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Ukraine has insisted they will not accept a ceasefire deal ‘made behind our backs’
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Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the creation of an “army of Europe”, suggesting the continent could not rely on Donald Trump’s United States for its defence.
The President of Ukraine told the Munich Security Conference: “As we fight this war and lay the groundwork for peace and security, we must build the armed forces of Europe so that Europe’s future depends only on Europeans, and decisions about Europe are made in Europe.”
He also suggested that the “old days” of America supporting Europe were gone, and that no ceasefire deal would be agreed without Ukraine’s involvement.
On Friday, a suspected Russian drone strike on Chernobyl has sparked fears of a radioactive leak but the situation is under control, the chief engineer at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant said.
The strike has caused severe damage to the nuclear power plant’s confinement structure, rendering it non-functional, the engineer Alexander Titarchuk said. “There is now a possibility of a leak of radioactive substances, but the situation is under control,” he said.
He also warned that Russia may be preparing to launch intensified offensive operations into northern Ukraine or attack Nato‘s eastern flank in 2026.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attention-grabbing overseas debut may have irritated some key Republicans and alienated allies in Europe, where his statements on Ukraine and NATO went down like a lead balloon.
But his forceful comments gained him a nod from one key listener: U.S. President Donald Trump.
And Hegseth – who on Saturday wraps up a week-long trip to Belgium, Germany and Poland – delivered a message at the heart of Trump’s America First agenda.
Speaking at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Hegseth said a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and the Trump administration does not see NATO membership for Kyiv as part of a solution to the war triggered by Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Trump broadly backed Hegseth’s remarks on Thursday on NATO membership, saying, “I think probably that’s true,” because, he said, Putin would not allow Ukraine to join the military alliance.
“I thought his comments were good yesterday, and they’re probably good today,” Trump said.
Not everyone was so positive.
“I don’t know who wrote the speech, it is the kind of thing Tucker Carlson could have written, and Carlson is a fool,” Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican who leads the Pentagon’s main oversight committee in the Senate, told Politico, referring to the conservative media personality who was once a Fox News host.
Europe needs its own plan for Ukraine and for its own security or its future will be decided by other powers, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday.
“Europe urgently needs its own plan of action concerning Ukraine and our security, or else other global players will decide about our future. Not necessarily in line with our own interest,” Tusk wrote on social media platform X. “This plan must be prepared now. There’s no time to lose.”
For a man who prides himself on his mastery of the “art of the deal”, Donald Trump has made an unpromising start to his negotiations with Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
According to the US president’s vainglorious business guide, published in 1987: “My style of deal-making is quite simple and straightforward. I aim very high, and then I just keep pushing and pushing and pushing to get what I’m after.”
If so, then he has broken his own rule by aiming rather low as a starting point. Between the president, vice-president JD Vance and the defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, significant concessions have been gifted to Mr Putin before the two leaders have even met – and, apparently, without any prior consultation with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Read our full editorial here:
Editorial: If Ukraine is effectively indefensible, for lack of American support, then Europe as a whole is far weaker – and Nato is dangerously undermined
The Ukrainian leader’s comments came after Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey called on the UK and Europe to “do more” to “share the burden” of regional security in a joint article for the Daily Telegraph.
They also said that a “durable peace” would need a “continuing US commitment to its allies through Nato”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told Mr Zelensky that Britain is committed to Ukraine being on an “irreversible path” to joining Nato, after the US appeared to rule out its membership.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Healey and Mr Lammy said that for two decades the Russian leader has been “seeking to recreate the Russian empire and suffocate the countries around its borders”.
“Too often in the past, the West has let him,” they added. “We did too little in 2008 when he invaded Georgia, and in 2014 when he first went into Ukraine.”
Washington has suggested Nato membership for Ukraine is off the table and Mr Zelensky will have to cede territory to Russia, but he said: “Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement.”
Mr Zelensky said he wanted allies to gather in Kyiv or online on February 24 to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale assault.
He added: “This meeting must deliver a clear vision for our next steps on peace, security guarantees and the future of our collective policy.
“And I do not believe in security guarantees without America. Yes, it will be just weak.
