President Trump changes attitude towards Russia

Just before Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican on April 26, President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met face-to-face for the first time since a tense war of words in February at the White House. According to Reuters, the meeting lasted only about 15 minutes and came at a crucial moment in the negotiations to end the war between Ukraine and Russia.

President Trump and President Zelensky met at the Vatican on April 26.

Trump doubts Russia

After the meeting, President Trump publicly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for the second time over recent attacks in Ukraine. "There is no reason for Putin to have been launching missiles into civilian areas, cities, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to end the war," Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform while flying home. The US leader expressed skepticism about Russia's willingness to negotiate and suggested that he might have to deal with Moscow in other ways, through "banking sanctions or secondary sanctions."

President Trump's change of tone toward Russia comes as he steps up efforts to broker a ceasefire and threatens to walk away from the talks if no deal is reached soon. The White House has recently pressed Ukraine to accept a final proposal to recognize Crimea as Russian territory to quickly end the conflict, something Kyiv and its European allies have firmly rejected, according to AFP.

Mr. Trump is said to be facing a difficult reality as the parties still have major differences about entering the negotiating table. After arriving in Rome early on April 26, Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social that "most of the main points have been agreed upon" and urged the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to meet to complete the agreement.

President Putin, in a meeting with White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff shortly before, declared his readiness to resume negotiations "without preconditions", but did not mention a ceasefire first. Observers said that with the military advantage, Russia is clearly in no hurry to make concessions.

Ukraine speeds up diplomacy

Meanwhile, President Zelensky used the Vatican event to lobby Europe against proposals to end the conflict in Russia's favor. In addition to President Trump, Mr. Zelensky met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to reinforce his position demanding an unconditional ceasefire before negotiations.

The British and French leaders also took part in brief talks with Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky afterwards and expressed positive attitudes about the negotiation process.

According to The Washington Post , European leaders are rushing to develop an alternative to the US proposal, emphasizing the role of a ceasefire and Ukrainian territorial sovereignty as prerequisites for any lasting peace solution. However, it is unclear whether the US is willing to consider this proposal.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin’s statement after Mr. Witkoff’s visit showed that Russia is not ready to accept a full ceasefire before negotiations, a major obstacle that is difficult to overcome. Following President Trump’s article yesterday, US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said that the bipartisan bill is preparing to promote trade sanctions on countries that buy oil, gas and other products from Russia if it does not accept a fair and lasting peace agreement.

Russia confirms North Korea's participation in war

During an online meeting with President Putin on the evening of April 26, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian army Valery Gerasimov stated that "DPRK soldiers played an important role in liberating Russia's Kursk province", where Ukrainian forces sent troops in August 2024.

This is the first time Russia has confirmed that North Korean troops are participating in the operation against Ukraine. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova explained yesterday that the North Korean side participated in the operation in Kursk under the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement that the two countries signed in June 2024, according to TASS. Pyongyang has yet to comment on the information.

Ukraine and its allies have long claimed that North Korea has sent troops to support Russia, but the two countries have neither confirmed nor denied the claim. Regarding the situation on the battlefield, the Ukrainian military and the war-monitoring website DeepState have both denied that Kyiv has been completely pushed back from Kursk, although they acknowledge the difficult situation.