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“Now if for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say, ‘you’re foolish, you’re fools, you’re horrible people, and we’re going to just take a pass,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House.
“But hopefully we won’t have to do that,” he added.
The president’s comment came hours after US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the White House may move on unless there are signs of progress.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said it had signed a preliminary agreement on a minerals deal with the US, and that a final accord could be reached by the end of next week.
On Friday, a missile attack by Russia on Ukraine’s Kharkiv killed one person and wounded over 100 others, including six children, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Mr Zelensky also claimed that China is supplying weapons, including gunpowder and artillery, to Russia – accusations that China has dismissed.
Russian cluster missile strike kills 1, injures nearly 100 in Kharkiv
A Russian missile strike at a residential area of Kharkiv has killed one civilian and injured 98 others on Friday, according to the city's mayor, Ihor Terekhov.
The ballistic missiles were equipped with cluster munitions, causing widespread damage to at least 21 apartment buildings, 40 houses, and two schools, the mayor said.
Russia has continued to use missiles with cluster munition warheads to target civilian centres in Ukraine.
One such attack on 4 April led to at least 89 casualties in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
This tactic to hit civilian areas is likely an attempt to take advantage of the ceasefire on energy infrastructure strikes, the Institute for the Study of War reported.
Vishwam Sankaran19 April 2025 07:47
Explained: What minerals are sought by the US in Ukraine under the new deal
Ukraine has signed a memorandum of intent for a mineral deal with the US as part of its efforts to end the war.
The deal would give the US access to a wealth of rare-earth minerals hidden in Ukraine's nearly 2.5 billion-year-old crystalline rock formations.
These rocks are some of Earth’s oldest and are a treasure trove of several key minerals like lithium, graphite, manganese, titanium and rare earth elements, which are critical for modern industries and the global green energy transition.
Most of these minerals are essential for manufacturing electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels and energy storage systems.
Ukraine's deposits contain 22 of 34 key minerals identified by the EU as critical for the green energy transition.
The US has heavily relied on China for importing most rare-earth minerals, which dominate the extraction of these metals.
But the ongoing Trump tariff-driven trade war with China has led to Beijing halting its export of key minerals.
Now, with access to Ukraine’s minerals in exchange for a peace deal, the US could avoid reliance on China.
You can read more on the mineral deal here:
Vishwam Sankaran19 April 2025 07:34
Ukraine signs pre-agreement for US mineral deal
Ukraine signed a memorandum of intent with the US on Friday to proceed with initial steps towards a bilateral US-Ukrainian mineral deal.
Ukrainian economic minister Yulia Svyrydenko confirmed that Ukraine and the US finalised and signed the memorandum of intent (moI) towards a rare-earth minerals deal expected to be signed next week.
"We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine," Svyrydenko said in a post on X.
"Ahead is the finalisation of the text of the Agreement and its signing—and then, ratification by parliaments...In the meantime, we continue to work on the Agreement itself," she said.
Vishwam Sankaran19 April 2025 07:19
Russia continues to press pre-war demands to address war's 'root causes'
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has reiterated the Kremlin's position that any resolution to the conflict must “comprehensively” address what Moscow refers to as the war’s "root causes".
Since the start of the war in 2022, Moscow has defined these “root causes” as Nato’s alleged violation of a promise not to expand eastward, and Ukraine’s alleged discrimination against ethnic Russians.
Russia’s insistence on these demands as a condition for ending the war effectively amounts to Ukraine’s full capitulation and the potential installation of a pro-Russian government in Kyiv.
While the Kremlin continues to participate in bilateral discussions, Russian officials remain committed to Moscow’s pre-war demands.
Meanwhile, Marco Rubio received an “encouraging” response to the “outlines of a durable and lasting peace” during meetings with representatives from Ukraine and Europe, according to the US department of state.
