Ukraine’s ex-foreign minister backs Trump on defense spending, warns diplomacy with Putin is nearly exhausted

EXCLUSIVE - NATO members committed Wednesday to summation defence spending to 5% of gross home merchandise by 2035, heeding President Donald Trump’s calls for the transatlantic subject confederation to instrumentality much steps to bolster its security.

Ukraine’s erstwhile Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Fox News Digital the determination is simply a big, contiguous triumph for Trump and would beryllium a important triumph for Europe’s aboriginal if it takes the summation successful defence spending earnestly and begins to present connected the commitment.

"This is simply a superior acquisition that Europe volition person to learn. Not lone investing, but besides spending. Spending successful a mode that volition let them to amusement to the nationalist that they're making a good investment successful their security and their economies and to nonstop a connection to their enemy: bash not situation to onslaught america due to the fact that we are ready, we are prepared to onslaught back," helium said. 

NATO SECRETARY GENERAL SAYS EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAVE TO DO ‘MUCH, MUCH MORE’ TO INCREASE DEFENSE SPENDING

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba takes portion successful a property league connected the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen connected June 18, 2024 successful Kyiv, Ukraine. (Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

In a wide-ranging interrogation with Fox News Digital, Kuleba bluntly assessed the authorities of Russia-Ukraine bid talks, arguing the existent diplomatic process is "dead."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has escalated attacks connected Ukraine successful caller months, targeting Kyiv with large-scale rocket and drone attacks. 

The Russian strongman has refused to hold to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire projected by the United States and its European allies earlier this year. 

At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum successful mid-June, Putin said helium considers the Russian and Ukrainian peoples to beryllium one. "In this sense, each of Ukraine is ours," helium told attendees to applause.

 Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the plenary league of the 28th Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum SPIEF 2025 onJune 20, 2025 successful Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Getty Images)

Trump has held disconnected connected imposing further sanctions connected Moscow, preferring to hold and spot if his diplomatic efforts volition carnivore fruit.

"Putin does not consciousness immoderate pressure. And therefore, helium does not truly get wherefore helium should alteration his behavior," said Kuleba. "I'm acrophobic diplomacy has zero accidental to win astatine this signifier nether these circumstances, which means that determination volition beryllium much killings and much destruction."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote connected X, formerly Twitter, that Putin’s goals stay clear: "He wants each of Ukraine."

Zelenskyy attended the G7 acme successful Canada past week, gathering with satellite leaders and securing astir $2 cardinal successful assistance from Prime Minister Mark Carney. His gathering with Trump was canceled aft the U.S. president near Kananaskis early, citing escalating tensions successful the Middle East owed to the Israel-Iran conflict.

(L/R) European Council President Antonio Costa, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, US President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Union President Ursula von der Leyen astatine the G7 acme successful Canada (Government of Canada / Pool /Anadolu via Getty Images)

The 2 met connected the sidelines of the NATO acme connected Wednesday and discussed the acquisition of American aerial defence systems.

Kuleba told Fox News Digital that Trump is well-positioned to end Russia’s war. "His disruptive approach, his readiness to marque accelerated and beardown enactment — these are the things that are needed to bring 2 sides to first, [the] negotiating table, and past to an agreement."

The Ukrainian diplomat explained that the U.S. needs to reshuffle 3 things to revitalize the negotiating process: sticks, carrots and the unit of time. 

Kuleba said Trump created the unit of clip by stating helium could extremity the warfare successful 24 hours and calling connected some sides to beryllium down and negotiate.

U.S. President Donald Trump held a property league aft the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit successful The Hague, Netherlands connected Jun. 25, 2025.  (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"What happened adjacent is that each sticks went to Ukraine and each carrots went to Russia. It has ne'er worked similar this centuries agone successful the history of diplomacy. It doesn't enactment similar this, and it's not going to enactment similar this, OK, due to the fact that the close mode to bash it is to make a unit of clip to debar endless deliberations and to find the close equilibrium of sticks and carrots for each side," helium told Fox News Digital.

RUSSIA BOMBARDS UKRAINE WITH DRONES HOURS AFTER TRUMP ANNOUNCES TALKS WITH PUTIN

Trump and Putin precocious spoke by telephone connected June 14 aft Israel struck Iran’s atomic facilities. The Russian person said helium was acceptable to proceed negotiations with the Ukrainians aft June 22, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. 

Peace talks successful Istanbul person failed to nutrient overmuch different than captive of warfare exchanges arsenic Putin doubles down connected his maximalist demands. 

Kuleba said the champion happening for Europe to do as negotiations stall is to proceed producing and buying weapons, not lone for Ukraine, but besides for itself.

People ticker the clearing of rubble successful a destroyed five-story residential gathering connected Jun. 24, 2025, successful Kyiv, Ukraine. Rescuers person finished clearing the rubble astatine the tract of a Russian rocket onslaught connected a five-story residential gathering successful the Shevchenkivskyi territory of Kyiv. (Andrew Kravchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

"For decades, Europe was relying connected the United States and was going backmost and distant with Washington, checking each determination they were going to make, but it's conscionable not sustainable anymore," helium explained. "They person to larn however to instrumentality attraction of themselves, atrocious to accidental it. The sooner they bash it, the amended for them, america and everyone else."

"You cannot physique your beingness knowing that America is paying for my security, Russian state is paying for my inexpensive vigor prices and [the] socialism that I'm building. And Chinese minerals [are] allowing maine to — are paying for my concern growths. It's not sustainable. You cannot beryllium connected 1 subordinate successful the astir captious fundamentals for your life," helium added.

The European Union projected an 18th sanctions bundle against Russia successful June, targeting its vigor and banking sectors. 

EU Commission vice-president, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (L) and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen (R) speech to the media. (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)

"We privation bid for Ukraine. Despite weeks of diplomatic attempts, contempt President Zelenskyy's connection of an unconditional ceasefire, Russia continues to bring decease and demolition to Ukraine," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU’s apical diplomat Kaja Kallas in a associated statement.

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"Russia's extremity is not peace, it is to enforce the regularisation of might. Therefore, we are ramping up unit connected Russia. Because spot is the lone connection that Russia volition understand."