Putin defies pressure for peace with massive strike hitting EU mission in Kyiv - POLITICO
By: Donald Trump (POLITICO)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Overnight drone and ballistic missile strikes launched by Russia caused significant damage in Kyiv on Thursday. | Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images August 28, 2025 9:01 am CET By Zoya Sheftalovich and Nette Nostlinger
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The pressure being put on Vladimir Putin by Donald Trump and European leaders to end the war in Ukraine shows no sign of having an effect. Early Thursday, Russia launched a deadly attack on Kyiv that killed at least 12 and damaged buildings housing the EU and British delegations.
There were no injuries to EU staff in the attack. Commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta said Thursday: "The attacks are completely unacceptable. In no way will they shake our support for Ukraine." She added that diplomatic staff would remain in Ukraine despite the attack.
The EU's ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Mathernova, said the building was "severely damaged by the shock wave" of the "massive" barrage of drones and ballistic missiles Russia launched at Ukraine overnight.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of having "targeted diplomats — in direct breach of the Vienna Convention." The EU's foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas called it "a deliberate choice to escalate and mock" peace efforts, and said the Russian envoy in Brussels was being summoned.
The British Council's Kyiv office, which is close to the EU delegation building, was also hit. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the attacks were "senseless" and added that "Putin is killing children and civilians, and sabotaging hopes of peace. This bloodshed must end." According to Sky News, the Russian ambassador to the U.K. will be summoned by the Foreign Office.
French President Emmanuel Macron was among those who condemned the attacks, which he described as "terror" and "barbarism."
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said during a press conference in Estonia that "this cannot remain without consequences" and the Russian attacks will be discussed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Copenhagen.
The strikes come as Trump is ramping up pressure on Putin as he seeks to forge a peace deal to end the war.
Ukraine has made Western-backed security guarantees a central demand in any settlement to prevent further Russian attacks. After the country's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and some of his key European backers gathered in the White House on Aug. 18, Trump's administration signaled it would support a European-led force helping guarantee Ukrainian security, providing intelligence assets and battlefield oversight and taking part in an air defense shield.
But while Trump said afterward that he would soon convene a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy, and that the Russian had agreed to the idea, Kremlin-watchers have cast doubt on Putin's intentions.
Russia's "peace" last night: a massive strike on Kyiv with drones and ballistic missiles.
At least 10 killed, 30 injured, many buildings destroyed.
The EU Delegation was severely damaged by the shock wave.
This is Moscow's true answer to peace efforts. pic.twitter.com/26pxCwAvxa
— Katarina Mathernova (@kmathernova) August 28, 2025
The Russian president has prevaricated, dragging his heels on any direct meeting with Zelenskyy and on peace negotiations.
Moscow has doubled down on its asks, including demanding that Kyiv cede the entire Donbas region, among them key strategic strongholds that Russia does not control. Zelenskyy has ruled that out, saying doing so would provide Putin a springboard for a future invasion. Russia on Wednesday also rejected the idea of European peacekeeping troops serving in Ukraine — contradicting Trump's claim that Putin would accept them under a peace deal.
Thursday's attack on Kyiv comes on the same day as the EU's defense ministers are due to arrive in Copenhagen to discuss how to put more pressure on Russia via both sanctions and support for Ukraine.
Germany's Wadephul said Thursday: "The Russian president is not yet ready to meet with President Zelenskyy. We will not be blinded by delaying tactics and will instead continue to support Ukraine with weapons, with all the necessary support, and with political backing on its path to the European Union and NATO."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said EU delegation staffers were safe, and called for Russia to "stop its indiscriminatory attacks on civilian infrastructure immediately."
European Council President Antonio Costa said the damage to the EU delegation building in Kyiv overnight was "deliberate," adding that he was "horrified" by the Russian attacks. But, he said, "The EU will not be intimidated. Russia's aggression only strengthens our resolve to stand with Ukraine and its people."
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola condemned "another indiscriminate Russian attack during this senseless aggression," calling the delegation "the EU's voice on the ground in Ukraine" in a post on X.
"I strongly condemn these brutal attacks, a clear sign that Russia rejects peace & chooses terror," the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said in a statement on social media.
"Our full solidarity goes to EU staff, their families, & all Ukrainians enduring this aggression," she continued.
This is a developing story.
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It was a clear rebuke to the Europeans. He is telling them if you put troops in there they'll be hit.
Trump wants to wash his hands of the war in Ukraine because he has zero influence on what is happening there.
Tell us how to solve the conflict without American troops being killed when China says it won't let Russia lose and Ukraine doesn't have the troops to push russia out of occupied Ukraine.
all this bitching about Trump not stopping two countries from fighting a war without any feasible plan to do so. So explain John, unless you believe Trump is a deity with mind control powers, how he can stop two countries from fighting who don't want to stop?
A couple weeks ago he said he had a "great" meeting with Putin and Putin and Zelensky were going to meet. Almost immediately after that the Russians said they were not going to meet with Zelensky.
Does Trump know what he is talking about?
It doesnt look like it.
Why does he keep giving Russia "two more weeks" when every time, when the two weeks pass nothing happens?
Guess he learned from a predecessor.............
Again, explain what he can do other than nonsensical demands to “negotiate better”.
I think Putin is pushing towards WWIII
Off and on Trump gives Putin two weeks to come to the table. Where are we in that cycle now?
