Trump says Russia strongly desires peace, Zelenskyy ready to negotiate
US President Donald Trump said he has received “strong signals” from Russia that it is ready for peace and that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has written to him saying his country is ready to come to the negotiating table and also sign an agreement on minerals and security.
Trump made these remarks on Tuesday night in an address to the Joint Session of Congress, the first of his second term in the White House.
He told Congress that on Tuesday, he received an “important letter” from Zelenskyy, in which he said that “Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer,” Zelenskyy wrote in the letter, Trump said.
Besides, in his address, Trump set a tone of division almost from his first words, calling his predecessor Joe Biden the worst president in history and chiding Democrats as so stinting in their praise of him they would not even grant him perfunctory applause.
He inflated the scale of his victory in November, the margin of which was actually among the smallest in American history. The tenor was more that of a campaign speech than an address to Congress.
The president gave voice to a frustration of many Americans over rising costs of groceries — particularly the skyrocketing cost of eggs, but blamed Biden instead of the bird flu.
Trump also lavished praise on Elon Musk, the billionaire who he has tasked with overhauling the federal government and work force. Democrats tried to verbally fact check the president by shouting “false” at some of his assertions of success.
He used his speech to criticise diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which he's been swiftly eliminating across the federal government.
US stops sharing intel with Kyiv
The US has cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military's ability to target Russian forces, Britain's Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing officials familiar with the matter. The FT said two officials confirmed that Washington had frozen intelligence channels with Kyiv. US was still sharing intelligence on Russia with its closest allies, including Britain.
