EU Welcomes Zelensky’s Call for Direct Talks With Putin

Europe has thrown its weight behind Volodymyr Zelensky’s dramatic appeal to Vladimir Putin, with EU officials endorsing the Ukrainian president’s push for face-to-face talks as a possible way to halt a war now grinding through its fifth year.

Mr Zelensky set out that offer in an open letter to the Russian leader, proposing a direct meeting to negotiate an end to the conflict while making clear that, failing that, Kyiv was prepared to continue the fight.

“We welcome President Zelensky’s call for direct negotiations and also the call for a ceasefire — and from our side, we will go once more through the facts, and this is that Ukraine wants peace, Europe wants peace,” EU spokeswoman Anitta Hipper said.

In the letter, which the president’s office said was also sent to other countries including the United States, Mr Zelensky argued that many Russians had wearied of Ukrainian missile and drone strikes, inflation and fuel shortages, and were now ready for peace.

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He said any route to peace had to begin at the frontline, calling it “the line from which diplomacy must begin”. Ukraine, Mr Zelensky said, supported “a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations”.

“This is standard practice.”

Residents and municipal crews remove debris from the streets after a Russian air strike in Kramatorsk, Ukraine

He added that the United States “has the capability to monitor a ceasefire along the line where hostilities stop”.

Mr Zelensky also suggested fixing a clear date for talks and noted that a number of countries had “traditionally hosted leaders to resolve issues of war and peace”, naming Switzerland, Turkey and countries in the Arab world.

“Do not be afraid to take the path out of this war. That is the main thing that is required of you now,” Mr Zelensky wrote.

“Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us — and you. I am proposing a meeting… If you do not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue fighting for its existence.”

He also implied that a prolonged war could put Mr Putin’s own standing at risk.

Mr Zelensky said the US ‘has the capability to monitor a ceasefire along the line where hostilities stop’

“It is a fact of Russian history that you know well: when Russia grows tired, change comes.”

In Moscow, the Kremlin said it had received Mr Zelensky’s letter and that Mr Putin had been briefed on its contents.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, writing on X, said the letter would also be transmitted formally through diplomatic channels.

Mr Sybiha called it “a serious and meaningful proposal to end the war…with clear, doable steps and an invitation for a personal meeting”.

“We expect a meaningful response to this proposal. It’s time to end this war. It’s time to choose peace.”

French President Emmanuel Macron also backed Mr Zelensky’s call for direct talks with Mr Putin, saying the moment had come to reopen dialogue with Moscow.

“I believe that it is now up to Ukraine and Russia to establish both a ceasefire and a peace plan.

“It is the Europeans who can help with this,” Mr Macron said at a summit of EU and Balkan leaders in Montenegro.

France, Germany and UK leaders to hold talks with Zelensky

The leaders of France, Germany and Britain are due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in London on Sunday for talks on how to increase pressure on Russia as it struggles with military setbacks in its invasion of Ukraine, the French presidency said today.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will discuss next steps with Mr Zelensky at a moment when “Russia, in a state of military, economic and strategic failure, is persisting unsuccessfully with a deadly war”, the Elysee said.

Ukraine regained more territory than it lost to Russian forces in May for the second consecutive month, according to analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) published earlier this month.

At the same time, Russia’s offensive has driven up prices, triggered tax increases, pushed borrowing costs to their highest level in two decades, and contributed to business closures and labour shortages, leaving the economy in its most difficult position since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

The meeting, set to begin at Downing Street at about 6.30pm on Sunday, will also “take stock of the work undertaken in favour of a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and on the European continent”, the French presidency said.

Starmer warns Russia could strike a NATO country within four years

Russia could launch an attack on a NATO member within four years, according to western intelligence assessments, Mr Starmer warned today.

He made the remarks as he promised that his government would publish a long-delayed defence investment plan before next month’s NATO summit.

“It is our intelligence assessment and the assessment of other countries in NATO that there could be an attack by Russia on NATO as soon as 2030,” Mr Starmer said.

“So you can see the urgency and the priority that we’re putting behind this now,” he added during a visit to a drone manufacturer in southwest England.

The warning mirrors similar timelines put forward by other European leaders and NATO chief Mark Rutte, who said in December that Russia “could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years”.

Mr Starmer has pledged to lift defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product from next year, with that figure rising to 3% in the next parliament.

A 10-year defence investment plan, due after a review of the UK’s defence capabilities, had been expected late last year but has yet to appear.

Mr Starmer said it would be published before the NATO summit in Turkey, which begins on 7 July.

UK media has reported that the plan has been held up by disagreements between the finance ministry and other departments over the cost.

Mr Starmer insisted to reporters it would be “fully funded”.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly pressed NATO members to spend more on defence and reduce their reliance on Washington for security.