Ukraine: Scholz, Zelenskyy agree Trump key to ceasefire

Germany's former UN ambassador Christoph Heusgen, who also served as an advisor to former Chancellor Angela Merkel, told DW that Europeans should "do our homework" on defense and protecting Ukraine.

"If Europe is in a strong position, then we will automatically be included at the negotiating table because our policies, our contributions and things that we bring to the table will be important for such a process," he said.

Heusgen also criticized Donald Trump's approach to negotiations with Russia. According to the diplomat, the US leader already gave up two important advantages — Ukraine's territorial integrity and its potential NATO membership — before the talks even started.

"I have negotiated with the Russians for a long time. I know them and I know one thing: the only thing they respect is a position of strength. The way Trump is currently presenting himself to Russia is a position of weakness," Heusgen told DW. "I can't understand that."

The US and Ukraine are to hold another meeting soon, the Ukrainian president's top aide posted to X.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote that he spoke with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and discussed next steps "towards a just and lasting peace."

"We have scheduled a meeting for our teams in the near future to continue this important work," he added.

The US-Ukraine relations have been strained following a public Oval Office clash between the leaders of those countries.

The US has since announced a pause on military aid  and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine as Washington seeks to up the pressure on Zelenskyy and secure his cooperation as US pushes for peace talks with Russia. 

European leaders are racing to salvage US-Ukraine ties after a bitter Oval Office clash between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.

The UK and France have since taken the lead in bridging the gap between Kyiv and Washington. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, for example, held emergency talks with European leaders last weekend in London.

But why isn't Germany taking the lead in the effort to mend US-Ukraine ties, or spearheading an eventual peace deal in Ukraine?

The short answer is — Germany is in transition. The EU's most populous and richest country is stuck between an outgoing government and one that's not formed yet. DW's chief political correspondent gives you a short overview of the situation in our Instagram post.

Romania has declared a Russian military attache and his deputy as personae non gratae on Wednesday. A statement by the Romanian Foreign Ministry accuses the Russian diplomats of interfering in Romania's recent presidential elections and being connected to  far-right candidate Calin Georgescu.

The Romanian politician was indicted last week on over alleged campaign finance violations.

Moscow announced it will retaliate against Romania's decision.

US President Donald Trump has ordered a pause to intelligence cooperation with Ukraine, two days after suspending military aid to the country as it fights the ongoing Russian invasion, CIA director John Ratcliffe said on Wednesday.

"President Trump had a real question about whether [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy was committed to the peace process," Ratcliffe told Trump-friendly broadcaster Fox News.

Ratcliffe said the pause "on the military front and the intelligence front" was temporary, and that the United States would at some stage again "work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine."

The announcement comes after Trump and Zelenskyy had a televised falling-out on Friday, with the US leader accusing his Ukrainian counterpart of a lack of gratitude to the US for its previous aid.

Since Moscow launched its invasion of its neighbor in 2022, the US has provided Ukraine with significant intelligence, including critical information needed by its military to locate major Russian military targets.

US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told reporters on Wednesday morning that the administration was "reviewing all aspects" of its intelligence relationship with Ukraine.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will meet with Germany's likely next chancellor,
Friedrich Merz, on Wednesday afternoon, a NATO spokesperson has said on X, formerly Twitter.

The planned meeting would come after Merz and other German lawmakers were brought up to speed by outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday's meeting of European leaders in London, where they discussed the conflict in Ukraine and Europe's security.  

On Tuesday, Merz's conservatives and the Social Democrats — seen as the most likely contenders to form Germany's next ruling coalition — agreed to raise hundreds of billions of euros to fund defense and infrastructure in what is Europe's largest economy.

Germany's outgoing chancellor, Olaf Scholz, spoke over the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, during which Scholz said US President Donald Trump had a key role to play in any peace talks with Russia.

"The chancellor welcomed the Ukrainian president's willingness to enter into negotiations at the earliest possible date," a German government spokesperson said.

"Both agreed on the importance of the US president's leadership role, also with a view to achieving a swift start to a ceasefire and lasting peace for Ukraine," the spokesperson added.

Germany's likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has moved to increase defense spending in the wake of the fallout between Kyiv and Moscow and "in light of threats to our freedom and peace on our continent."

The leader of the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), Markus Söder, has warned of a growing security threat amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying it was "all much closer," according to information he had received. 

In a turn to serious remarks in his speech in the southern city of Passau on Ash Wednesday — in Germany, a day traditionally marked by mostly good-humored political mud-slinging — Söder said, however, that he couldn't talk about details.

