U.S., European officials meet in Paris to discuss Ukraine war

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 8:54 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

European and Ukrainian officials kicked disconnected a time of talks successful Paris connected Thursday to plead Kyiv's lawsuit to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who are successful France.

The high-level diplomacy reflects Europe's mounting interest implicit the U.S. administration's overtures toward Moscow, aft the nonaccomplishment truthful acold of Trump's efforts to put a ceasefire successful the three-year-old Russia-Ukraine war. 

The accomplishment of a Ukrainian delegation successful Paris was not antecedently announced up of what Washington had described arsenic planned talks betwixt Rubio, Witkoff and French officials.

French President Emmanuel Macron's overseas argumentation advisor Emmanuel Bonne hugged Witkoff arsenic helium arrived astatine the French presidency's Elysee Palace for talks, earlier a luncheon betwixt Macron, Witkoff and Rubio. 

Before that, Bonne and his British and German counterparts met Andriy Yermak, the main of unit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to the French docket for the day, Yermak was owed to instrumentality portion successful a gathering with Rubio, Witkoff and the European envoys aboriginal connected Thursday. 

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov are besides successful Paris.

"The parties volition sermon ways to execute a implicit ceasefire, the engagement of a multinational subject contingent to warrant sustainable peace, further improvement of Ukraine's information architecture and ensuring the information of our country," Sybiha said successful a statement.

Trump spreads blasted for war

Trump, who has agelong said helium aims to swiftly extremity the Ukraine war, has indicated helium is frustrated with some Moscow and Kyiv, adjacent arsenic his medication has shifted U.S. rhetoric toward accommodating the Russian relationship of the struggle and berated Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.

Ukraine agreed to a Trump connection past period for a ceasefire, which Russia rejected. The sides person agreed lone to curbs connected attacks against vigor targets and astatine sea, which some impeach each different of violating.

WATCH l Ukraine connected the play suffered deadliest onslaught successful months: 

Kyiv and its European allies accidental Moscow is to blasted for rejecting Trump's connection of a ceasefire past month, and are hoping to transportation Washington to instrumentality a tougher line. 

They person pressed the lawsuit since a Russian onslaught that killed civilians, including Ukrainian Christian worshippers, successful the metropolis of Sumy connected Sunday.

When asked hours aboriginal astir that attack, Trump told reporters, "I was told they [Russia] made a mistake."

A time aboriginal astatine the White House, Trump backtracked erstwhile asked to elaborate connected that claim, saying the mistake was that the warfare was allowed to statesman successful the archetypal place. The president said helium blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin astir of all, portion besides apportioning blasted to his predecessor, Joe Biden, arsenic good arsenic Zelenskyy.

"You don't commencement a warfare against idiosyncratic 20 times your size and past anticipation that radical springiness you immoderate missiles," helium said of Ukraine.

Russia mobilized its forces toward Ukraine's oversea ports connected Feb. 24, 2022, and Putin authorized airstrikes crossed the country, calling it a "special subject operation."

Deadly attacks overnight

The Kremlin described the Paris meetings arsenic a accidental for Witkoff, who met Putin for 5 hours past week, to pass Europeans of the presumption of talks astir the hunt for a bid colony successful Ukraine.

Russia's Defence Ministry, meanwhile, accused Ukraine of having carried retired 10 attacks connected Russian vigor infrastructure and violating the moratorium connected specified strikes.

Within confederate Ukraine, Russian attacks killed astatine slightest 3 radical and injured 10 much connected Thursday, section authorities said.

Two men, aged 56 and 61, were killed, and 5 much were wounded successful artillery shelling connected Nikopol, the determination politician said connected the Telegram messenger.

One idiosyncratic was killed during a Russian airstrike connected Kherson, which besides injured a teen and 4 adults, that city's politician said.