Now we see a new start at the better world, perhaps not perfect, but great! Trump says Putin and Zelenskiy want peace; phone calls kick off talks to end Ukraine war By Nandita Bose, Guy Faulconbridge and Tom Balmforth February 12, 20253:37 PM PSTUpdated 2 hours ago Summary Trump says he'll meet Putin soon, likely in Saudi Arabia Hegseth says it is unrealistic to expect Ukraine to return to 2014 borders Bessent, in Kyiv, says mineral deal could serve as 'security shield' for Ukraine No publicly acknowledged peace talks have been held since early months of three-year-old war WASHINGTON/MOSCOW/KYIV, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Donald Trump said both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed a desire for peace in separate phone calls with him on Wednesday, and Trump ordered top U.S. officials to begin talks on ending the war in Ukraine. The conversations came after Trump's defense secretary earlier said Kyiv would have to give up its long-held goals of joining the NATO military alliance and regaining all of its territory seized by Russia, signaling a dramatic shift in Washington's approach to the conflict. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Report this ad After speaking with Putin for more than an hour, Trump said the Russian leader, who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, wants the war to end and they discussed "getting a ceasefire in the not-too-distant future." "He wants it to end. He doesn't want to end it and then go back to fighting six months later," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "I think we're on the way to getting peace. I think President Putin wants peace, President Zelenskiy wants peace and I want peace. I just want to see people stop getting killed," he added. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Report this ad Trump has long said he would quickly end the war in Ukraine, without spelling out exactly how he would accomplish this. The Kremlin earlier said Putin and Trump had agreed to meet, and Putin had invited Trump to visit Moscow. Trump said their first meeting would "probably" take place soon in Saudi Arabia. In a post on his social media platform, he said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, national security adviser Michael Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff would lead negotiations on ending the war. Trump and Zelenskiy spoke after Trump's call with Putin, and Zelenskiy's office said the conversation lasted for about an hour. "I had a meaningful conversation with @POTUS. We... talked about opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together ...and Ukraine's technological capabilities... including drones and other advanced industries," Zelenskiy wrote on X. No Ukraine peace talks have been held since the early months of the conflict, now approaching its third anniversary. Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, oversaw billions of dollars of military and other aid to Kyiv and had no direct contact with Putin after Russia's invasion. Russia occupies around a fifth of Ukraine and has demanded Kyiv cede more territory and be rendered permanently neutral under any peace deal. Item 1 of 3 U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands as they meet in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo [1/3]U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands as they meet in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Ukraine demands Russia withdraw from captured territory and says it must receive NATO membership or equivalent security guarantees to prevent Moscow from attacking again. European powers, including Britain, France and Germany, said on Wednesday they had to be part of any future negotiations on the fate of Ukraine, underscoring that only a fair accord with security guarantees would ensure lasting peace. They said they were ready to enhance support for Ukraine and put it in a position of strength. 'ILLUSIONARY GOAL' Earlier on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered the new administration's bluntest statement so far on its approach to the war, saying Kyiv could not realistically hope to return to previous borders or join NATO. "We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective," Hegseth told a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels. "Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering." Russia in 2014 annexed Crimea, which Ukraine and many Western countries consider to be occupied Ukrainian territory. Hegseth said any durable peace must include "robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again". But he said U.S. troops would not be deployed to Ukraine as part of such guarantees. Zelenskiy, hoping to keep Trump interested in continuing to support his country, has lately proposed a deal under which the United States would invest in minerals in Ukraine. Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in Kyiv on Wednesday on the first visit by a member of Trump's cabinet, said such a mineral deal could serve as a "security shield" for Ukraine after the war. Trump also said Rubio and Vice President JD Vance will hold talks about the war on Friday in Munich, where Ukrainian officials were expected to attend an annual security conference. The new diplomacy followed a U.S.-Russia prisoner swap that got under way on Tuesday, which the Kremlin said could help build trust between the two countries. Russia on Tuesday freed American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, who was serving a 14-year sentence in a Russian prison, in exchange for a Russian cybercrime boss imprisoned in the U.S., according to a official. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. Reporting by Nandita Bose, Tom Balmforth, Yulia Dysa and Guy Falconbridge; additional reporting by Andrew Gray, Lili Bayer, Katharine Jackson, Doina Chiacu, Kanishka Singh, Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt; Writing by Peter Graff and Simon Lewis; Editing by Jon Boyle, Mike Collett-White and Cynthia Osterman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Supporting Antifa in an educational context would amplify the anti-democratic nature of ideological capture to a dangerous degree. Antifa's core characteristics Antifa is a loose, decentralized far-left militant movement that explicitly rejects liberal democracy in favor of direct action, deplatforming, and sometimes violence to combat perceived fascism. It opposes free speech for opponents, views institutions (including schools) as tools for revolutionary change, and often aligns with anarchist or accelerationist tactics. Open support for it goes beyond standard left politics into endorsing extra-legal methods.Why educator or institutional support crosses a line Undermines the rule of law — Public schools are state institutions bound by democratic norms (elections, due process, free expression under the First Amendment). Teachers or curricula that fantasize, romanticize, excuse, or promote Antifa-style tactics (property destruction, no-platforming, "by any means necessary") teach contempt for democratic mechanisms. This is especially toxic for youth, who are still forming civic habits. Heightens indoctrination risk — In captured systems (e.g., activist factions within unions like Oakland Education Association), materials that frame Antifa sympathetically as heroic resisters fit the pattern of one-sided narratives. We've seen unauthorized "teach-ins" and "liberatory education" pushes in Oakland and similar districts that critics argue veer into political activism rather than balanced analysis. Glorifying militant groups adds an endorsement of violence to ideological skew. rethinkingschools.org Disproportionate harm — For less-educated or captive audiences (K-12 students), this normalizes extremism. It can desensitize youth to political violence, chill dissent in classrooms, and erode trust in democratic institutions. Post-2020 riots and campus disruptions showed real-world spillover. Anti-democratic double standard — Democracy allows debate over ideas, even radical ones. But state-funded educators actively supporting a movement that rejects debate itself (via doxxing, riots, or "punch a Nazi" rhetoric that expands "Nazi" to include mainstream conservatives) is viewpoint discrimination with state power behind it. It's the opposite of pluralism. Reality checkNot every progressive educator supports Antifa—many explicitly reject its violence. Direct endorsements in official curricula are rare and often opposed by districts when publicized. However, tolerance or soft-pedaling in activist teacher circles, reading lists that lionize radical left figures, or failure to condemn Antifa-linked tactics does occur in highly polarized blue-city environments and feeds the capture critique.This would make the problem not just bias, but incitement against democratic norms. Reforms emphasizing classical civics, viewpoint balance, and strict political neutrality in K-12 become even more urgent. Public education should prepare citizens for democracy, not recruit for its rejection..