The primary senior Trump administration official was anticipated to go to Ukraine, a day after Russia launched an American prisoner in a improvement that President Trump referred to as a constructive sign for cease-fire talks.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s journey comes amid nervousness in Kyiv and amongst American allies about whether or not U.S. help for the Ukrainian conflict effort will likely be maintained now that Mr. Trump has returned to the White Home.
The Trump administration has already sought an association for the USA to safe rights to Ukrainian pure assets, including rare earth minerals, as a assure for additional U.S. help.
Mr. Trump mentioned in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday that he was sending Mr. Bessent to Ukraine as a result of “this conflict should and can finish quickly — an excessive amount of loss of life and destruction.”
Mr. Trump, who has made American spending in a wide range of areas a spotlight of the early days of his new administration, additionally wrote that the go to would contact on American help to Ukraine. The US, he wrote, had spent billions of {dollars} “with too little to indicate” for it.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine mentioned he welcomed the go to by Mr. Bessent. “We’re already ready for conferences with representatives of the USA — negotiations will start quickly,” Mr. Zelensky mentioned in his night tackle to Ukrainians on Tuesday.
Mr. Trump’s concentrate on securing the mining rights was mirrored within the selection of Mr. Bessent to make the primary high-level go to, somewhat than a senior safety or navy official to debate the conflict.
Hours after Mr. Trump introduced the go to, Russia launched a missile assault on Ukraine that included a volley of ballistic missiles fired at Kyiv, the capital.
The missile strike, which befell shortly earlier than 5 a.m., killed one particular person and wounded 4 others, together with a 9-year-old lady, in response to the Kyiv metropolis administration. It was unclear if Mr. Bessent was in Kyiv on the time.
Falling particles from interceptions by air protection missiles over Kyiv scattered particles that brought on fires in buildings in 4 districts, and explosions echoed by the capital for a number of minutes.
The missile volley in Ukraine got here additionally hours after Russia released an American prisoner, Marc Fogel, in what Mr. Trump mentioned he hoped could be an preliminary step towards negotiating an finish to the conflict in Ukraine.
Mr. Zelensky, in a post on X, additionally voiced help for ending the conflict. “This Russian terror towards Ukraine won’t cease by itself,” he wrote. “Proper now, we’d like the unity and help of all our companions within the battle for a simply finish to this conflict.”
General, Russia fired six ballistic missiles and 123 exploding drones at Ukraine in a single day, after a interval of practically a month through which Russia has largely kept away from utilizing ballistic missiles. Preventing additionally continued alongside the entrance line in japanese Ukraine, the place Russian forces continued assaults.
The Ukrainian navy reported that 149 aerial bombs have been dropped from airplanes and greater than 2,000 short-range drone strikes have been fired at frontline positions.
In one other missile assault on Ukraine, on Tuesday, Russia struck the nation’s foremost pure gasoline producing area, Poltava, persevering with assaults on the nation’s vitality infrastructure.
Past Ukraine, the Polish navy reported on Tuesday {that a} Russian navy airplane briefly entered its airspace, though the navy mentioned that it was in touch with its Russian counterparts. The error was attributed to an issue with the airplane’s navigation system.
