Trump negotiates deal with Russia on Ukraine and Europe with Kyiv left out of the room

This is a translation of the original article in Portuguese. Read the original (Português).

U.S. President Donald Trump said he is preparing a major agreement that could involve Ukraine and all of Europe, after receiving Russian negotiators in Washington. No Ukrainian representative took part in the talks, according to the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was informed by phone.

Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, want to discuss with Moscow a new security architecture for the continent, the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag reported. Kushner said security guarantees for Ukraine and this new design for Europe are on the table.

Ukrainians are expected to join the conversation only next week, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. According to the American newspaper The Washington Post, Kushner brokered a meeting between representatives of the United States, Ukraine and Russia to address the possibility of a ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted with distrust. In an interview with the American network CNN, he called the proposal complicated and possibly dangerous. In his view, the order should be different: first an end to the war, then security guarantees and only then a new European architecture. Zelensky also warned against deals between major powers that divide Europe, the German newspaper Nordkurier reported.

Unease is also visible among Europeans. According to The Washington Post, officials on the continent say they are willing to talk with Moscow, but only after a ceasefire. Kushner, for his part, proposes a negotiating format that includes Europe.

Meanwhile, the war goes on. Days before the new round, the two countries exchanged missile and drone attacks. Russian bombardments of Kyiv killed six people, including a child, and Ukraine struck the Saratov refinery in Russia, according to the American newspaper New York Post.

On the financial front, Zelensky asked the European Union for an extra 70 billion euros for 2027: 30 billion for the country’s budget and 40 billion for weapons, according to Welt am Sonntag. The European Commission is expected to seek a 45 billion loan, and part of the aid could come from other allies, such as Canada and Japan.

The most sensitive point is the use of Russian assets frozen in Europe, estimated at 194 billion euros. The Commission does not rule out passing them on to Ukraine as a loan, which would only be repaid if Russia pays reparations after the war. Belgium, where much of these funds are held at Euroclear, rejects the idea, fearing violations of international law and retaliation, and advocates new common debt for the bloc as an alternative. Some countries are studying using only the interest on these assets, which would yield a few billion a year.

The outcome also matters to Brazil, which advocates negotiating with both sides of the conflict. An agreement between Washington and Moscow could redraw European security and affect the prices of energy, grains and fertilizers, inputs that weigh on Brazilian agribusiness and on the cost of living for Brazilians.

Reporting from Welt am Sonntag (p. 1, 3, 12 e 18 (Alemanha, Washington e Bruxelas); edição Kompakt, p. 13), Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag (p. 22 (Abu Dhabi)), The Washington Post (p. 19 (Abu Dhabi)), Nordkurier (p. 4 (Kiev)), New York Post (p. 30 (Kiev)).