Ukraine

European foreign ministers met in Paris on Wednesday, saying a peace deal in Ukraine would require the involvement of Kyiv and its European allies. The meeting came as US President Donald Trump said he had agreed to immediate peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, spoke to Euronews about Ukraine’s role in the German election campaign and what he says is a lack of political courage.

European Investment Bank president Nadia Calviño said Ukraine was “our top priority right now,” adding that the bank and Ukraine had signed “agreements to mobilise around €1 billion in investment in the public sector and in the private sector.”

Less than a day before that announcement, US media reported that Donald Trump had had a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss steps towards a negotiated solution.

Fico’s views on Russia have largely differed from the European mainstream. He ended Slovakia’s military aid for Ukraine, criticised European Union sanctions on Russia and vowed to block Ukraine from joining NATO.

Russian forces seized the NPP in the early weeks following the 2022 invasion and have held it ever since but fighting around the complex has raised fears of a nuclear accident.

Moscow says the attack has been repelled, Kyiv doesn’t comment on the developments, while Russian military bloggers say another surprise attack is on its way.

A dire shortage of infantry troops coupled with Russian drone attacks on supply routes are weakening Ukraine’s resistance in the key city of Pokrovsk.

When Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to negotiate with Vladimir Putin in order to end the war, it wasn’t the first time Ukraine’s leader announced his readiness to talk to Moscow. In fact, the two sides already tried to negotiate in the early days of the war.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday morning, where he is announcing a new aid package of financial support for Ukraine.