‘Something good just may be happening,’ Trump says on Ukraine talks
US president Donald Trump responded to the reports coming out of Geneva overnight, posting on his Truth Social account:
“Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine??? Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
Key events
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Romania scrambles jets in response to drones near its border, defence ministry says
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Keir Starmer welcomes ‘significant progress’ in Ukraine talks
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‘Peace in Ukraine won’t happen overnight,’ Germany’s Merz says
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EU leaders hail ‘new momentum’ in Ukraine talks, but say issues remain to be solved
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‘Peace settlement on Ukraine needs to strengthen, not weaken, our security,’ Poland’s Tusk says
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Four killed, 13 injured in overnight Russian attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine
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‘Lot of work remains to be done,’ EU says after early constructive talks on Ukraine
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‘Something good just may be happening,’ Trump says on Ukraine talks
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Poland arrests third suspect after Russian rail sabotage
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Ukrainian drone downed en route to Moscow, mayor says
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EU’s Costa spoke with Zelenskyy before EU leaders’ talks on Ukraine
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No plans for Russia-US meetings this week so far, Kremlin says
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Ukraine needs to be at table for peace talks to avoid new Munich agreement, Czech Republic’s Pavel says
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Lithuania’s Budrys welcomes Geneva talks, raises concerns about Belarus
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Sweden will not recognise Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories, Swedish foreign minister says
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Ukraine ready to move to peace with three key red lines, Ukrainian parliament speaker says
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Ukraine working with US to look for ‘compromises that strengthen, not weaken us,’ Zelenskyy says
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Morning opening: Can Europe change the US-Russian plan?
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has posted on Telegram to say that his country’s delegation is returning home after talks in Geneva.
Zelensky says that he is “awaiting a full report” on the progress of negotiations, which should come this evening.
He added:
Based on the results of the reports, we will determine further steps and timing. We will continue to coordinate with Europe and other partners in the world.
Romania scrambles jets in response to drones near its border, defence ministry says
Amid talks to bring about an end to the war, Russia resumed its night-time drone attacks on Ukraine’s civilian and port infrastructure close to Romania’s border, the Nato member’s defence ministry said earlier today.
A statement from the defence ministry read:
Radar monitoring systems detected air targets heading to Ismail, and two German Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft conducting enhanced air policing missions scrambled to monitor the air situation.
The drones disappeared from the radar, shortly after explosions were reported in Ismail.
No incursions of unmanned aerial vehicles into the Romanian airspace were detected, and the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft returned to the 57th airbase at 01.01.
Romania shares a 650 km (400 mile) border with Ukraine. It has had Russian drone fragments fall on its territory repeatedly as Moscow attacks Ukrainian port infrastructure across the river Danube from Romania.
Keir Starmer welcomes ‘significant progress’ in Ukraine talks
Along with French President Emmanuel Macron, the UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, has been leading European diplomatic efforts to try to secure a deal to end the war that (more) fairly accounts for Ukrainian interests and deters future Russian aggression.
We have some fresh quotes from the prime minister’s spokesperson, who said Starmer welcomed “significant progress” in the weekend talks that discussed peace in Ukraine.
“The prime minister obviously welcomes the significant progress made at yesterday’s meetings between the US and Ukraine in Geneva,” the spokesperson said, adding “there are some outstanding issues” which will be discussed in “coming days and weeks”.
Asked if the UK would send troops to enforce any deal agreed between Kyiv and Moscow, the Downing Street spokesperson reportedly said they would not “get ahead” of ongoing discussions.
The foreign ministers of several European countries – including Germany, France, Britain and Finland – met Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, this morning, a German official was quoted by the Telegraph as having said. It is not clear exactly what was said in the discussions.
‘Peace in Ukraine won’t happen overnight,’ Germany’s Merz says
Meanwhile, German chancellor Friedrich Merz said that while “some issues were clarified” in the Geneva talks, “we also know: peace in Ukraine will not happen overnight.”
Merz also made it clear that Europe must be consulted and agree to any Ukraine peace plan given its consequences for European security, as he called for Russia to come to table and engage with the talks more directly.
“It is important to us that there can be no peace plan for Ukraine if we do not give our consent to issues that affect European interests and European sovereignty,” he said.
EU leaders hail ‘new momentum’ in Ukraine talks, but say issues remain to be solved
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president António Costa are also briefing the media after the EU leaders’ meeting this morning.
Costa welcomed “the new momentum” in peace negotiations, and said that while “some issues remain to be solved, the direction is positive,” as he commended the efforts of the Ukrainian and US teams involved in the talks.
