Putin will have ‘played’ Trump if he refuses to meet Zelenskyy as agreed, Macron says
During the press conference, Macron also reiterated that a just and lasting peace is only possible if Ukraine gets strong security guarantees.
He added that they both hoped that Russia’s Putin would move ahead with the bi- or trilateral meeting on ending the war, as committed to in conversations with president Trump.
But Macron warned that if Putin was to miss the Monday deadline, it would have been another example of him trying to “play” Trump, which he said could not go unanswered, and should prompt further sanctions.
He indicated that both him and Merz could speak with Trump over the weekend.
Key events
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Closing summary
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British Council’s Kyiv offices ‘rendered unusable’ by Russian strike, director says
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‘EU will not stop to support Ukraine,’ Russian envoy told after strike damaged EU delegation in Kyiv
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Russia is ‘obviously prolonging hostilities,’ Zelenskyy’s top aide tells US Witkoff
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France’s Macron says he will continue mandate until end of term, despite political crises
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Ukraine war could go on for ‘many months’ as Putin ‘clearly unwilling’ to advance talks, Merz says
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Putin will have ‘played’ Trump if he refuses to meet Zelenskyy as agreed, Macron says
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France, Germany to provide more air defence to Ukraine, work closer on security
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Costs of not helping Ukraine now will be more substantial in longer term, Danish defence minister warns
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‘Broad support’ to expand EU military mission to provide training, advice inside Ukraine after truce, Kallas says
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Russia deliberately chooses to escalate and mock peace efforts, EU’s Kallas says
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Russia massing 100,000 troops near east Ukraine stronghold of Pokrovsk, Zelenskyy says
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‘Russia must stop the killing and show genuine willingness for peace,’ EU26 says
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Ukraine’s top military chief speaks with ‘Coalition of the Willing’ on security support for Ukraine
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Zelenskyy says security guarantees discussion needs leaders’ involvement, parliamentary ratification
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Zelenskyy urges Monday deadline for Russia to agree to bilateral meeting on ending war
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Europe needs to recognise need to work on readiness to respond to crises, EU’s von der Leyen says, as she warns against ‘predator’ Putin
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Turkish foreign minister claims Russia scales back its territorial demands in Ukraine
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Sweden summons Russian ambassador over Ukraine attacks
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Russia appears to reject security guarantees for Europe, warning of risk of conflict
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Russian missiles will not stop our support for Ukraine as the British Council’s vital work goes on – comment
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Kyiv residents fatalistic but defiant as city again comes under mass air attack
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Ireland’s Harris supports Denmark over alleged US Greenland influence campaign
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‘This cannot be consequence-free zone,’ Ireland’s Harris says after Russian attacks on Kyiv
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Morning opening: 23 dead in yesterday’s Russian attacks on Kyiv, Zelenskyy says
Closing summary
Jakub Krupa
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
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European leaders have accused Vladimir Putin of undermining peace talks, after Russian missile strikes on Kyiv this week killed at least 23 people and damaged diplomatic buildings, including EU and British Council offices (9:38, 9:51, 14:00).
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EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas accused Russia of disregard for international law and of undermining peace efforts. Her statement was endorsed by all EU member states except Hungary, which is led by Putin’s ally Viktor Orbán (15:10, 15:30, 15:36, 15:43).
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French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz also condemned Russia’s attacks and delay tactics (16:52, 16:56), as they pledged to provide more air defence to Ukraine (15:53) and push for peace talks to advance or Russia face more sanctions.
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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that allies should consider Monday to be the deadline for Russia to agree to bilateral meeting on ending war and call for “a response” if it misses the date (14:05). Separately, he also warned that Russia was massing 100,000 troops near east Ukraine stronghold of Pokrovsk, warning of potential “offensive actions” (15:13).
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Zelenskyy’s top aide, Andriy Yermak, also warned the US special envoy Steve Witkoff that Russia was “obviously prolonging hostilities,” as the pair met in New York (17:28).
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Sweden joined the EU (17:44) and the UK (17:56) in summoning the Russian ambassador to “protest against Russia’s continued attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians” (11:51).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
British Council’s Kyiv offices ‘rendered unusable’ by Russian strike, director says
Dan Sabbagh
Defence and security editor
Colm McGivern, the director of the British Council in Ukraine, said a security guard had been injured and the cultural organisation’s headquarters had been “rendered unusable” by damage from Thursday’s Russian air strikes on Kyiv.
No evidence has emerged to suggest the council was deliberately targeted by Moscow, though McGivern said “what I do know is that Russia has targeted educational and cultural infrastructure in Ukraine repeatedly”.
A neighbouring building in the city centure was struck at 5.40am and the ensuing blast wave from the explosion blew out the British Council’s windows, destroyed its ceilings and left its computers non functional, the director said.
Such was the damage that a security guard, on night watch was injured and hospitalised. The guard had to have an operation, and McGivern said “thankfully he is going to be okay”. No other employees were on the site at the time.
McGivern said that the 120 staff of the unit, 119 of whom are Ukrainian, had resolved to continue with the British Council’s cultural activities despite the loss of the premises for the foreseeable future, including supporting the Kyiv International Short Film Festival next week.
