control the police department for a month. How aggressive the federal presence will be remains unclear.
An Army spokesperson who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely describe ongoing operations said Tuesday that, so far, what troops have been told “clearly and distinctly” is that they will be in a support role to law enforcement. What form that support will take remains to be determined.
The Army spokesperson also said that since mobilizing up to 800 National Guard troops could take until week's end, their assignments may not be known until week.
Ahead of the country’s 250th birthday, the White House is seeking to ensure that the content in the nation's preeminent museums aligns with Trump’s interpretation of American history.
The examination will look at all public-facing content, such as social media, exhibition text and educational materials, to “assess tone, historical framing, and alignment with American ideals.”
The national debt eclipsed this new milestone years sooner than pre-pandemic projections.
The Congressional Budget Office’s January 2020 projections predicted the U.S. reaching the milestone after fiscal year 2030. But the debt grew faster than expected as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the U.S. economy and the Trump and Biden administrations borrowed heavily to stabilize the national economy.
And according to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Trump might make an announcement of his own, too.
The center said in a statement that “our beautiful building will undergo renovations to restore its prestige and grandeur” and credited Trump’s advocacy. Trump complained during a March visit that the building is in a state of “tremendous disrepair.”
