Donald Trump has piled pressure on Ukraine to reach a deal with Russia “fast” before US-brokered talks in Geneva on Tuesday. “Ukraine better come to the table, fast,” the US president told reporters onboard Air Force One while en route to Washington.
Trump is pushing to end the conflict, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but two previous rounds of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi did not yield any signs of a breakthrough.
Moscow has stuck to its demands in the talks for sweeping territorial and political concessions from Ukraine – rejected by Kyiv as tantamount to capitulation.
Trump’s top envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner will be in the US delegation, while the former Russian culture minister Vladimir Medinsky will lead Moscow’s team.
Ukraine and Russia to meet for second round of talks as war’s fourth anniversary approaches
The talks, brokered by the Trump administration, will take place days before the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Despite renewed US efforts to revive diplomacy, hopes for any sudden breakthrough remain low.
Trump, who throughout his second presidency has veered between criticising Moscow and Kyiv, reverted this weekend to placing blame on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, suggesting Ukraine was holding up efforts to end the war.
California governor ‘a loser’, says Trump as state signs green energy deal with UK
Donald Trump has vented his fury against a green energy deal between the British government and California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, a likely future Democratic presidential candidate.
“The UK’s got enough trouble without getting involved with Gavin Newscum,” Trump said in an interview with Politico, using the derogatory nickname he reserves for Newsom. “Gavin is a loser. Everything he’s touched turns to garbage. His state has gone to hell, and his environmental work is a disaster.”
Republicans and Democrats unite to condemn Trump’s attacks on allies
Donald Trump’s most unbridled critics at this weekend’s Munich Security Conference were not Europeans but Americans – and not just Democratic politicians.
A few Republicans, out of earshot of the US president’s favoured Fox News, have had the courage to challenge Trump’s diet of tariffs and unpredictability.
The criticism ends what little remained of the tradition that the US delegation to the conference limits criticism of the commander-in-chief abroad.
Trump is committed to Hungarian PM Orbán’s success, says Rubio
Donald Trump is committed to the success of the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, because his leadership is crucial for US national interests, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said.
“President Trump is deeply committed to your success, because your success is our success,” Rubio said, standing next to Orbán at a joint press conference in Budapest.
Trump donor who criticized offshoring to close Ohio plant and move work to China
John Paulson, a hedge fund billionaire and one of Donald Trump’s earliest Wall Street backers, is planning to move an Ohio manufacturing plant to China despite heavy pushback from employees.
Workers at the plant have called the relocation “a slap in our face”, after Paulson vocally defended domestic manufacturing, and are fighting to keep the plant open.
UK bank bosses plan to set up Visa and Mastercard alternative amid Trump fears
UK bank bosses will hold their first meeting to establish a national alternative to Visa and Mastercard amid growing fears over Donald Trump’s ability to turn off US-owned payment systems.
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Catching up? Here’s what happened on 15 February 2026.
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