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The day so far
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that “we must not let the war drag on,” as he urged the US to put pressure on Putin to “ensure that Russia is ready to end the war.” He said that “pressure must be put on Russia” to force Putin into ending the conflict, repeating that Ukraine was “ready to act quickly and constructively.”
US state secretary Marco Rubio is the latest senior politician involved in the US-Russia talks to repeat the line that there are “reasons to be cautiously optimistic” on ceasefire talks in Ukraine. Rubio described the talks by special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow as “a very positive and productive engagement yesterday with a President Putin.”
Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia will guarantee the safety of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region if they surrender. Speaking to the Russian Security Council, Putin emphasised that Ukrainian authorities need to instruct their troops to lay down their arms, Reuters reported.
French president Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that Russia must accept a proposed 30-day ceasefire deal put forward by the United States and Ukraine. Macron added he had discussed the situation on Friday with British prime minister Keir Starmer and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has blamed Vladimir Putin’s Russia for obstructing peace discussions over the ceasefire. In a long post on his conversation with the Vatican’s secretary of state Pietro Parolin, Zelenskyy said that “the world sees how Russia is deliberately putting forward conditions that only complicate and delay everything.”
Sources in Ukraine and military analysts closely tracking the conflict say Donald Trump’s claims of a mass encirclement of Ukrainian troops inside Russia’s Kursk region are not accurate. Trump claimed on Friday, apparently based on information fed by Putin, that “at this very moment, thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely surrounded by the Russian military” and that he has asked Putin to spare their lives to avoid what he described as “a horrible massacre, one not seen since the second world war”.
The White House has clarified that it was US envoy Steve Witkoff who spoke with Russian president Vladimir Putin, and not US president Donald Trump. The confusion was caused by Trump’s social media post earlier, in which he praised the discussions with the Russian leader, and said “I have strongly requested to President Putin,” making it sound as if he spoke with Putin personally.
The EU executive could play a role in joint purchase of missiles, drones and other military equipment, according to a draft document on the future of European defence. The European Commission could “act as a central purchasing body” on behalf of EU member states upon their request, states a leaked white paper. The document, due to be released next Wednesday ahead of a summit of EU leaders, reveals how rapidly the EU is evolving following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Senior EU diplomats have agreed on Friday morning to extend for six months sanctions against about 2,000 Russians, including Vladimir Putin and many senior politicians and business people. The sanctions, which have to be renewed unanimously every six months, remain in place until 15 September 2025.
The three German parties involved in discussions on creating a new €500bn euros fund boosting public spending and relaxing the constitutional debt break have agreed on the final shape of the proposal, presumed chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed. The conservative CDU/CSU party, which won last month’s parliamentary elections, have agreed with the social democratic SPD, it’s likely next coalition partner, and the Greens, moving back to the opposition, on the structure of the proposal.
Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen rejected US president Donald Trump’s latest remarks about annexing Greenland, saying the Danish autonomous island could not be taken over by another country, AFP reported. “If you look at the Nato treaty, the UN charter or international law, Greenland is not open to annexation,” he told reporters.
Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has announced a snap election for 18 May, the third in three years, after the fall of Luis Montenegro’s government. The president said he wanted to move quickly to avoid prolonged instability, adding in a televised address that 18 May was “the preferred date for the majority of parties”.
