Russia assures Ukraine it will 'of course' be present during peace negotiations

Russia has stated that Ukraine will “of course” be present in peace negotiations, as the end of the war which has been raging since 2022 seems closer.

This comes following Wednesday’s news of a phone call between US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin where the pair agreed to begin negotiations to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine.

However, all hopes of Ukraine gaining the territory it lost during the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the 2022 invasion are lost.

Following the Trump-Putin phone call Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that he would not accept a deal without Kyiv’s involvement.

On Thursday, the United States’ new defence secretary Pete Hegseth also assured reporters that negotiations on a Ukraine ceasefire will involve both Putin and Zelensky.

However, he stated that in order to see an end to the war, both sides will need to concede things they do not want to concede.

Speaking to journalists, Hegseth repeated calls on NATO members to boost their defence spending.