Symbolic imageWashington still says it will test in the coming weeks whether talks can restart, while attention sits on weapons: its NATO envoy said on Monday, per TASS, that no Patriot production deal with Kyiv exists yet, though negotiations are advancing.
Efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine are being driven by direct contacts between Trump and Zelensky, who met on Tuesday to discuss restarting talks with Russia. Two questions shape the table: which territory is negotiable, with Zelensky saying restoring Crimea to Kyiv's control is not currently part of the talks while suggesting that could change, and how Ukraine is armed, including plans for it to build Patriot missiles itself. Russia has not signed on: Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov describes a ceasefire combined with the deployment of foreign forces in Ukraine as an "ultimatum". Lavrov also urged Russians to feel "healthy anger" toward a West he said has turned against Moscow through Ukraine, an indication that the Kremlin is framing the process as confrontation rather than compromise.
US envoy to NATO Matthew Whitaker said there is no agreement between NATO and Kyiv on producing Patriot systems by winter and that Washington is 'going to do first things first', TASS reported on Monday. He said talks with Ukraine on the production are moving forward.
Washington and Kyiv are discussing a possible transfer of Patriot missile production technology, a Ukrainian member of parliament said, according to TASS on Sunday. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States should be very careful about granting other countries licences to manufacture its weapons.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington intends to take a number of steps in the coming weeks to assess whether peace talks can resume, TASS reported on Sunday. Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik said the US still has the resources to fuel the conflict and pursues its own interests in a settlement.
Russian missiles killed at least nine people in Kyiv overnight into Saturday and damaged Lithuania's embassy. Vilnius has since summoned Russia's representative there.
Trump told the Financial Times he is not sure whether he will allow Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptors, despite agreements Washington and Kyiv had previously announced, and said the United States had not agreed to hand over Patriot system technology or Tomahawk missiles. He also said the rare earth deal allows the United States to take the resources it needs from Ukraine, while a senior Ukrainian diplomat told NBC News that Kyiv had brokered an agreement with Washington to share Ukrainian drone technology.
Trump and Zelensky met on Tuesday to discuss reviving peace negotiations with Russia and plans for Ukraine to build Patriot missiles, and Zelensky said restoring Crimea to Kyiv's control is not currently part of the talks but suggested that could change. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called a possible ceasefire combined with the deployment of foreign forces an "ultimatum" and urged Russians to feel "healthy anger" toward a West he said has turned against Moscow through Ukraine.