Reuters World News - Ukraine security, CHIPS, Japan nuclear and Zelenskiy's suit

Episode Date: August 20, 2025

Donald Trump says the U.S. may provide air support to guarantee any Ukraine peace deal. Washington explores equity stakes in chipmakers - even those overseas - in return for Biden-era funding. Japan ponders a huge policy change on nuclear weapons, as concern deepens over American security guarantees. And the designer behind Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s suit on his last-minute adjustments. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Find the Recommended Read here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, the US considers air support to guarantee Ukraine's safety in any post-conflict deal. Washington explores whether it can get equity in chipmakers, even those overseas, in return for Biden-era funding. Japan ponderes a huge policy change on nuclear weapons. And the man behind that Zelensky suit tells us about his last-minute adjustments. It's Wednesday, August 20th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. President Trump is weighing whether to offer US air support, potentially including fighter jets,

to guarantee Ukraine's security in any future peace deal with Russia. Military planners in Washington and Europe are exploring options for post-conflict security, following Trump's meeting with Ukraine's president and EU leaders, which ended with plans for direct talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin. Steve Holland has more on the U.S. calculations. One of the things they're not considering is putting U.S. troops on the ground. That idea bubbled up in the last few days, and President Trump has basically shot that thing down.

But other ideas that are possible are the United States providing air support for whatever peacekeeping buffer is there along the border. There's also the possibility of supplying air defense systems to Ukraine to protect them from these drone attacks, missile attacks from Russia. Theoretically, if there's a halt to the fighting, these people would be there on a peacekeeping basis. Another option, according to two sources Reuters spoke with, is sending European forces to Ukraine,

but putting the U.S. in charge of them. Whatever it's worked out, President Trump will need to allay fears domestically. The American public is largely supportive of Ukraine, but they're also weary of more foreign entanglements. Trump was elected on one of the notions that he would not involve the United States and overseas conflicts. He has stuck to that,

and by ruling out troops, he's trying to stick to that as well. But his MAGA base of supporters, they are really against this sort of thing. So Trump would have to provide them some sort of reassurances that the United States is not going to get into a hot war against Russia. President Trump is blasting the Smithsonian again, this time accusing the museum complex of focusing too much on, quote, how bad slavery was and not enough on success or the future. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he's, instructed lawyers to begin pressuring the institution, just like he did with colleges and universities. The White House says it's reviewing several Smithsonian museums, raising alarm among civil rights groups.

The institution has not responded publicly. Elon Musk is quietly backing away from plans to launch his own political party, according to a Wall Street Journal report. After unveiling the America Party, after a dispute with Trump, Musk now apparently wants to focus on his companies and avoid damaging ties with Vice President J.D. Vance. He's reportedly considering funding Vance's potential 2028 presidential run instead. President Trump is once again leaning into his dealmaker instincts this time with the semiconductor industry. Sources have told Reuters that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik is looking into whether the U.S. government can take equity stakes in major chipmakers that receive federal funding under President Biden's Chips Act. It would mean part

ownership in foreign chipmakers like TSM and Samsung, which are eligible for funding because they have manufacturing sites in the U.S. It follows the announcement of a plan to take a 10% stake in U.S. chipmaker Intel. Reuters tech correspondent Max Churney explains. It's not clear if the U.S. government can alter the terms of the agreement it has made to dispense chiptack money to the company. The cash was originally designated as a grant, so it's not clear what mechanism the administration could use in order to change the terms of the arrangement. If they're going to take an equity stake, it gets very complicated very quickly because they're already talking about essentially ripping up a contract I had and changing it. So far, Intel has declined to comment

on the U.S. taking a stake in it. TSMC declined to comment on this report, while Samsung and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. Israel is considering Hamas's proposal of a 60-day truce in Gaza, which would include the release of half the hostages it holds. Meanwhile, as the war goes on, American views to it are changing. Almost 60% of Americans think every member of the United Nations should recognize a Palestinian state. That's according to new data out from a Reuters Ipsos poll. U.S. politics editor Scott Malone has more. The poll shows that our Americans are really concerned about what they're seeing. You know, two out of three Americans think that the U.S. should help people in Gaza who are starving.

Interesting, there's a little bit of a partisan divide on that. Democrats overwhelmingly in support and a bit of a divide within Republicans. The other thing that we're seeing is a slow but steady increase in the share of Americans who believe that Israel's military response has been excessive. The most recent poll, which wrapped up on Monday, found that basically six out of ten Americans think that's excessive. It's a number that has been ticking steadily upward over time. Japan is rethinking its post-war stance on nuclear weapons. With growing doubts about America's willingness to defend its allies, especially under President Trump,

some lawmakers are now discussing hosting, sharing, or even developing nuclear weapons. Tim Kelly is one of the reporters on the story. There are some in Japan that are beginning to seriously doubt that the US would come to Japan's aid and comments that President Trump has made in regard to Ukraine have further increased those doubts. I've got to stress that if you ask the US government or the Japanese government and also the South Korean government, they will say that their alliances are inclined and that they trust the US to fulfill these obligations. But when you talk more privately with some lawmakers,

they do express those doubts. Tim says even the younger generations in places like Hiroshima are open to it. In Hiroshima and in the rest of Japan, the connection with the atomic bomb survivors is becoming weaker over time. As that generation passes away, the events of 1945 is becoming not a lived event, a historical event. And then at the same time, they're looking at around Japan. They're looking at nuclear-armed China, nuclear-armed Russia and North Korea. And then they see these countries as

threats to Japan's national security. And they feel that Japan needs to strengthen its deterrence against any future attacks. And one way to do that is through nuclear weapons, either the US nuclear umbrella and to bolster that deterrence, or if that fails, perhaps even in the future that Pan could develop and possesses on nuclear deterrence. And before we finish, let's return to Ukraine. And another talking point from Monday's White House meeting, that suit. President Zelensky, you look fabulous in that suit. Zelensky's black shirt and blazer combo certainly made diplomatic waves,

as well as keeping Donald Trump and journalist Brian Glenn happy. He was the one who called out Zelensky for his attire in February. Behind the new look, Ukrainian designer Viktor Anizimov. He told us he didn't tailor the look for Trump or anyone else. He says a leader should look dignified, and that's it. And it was all very last minute, Anizumov saying that he was working on alterations until just before Zelensky flew out to Washington. Our recommended read today takes us to the men.

Mediterranean and how hundreds of migrants are still dying as they try and make their way to Europe. We detail the dangers of the boat journey to highlight the great risks some people are taking. There's a link to the story in the pod description. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.