US will not give security guarantees to Ukraine, Trump says

President Donald Trump confirmed that Volodymyr Zelenskyy would travel to Washington, DC on Friday to sign a crucial minerals deal, but he claims that the United States won’t provide any significant security guarantees for Ukraine.

“I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much”, Trump said on Wednesday. “We’re going to have Europe do that”.

A “preliminary” economic agreement between Ukraine and the US was already in place, Zelenskyy had earlier stated, but he did not yet provide any security guarantees that Kyiv believes are essential to ending the conflict with Russia.

According to Zelenskyy, a full agreement may be affected by the outcome of Trump’s meeting later this week in Washington.

“This deal could be a huge success or it might go quietly,” he said. And he claimed that the conversation with President Trump would determine the country’s long-term success.

The agreement, according to reports in the media, will compensate for US assistance in halting Russia’s massive invasion, which began in February 2022, by granting US citizens access to crucial minerals in Ukraine.

The US has been subject to significant pressure from Kyiv, which would give it access to the country’s vast mineral reserves.

The agreement is crucial to Trump’s efforts to put an end to Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president stated to reporters in Kyiv that the US-Ukraine framework economic agreement is the first step toward a full agreement that the country’s parliament could ratify.

Following a dramatic week in which Trump and Zelenskyy exchanged disparaging words, Zelenskyy was referred to as a “dictator.”

Trump viewed the agreement as a repayment for Kyiv’s billions in aid during the war.

At the start of his second term as US Cabinet secretary, he made the announcement of Zelenskyy’s visit on Wednesday, humming the deal as “a very big agreement.”

Trump remarked, “The previous administration put us in a very bad position, but we’ve been able to come to a deal where we’re going to get the money back and a lot of money in the future.”

Additionally, he ruled out the possibility of Ukraine enlisting in the military organization.

“NATO – you can forget about”, Trump said. “I think that’s probably the reason the whole thing started”.

Reporting earlier from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford said it appeared that Zelenskyy “still has questions” over the future US-Ukraine relationship.

“Ukraine’s hope is that if the US has major assets in the country, then it will be more forthcoming with giving it support. However, Zelenskyy still wonders if that support will include, say, purchasing US weapons.

The Kremlin has been trying to win Trump over by lavishing praise on the US leader and encouraging American investments in natural resources in Ukrainian-controlled territory despite ongoing discussions over the minerals deal.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that US and Russian counterparts would meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss bilateral disputes as part of a wider dialogue that both sides believe will be crucial to bringing an end to the Ukrainian conflict.

Drone attack

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia has launched at least 177 drones of various types, aiming at specific areas in the country. Tetiana Kulyk, a journalist, was one of the victims of the attack, according to the Ukrinform news agency.

Her sudden passing shocked her coworkers and left a massive legacy for the organization, according to Ukrinform.

Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said one of its facilities had been damaged in the Dnipropetrovsk region, without elaborating.

Ukraine’s forces claimed that the country’s forces successfully launched a counterattack in the Donetsk region, taking control of the village of Kotlyne, which is close to a major transit route and Pokrovsk, the country’s largest logistics hub.

Russian forces have also been relentlessly bombing the eastern Donetsk region’s civilian hub while making their way to the town of Kostyantynivka.

According to regional authorities, the most recent Russian strikes have resulted in the deaths of five people and the injuries of eleven others, which underline the challenging combat facing Ukrainian forces that are facing a sprawling front line supported by a larger and more well-equipped Russian force.

Source: Aljazeera