As a peace deal remains elusive, Kyiv’s allies meet in Paris to discuss security guarantees, with Donald Trump to dial in this afternoon. Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev warns Russia could seize British assets in retaliation for the UK’s support of Ukraine. Listen to The World as you scroll.
Thursday 4 September 2025 14:44, UK
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked his Western allies, singling out Donald Trump, after the summit in Paris today.
The meeting of the so-called coalition of the willing saw them discuss specifics on security guarantees and “the readiness of each country to contribute”, the Ukrainian leader said.
In a statement after the meeting finished, he added: “We have the same vision that Russia is doing everything possible to drag out the negotiation process and continue the war.”
Zelenskyy said the 19th package of EU sanctions on Russia is being prepared. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen previously said it is expected this month.
A former UK ambassador has called into question the willingness of Ukraine’s allies to actually take action to help Kyiv.
Ian Bond, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform and former British ambassador to Latvia, speaking to presenter Gareth Barlow, said the coalition of the willing “has been very willing to talk, it’s not been so willing to act”.
Watch his full interview below…
A Russian ballistic missile strike near a humanitarian demining mission has killed one person, according to a local official.
Chernihiv mayor Dmytro Bryzhynskyi said the attack took place near the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.
In a series of statements on Telegram, he added that at least two people had been injured.
A row between top Ukrainian law enforcement agencies that caused a political crisis in July has flared up again.
The SBU security service accused the anti-corruption watchdogs of deliberately targeting a former high-ranking agent.
This public showdown first erupted after the SBU arrested two anti-graft officials for suspected ties to Russia.
It comes at a time when Kyiv is trying to prove to its allies it is tackling corruption in its ranks.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) brought charges on Tuesday against the SBU’s former chief of cybersecurity.
However, the SBU quickly responded, saying the accusation was baseless and amounted to “revenge” for its own prosecution of NABU officials.
‘This story isn’t over’
This case against NABU officials was part of a wave of searches and arrests that came ahead of a decision by Ukrainian politicians to curb the independence of the watchdog and its sister agency SAPO.
This sparked a public outcry and criticism of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose ruling party fast-tracked the measures.
They reversed their actions at the time and reinstated NABU’s and SAPO’s powers.
Yevhen Krapyvin, of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives think-tank in Kyiv, said: “I’m convinced that this story is not over.”
The coalition of the willing has three goals as it meets in Paris, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says.
One is to turn Ukraine into a “steel porcupine” – by improving its defences against Russian aggression.
Ukraine and its Western allies are discussing security guarantees for Kyiv at the meeting before calling Donald Trump.
Von der Leyen says the other two goals are:
Sir Keir Starmer has addressed the coalition of the willing meeting, saying the group had made an “unbreakable pledge” to Ukraine.
Joining the talks from Glasgow, Starmer warned Vladimir Putin couldn’t be trusted and that the Russian leader was purposely delaying peace talks while he launched strikes against Ukraine.
“That was further underlined by the indiscriminate attacks in Kyiv last week, causing significant damage to the British Council and EU delegation buildings,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
They added: “The prime minister emphasised that the group had an unbreakable pledge to Ukraine, with President Trump’s backing, and it was clear they now needed to go even further to apply pressure on Putin to secure a cessation of hostilities.”
Starmer also welcomed the new announcements from some of Ukraine’s partners to supply Kyiv with long-range missiles.
After Russian strikes in Kramatorsk yesterday and overnight, the local administration has said 11 people have been killed.
The attacks took place in the Donetsk region, close to the frontlines.
Of the deaths, nine people were killed in Kostyantynivka yesterday, with two additional deaths taking place overnight.
The Donetsk regional state administration added that it had evacuated 314 people.
Ukraine has been targeting Russia’s oil refining capacity, with the most recent strikes coming this weekend.
In our weekly Ukraine Q&A yesterday, military analyst Michael Clarke was asked if this was an effective strategy.
“It’s good in the sense that it is working,” he said, with about 11% of Russia’s refining capacity affected.
Petrol seems to be running short in Russia, with wholesale prices rising by 55%, forcing the Russian government to intervene to protect consumers.
“The reason the Ukrainians are going for the refining capacity is because if they went for the oil export capacity, which they could, it would affect the price of oil, global markets would react to that, and that would be something the United States would not approve of,” Clarke said
Watch: Ukrainian drone strike on oil pumping station
Clarke continued: “The bottom line is that this is a successful campaign that the Ukrainians are conducting that is affecting the domestic economy.
“Will that directly affect the war? Probably not. Because the Russian military runs on diesel.”
But Clarke explained: “It filters through to the war in the sense that it inconveniences and bothers the Russians and reminds the Russian population that this war has a cost to them as well.”
Watch Clarke’s full Q&A…
Here are some of the latest pictures from Paris and Vladivostok.
In the French capital, Ukraine and its European allies have been meeting to further discuss security guarantees for Kyiv, with a senior US official speaking too (see our 11.12 post for more).
Meanwhile, in the far eastern Russian city, Vladimir Putin was pictured hugging two cadets from a military sports training and patriotic upbringing centre.
Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has spoken to the coalition of the willing during their meeting in Paris.
A French government official told our Europe producer Simone Baglivo: “Mr Witkoff participated in part of the work of the Coalition of the Willing and addressed all the heads of state and government present.”
They added Witkoff had to leave the meeting at the Elysee presidential palace “as planned” for another engagement, but would return when leaders called Trump later.
Witkoff will also meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy today.
The Ukrainian president’s adviser, Andriy Yermak, said he had met Witkoff with UK national security adviser Jonathan Powell.
“Our main task is the practical implementation of the agreements reached by our leaders regarding security guarantees for Ukraine,” Yermak said.
Witkoff has run point for Washington on both the wars in Ukraine and Gaza – but some have called into question his diplomatic experience.
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