Trump says NATO ‘stepping up’ and hopes Russia will do ‘right thing’ after Putin comments
Donald Trump has held a meeting with NATO’s chief after Vladimir Putin flagged “serious issues” with the Ukraine truce proposal and footage showed North Korean troops wiped out.
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US president Donald Trump has answered questions after he talked with former Prime Minister of the Netherlands and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the White House in front of press on the subject of NATO and Europe’s military spending.
“NATO is stepping up,” Mr Trump said after Mr Rutte said NATO’s progress since Mr Trump took office was “staggering” and the alliance has been “invigorated under your leadership.”
Mr Rutte said he wanted to work with Mr Trump to “kill the red tape” and build military might.
On the topic of Russia’s war with Ukraine Mr Trump reiterated that the war is “a nightmare, it’s a horrible thing” and he said “thousands of young people are being killed a week.”
“We’re talking about humanity,” said Mr Trump, while adding that the money was also important.
“We have to get this war over with and get back to normal life,” said Mr Trump.
“I think Russia’s going to make the deal, too. I don’t think they’re going to go back to shooting. This has been going on for a long time. It’s vicious and violent.”
“We want the war ended, and [Rutte’s] doing his job. He only knows how to do a good job. That’s one thing. That’s why I fought for him to get that job, because they had some other candidates that I’ll tell you would not have done a very good job.”
It comes as Mr Putin has initially rejected the terms of President Trump’s proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, demanding that the West stop arming Kyiv before the Kremlin would consider such an arrangement.
While he said Moscow was willing to “cease hostilities,” Mr Putin said Moscow would only agree to the Trump deal if it were changed substantially.
“We agree with proposals to cease hostilities [in Ukraine], but this cessation must lead to a long-term peace and eliminate the root cause of the initial crisis,” he said, without defining what he felt was the “cause.”
“We also want guarantees that Ukraine will not mobilise, train soldiers, or receive weapons during the 30-day ceasefire,” Mr Putin said, without indicating Russia would be willing to abide by the same conditions.
Mr Trump said that while it was “very disappointing”, Mr Putin “put out a very promising statement but it wasn’t complete”, and that he would “love to meet with him”, adding “we have to get it over with fast”.
“Hopefully Russia will do the right thing,” he said to reporters at the White House during a meeting with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte.
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MOMENT NKOREA TROOPS ARE TAKEN OUT
Harrowing footage has captured the moment North Korean quadbike troops are wiped out in a brutal drone assault launched by Ukraine.
Footage from Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade shows suicide drones taking down North Korean soldiers on quadbikes in Sverdlikovo.
The drones track the three bikes, each carrying multiple men, as they move slowly across a field — until they come to a stop.
Once the North Koreans halt, the drones strike.
The drones swiftly descend and target the quadbikes, with soldiers fleeing as each bike is struck.
After the bikes are reduced to burning wrecks, the drones turn on the soldiers.
The North Koreans try to hide, but the drones spot them, striking one by one.
A final drone targets a fourth quadbike as it attempts to escape, hitting it with soldiers still on board.
US ENVOY IN MOSCOW FOR TRUCE TALKS
US special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow for ceasefire talks with Russian leaders — and hours after Mr Putin’s top aides blasted Mr Trump’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine as “useless to everyone” on Thursday local time.
“These kinds of steps, which only mimic peace efforts, are useless to everyone,” Yuri Ushakov, who served as Moscow’s ambassador to the US from 1998 to 2008, told Russian state television.
Asked whether Russia would sign off on the Trump-proposed deal already agreed to by the Ukrainians, Mr Ushakov said the ceasefire agreement had “nothing” in it for Moscow.
“It only gives the Ukrainians the opportunity to regroup, gain strength and to continue (defending their country),” Mr Ushakov said on state television.
“I outlined our position that this (ceasefire) is nothing more than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military, nothing more,” he said of a call with national security adviser Mike Waltz after the latter’s productive meeting with Ukraine leaders in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday.
But Russia would also reap the same benefit — a concern that some Ukrainians who opposed the ceasefire have brought up.
Mr Witkoff arrived in Moscow ready for the talks, which experts have said give Russia the opportunity to display a willingness for peace like Ukraine did in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Kyiv’s agreement to Mr Trump’s terms was met with mixed feelings by the Ukrainian public, but insiders have said it was at least partially meant as a good-faith effort to show Trump that Ukraine is ready for peace.
Mr Trump himself said earlier in the week that “it’s up to Russia now” to agree to the ceasefire and bring his vision of peace to the region.
PUTIN SAYS FIGHTING WILL CONTINUE
On Wednesday, Mr Putin responded to a 30-day ceasefire proposal agreed on between the US and Ukraine, signalling that the war will continue.
In his first visit to the Kursk region since Ukraine launched its shock counteroffensive in August, the Russian president hailed recent gains and urged his troops on.
Dressed in army camouflage, Mr Putin said in televised remarks: “I am counting on the fact that all the combat tasks facing our units will be fulfilled, and the territory of the Kursk region will soon be completely liberated from the enemy”.
Russia’s forces have retaken 24 settlements in the border region over the last five days, chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov told Mr Putin.
According to Russian state media, Mr Putin inspected Russia’s frontline operations and was briefed by some of his military officials.
“Realising that resistance was futile, Ukrainian soldiers began surrendering, and 430 have been captured,” General Gerasimov told Mr Putin, referring to Ukrainian forces who’d launched a counter-attack in the Kursk region.
In response, Mr Putin said captured Ukrainians would be “treated as terrorists”.
“People who are in the Kursk region, who commit crimes against civilians here, who oppose our armed forces, law enforcement agencies and special services, are the people we should certainly treat as terrorists,” he said, stressing that he would not apply the rules of the Geneva Conventions.
Minutes after footage of Mr Putin’s remarks aired on Russian state TV, Ukraine’s army commander suggested his troops were pulling back to minimise losses.
“In the most difficult situation, my priority has been and remains saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. To this end, the units of the defence forces, if necessary, manoeuvre to more favourable positions,” commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky said in a Facebook post, in language typically used to describe a withdrawal.
He added however: “Despite the increased pressure from the Russian/North Korean army, we will hold the defence in the Kursk region as long as it is appropriate and necessary.”
Ukraine and its allies say more than 10,000 North Korean troops are fighting for Russia in Kursk.
Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated on Wednesday (local time) that Russia would not accept peacekeeping troops from any NATO country on Ukrainian territory “under any conditions”, which is a direct rebuke to a proposal floated by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
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Originally published as Trump says NATO ‘stepping up’ and hopes Russia will do ‘right thing’ after Putin comments
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