“It was another night where Ukraine has been subject to a barbaric attack,” McGivern said. “There is a palpable level of anger and colleagues are more determined than ever to do all they can, to act on the things they can control, which is strengthen the relationship with the UK”.
‘EU will not stop to support Ukraine,’ Russian envoy told after strike damaged EU delegation in Kyiv
Jennifer Rankin
in Brussels
Our Brussels correspondent Jennifer Rankin has asked the European Commission for more details about its summoning of the Russian charges d’affaires yesterday, after a Russian strike in Kyiv hit the EU delegation building and the British Council offices, among others.
EU spokesperson for foreign affairs Anitta Hipper said:
“The European External Action Service under the leadership of the HR/VP has summoned the Chargé d’Affaires of the Russian mission to the European Union, Karen Malayan yesterday.
Clear messages have been passed.
Firstly, Russian reckless attacks resulted in the death of at least 23 people, including 4 children.
Secondly, on the fact that the damages to the EU Delegations are serious and constitute a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Inviolability of diplomatic premises and personnel is to be respected in all cases.
And thirdly, the EU will not stop to support Ukraine.
Russia must stop killing and negotiate.”
Russia is ‘obviously prolonging hostilities,’ Zelenskyy’s top aide tells US Witkoff
Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top aide, Andriy Yermak, met with US peace envoy Steve Witkoff in New York.
Yermak said the meeting, which he attended together with Ukraine’s first deputy minister of foreign affairs Serhii Kyslytsia, was intended to “push for real diplomacy and the implementation of all agreements of the Washington summit.”
He said that the Ukrainian delegation told Witkoff about “all the war crimes that Russia commits daily against our cities and communities,” including Thursday’s attack on Kyiv, which killed 23 people.
“Unfortunately, Russia is not doing anything necessary to end the war and is obviously prolonging the hostilities,” he warned.
He told Witkoff that Ukraine is “open to direct talks at the leadership level,” ramping up further pressure on making the bi- or trilateral summit with Zelenskyy, Putin and potentially Trump happen in near future.
Yermak also said he invited Witkoff to visit Ukraine “in the near future.”
France’s Macron says he will continue mandate until end of term, despite political crises
Given the domestic political context in France, with François Bayrou’s government widely expected to collapse next month, Macron’s comments that he intends to serve out the rest of his term are also making headlines.
The president told reporters that he had a long discussion with Bayrou about his plan, and appeared to back his plan for a crunch vote in parliament, saying the situation required a principled discussion about key issues.
Asked about his future, he insisted that “the mandate which has been given to me by the French people, and by no-one else, is a mandate that will be carried out through to the end of its term.”
And that ends their press conference.
Separately, chancellor Merz also pushed back against US president Donald Trump’s questioning the EU’s digital regulations, stressing it was an expression of the bloc’s sovereignty.
“We are doing this in our own interest and solely for our own interest, and we will certainly not be guided by statements that perhaps consider completely different, perhaps even no, regulation necessary and important,” he said.
Ukraine war could go on for ‘many months’ as Putin ‘clearly unwilling’ to advance talks, Merz says
Germany’s Merz warned in turn that the war could go on for “many months” as he questioned Vladimir Putin’s commitments to progress the peace talks.
He pointed out that the original discussion focused on hosting a bilateral summit between Putin and Zelenskyy within two weeks, and yet the Russian president remained “clearly unwilling” to follow through on this plan.
“Frankly, this doesn’t surprise me, because it’s part of the Russian president’s strategy to proceed in the same way,” he said.
Instead, he stressed the importance of working together within the Coalition of the Willing and putting even more pressure on Russia to come to the table.
Putin will have ‘played’ Trump if he refuses to meet Zelenskyy as agreed, Macron says
During the press conference, Macron also reiterated that a just and lasting peace is only possible if Ukraine gets strong security guarantees.
He added that they both hoped that Russia’s Putin would move ahead with the bi- or trilateral meeting on ending the war, as committed to in conversations with president Trump.
But Macron warned that if Putin was to miss the Monday deadline, it would have been another example of him trying to “play” Trump, which he said could not go unanswered, and should prompt further sanctions.
He indicated that both him and Merz could speak with Trump over the weekend.
Speaking at a joint press conference just now, Emmanuel Macron also stressed the need for the two countries to work together on industrial and digital policies, saying they would improve their digital sovereignty and competitiveness in “cutting-edge technologies.”
The president also said they were determined to preserve the EU’s legislation on digital, which can be seen as an indirect response to US president Donald Trump’s repeated comments expressing his frustration with the bloc’s rulebooks, which he sees as discriminating American technology.
He also signalled France and Germany would work together more closely on other issues, including the future of the automotive industry, steel, climate policies, and migration.
France, Germany to provide more air defence to Ukraine, work closer on security
We are also getting first news lines from Toulon, where French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz attended the 25th Franco-German Council of Ministers.
A joint statement from the meeting includes a commitment to start what is called as “strategic dialogue” over nuclear deterrence and more broadly linking the two countries’ security policies, agencies reported.
Importantly for Kyiv, it is also reported to include a pledge to provide more air defence systems to Ukraine, adding that “despite intensive international diplomatic efforts, Russia shows no intention to end its war of aggression against Ukraine”.