Trump on Putin-Zelenskyy Meeting: Budapest as Potential Location, NATO Security Guarantees for Ukraine

Potential Putin-Zelenskyy Summit

• 💡 President Trump is asserting that a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy is being arranged, with Budapest, Hungary emerging as a potential location.
• 🎯 The White House is actively working to finalize a date and location for this historic meeting, aiming for it to occur within the next two weeks.
• ⚠️ Despite White House insistence, Russian officials have not yet confirmed the meeting, which Trump suggests is public posturing.

Ukraine's Defense and Russian Attacks

• 💥 Ukraine officials report that Russia launched 15 drones in an overnight assault, causing destruction and injuring children.
• 💬 President Zelenskyy described the strikes as demonstrative and emphasized the need for strong security guarantees to ensure lasting peace.

NATO Security Guarantees for Ukraine

• 🤝 NATO defense ministers are holding a virtual meeting to develop a plan for security guarantees for Ukraine post-war.
• ✈️ The US has stated it will not provide ground troops but is open to providing air support, including potential intelligence and surveillance sharing.
• 🚧 Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov stated that any security guarantees without Russia's involvement are a "road to nowhere."

Lessons from Past Negotiations

• 📌 Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov referenced the failed Istanbul talks of 2022 as a potential framework, which included demands for occupied territories, Ukraine's neutrality, partial demilitarization, recognition of annexed territories, and the lifting of sanctions.
• 📉 These demands are considered a hard sell for Ukraine, especially given the shift in territorial control since those initial negotiations.