US delegation travels to Europe to discuss Ukraine's future. What the media say
A delegation from the United States is heading to Europe to discuss the conflict in Ukraine. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will review U.S. funding for Kiev, and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth will participate in a Ramstein meeting without planning to talk to his Ukrainian counterparts. In Europe, it is believed that the US will not want to provide security in the region. What the media write about the prospects of conflict settlement - in the Izvestia digest.
Bloomberg: US Treasury Secretary to visit Kiev and meet with Zelenskiy
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will visit Kiev and hold a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (his term of office expired on May 20 last year). He will be the first member of US President Donald Trump's administration to visit Ukraine. The conversation will take place a few days after the head of the White House said he wants to conclude an agreement on access to resources in exchange for military aid.
Bloomberg
Earlier [Feb. 10], Zelensky told reporters in Kiev that he planned to meet with "serious people" from the Trump administration in Ukraine ahead of the Munich Security Conference, which begins [Feb. 14]. Zelensky expressed willingness for an agreement providing more U.S. support in exchange for some Ukrainian rare earth metals and other minerals.
Ukraine has significant reserves of uranium and several critical minerals, including titanium, lithium, and graphite. The Kiev government estimates they could be worth trillions of dollars. Trump's national security adviser Mike Walz previously said the future of aid to Ukraine would be discussed "this week."
Fox News: Vice President Vance will have a conversation with Zelensky
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance will meet with Zelensky on Feb. 14 after years of criticizing continued U.S. funding for Ukraine. The two will meet on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference a week before U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg's trip to Kiev.
Fox News
Vance has long been at the forefront of opposition to Ukraine aid in the Senate. "I have to be honest with you, I don't care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other," he said in February 2022.
Bessent's visit to Kiev will also focus on the topic of Ukraine financing. He is expected to discuss sanctions against Russia and the development of rare earth metals, as well as to touch on how exactly US funds have been spent over the past three years.
Euractiv: EU does not expect the US to make a firm commitment on Ukraine
US Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are arriving in Europe. They will head to Paris, Brussels and Munich. European leaders will be expecting some sort of plan on Ukraine from the U.S. diplomatic delegation. They will be accompanied by Keith Kellogg, who is described as the official most directly involved in the preparation of Trump's "peace plan."
Euractiv
Despite the scale of the activity, however, Europeans do not expect a firm commitment from the U.S., several diplomats said. "Obviously, as with everything else these days, the worry is that whatever we discuss or agree on with our American counterparts can only remain valid until Trump changes his mind," said one European diplomat.
European diplomats have been trying for weeks to secure a seat at the table for themselves in possible future talks on Ukraine. Without further U.S. support, Ukraine will likely "have to ask for peace" because Europe simply doesn't have the weapons Kiev needs to defend itself.
The Washington Post: Pentagon chief will not meet with Ukrainian counterpart
Hegseth will attend the Ramstein meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group at NATO headquarters in Brussels for the first time. However, he was not going to make any statements on new weapons for Ukraine or meet one-on-one with his Ukrainian counterparts. He would be in "listening mode," one U.S. official said.
The Washington Post
Asked Tuesday whether the U.S. would send troops to Ukraine to monitor the arms shipments, Hegseth said the U.S. would not send troops to the country. "The secretary of state will reaffirm President Trump's commitment to diplomatically end <military operation> in Ukraine as soon as possible. He will also emphasize the need for increased European leadership on security assistance to Ukraine," the Pentagon said before Hegseth's departure.
Ukraine's security needs and defense spending will be discussed Feb. 13. A senior NATO diplomat said the "most important outcome" of the meeting would be a "constructive dialog with the new American administration" and a U.S. commitment to do "everything possible to keep Ukraine fighting."
The New York Times: Trump will ask Europe to take responsibility for Ukraine
Analysts say that if an agreement is reached, Trump will likely ask Europe to enforce it and take responsibility for Ukraine, wanting to reduce U.S. commitments. But the key question remains how to secure Ukraine in the future and keep the conflict from flaring up again.
The New York Times
Some European countries, among them the Baltic states as well as France and Britain, have raised the question of including some of their troops in the forces in Ukraine. Senior German officials have called the idea premature. Barring Ukraine's membership in NATO, which is unlikely in the coming years, the idea of stationing large numbers of troops from NATO countries in Europe seems reckless to many officials and analysts.
Without explicit American security involvement - with American air support, air defense and intelligence, both human and technical - European troops would be at serious risk from Russia. Zelensky has said he wants to see 200,000 foreign soldiers in Ukraine, but that is three times the size of the British army.
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