In his remarks, made two days after Washington said it was suspending its military assistance to Kyiv, he said Ukraine was in great danger if the US did not help.

"If things end the way [Russian President Vladimir] Putin wants, millions of Ukrainians will flee to Europe," he said, adding that European security was under greater threat than ever before.

Söder said it had been a mistake that so many in the international community had looked the other way when Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and that not only Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia were now in danger, "but we in Europe as well."

French President Emmanuel Macron is considering traveling to Washington once again to meet with US President Donald Trump, a French government spokesperson said on Wednesday.

He would be joined there by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the spokesperson added.

The French president met with Trump in the White House in February to hash out the preliminary terms of a peace deal for Ukraine. Shortly after his trip, Starmer also traveled to Washington, where he said he had a positive meeting with Trump. Both the European leaders were there to pave the way for Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump — that, however, ended in an Oval Office shouting match that many observers regard as putting the most serious strain on transatlantic relations since the end of World War II.

Macron said earlier on Wednesday that he would address the people of France at 8:00 p.m. (1900 UTC). He said his address would regard "this moment of great uncertainty" but did not elaborate.

The Kremlin said it welcomed news that Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy was willing to negotiate a mineral deal.

During his speech to Congress on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump read aloud a letter that he said was from Zelenskyy. According to Trump, Zelenskyy said in the letter that Ukraine was ready to sign a deal on minerals and security.

On Wednesday morning, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow viewed this development "positively."

But, he added: "The question is who to sit down with. For now, the Ukrainian president is still legally prohibited from negotiating with the Russian side. So, overall, the approach is positive, but the nuances have not changed yet."

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow's mission remained to inflict "maximum defeat" on Ukraine.

Medvedev, who is now deputy chair of Russia's Security Council, made the comments as Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to have made a small advance in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.

"Russia is advancing. The enemy is resisting and has not yet been defeated," Medvedev said. "Inflicting maximum defeat on the enemy 'on the ground' remains our main task today."

Medvedev also said he expected the US to resume its aid to Ukraine if Kyiv and Washington sign a mineral deal.

France said on Wednesday morning that it is working to mend the relationship between Ukraine and the United States in order to achieve "lasting and robust peace."

France and the United Kingdom have proposed a partial one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine as part of European diplomatic efforts designed to shore up Western support for Ukraine after the fallout between Trump and Zelenskyy.

"We have proposed a truce. That is what is being studied within the negotiations with the United States," government spokesperson Sophie Primas told LCI television.

"France and Europe are trying to reestablish a link between the United States and Ukraine."

French President Emmanuel Macron said he planned to address the nation on Wednesday evening but did not specify what would be discussed.

"In this moment of uncertainty, where the world is confronted by large challenges, I will address you tonight," Macron wrote on social media.

Belarus' leader Alexander Lukashenko has welcomed the spat between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In an interview recorded on February 27 that was published on Wednesday, Lukashenko told online political commentator Mario Nawfal that Trump had pursued a "brilliant" foreign policy.

"It benefits us that [Trump] showed Zelenskyy his place, he should know it," he said.

Meanwhile, Lukashenko offered to host peace talks in Belarus.

He said it was important to reach an agreement with Zelenskyy "since a large part of Ukrainian society is with him." 

"Tell Trump that I expect him here with Putin and Zelenskyy," Lukashenko said.

"There is only 200 kilometers (125 miles) between the Belarus frontier and Kyiv. Half an hour in a plane. Come," he added.

US President Donald Trump claimed he was working "to end the savage conflict in Ukraine" in his first address to Congress after returning to the White House.

He said the US had sent hundreds of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine.

"You want to keep it going for another five years?" he asked, addressing Democrats in the gallery who applauded the amount of support the country provided Ukraine.

Trump also read aloud a letter that he said he recently received from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"The letter reads, 'Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians,'" Trump told Congress.

Trump said the letter also said: "We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine, maintain its sovereignty and independence. … Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy highlighted the importance of ties with the United States in his evening address on Tuesday.

Zelenskyy claimed that although Ukraine could defend itself, "For us, normal, partnership relations with the US are important for a real end to the war.

"Now it is necessary to find the strength to move forward, to respect each other, just as we have always respected the US, Europe and all partners, and to do everything together to bring peace closer," he added.

He also said he had instructed officials to obtain confirmation from Washington about its halt in military support to Ukraine, which had only been announced in the media.