Russia-Ukraine peace talks to begin in Munich this week

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend the talks in Germany which are scheduled to begin on Friday. Trump shared the news in a social media statement he made after a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian president, like Russian President Vladimir Putin, ultimately wants peace, Trump said.

Trump’s conversation with Zelenskyy took place shortly after a call between Trump and Putin. During the call, the two leaders discussed their countries’ shared history—specifically their joint efforts to topple the Third Reich in WWII, according to a statement by Trump. They expressed their hope that their countries will be able to work together in the future, and that they will soon be able to visit each other’s respective countries. Putin insisted he was willing to pursue peace, Trump said.

What is peace going to look like? The United States will not be putting troops on the ground in Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told NATO leaders on Wednesday. Kyiv also cannot realistically regain control of Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014, Hegseth said. It is also unrealistic for Ukraine to be admitted as a NATO member, Hegseth added. Ukraine and Russia should seek a durable peace that will include robust security guarantees, Hegseth insisted. Those guarantees should be backed up by peacekeeping troops on a non-NATO mission.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about Baltic states unplugging from Russia’s power grid to maintain their energy independence.