President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States will sign a minerals and natural resources deal with Ukraine shortly and that his efforts to achieve a peace deal for the country were going "pretty well" after his talks this week with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday it was important Britain and its allies were able to react immediately should there be a peace deal struck between Russia and Ukraine.

President Donald Trump came into office with bold plans to secure an end to the Russia-Ukraine war “within 24 hours.” While that timeframe may have been hyperbolic, Trump was clearly very intent on getting a peace deal signed quite early in his second term.

A judge rejected a complaint filed by the U.S. Institute of Peace against a takeover by the Trump administration but questioned tactics used by the Department of Government Efficiency in the appropriation.

A federal judge on Wednesday declined to remove the Department of Government Efficiency from the US Institute of Peace building or reinstate fired board members while a legal challenge to DOGE’s takeover of the independent organization plays out.

The Trump administration has fired most of the board of the U.S. Institute of Peace and sent its new leader into the Washington headquarters of the independent organization. People stand outside the headquarters of the United States Institute of Peace,