Former U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that officials from the United States, Russia, and Ukraine will meet on Friday at the Munich Security Conference to discuss ways to end the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“Russia will be there with our people,” Trump stated. “Ukraine is also invited, though I’m not exactly sure who will be attending from each country—but high-level officials from Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. will be present.”
However, Russia, which is not officially participating in the conference, has not commented on the matter. Meanwhile, a senior Ukrainian official downplayed the possibility of such discussions, stating that “talks with Russians in Munich” were “not expected.”
Reactions and Uncertainty
Trump’s surprise announcement follows a phone call earlier this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which they reportedly agreed to begin talks aimed at ending the war. The statement has sparked reactions from NATO allies, who remain uncertain about the implications of these negotiations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance in Munich, as well as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. However, Rubio’s travel was delayed after his plane experienced a mechanical issue and had to return to a U.S. airbase in Maryland before he could board another flight to Germany.
Despite Trump’s declaration, a senior adviser to Zelensky, Dmytro Lytvyn, stated that the Ukrainian delegation had no plans to participate in such a meeting. Russia has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Diverging Perspectives on Peace Talks
Trump’s announcement follows separate calls he held with both Putin and Zelensky. He described the conversations as “great” and expressed optimism about resolving the conflict. However, he also indicated that Ukraine joining NATO was “not practical” and suggested it was “unlikely” that Ukraine would regain all its pre-2014 borders.
Zelensky, while acknowledging his disappointment that Trump spoke to Putin before him, insisted that Ukraine would not accept any U.S.-Russia peace proposal without Kyiv’s direct involvement. “We cannot accept it, as an independent country,” he asserted, emphasizing the need for “security guarantees,” which he believes require continued U.S. support.
European leaders have also expressed concern about the direction of the negotiations. French President Emmanuel Macron warned that only Zelensky has the authority to negotiate Ukraine’s future and that a peace deal resembling a capitulation would be a “bad outcome for everyone.” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas echoed these sentiments, calling any rushed peace agreement a “dirty deal.”
U.S. Policy and Military Aid Uncertainty
Zelensky’s key objective in his meeting with Vice President Vance will be to secure continued U.S. military and diplomatic support for Ukraine. However, it remains unclear what the U.S. administration hopes to achieve from the discussions. Vance may attempt to reassure Zelensky of Ukraine’s role in the negotiations, though recent statements from U.S. officials suggest Ukraine may be sidelined.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously stated that NATO membership for Ukraine is not part of the U.S. vision and suggested that a peace deal would likely require Ukraine to cede territory currently occupied by Russian forces. Though he later walked back those remarks, they reflect growing sentiment among Trump-aligned Republicans in Congress, who have shown little interest in maintaining U.S. military assistance to Ukraine.
Ongoing Conflict and Humanitarian Toll
The war in Ukraine, which escalated into a full-scale invasion nearly three years ago, traces back to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its backing of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. While Ukraine successfully defended its capital, Kyiv, Russian forces have since occupied roughly one-fifth of the country’s eastern and southern regions, launching repeated air strikes across Ukraine.
Ukraine has responded with artillery and drone attacks, including strikes in Russia’s western Kursk region. Though casualty figures remain uncertain due to secrecy from both governments, estimates suggest hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed or wounded, while millions of Ukrainian civilians have been displaced.
As talks in Munich approach, the future of the conflict remains uncertain, with growing concerns that U.S.-Russia negotiations could reshape Ukraine’s fate—potentially without Kyiv’s full involvement.
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