“But America will not offer guarantees unless Europe’s own guarantees are strong.
“And I also will not take Nato membership for Ukraine off the table, but right now the most influential member of Nato seems to be Putin because his whims have the power to block Nato decisions.”
Volodymyr Zelensky called for the creation of an “army of Europe”, suggesting the continent could not rely on Donald Trump’s United States for its defence.
The President of Ukraine told the Munich Security Conference: “As we fight this war and lay the groundwork for peace and security, we must build the armed forces of Europe so that Europe’s future depends only on Europeans, and decisions about Europe are made in Europe.”
He told the gathering in Germany: “Some in Europe may not fully understand what’s happening in Washington right now, but let’s focus on understanding ourselves right here in Europe, we must give strength to Europe first.
“Does America need Europe as a market? Yes. But as an ally? I don’t know.
“For the answer to be yes. Europe needs a single voice, not a dozen different ones.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says the time has come for the creation of an “armed forces of Europe”, and says his country’s fight against Russia has proved that a foundation for it already exists.
The Ukrainian leader said Europe cannot rule out the possibility that “American might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it”, and noted that many leaders have long spoken about how Europe needs its own military.
“I really believe that time has come,” Mr Zelensky told the Munich Security Conference.
“The armed forces of Europe must be created.”
European leaders trying to make sense of a tough new line from Washington on issues including democracy and Ukraine’s future were set to express their reactions on Saturday, as the Trump administration continues to upend trans-Atlantic conventions that have been in place since after World War II.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were to speak on the second day of the Munich Security Conference, a day after U.S. Vice President JD Vance all but scolded European allies over democracy and raised questions about the U.S. commitment to help Ukraine’s defense against Russian forces.
President Donald Trump held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in which he said the two leaders would likely meet soon to negotiate a peace deal.
Trump later assured Zelensky that he, too, would have a seat at the table. The war was sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
Already Friday, the Ukrainian leader said that his country wants security guarantees before any talks with Russia.
Shortly before meeting with Vance in Munich, Zelensky said he will only agree to meet in-person with Putin after a common plan is negotiated with Trump. After a 40-minute meeting with Zelensky, Vance said the Trump administration wants the war to end.
The protective cover encasing the leaking Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been damaged by a Russian drone, CCTV appears to show.
The drone destroyed the plant’s fourth power unit during an overnight attack, according to Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr Zelensky confirmed that a fire caused by the strike has been extinguished, with radiation levels remaining stable and under constant monitoring.
Sharing a clip of the explosion on X, Mr Zelensky wrote: “The only country in the world that attacks such sites, occupies nuclear power plants, and wages war without any regard for the consequences is today’s Russia. This is a terrorist threat to the entire world.” He added that “the damage to the shelter is significant.”
The protective cover encasing the leaking Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been damaged by a Russian drone, CCTV appears to show. The drone destroyed the plant’s fourth power unit during an overnight attack, according to Ukraine president Zelensky. Zelensky confirmed that a fire caused by the strike has been extinguished, with radiation levels remaining stable and under constant monitoring. Sharing a clip of the explosion on X, Zelensky wrote: “The only country in the world that attacks such sites, occupies nuclear power plants, and wages war without any regard for the consequences is today’s Russia. This is a terrorist threat to the entire world.” He added that “the damage to the shelter is significant.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied Russia was responsible for yesterday’s attack on Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear facility.
“There is no talk about strikes on nuclear infrastructure, nuclear energy facilities. Any such claim isn’t true. Our military doesn’t do that,” Mr Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
It was not possible to independently confirm who was behind the strike.
Both sides frequently trade blame when nuclear sites come under attack.
Mr Peskov alleged that the strike was a “false flag” attack staged by Ukraine to incriminate Russia and to thwart efforts to end the war through negotiations between Trump and Putin.
“It’s obvious that there are those (in the Ukrainian government) who will continue to oppose any attempts to launch a negotiation process, and it’s obvious that those people will do everything to try to derail this process,” Mr Peskov said.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described the drone attack as a “reckless” act by Kyiv and noted that Russia had been part of the international effort to build the structure that was hit.
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