{"id":126598,"date":"2025-02-15T12:03:50","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T12:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-russia-war-latest-zelensky-calls-for-creation-of-army-of-europe-after-vance-speech-in-munich-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2025-02-15T12:03:50","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T12:03:50","slug":"ukraine-russia-war-latest-zelensky-calls-for-creation-of-army-of-europe-after-vance-speech-in-munich-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-russia-war-latest-zelensky-calls-for-creation-of-army-of-europe-after-vance-speech-in-munich-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky calls for creation of \u2018army of Europe\u2019 after Vance speech in Munich – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ukraine has insisted they will not accept a ceasefire deal \u2018made behind our backs\u2019
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Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> has called for the creation of an \u201carmy of Europe\u201d<\/a>, suggesting the continent could not rely on Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s United States for its defence.
The President of Ukraine<\/a> told the Munich<\/a> Security Conference: \u201cAs we fight this war and lay the groundwork for peace and security, we must build the armed forces of Europe so that Europe\u2019s future depends only on Europeans, and decisions about Europe are made in Europe.\u201d
He also suggested that the \u201cold days\u201d of America supporting Europe were gone, and that no ceasefire deal would be agreed without Ukraine\u2019s involvement. <\/a>
On Friday, a suspected Russian drone strike on Chernobyl<\/a> has sparked fears of a radioactive leak but the situation is under control, the chief engineer at Europe\u2019s largest nuclear power plant<\/a> 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,\u201d he said.
He also warned that Russia<\/a> may be preparing to launch intensified offensive operations into northern Ukraine<\/a> or attack Nato<\/a>‘s eastern flank in 2026. <\/a><\/a>
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\u2019t 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 \u201cart of the deal\u201d, Donald Trump<\/a> has made an unpromising start to his negotiations with Vladimir Putin<\/a> to end the war in Ukraine<\/a>.
According to the US president\u2019s vainglorious business guide<\/a>, published in 1987: \u201cMy 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\u2019m after.\u201d
If so, then he has broken his own rule by aiming rather low as a starting point. Between the president, vice-president JD Vance <\/a>and the defence secretary, Pete Hegseth<\/a>, significant concessions have been gifted to Mr Putin before the two leaders have even met \u2013 and, apparently, without any prior consultation with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.<\/a>
Read our full editorial here: <\/em>
Editorial: If Ukraine is effectively indefensible, for lack of American support, then Europe as a whole is far weaker \u2013 and Nato is dangerously undermined
The Ukrainian leader\u2019s comments came after Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey called on the UK and Europe to \u201cdo more\u201d to \u201cshare the burden\u201d of regional security in a joint article for the Daily Telegraph.
They also said that a \u201cdurable peace\u201d would need a \u201ccontinuing US commitment to its allies through Nato\u201d.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told Mr Zelensky that Britain is committed to Ukraine being on an \u201cirreversible path\u201d 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 \u201cseeking to recreate the Russian empire and suffocate the countries around its borders\u201d.
\u201cToo often in the past, the West has let him,\u201d they added. \u201cWe did too little in 2008 when he invaded Georgia, and in 2014 when he first went into Ukraine.\u201d
Washington has suggested Nato membership for Ukraine is off the table and Mr Zelensky will have to cede territory to Russia, but he said: \u201cUkraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement.\u201d
Mr Zelensky said he wanted allies to gather in Kyiv or online on February 24 to mark the third anniversary of Russia\u2019s full-scale assault.
He added: \u201cThis meeting must deliver a clear vision for our next steps on peace, security guarantees and the future of our collective policy.
\u201cAnd I do not believe in security guarantees without America. Yes, it will be just weak.
\u201cBut America will not offer guarantees unless Europe\u2019s own guarantees are strong.
\u201cAnd 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.\u201d
Volodymyr Zelensky called for the creation of an \u201carmy of Europe\u201d, suggesting the continent could not rely on Donald Trump\u2019s United States for its defence.
The President of Ukraine told the Munich Security Conference: \u201cAs we fight this war and lay the groundwork for peace and security, we must build the armed forces of Europe so that Europe\u2019s future depends only on Europeans, and decisions about Europe are made in Europe.\u201d
He told the gathering in Germany: \u201cSome in Europe may not fully understand what\u2019s happening in Washington right now, but let\u2019s focus on understanding ourselves right here in Europe, we must give strength to Europe first.
\u201cDoes America need Europe as a market? Yes. But as an ally? I don\u2019t know.
\u201cFor the answer to be yes. Europe needs a single voice, not a dozen different ones.\u201d
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\u2019s fourth power unit during an overnight attack, according to Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky.<\/a>
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: \u201cThe only country in the world that attacks such sites, occupies nuclear power plants, and wages war without any regard for the consequences is today\u2019s Russia. This is a terrorist threat to the entire world.\u201d He added that \u201cthe damage to the shelter is significant.\u201d
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\u2019s 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: \u201cThe only country in the world that attacks such sites, occupies nuclear power plants, and wages war without any regard for the consequences is today\u2019s Russia. This is a terrorist threat to the entire world.\u201d He added that \u201cthe damage to the shelter is significant.\u201d
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied Russia was responsible for yesterday\u2019s attack on Ukraine\u2019s 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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