Donald Trump to make mystery announcement from White House at 5pm today

Donald Trump is set to make a undisclosed announcement today but the topic of the address has not been disclosed. The US President’s speech is scheduled for 12:00pm ET or 5pm UK time

Donald Trump is set to make a mysterious announcement from the White House Oval Office today, Friday (August 22). The subject of the announcement is currently undisclosed but the US President’s speech is set to start at 12:00pm ET (5pm UK time).

This development comes alongside rampant speculation surrounding peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. On Monday, Trump convened with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and numerous European leaders to discuss ending the conflict in Ukraine which has now lasted more than three years.

Zelenskyy and Trump were accompanied by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the heads of France, Italy, Finland, the EU and NATO. The Prime Minister celebrated the meeting as a “breakthrough” after the talks resulted in a stronger US commitment to military involvement in providing security guarantees for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy aims to have a proposal in writing within the next 10 days before any potential meeting with Putin to discuss territory.

Following Monday’s meeting, Trump revealed that a 40-minute phone call between himself and Putin saw them discuss plans for a summit between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine at a yet-to-be-decided location. Trump stated: “This was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four year.”

Zelenskyy responded to the situation by stating “we are ready” for any top-level meetings. He expressed such meetings are the only way to resolve these “complicated and painful issues.”

Trump told reporters: “If everything works out well, we will have a tri-lat [between himself, Zelenskyy and Putin] and have a good chance of ending the war.

“When it comes to security, there’s going to be a lot of help. They are a first line of defence because they’re there, but we’ll help them out.”

Zelenskyy has praised this commitment as “a significant step forward” adding Ukraine proposed to purchase approximately $90billion worth of U.S. weaponry.

The meeting has proved to be far more fruitful than their previous encounter in February which ended disastrously when tensions escalated as the Ukrainian President was prematurely ushered out of the Oval Office.

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.