As Trump Camp Wavers on Ukraine, Kyiv Faces Strategic Isolation
Ukraine War File Too Toxic for Trump White House
In this live BBC World TV interview aired earlier today, I explain why the Trump administration’s consideration of walking away from the Ukraine war is disgraceful. The issue has become too politically toxic, so they’re pivoting to ‘red meat’ domestic topics to rally the base amid sinking approval ratings.
Donald Trump said the US will "take a pass" on brokering further Russia-Ukraine war talks if Moscow or Kyiv "make it very difficult" to reach a peace deal. The US president told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that he was not expecting a truce to happen in "a specific number of days" but he wanted it done "quickly". His comments came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the US would abandon talks "if it's not going to happen…We're not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end," Rubio said, adding that the US had "other priorities to focus on.” When asked about the deal between Russian and Ukraine, Trump said: "We're talking about here people dying. We're going to get it stopped, ideally. "Now if, for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say, 'You're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people,' and we're going to just take a pass." Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has placed a number of conditions on any potential ceasefire. Despite the Trump administration's initial confidence that it could secure a deal quickly, attempts to reach a full ceasefire have yet to materialise, with Washington blaming both sides. Following a meeting with European leaders in Paris about a potential ceasefire on Thursday, Rubio told reporters on Friday: "We need to determine very quickly now - and I'm talking about a matter of days - whether or not this is doable…If it's not going to happen, then we're just going to move on," he said about truce talks. He said it was clear that a peace deal would be difficult to strike but there needed to be signs it could be done soon. Trump had said before he re-entered office that he would stop the fighting in the first 24 hours of his presidency - BBC
A Russian attack on Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv has killed one person and injured at least 100 others, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine has said. Images released by the office show the aftermath of the attack, with injured people being taken to hospitals. Ukrainian media report that several children are among the wounded.
If you haven’t already, click here to have a listen to my extended conversation with the BBC’s South Asia and Afghanistan correspondent, Yogita Limaye. Why? If you want to understand the untold stories behind the headlines—from frontline devastation to global geopolitics—this episode delivers raw insights and fearless reporting from one of the world’s most respected correspondents.
Malaysian Prime Minister and ASEAN chair Anwar Ibrahim said Friday (Apr 18) that he had urged Myanmar's junta leader to respect a post-earthquake ceasefire in backroom talks in Bangkok. Junta officials have been barred from summits of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over a lack of progress on a peace deal since Myanmar's military snatched power in a 2021 coup and sparked a civil war. But junta chief Min Aung Hlaing travelled to Bangkok on Thursday to meet Anwar, who holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN, on the sidelines of his talks with Thai officials. Myanmar's military declared a ceasefire until Apr 22 after last month's magnitude-7.7 earthquake killed at least 3,700 people. Conflict monitors say fighting has continued, including regular junta airstrikes. "I told him it's important to cease fire," Anwar told reporters in Bangkok. "It's important to allow for humanitarian efforts to cover all of Myanmar, irrespective of where they are or what political position they take…That assurance was given," he said. A Myanmar junta statement on Thursday night made no mention of Anwar's overtures for peace. It said the talks had focused on "cooperation for rehabilitation after the Myanmar earthquake disaster" - CNA
Myanmar’s military junta has pardoned nearly 5,000 prisoners as part of an annual new year’s amnesty, but there are no indications that prominent political prisoners like ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi were among those released. According to state broadcaster MRTV, 4,893 prisoners were freed by order of General Min Aung Hlaing, who leads the country’s ruling military council. An additional 13 foreign nationals are to be released and deported, while others will receive reduced sentences. Those convicted of serious crimes such as murder, rape or violations under security-related laws were excluded from the pardons - The Independent
Some 35,000 estimated deaths have already been linked to the sweeping freezes to US-funded Aids programs, according to calculations from the PEPFAR Impact Tracker. The world was actually on track to end the global Aids pandemic by 2030, but that will be “impossible” if these cuts and disruptions continue. The Independent’s own calculations from UNAIDS data show that, if funding is not reinstated and nothing changes, Aids-related deaths will jump by 4 million people by the end of the decade – reaching the devastating levels of the 1990s and early 2000s.
A U.S. federal website that used to feature information on vaccines, testing and treatment for COVID-19 has been transformed into a page supporting the theory that the pandemic originated with a lab leak. The covid.gov website shows a photo of President Donald Trump walking between the words “lab” and “leak” under a White House heading. It mentions that Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus first began spreading, is home to a research lab with a history of conducting virus research with “inadequate biosafety levels.” The web page also accuses Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of pushing a “preferred narrative” that COVID-19 originated in nature. The origins of COVID have never been proven. Scientists are unsure whether the virus jumped from an animal, as many other viruses have, or came from a laboratory accident. A U.S. intelligence analysis released in 2023 said there is insufficient evidence to prove either theory - AP
Iran’s foreign minister has called for Russia to play a role in high-stakes negotiations over the fate of Tehran’s nuclear programs, as he cast doubt on US intentions ahead a new round of talks. Speaking on April 18 alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Abbas Araqchi said he still believed an agreement was possible. The Iranian diplomat was set to meet with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff in Rome on April 19, for a second round of talks over Iran’s atomic programs. "Although we have serious doubts about the intentions and motivations of the American side, in any case we will participate in tomorrow's negotiations," Araqchi said during a joint appearance in Moscow. Last week’s first round of talks in Oman was the highest-level negotiations between Tehran and Moscow since US President Donald Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear deal in 2018. Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of trying to build nuclear weapons. Tehran has consistently denied the allegations, insisting that its efforts are aimed at civilian purposes, like electricity generation. Earlier in the week, Witkoff called for an end to all of Iran’s uranium enrichment programs. International inspectors say Tehran has managed to refine its uranium stocks to 60 percent -- which is close to the threshold at which uranium is considered weapons-grade - RFE/RL
In an editorial titled “Israel must stop starving Gaza”, Israel’s highly-respected Haaretz newspaper said “Israel’s starvation of more than two million Palestinians has been fully normalised. “This policy is based on a populist and false narrative that links humanitarian aid for Gazans to Hamas’ military capabilities. The result is a continuing humanitarian crime,” it wrote, adding that starvation had “become an openly declared policy and even a source of pride”. On March 18, Israeli authorities blocked the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid once again. The blockade is currently ongoing. Haaretz argued that the suffering and death caused by Israel’s policy of starvation in Gaza “don’t advance any of the war’s objectives” and the deaths of children due to malnutrition and disease “won’t lead to the release of the hostages or the downfall of Hamas”. Al Jazeera reported today that Israeli attacks killed 50 across Gaza as heavy strikes hit north, south
The journals…