“It is also clear that the issues that concern directly the European Union, such as sanctions enlargement or immobilised assets, require the full involvement and decision by the European Union,” he said.
von der Leyen used similar language, talking about “good progress” in the Geneva talks.
“While work remains to be done, there is now a solid basis for moving forward. As we do, we must remain united and keep placing Ukraine’s best interest at the centre of our efforts,” she said.
She pointedly added that “moving forward, Ukraine’s territory and sovereignty must be respected,” adding that “only Ukraine, as a sovereign country, can make decisions regarding its armed forces.”
“The choice of their destiny is in their own hands. I also want to emphasise Europe’s centrality in the country’s future,” she said.
‘Peace settlement on Ukraine needs to strengthen, not weaken, our security,’ Poland’s Tusk says
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said the EU leaders attending an informal meeting in Angola had a “serious” discussion on the Ukraine peace talks, agreeing that the 28 points proposed by US and Russia “need reworking” as some of the proposals as “unacceptable.”
Speaking from Luanda, he said that it was particularly important that no agreement would weaken Poland and Europe’s broader security.
Tusk added that the peace settlement must not “favour the aggressor,” and said that the leaders are leaning towards moving forward on what to do with the frozen Russian assets.
“It cannot be the case that Europe ends up paying for Russia’s actions,” he said.
He acknowledged that some countries remain unconvinced, but he thought the leaders were “much, much closer” to an agreement on this issue to use the frozen assets to “help Ukraine now and during reconstruction.”
Tusk also said the EU was clear that it would not agree to limiting the number of soldiers in the Ukrainian armed forces.
The Polish PM said the talks remained “delicate” as European leaders are keen to keep the US on side.
Tusk also stressed that the sanctions imposed on Russia were working and they needed to be kept in place to force Russia into a peace settlement.
“Europe must be united. We will do everything we can so the US is on the same side. We should talk [act towards Russia] as Nato, together, and not as individual states,” he added.
“Any peace settlement on Ukraine needs to strengthen, not weaken, our security,” he said.
Four killed, 13 injured in overnight Russian attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine
Overnight, Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv was hit by what officials said was a massive drone attack that killed four people and injured at least 13, Reuters and AP reported.
Eight residential buildings, an educational facility and power lines were damaged in the attack, according to the head of the regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov.
Ukraine’s air force says Russia fired 162 strike and decoy drones over the country overnight, AP noted.
‘Lot of work remains to be done,’ EU says after early constructive talks on Ukraine
Over in Brussels, the European Commission is hosting its daily midday press briefing.
Chief spokesperson Paula Pinho said the bloc welcomed the constructive progress made in early Ukraine talks over the weekend, although “a lot of work remains to be done,” which is also being discussed by the EU leaders taking part in further discussions on the margin of the EU-Africa summit in Angola today.
The EU’s three red lines remain unchanged: borders cannot be changed by force, no limitations on Ukrainian armed forces, and return of all Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
The commission spokesperson also reiterated that “it is critical that the aggressor, Russia, pays for the destruction,” with talks on the use of the Russian frozen assets through a Ukraine reparations loan “even more urgent now.”
It was also revealed that a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing is expected to be convened online, on video, on Tuesday.
‘Something good just may be happening,’ Trump says on Ukraine talks
US president Donald Trump responded to the reports coming out of Geneva overnight, posting on his Truth Social account:
“Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine??? Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
Poland arrests third suspect after Russian rail sabotage
A Ukrainian man has been arrested by Polish authorities investigating a recent Russian rail sabotage, with prosecutors alleging he was involved in aiding the main two suspects in preparing their attack.
The man, identified only as Volodymyr B. under Polish privacy laws, was detained last Thursday and charged over the weekend, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement this morning.
The prosecutors allege that back in September he drove one of the two suspects to the area of the railway tracks going towards Ukraine, helping him to scout the site ahead of the attack.
The incident, earlier this month, saw an explosion along a section of railway line used for deliveries to Ukraine and another reported attempt to derail trains moving on this route.
Polish authorities have previously identified two Ukrainian men, allegedly working for the Russian intelligence services, as the key suspects in two cases of rail sabotage. They had reportedly arrived in Poland from Belarus and left soon after placing explosive devices on the rail tracks, and so remain beyond the reach of the Polish prosecutors.
Polish leaders condemned the attack at the time as “state terrorism” by Russia, who they allege deliberately recruited Ukrainian men to conduct the attacks to stir up anti-Ukrainian sentiment in the country, which hosts a major Ukrainian community.