Vishwam Sankaran19 April 2025 07:17
Russian UN representative calls ceasefire discussion 'unrealistic'
Vasily Nebenzya, permanent representative of Russia to the UN, claimed on Friday that the discussion of a general ceasefire in Ukraine is "unrealistic".
He further accused Ukraine of not observing a moratorium on long-range strikes against energy infrastructure in the past month.
This appear's to be in line with Russia's broader strategy to deflect blame onto Ukraine and extract additional concessions from the US.
Reports of ongoing talks between US and European officials suggest Washington is planning to ease its economic sanctions against Moscow if a lasting ceasefire deal is achieved.
Vishwam Sankaran19 April 2025 06:54
China building weapons on Russian soil and arming Moscow, Zelensky says
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accused China of manufacturing weapons in Russian territory and supplying them to Moscow's troops.
“We have finally received information that China is supplying weapons to the Russian Federation...We believe that Chinese representatives are engaged in the production of some weapons on Russian territory," the Ukrainian president said.
"We see the cooperation between these two countries in this area, and we must acknowledge it is happening," he said.
“We are ready to speak in detail about this,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine would share documented evidence to support its claim next week.
Vishwam Sankaran19 April 2025 06:43
US plans to ease sanctions on Russia if ceasefire lasts
The US is planning to ease its economic sanctions against Russia if a lasting ceasefire deal is achieved between Moscow and Kyiv, Bloomberg reported.
US officials discussed details of their plan to end the war in Ukraine during meetings with their European counterparts in Paris on Thursday.
A proposal cited in the report calls for ceasing the war at the current frontline with Ukrainian territories already occupied by Russian troops coming under Moscow's control.
Ukraine would also not be able to join Nato, according to this proposal, as per the Bloomberg report.
The plan also includes an ease of US sanctions against Russia if a lasting ceasefire is achieved.
Vishwam Sankaran19 April 2025 06:36
Trump dismisses idea of being played by Putin
US president Donald Trump dismissed accusations of being played by his Russian counterpart saying: "Nobody is playing me."
"My whole life has been one big negotiation and I know when people are playing us and when they're not," he said.
"I'm trying to help," the president added.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, the US commander-in-chief, who has been accused of being soft on Russia, said he needed "enthusiasm" from both Moscow and Kyiv to end the war.
"I think I see it...It's coming to a head right now," Trump said.
Vishwam Sankaran19 April 2025 06:16
Explained: Ukrainian territories at the heart of Trump peace deal
The fate of five Ukrainian territories hangs in the balance amid negotiations for a potential peace deal proposed by US president Donald Trump.
One of these is Crimea, a Ukrainian territory that Russian troops invaded and claimed in 2014, following an internationally condemned referendum.
Russia also controls parts of four other territories — the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts — but has not managed to capture them in their entirety.
The Kremlin has repeatedly insisted that any peace deal must involve international recognition of these territories as part of Russia, along with the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the areas.
Such terms would go beyond freezing the war at current front lines and would amount to Ukraine conceding roughly four of its 24 oblasts to Russia.
Ukraine, however, maintains that while it is open to negotiating a ceasefire, it will not recognise any of its territories as Russian.
“These lands belong to our people, to our nation, and to the future generations of Ukrainians,” president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday.
Vishwam Sankaran19 April 2025 05:54
Trump peace deal talks to continue in London next week
US officials are reportedly planning to meet in London next week to continue discussions with their European counterparts about ending the war in Ukraine.
European and American officials, including representatives from Ukraine, met in Paris on Thursday to conduct high-level, in-person talks on Trump's peace deal.
Officials are to re-engage in London next week, giving Ukraine some time to agree to a "term sheet" presented by Washington.
Kyiv is reportedly ready for a comprehensive ceasefire over sea, land and air for at least 30 days or longer.
The US president is also expected to sign a minerals deal with Ukraine next week following a preliminary deal.
Vishwam Sankaran19 April 2025 05:31
English (US) ·