Russia has told the UN that a ceasefire can’t end the war in Ukraine by itself. Uncertainty still hangs over potential peace talks next week. Speaking in Asia, France’s Emmanuel Macron warned the world not to abandon Ukraine to focus on the Indo-Pacific.
Friday 30 May 2025 16:30, UK
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We’re pausing our coverage for today.
But we’ll be back soon with more updates from the war in Ukraine.
Here is a quick overview of the key developments today:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised Russia for its approach to potential peace talks in Turkey next week.
“For a meeting to be meaningful, its agenda must be clear, and the negotiations must be properly prepared,” he said.
“Unfortunately, Russia is doing everything it can to ensure that the next potential meeting brings no results.”
As we’ve been reporting, Ukraine is refusing to commit to talks in Istanbul on Monday 2 June, unless Russia provides a list of its conditions for ending the war.
That follows the first direct talks between the two sides in more than three years, also in Istanbul, earlier this month.
Ukraine’s delegation left those talks frustrated, after Russia presented demands the Ukrainians couldn’t agree to.
Zelenskyy also criticised Russia’s ongoing drone strikes earlier today.
Posting on X, he said of a strike on Kharkiv that destroyed a bus depot and damaged nearby residential buildings. “A typical Russian strike on ordinary civilian life.”
He added: “In total, Russians used 90 attack drones and two ballistic missiles overnight.
“Such strikes happen every day.
“The vast majority target civilian infrastructure and have no military purpose.
“Russia’s strategy is simply to destroy lives.”
Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky will again head Russia’s delegation in Istanbul on 2 June for the second round of Russia-Ukraine talks and will bring a memorandum and other ceasefire proposals, the Russian foreign ministry has said this afternoon.
As we’ve been reporting today, Ukraine is yet to reply to Russia’s proposals to hold the talks in Istanbul next week.
Ukrainian officials have said they are ready to resume direct peace talks with Russia but have insisted that the Kremlin provide a promised memorandum setting out its position on ending the war.
“Ukraine is ready to attend the next meeting, but we want to engage in a constructive discussion,” Andrii Yermak, head of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, said in a statement yesterday.
“This means it is important to receive Russia’s draft. There is enough time – four days are sufficient for preparing and sending the documents.”
Ukraine and its European allies have repeatedly accused the Kremlin of dragging its feet in peace efforts, while it tries to press its army’s battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land.
Russia has told the United Nations Security Council today that a simple ceasefire is not enough to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
“To achieve a sustainable and lasting settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, we need to address its root causes,” Russia’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council.
“What we’re proposing is a second round of talks in Istanbul this coming Monday… where we can exchange memoranda about both parties approaches to the negotiations process.”
We’ve been reporting today on Russia’s proposed talks in Istanbul on 2 June.
The Kremlin has not indicated what it wants to discuss specifically but Ukraine has said Russia must provide a promised memorandum setting out its position on ending the war if they are to attend.
Ukraine’s proposed memorandum to Russia includes provisions for a ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea, with monitoring to be carried out by international partners, the New York Times reports, citing an unnamed senior Ukrainian official.
This week, Ukraine’s defence minister Rustem Umerov said Ukraine had personally handed a document setting out Ukraine’s position to the Russian side.
He also said that Ukraine is not opposed to further direct talks with Russia, but that they would be “empty” if Moscow was to fail to clarify its terms.
Now, a senior Ukrainian official has told the New York Times that their memorandum “included provisions for a ceasefire on land, at sea and in the air, with monitoring to be carried out by international partners”.
Emmanuel Macron has warned the US and a large audience of Indo-Pacific nations that they risk a double standard as they concentrate on a potential conflict with China if that shift comes at the cost of abandoning Ukraine.
Macron’s remarks come as the US considers withdrawing troops from Europe to shift them to the Indo-Pacific.
The French leader warned that abandoning Ukraine would eventually erode US credibility in deterring any potential conflict with China over Taiwan.
“I will be clear, France is a friend and an ally of the United States, and is a friend, and we do cooperate – even if sometimes we disagree and compete – with China,” he said.
He emphasised the need for building new coalitions between Paris and partners in the Indo-Pacific and said Asia and Europe have a common interest in preventing the disintegration of the global order.
“The time for non-alignment has undoubtedly passed, but the time for coalitions of action has come, and requires that countries capable of acting together give themselves every means to do so,” he added.
French President Emmanuel Macron says the EU will “work together to the very end” to provide security guarantees to Ukraine.
He says the EU needs to reinvest in its own security because “Russia will remain a threat for us”.
Macron says Europe will increase spending on defence and security in line with requests from Donald Trump’s US.
He says this is important so the EU “is not dependent on anybody”.
French President Emmanuel Macron is delivering a keynote address at an annual IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore.
We’ll bring you any updates as we get them or you can follow Macron’s speech in the live stream below.
Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine has been making headlines today by saying he understands Russia’s reluctance to see NATO expand (see 11.24 post).
Here’s a reminder of the background to the alliance:
Origins and Article 5
NATO – the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation – was formed in Washington DC in 1949 with the primary purpose of blocking expansion in Europe by the former Soviet Union.
It was set up by 12 countries but now has 32 members.
At the heart of the defence alliance is Article 5. This states that an armed attack against one member shall be considered an attack against them all.
NATO does not have its own armed forces but each member contributes forces and equipment to specific operations or exercises.
Why isn’t Ukraine a member?
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pushing for his country to become a member and even said he would be willing to “give up” his presidency to make it happen.
But Russia continues to oppose Ukraine becoming a member as it fears NATO getting closer to its border.
Aspiring members are expected to meet certain political, military and economic criteria.
Then, if all the members agree, NATO invites the country to begin accession talks.
Former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg previously said Ukraine could join “in the long term” but not until after the war ended.
But US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has said Ukrainian membership is not a “realistic outcome”.
The latest countries to join the alliance are Finland, which joined in 2023, and Sweden, which became a member in 2024.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine encouraged the two countries to join NATO.
Some say this was an own goal by Vladimir Putin, who had started the war with the aim of weakening the alliance, but ended up encouraging its growth.
Over in the frontline town of Myrnohrad, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, buildings have been left charred and battered after Russian strikes in the region.
Many industrial and residential infrastructure facilities across Ukraine have been destroyed or severely damaged by Russian attacks.
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