I think we're 3 weeks into the last 2 weeks he gave Putin
I think that he is pushing because Trump, with the help of Hegseth and Vance, showed everything in his hand, and that was nothing. So Putin pushes because he knows that America will not get involved, he knows that the EU does not have the capacity to sustain Ukraine without American help.
If DJT were going to do anything, he has missed his chance, unless he wishes to forgo his fantasy of a Nobel Peace prize. The only thing that will keep Russian forces from slowly wearing down the Ukrainians until they are defeated is the presence of reinforcements from all of the NATO countries.
So in other words, this is a hit piece where many may find a group of cheerleaders for Putin. Because.......well Trump has to fail. May want to rethink that shit lest you be labeled as something you are not.
It should be glaringly obvious that Trump has no clue as to what to do. He cannot bully/extort Putin with overwhelming force like he does with domestic businesses, law firms, and individuals. He is in an unfamiliar game ... true negotiation.
He must create an environment for successful negotiation and then execute.
I have no faith that he can or will do that based upon his history.
Hell just find someone to blame and/or fire, then bragged about how terrific his negotiation skills are.
That is exactly what will happen. And he will lie about the details on top of it.
Every leader in every country already knows that. No one has been able to do it in 4 years. Not so easy when you are dealing with a mad man. But Trump has to do it while the EU sits back and says we support we support we support but somehow the support does not include doing anything to create an environment for successful negotiation or the failure is all his fault.
Correct.
So you recognize how stupid it was for Trump to claim he could end the war with a phone call ... or even to claim that he could end the war quickly ... or that he even knew how to end the war. And how stupid it is for him to continue to claim that the war would not have happened if he were PotUS.
Well, he is PotUS and he does not seem to have any influence over Putin.
Trump is clearly full of shit. Do you recognize that??
“Not so easy when you are dealing with a mad man.”
And when two of them are sitting across from one another at the table, straddling the delicate balance between all out war and a negotiated settlement, the odds are tragically on the former.
Can anyone rationally believe trump, who has inserted himself squarely in the middle of the conflict has the wherewithal to extricate himself, and more importantly our country, without making a tenuous situation even worse. Particularly when he has surrounded himself with the most ill-equipped band of advisers imaginable.
Unfortunately I hardly think he could do any worse than anyone else has.
Yes, correct
I never bought into it
I never bought into it but I hoped
Obviously whatever he thought he could do he could not
Of course no one could be sure of that. Anyone that claims they know for sure are peddling bullshit as much as Trump. But a couple things we do know as facts. Putin attacked Ukraine during the Obama and the Biden administrations. We also know that Putin did not attack Ukraine during the administration between Obama and Biden. Who was that again?
Correct. Now he is a man that knows he is being played. Lets see what he does with that. Seems like he is trying an end run around them and attempting to cut off oil sales to India, something that may actually hurt the war machine. Looks like it may not work but it is worth a try IMO.
Full of shit sounds like hyperbole to me. No one is full of shit. Do you recognize that?
Did you miss the fact that Putin has been attacking Ukraine throughout Trump's second term? So obviously Trump has no superpowers (as he intimated). Why do you focus on (deflect to) prior PotUS' when the current one is part of that list too? Note, the other PotUS' did not make braggadocious claims or poison the negotiation by siding with Putin against Ukraine, cutting off intelligence and support for Ukraine, etc.
What a pathetic attempt to defend Trump. Denying the meaning of one of the most common phrases in American English.
Do you miss the fact he started the war when Biden was in power and was well entrenched in it before Trump was ever elected?
Of course you use Trump's argument.
That is a feeble argument to defend the bullshit claim that he has such influence over Putin that Putin would have not dared start the war during his term.
Well where is all that influence now? Putin is still the agent and Trump is currently the PotUS.
So tell me, what about "he started the war when Biden was in power and was well entrenched in it before Trump was ever elected" is not true.
Since you seem so sure please show proof Trump had nothing to do with Putin waiting until he was out before attacking Ukraine. The simple facts you ignore or deny exist is Putin did not attack when Trump was president and we don't know why he didn't attack when Trump was President.
Well where is all that influence now?
I had already said "Now he is a man that knows he is being played. Lets see what he does with that. Seems like he is trying an end run around them and attempting to cut off oil sales to India, something that may actually hurt the war machine. Looks like it may not work but it is worth a try IMO." You don't understand that statement means Trump does not have influence over Putin?
You seem to be intent on making yourself look bad by ignoring comments and denying facts only to fall back on I support Trump. It is a little tiresome so I will end here.
Have a good evening.
I did not say it was untrue; I noted that it is a feeble argument.
Your little game is to make excuses for Trump and then try to backtrack. An example of excuse-making is to ask for falsification on Trump's unfalsifiable claim.
If you think Trump could not have prevented the war, then why are you trying to defend his claim that it never would have happened on his watch?
Rational thinking would suggest that if Trump had such influence over Putin then we should be able to see evidence of that now that he is again PotUS.
Your defense is pathetic.
“Unfortunately I hardly think he could do any worse than anyone else has.”
[Clever edit]
Unfortunately, this is happening today, under his watch and in response to his efforts. And also to everyone’s (sans perhaps putin’s) misfortune, he, as president, must deal with the situation as it unfolds…regardless of how, who, or why we got to this frighteningly fragile flashpoint. It is his responsibility, today and going forward, and I fear he has shown he is not mentally, emotionally, nor even physically up to the task.
Agree
Where are my peops ... /?