European leaders to meet virtually on Tuesday after talks at the White House where Trump said arrangements being made for meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy
Full report: Trump arranging Zelenskyy-Putin meeting as European leaders push for US security guarantees
Sketch: All smoke and no fire as Zelenskky emerges unbruised after Trump meet
We now have a further confirmation of the meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing” this morning, coming from the German government and the Élysée Palace in France.
The meeting will be co-chaired by UK prime minister Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron, Élysée said.
On the back of last night’s meeting with Trump and European allies at the White House, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just confirmed that the allies were “already working on the concrete content of the security guarantees.”
Giving a bit more detail on the meetings planned later today, he said:
“Today, we continue coordination at the level of leaders. There will be discussions, and we are preparing the relevant formats. We will also continue working tomorrow. National security advisers are also in constant contact now. There will be security guarantees.”
He added:
“I thank all our partners for their determination and support. Ukraine feels this strength. And we will do everything to make the path to peace a reality – through partnership, through security guarantees, and through the courage of the Ukrainian people.”
We now have a further confirmation of the meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing” this morning, coming from the German government and the Élysée Palace in France.
The meeting will be co-chaired by UK prime minister Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron, Élysée said.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has just responded to overnight Russian attacks on Ukraine, saying they show “how criticial it is to end the killing, achieve a lasting peace, and ensure robust security guarantees.”
“While hard work to advance peace was underway in Washington DC., led by Presidents @ZelenskyyUA and @POTUS, with the participation of European and Nato leaders, Moscow continued to do the opposite of peace: more strikes and destruction.”
He also confirmed earlier reports that “there has been damage to the energy infrastructure and injured civilians” (9:41).
Ending on a hopeful note, he said:
“The future meeting of leaders of Ukraine, the US, and Russia can bring a breakthrough on the path to peace. We are grateful to the United States and President Trump for the peacemaking.”
The “Coalition of the Willing” will meet virtually today to debrief after last night’s talks at the White House, it emerged.
A spokesperson for the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said he would take part in the midday call (11am BST)
Later today, EU leaders are also set to take place in a virtual European Council, at 1pm Brussels time (midday BST).
Russia attacked the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk with drones overnight, the city mayor said in comments reported by Reuters, calling it a sign that Russian president Vladimir Putin does not want peace.
“At the very same time when Putin was assuring Trump over the phone that he seeks peace, and when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was holding talks at the White House with European leaders about a just peace, Putin’s army launched yet another massive attack on Kremenchuk,” Vitalii Maletskyi, mayor of the city that lies in the Poltava region, said on the Telegram.
“Once again, the world has seen that Putin does not want peace – he wants to destroy Ukraine,” he said.
Reuters added that Maletskyi said scores of blasts shook the city, targeting energy and transport infrastructure, leaving hundreds of people in the Poltava region without power.
Poltava governor Volodymyr Kohut said that the attack damaged administrative buildings of a local energy infrastructure operation.
“Fortunately, there were no casualties,” Kohut said on Telegram. He said that in the Lubny district nearly 1,500 residential and 119 commercial customers were left without power.
It’s Jakub Krupa here, taking over from Jane Clinton.
Good morning.
On Monday evening the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, garnered compliments from Donald Trump and the White House press pool for his formal jacket and trousers.
But for the ensemble’s designer, Viktor Anisimov, the outcome of the meeting, not the verdict on the outfit, was of more concern.
“It’s not about the suit – it’s about what happens to Ukraine,” Anisimov told Womenswear Daily (WWD), speaking through an interpreter before the meeting.
Zelenskyy has largely eschewed formalwear since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, opting instead for military-style clothing as a gesture of solidarity with his country’s citizens.
In February, he was criticised by the pro-Trump TV reporter Brian Glenn for his decision to wear a long-sleeve polo shirt emblazoned with the Ukrainian trident, from the Ukrainian menswear brand Damirli.
“Why don’t you wear a suit? You’re at the highest level in this country’s office, and you refuse to wear a suit. Do you own a suit? A lot of Americans have problems with you not respecting the dignity of this office,” Glenn said at the time.
“I will wear [a suit] after the war is finished,” Zelenskyy replied.
Trump, too, noted the casual outfit in February, greeting Zelenskyy with a sarcastic: “You’re all dressed up.”
Read the full report here:
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that European leaders had failed to “outplay” Donald Trump, but that it was unclear how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would present the issues of territory and a security guarantee, Reuters reports.
“The anti-Russian warmongering Coalition of the Willing failed to outplay @POTUS on his turf,” Medvedev said in English on X. “Europe thanked & sucked up to him.”
Medvedev said the question was “what tune” Zelenskyy would play “about guarantees & territories back home, once he’s put on his green military uniform again.”
Trump told Zelenskyy on Monday that the United States would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal to end the war in Ukraine, though the extent of any assistance was not immediately clear.
Ukraine’s air force said on Tuesday that Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles overnight in one of its largest attacks this month, Reuters reports.
The air force said it downed 230 drones and six missiles. It recorded strikes at 16 locations with four missiles and 40 drones.
A Russian morning drone attack on Ukraine’s Chernihiv region damaged infrastructure and power cuts were reported in parts of the northern region, the governor said.
“Some settlements are experiencing problems with electricity supply,” Viacheslav Chaus said on Tuesday on Telegram, cited by Reuters.
“Energy workers and rescuers are already working on restoration.”