Importance Score: 55 / 100 🔵
White House spokesperson hails Ukraine deal as ‘historic’ and ‘first of its kind’
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is now taking questions from the media at the morning press briefing and she has a brief comment on the US-Ukraine minerals deal signed last night.
She said the agreement shows “why … Trump is our deal maker in chief,” hailing it as a “historic” development with “a first of its kind economic partnership for the reconstruction and long term economic success of Ukraine.”
“President Trump has been clear from the beginning he wants the killing in this brutal war to end. This agreement shows how invested the president is in securing a truly lasting peace,” she said.
Key events
Ukraine’s parliament is expected to ratify the US-Ukraine minerals deal, which was signed on Wednesday, within a week, senior Trump administration officials told reporters on Thursday.
They added that the Ukraine deal could be a model for other international agreements going forward, Reuters reported.
The general partnership overseeing the deal is domiciled in Delaware, they said.
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the US-Ukraine minerals deal was the “first of its kind, economic partnership for the reconstruction and long-term economic success of Ukraine”.
The Ukrainian military said on Thursday it had carried out an attack on Russian troops in a Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, and that the strike killed only military personal and not civilians.
The region’s Russian-installed governor said earlier on Thursday that at least seven people had been killed and more than 20 wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on a busy market in the town of Oleshky.
Jakub Krupa
… and on that note, that’s a wrap from me, Jakub Krupa, but I leave you with Tom Ambrose who will guide you through the rest of the day and bring you all the latest updates on the minerals deal and Ukraine.
White House spokesperson hails Ukraine deal as ‘historic’ and ‘first of its kind’
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is now taking questions from the media at the morning press briefing and she has a brief comment on the US-Ukraine minerals deal signed last night.
She said the agreement shows “why … Trump is our deal maker in chief,” hailing it as a “historic” development with “a first of its kind economic partnership for the reconstruction and long term economic success of Ukraine.”
“President Trump has been clear from the beginning he wants the killing in this brutal war to end. This agreement shows how invested the president is in securing a truly lasting peace,” she said.
If you’re wondering why it’s so quiet today, it’s because its the May Day, or the International Workers’ Day, or Labour Day, which is a public holiday in many countries around Europe.
In France, some 250 marches and rallies have been planned for today, from far-left to far-right …
Leader of French far-left opposition party La France Insoumise (LFI) Jean-Luc Melenchon and President of the La France Insoumise group in the National Assembly Mathilde Panot walk as they attend the traditional May Day labour union march in Paris, France, May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
In Poland, it’s a bank holiday too, and also an opportunity for some rallies just over two weeks before the country’s presidential elections…
There are also rallies in other countries, including Greece…
… Italy …
… and Spain …
… but it looks like the atmosphere is pretty relaxed in Zagreb, Croatia.
President Zelenskyy also issued a separate update on his yesterday’s meetings with Luxembourg’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Xavier Bettel an defence minister Yuriko Backes.
Writing alongside a video showing how he welcomed Bettel with a big bear hug for the talks, he said:
“We are grateful for all the expressions of support for our state, as well as for the new aid packages aimed at supporting Ukraine’s energy sector and defense capabilities.”
He added they discussed “discussed Luxembourg’s participation in the reconstruction of the Kryvyi Rih district and the city of Kryvyi Rih, as well as our European integration.”
Repeating Kyiv’s key message, he said that “Ukraine is ready for a full and unconditional ceasefire for a sufficient period, which should be the first step toward peace.”
“We are ready for negotiations, but only after the killing of our people stops. And we are grateful to everyone who supports us in this,” he said.
Zelenskyy calls for ‘strong push’ to pressure Russia into ceasefire after Odesa attack
Responding to the Odesa attack, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated his call to put more pressure on Russia to stop continuing attacks on Ukraine.
Writing on Telegram, he said that “for over 50 days now, Russia has been ignoring the American proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire.”
