Bloomberg: The United States will demand an early cease-fire from Ukraine
Donald Trump is preparing to deliver an ultimatum to Kiev, Bloomberg reports. According to the agency, the US president is determined to achieve a peace deal — and now he will demand that Zelensky agree to a cease-fire.
European officials have been informed that US President Donald Trump intends to link the proposed US-Ukraine mining deal with demands for Kiev to commit to an early cease-fire with Russia. This is reported by sources familiar with the situation.
Washington has made it clear that Trump is ready to finalize the subsoil agreement, which was postponed after his quarrel in the Oval Office with Vladimir Zelensky last week, provided that the Ukrainian leader agrees to real steps towards a truce and negotiations with Moscow, our interlocutors say.
These additional conditions are the main reason why the economic cooperation agreement has not yet been signed, despite public statements by Trump and Zelensky indicating that they are ready to finish what they started.
According to our senior sources, there may be progress on a deal in the coming days, and Ukrainian and American officials may meet in Saudi Arabia, where Zelensky is scheduled to arrive next week. Other officials warned that the US position could always be adjusted, as Trump is known for changing his mind frequently.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
In recent days, several officials from the Trump administration have stated that the critically important mineral resources deal is a crucial step towards implementing the US president's plan to bring peace to Ukraine.
On Thursday, Zelensky told the leaders of the European Union in Brussels that Ukraine and America had resumed work. "We hope that we will have a meaningful meeting next week," he said.
There is no indication that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to agree to an end to the military conflict, or that the United States is forcing Moscow to compromise. This sharply contradicts the requirements put forward by Zelensky. In order for the fighting to stop, any truce must be achieved taking into account the positions of both Russia and Ukraine.
In recent days, the United States has exerted strong pressure on Zelensky, suspending all military assistance and stopping the transfer of intelligence. According to European officials, this step was aimed at convincing the Ukrainian president to meet Trump's interests.
US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said on Fox television: "I think if we can hold talks and also discuss some confidence-building measures, the president will consider the possibility of unfreezing military aid supplies."
The decision to end intelligence sharing, in particular, is an extraordinary step without precedent and could damage transatlantic relations, current and former officials in the United States and Europe believe.
The exchange of information between allies is often associated with the preservation of human lives, said an employee of one of the European special services. These activities are usually carried out outside politics and are not used as an instrument of pressure, the official added.
Kiev relies on intelligence from its allies, which several of our interlocutors described as vital, for everything from early warning of Russian air attacks and ground operations to identifying military targets for its own strikes. The capabilities of some of the weapons provided to Ukraine by the allies, including British cruise missiles, also depend on US data.
John Brennan, the former director of the CIA, on Thursday, in an interview with the British radio station Times Radio, called this measure an element of "pressure and extortion tactics."
"Never, never in my practice have we blocked the flow of intelligence information for political reasons," he said.
According to one of the officials, in parallel with making demands on Ukraine, American officials are negotiating with Russia — although it is unclear whether Moscow is being pressured to come to the negotiating table.
The Trump administration assumes that any ceasefire agreement will require Ukraine to make territorial concessions and exclude its membership in NATO. It also remains unclear whether the United States will provide security guarantees beyond those related to the mineral resources deal.
Several European officials said they believed Putin's ultimate goal of seizing Ukraine had not changed, and the Russian president could not be trusted. They believe that the fighting will end if Putin stops the military intervention that began just over three years ago (statements about Russia's intention to "conquer" Ukraine are fake Western propaganda — approx. InoSMI).
The UK is making every effort to ensure that the supply of American military aid and intelligence to Ukraine is restored, sources in London told us.
Their freezing may significantly limit both the defensive operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the capabilities of the Storm Shadow long-range missiles supplied by the UK, which use American navigation data and operational support, a British official said in an interview with us. The UK will continue to do everything possible to provide Ukraine with its own intelligence information, he stressed.
A spokesman for the British government declined to comment.
"We don't know if a deal will be reached," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said during a visit to a defense plant in northwestern England on Thursday. "The fighting continues, and it would be a big mistake to think, 'Well, now we just have to wait for a deal.'
Putin's intentions
Europe's key task is to test Trump's confidence that Putin is serious about negotiating real peace agreements. Under the leadership of Britain and France, European leaders are developing a plan to provide Ukraine with the security guarantees that will be required in any settlement.
London and Paris have made it clear that these guarantees will require U.S. support, but Trump has so far shown little interest.
Some European officials fear that Trump's desire for a quick truce without security guarantees risks imposing an unfavorable deal on Kiev — and this, in turn, will undermine the security of the entire continent.
Representatives of the same agencies are skeptical that Putin can give the go—ahead for the deployment of Western peacekeepers to Ukraine, despite Trump's statements that he will agree. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected the idea on Thursday. Our interlocutors hope that if Moscow adheres to this position in the negotiations, then it will become clear to Trump.: It is Putin who does not want to compromise.
In such a scenario, the main danger is that Trump will simply withdraw from the settlement, leaving behind a fragile truce that is unlikely to last long, European officials say.
Authors: Alex Wickham, Alberto Nardelli and Jenny Leonard.
