2 h. ago Zelenskyy calls for more US Patriot air defences after Trump again sides with Putin

Ukrainian president ready to join Putin-Trump summit and asks for additional anti-missile batteries, paid for with frozen Russian assetsTrump suggests carving up Ukraine’s Donbas region to end war after meeting with ZelenskyyVolodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the delivery of an additional 25 US Patriot anti-missile batteries amid the rapidly escalating air war with Russia, as it became clear that Donald Trump had once again tacked sharply towards Moscow.The Ukrainian president added that he would be ready to join Vladimir Putin and Trump at their summit in Hungary if he was invited. Continue reading...

Politics

7 h. ago European leaders near deal to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine

Plans to secure loan with Russian funds ‘moving to happy resolution’, says Polish foreign ministerEuropean leaders, including in the UK, are increasingly confident a proposal to lend Ukraine €140bn (£159bn) secured on frozen Russian central bank deposits can be agreed by the end of the year, in a move deemed critical for Kyiv to maintain its defence effort.Proposals from the European Commission were discussed at a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Washington last week and will be debated at an EU leaders summit on Thursday in Brussels. US participation remains uncertain. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago The Guardian view on EU accession for Ukraine: Orbán must not be allowed to call the tune | Editorial

In a critical phase, Brussels should find a way to bypass Hungary’s prime minister in the interests of European solidarityHosting European Union leaders in Copenhagen earlier this month, the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, described Europe as facing “the most difficult and dangerous situation since the second world war”. There have been other moments of high tension, such as during the 1980s when US cruise missiles were deployed in Germany in response to an escalating arms race with the Soviet Union. From next year, long-range missiles will be back on German soil, amid fears that recent Russian incursions into EU airspace herald a new and ominous phase of the war in Ukraine.As Donald Trump’s US continues to carry the status of an unreliable ally, European unity, cohesion and solidarity are of critical importance. But little of substance emerged from the Copenhagen talks. Disagreement persists, for example, over the advisability of leveraging €140bn of frozen Russian assets...

Politics

9 d. ago Starmer ‘ready to progress’ plans to spend frozen Russian assets on Ukraine loan

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spoke with his counterparts from Ukraine, Germany and France on Friday.

Politics

2 w. ago Europe mulls using frozen Russian assets to fund loan to Ukraine

The EU has already poured in €174 billion since the war started in February 2022

Politics

2 w. ago EU leaders consider using seized Russian assets to fund a loan to Ukraine

European Union leaders are weighing a scheme to provide long-term financial and military support to Ukraine using hundreds of billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets

Politics

2 w. ago Europe ‘in most difficult and dangerous situation since second world war,’ Danish PM warns – Europe live

Mette Frederiksen says she backs the European Commission’s proposal for a reparation loan for Ukraine, secured on frozen Russian assetsSiliņa says the EU should move on drones very quickly, as she rejects some criticism that fully developing the bloc’s “drone wall” could take up to three-four years.“We don’t need three years, and I believe we can do it in a much shorter time.It just depends on the leaders [if] we can agree on a much shorter time, because with drones, how they’re developing so fast, three years is too long.” Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Hamas considers Trump's Gaza plan which would see them hand over their weapons

Hamas is considering a peace proposal for Gaza put forward by Donald Trump that would see the terror group hand over their weapons. 

Politics

3 w. ago EU to move forward with plans for drone wall amid Russian incursions

Ministers aim to bolster defences after spate of airspace violations, amid rising momentum for €140bn loan to UkraineThe EU has agreed to move forward with plans for a drone wall at the heart of its eastern defences, as momentum grows for a €140bn loan to Ukraine, based on Russian frozen assets.After a meeting with ministers from 10 mostly central and eastern European member states, plus Ukraine, the EU’s defence commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, said a drone wall to protect against incursions from the skies was an immediate priority and core element of the bloc’s eastern flank defences. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Germany’s Merz backs using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine

Chancellor calls on Europe to unlock €140bn loan and ‘massively raise the costs’ of Kremlin aggression

Politics

last month UK to explore ‘reparations loan’ for Ukraine using frozen Russian assets

Treasury officials also declined to discuss the mechanisms the UK would consider.

Politics