7 mins read
Does Volodymyr Zelensky face the same fate as previous western-backed leaders?
Sidelined, exiled, jailed, or assassinated?
3 mins read
Why it matters: Ending the war is one of Trump’s primary foreign policy objectives. He said recently that he’d like to secure a deal in the next six months, after previously promising a deal on “day one.”
What they’re saying: “Our effort to reach a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine are now hopefully underway. It is so important to get that done. Millions of soldiers are getting killed. Millions of Russians and millions of Ukrainians. It has to end,” Trump said in his video address to Davos attendees.
State of play: Trump said Ukraine wants to make a deal to end the war and stressed Russia needs to come to the table.
Between the lines: Trump has been placing most of the onus for a deal on Russia since taking office, after repeatedly urging Ukraine to make peace during the campaign.
Behind the scenes: Trump said he raised the Russia-Ukraine war in his phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week.
The big picture: Trump said he wants to push for “denuclearization” of the world and claimed that towards the end of his first term in office he discussed this with Putin.
Reality check: China — which has far smaller stockpiles than the U.S. or Russia but has been building them up — repeatedly rejected overtures from the first Trump administration to negotiate on arms control, while several Cold War era arms control agreements with Moscow actually ended on Trump’s watch.
What to watch: Trump’s envoy for Russia-Ukraine diplomacy Keith Kellogg is expected to travel to Europe in February to discuss the issue with U.S. allies, European diplomats said.