Kiev/Moscow/Washington, 18 April 2025 (dpa/MIA) - US President Donald Trump expects a response from Russia regarding a possible peace agreement with Ukraine later this week.

"We're going to be hearing from them this week, very shortly, actually, and we'll see," Trump said during a press appearance at the White House on Thursday.

Trump also spoke again about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: "I am not happy with him, and I'm not happy with anybody involved."

"I'm not blaming him, but what I am saying is that I wouldn't say he's done the greatest job. Okay, I'm not a big fan," Trump said of Zelensky.

Trump again blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for the war, as he had done recently when he also blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky.

Trump wants a swift end to the war and a rapprochement between the United States and Russia. His special envoy Steve Witkoff recently travelled to Moscow several times to speak with Putin.

Paris upbeat after Ukraine peace talks

France is satisfied with the outcome of talks in Paris with US, European and Ukrainian representatives on a possible end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

Élysée sources spoke after the talks on Thursday of an "excellent exchange."

Ukraine, the United States and the Europeans share the same goal, namely to achieve a solid peace as quickly as possible and to guarantee respect for Ukraine's fundamental rights.

According to French sources, this was the first time that the Ukrainian, European and US sides had come together for talks on peace in Ukraine.

Few details emerged on the exact content of discussions, but additional talks are scheduled to take place in London as early as next week.

Raw materials deal imminent

The US government expects to sign an agreement on a strategic raw materials partnership with Ukraine next week, Trump said.

"We have a minerals deal, which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday, next Thursday," Trump said at a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House.

He did not provide further details but appeared to be referring to a final agreement.

Zelensky had earlier announced an interim step on the way to a raw materials deal with the US.

Trump referred further questions from the press to his finance minister, Scott Bessent, who was also present at the meeting.

Bessent said details are still being worked out, referring to when and where the deal is to be signed. The target date is April 26, according to Bessent. That would be next Saturday.

He noted that the agreement essentially includes what was agreed on previously and is around 80 pages long.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said late on Thursday that a memorandum of understanding had been signed between the US and Ukraine.

"Today we took a step towards a joint economic partnership agreement with the US," Svyrydenko said in a statement posted on Facebook.

"Ukraine and the United States of America signed a memorandum that confirms the constructive joint work of our teams and our intention to finalize and conclude an agreement that will benefit both," she said.

At the end of February, the signing of a vague framework agreement on joint raw materials extraction failed in Washington following a dispute between Trump and Zelensky.

Trump has been pushing Kiev for some time to conclude a raw materials agreement. The profits from the extraction of rare earth metals, among other things, are to serve as compensation for military aid already granted to the country under attack by Russia.

Zelensky says China is supplying weapons to Russia

Zelensky has accused China of supplying weapons to Russia.

"As of today, we have general information from the SBU intelligence service and reconnaissance about gunpowder and artillery," Zelensky told journalists in Kiev, adding that he intends to provide more detailed information next week.

He also claimed that representatives of China are producing weapons on Russian territory.

China has consistently emphasized its neutrality in the conflict and its pursuit of a peaceful resolution.

Zelensky had previously accused Beijing of approving the recruitment of Chinese citizens for the Russian army in China.

Ukrainian forces retake areas near key city of Pokrovsk

Ukrainian forces have regained around 16 square kilometres of land from Russian troops in recent weeks, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military said on Thursday.

"We are continuing our defensive operations and carrying out counterattacks with some successes," Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on Facebook after a three-day visit to the heavily contested eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk.

The liberated areas included the villages of Kotlyne, Udachne and Shevchenko, near the key city of Pokrovsk.

Russia: Ukraine violated energy infrastructure ceasefire 80 times

Russia accused Ukraine of more than 80 violations of a limited 30-day ceasefire agreement that aimed to halt mutual attacks on energy infrastructure.

The ceasefire, in its final day on Thursday, was announced unilaterally by Moscow on March 18 following a phone call between Putin and Trump.

"The Ukrainian army has literally attacked the infrastructure of the Russian fuel and energy sector every day with the help of drones," said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the state-run TASS news agency reported.

The Kremlin has said Putin will decide whether Russia will continue to observe the limited ceasefire, the terms of which were never entirely settled.

While the Putin-Trump ceasefire announcement came as a surprise to Ukraine, Kiev agreed to it in principle but insisted the deal should also cover other types of infrastructure. Moscow instead released a unilateral list of energy-related facilities it claimed would be off-limits.

Over the past 30 days, Russia has refrained from launching major strikes on Ukrainian power plants, although Ukrainian officials reported localized damage to the electricity supply due to Russian attacks.

At the same time, Russian strikes of civilian areas increased, resulting in dozens of deaths since early April.

Photo: MIA archive