Zelensky, NATO say Ukraine must be involved in Russia peace deal

After US President Donald Trump blind sided Ukraine and NATO by announcing plans to hold direct talks with Russia over a peace deal in Ukraine, both NATO leader Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted on Thursday that any peace talks must include Ukraine. The previous day, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to make concessions to Russia at a NATO meeting in Brussels, calling it “unrealistic” to return Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders.