The latest comments from world leaders over the war in Ukraine dominate the front pages. The Daily Telegraph carries comments from US President Donald Trump, who has criticised Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky for saying a deal between Ukraine and Russia was “very, very far away”. Trump is quoted by the paper as saying Zelensky “won’t be around very long” if he does not end the war soon, and that a peace deal “should not be that hard a deal to make”. “Your time’s almost up,” its headline reads.
The rift between the US and Ukraine has deepened as “Europe seeks ceasefire”, the Guardian reports, also carrying Trump’s response to the Ukrainian president’s comments. The paper says the comments follow a French proposal for a partial one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine. The paper also carries a photograph of several winners from Sunday’s Oscars ceremony, smiling as they hold their golden awards.
The Daily Mail says hopes for a peace deal were “on the brink” on Monday night, describing Trump’s hint that he could pull aid for Ukraine as a “fresh salvo”. It references UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s comments to MPs that he would not send British troops to keep the peace in Ukraine unless the US provides security guarantees.
“Trump lambasts Europe for showing weakness”, is the headline on the front page of the Times. UK PM Sir Keir and other European leaders have said they won’t send peacekeeping troops into Ukraine without a security guarantee from America, it says. The paper also says there are “growing fears” Trump could halt Ukraine aid after he threatened to “pull the plug”.
The UK “hunts new allies to keep Putin at bay”, proclaims the I paper. With US support “unclear”, Sir Keir is trying to produce “a viable peace plan in weeks”, it says. It also refers to the Pope’s health after he experienced two episodes of respiratory failure.
Comments from Sir Keir make the front of the Daily Express. He is quoted as saying the UK must “lead from the front” in protecting Ukraine from the Russian “menace”, with the future of the country “vital for our national security”.
The Mirror says MPs from all sides have backed Sir Keir in his support for Ukraine, calling this a “rare show of unity”. It cites Conservative MP James Cleverly as saying the Labour PM has “not put a foot wrong” in talks with European leaders over the conflict.
Europe’s biggest powers are moving towards seizing more than €200bn (£165bn) in frozen Russian assets, the Financial Times reports. It says France and Germany, “long-opposed to a full-blown seizure” of the assets held in the EU, are now discussing with the UK and other countries how they could be used. Across the pond, Donald Trump’s return to power for his second term has helped drive an upsurge in Americans applying to be UK citizens, the paper reports. It says the number rose to its highest on record last year, adding that British tax changes also contributed.
The Metro carries the story of TikTok being investigated over its use of children’s data. It also refers to a separate investigation in which the BBC was told the social media platform was profiting from sexual livestreams performed by teens as young as 15. TikTok has told the BBC its recommender systems operated under “strict and comprehensive measures that protect the privacy and safety of teens”. It also told the BBC it had “zero tolerance for exploitation”. Elsewhere on the front, beaming celebrities clutch their Oscars trophies as the paper declares: “All smiles.”
And the Daily Star warns of a “Rise of the robo lackeys”, saying people will soon “have to be paid to do nothing” while chatbots do their jobs.
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