“There were also our proposals – at the very least, to refrain from striking civilian infrastructure and to establish lasting silence in the sky, at sea, and on land. Russia has responded to all this with new shelling and new assaults,” he said.
He added:
That is why a strong push for diplomacy is needed — continued pressure on Russia is essential to force it into silence and negotiations.
The more effective the sanctions, the more incentives Russia will have to end the war.
The stronger Ukraine’s defense and our Air Defense Forces are, the more lives we will be able to save – and the sooner we will be able to guarantee lasting security.
I thank everyone around the world who is helping.
Russian attack on Odesa kills two, injures 15, authorities say
Earlier today, Ukrainian emergency services reported that a Russian drone attack on the Black Sea port city of Odesa killed two people and injured 15 others.
AP reported local authorities saying the barrage struck apartment buildings, private homes, a supermarket and a school.
US minerals deal ‘marks important milestone,’ Ukraine’s foreign minister says
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said in a social media update that he spoke with the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas about the Ukraine-EU agenda and the minerals deal signed last night.
He said the agreement “marks an important milestone in Ukraine–US strategic partnership aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s economy and security.”
Sybiha added:
“We discussed recent diplomatic efforts and the next steps to achieve a fair and lasting peace. We also exchanged updates on the preparations for the EU foreign ministers’ visit to Ukraine on 9 May. Grateful to the EU for its solidarity and steadfast support.”
Map of Ukraine’s mineral resources
Here’s a handy map to help us understand what’s the minerals deal with the US about, showing Ukraine’s mineral resources…
Release of Ukrainian prisoners in Russia key to any peace deal, rights groups say
Shaun Walker
Ukrainian and Russian civil society leaders have called for the unconditional release of thousands of Ukrainian civilians being held in Russian captivity, pushing for world leaders to make it a central part of any peace deal.
Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Kyiv-based Centre for Civil Liberties, which won the 2022 Nobel peace prize, said most of the discussion on ending the conflict, led by Donald Trump’s administration, focused solely on territories and potential security guarantees.
“It’s a huge problem that we lose the human dimension in this political process. Only with solving the human dimension can we find a path to sustainable peace,” she said.
On Tuesday, the Guardian and its reporting partners launched the Viktoriia project, an investigation into the death of the Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna in Russian custody, as well as a report on the systemic torture and mistreatment of thousands of civilian detainees seized by Russian occupying forces.
The European Commission on Wednesday condemned the killing, with foreign affairs spokesperson Anitta Hipper saying it showed life under occupation “remains a constant threat to Ukrainians”.
12 EU countries ask for fiscal flexibility to spend more on defence
Jennifer Rankin
Meanwhile in Brussels, a dozen EU countries, including Germany and Poland, have requested flexibility in the bloc’s fiscal rules to ramp up spending on defence, in a step towards rearmament of the continent.
Ahead of a midnight deadline on Wednesday, 12 EU member states wrote to the European Commission with a request to activate the national escape clause in the bloc’s fiscal rules, which will allow them to increase their deficits in order to increase defence spending.
The 12 countries are Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia. A further four countries, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Lithuania, have indicated they plan to make the same request.
After Donald Trump signalled US reluctance to underwrite Europe’s defence, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen opened the door to flexibility in the bloc’s stability and growth pact in a bid to increase defence spending by €800bn.
EU officials estimated in March that if every member state uses the flexibilities to the maximum, defence spending would increase by €650bn over four years. The commission has also announced a €150bn EU-backed loans scheme.
It remains unclear how close the EU will come to the headline number. Officials will be encouraged that Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, is among the number wanting to spend more, but other large member states have so far held back, notably France, Italy and Spain. All three countries have high government debts and are thought to be reluctant to deepen them, even if allowed under EU fiscal rules.
Valdis Dombrovskis, the European commissioner for the economy, said the EU had taken “a decisive step towards boosting its defence spending and readiness”, adding that the commission remained open for more requests.
The requests now have to be examined by the commission, then approved by EU finance ministers, with a decision expected in early July.