![\"Ukrainian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755775808_676_2500.jpg\")
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy attending a meeting with Ukrainian and foreign reporters in Kyiv. Photograph: UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\nUkraine wants to get more details on security guarantees in ‘7-10 days’<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy also told reporters that he would want to see an agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine before meeting Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin, AFP said.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy attending a meeting with Ukrainian and foreign reporters in Kyiv. Photograph: UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
He warned that in the meantime both sides were preparing for further fighting, with Russia building up troops on the southern frontline and Ukraine<\/a> test launching a new long-range cruise missile.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to have an understanding of the security guarantees architecture within seven to 10 days,\u201d Zelensky said, in comments to reporters released for publication Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to understand which country will be ready to do what at each specific moment,\u201d he said. A group of allies led by Britain and France are putting together a military coalition to support the guarantees.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy also indicated his preference on where the meeting could take place, calling for a \u201cneutral\u201d European country.<\/p>\n \u201cSwitzerland, Austria \u2013 we agree… For us, Turkey is a Nato<\/a> country and part of Europe. And we are not opposed,\u201d Zelensky said of possible venues.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n US 15% tariff for cars will apply retroactively, \u0160ef\u010dovi\u010d says<\/p>\n Importantly for EU\u2019s carmakers, \u0160ef\u010dovi\u010d says that the new 15% tariff would also be applied retroactively back to 1 August.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe this is welcome news for our car industry, which was bleeding a lot of cash over the last few months,\u201d he says, saying it weighed on the negotiators\u2019 minds.<\/p>\n He said the EU was looking to present necessary legislative proposal this month.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.26 EDT<\/p>\n EU’s \u0160ef\u010dovi\u010d defends deal with US as ‘not end, beginning’ of supporting EU-US trade<\/p>\n Back to Brussels, EU trade commissioner Maro\u0161 \u0160ef\u010dovi\u010d is speaking now on the EU-US trade arrangements.<\/p>\n He reiterates the point made by von der Leyen in the press statement that the joint statement \u201cthis is not the end, it\u2019s the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis framework is the first step, one that can grow over time to cover more sectors, improve market access and strengthen our economic ties even further, this work has been intense and essential,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n He stresses the importance of the arrangement, saying:<\/p>\n \u201cThis carries considerable weight and is truly impactful at the time when the trade landscape has completely changed. <\/p>\n Our transatlantic relationship is one of the largest economic partnerships in the world, and this agreement has a clear common goal, to put it on solid ground and help drive free industrialization on both sides of the Atlantic, and we want to fully unleash the potential of our combined economic power.\u201d<\/p>\n Similarly to his comments in the past, he also says that the alternative to this, however imperfect, deal was much worse.<\/p>\n \u201cThe alternative, a trade war with sky high tariffs and political escalation, helps no one. <\/p>\n It hurts jobs. It hurts growth, and it damages businesses across both the EU and the US. And this is not theoretical as nearly 5 million European jobs, including many in SMEs would be at risk. <\/p>\n This deal avoids that path.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Lavrov’s hardline remarks cast doubt on prospects for peace talks – snap analysis Russia\u2019s foreign minister warned that Moscow must have an effective veto over any measures to support Ukraine<\/a> once a peace deal is reached, undermining western plans to provide Kyiv with security guarantees.<\/p>\n Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with India’s Foreign Minister at Zinaida Morozova’s Mansion in Moscow earlier today. Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n In a series of hardline remarks (12:30<\/a>), Sergei Lavrov said European proposals to deploy troops in Ukraine after a settlement would amount to \u201cforeign intervention,\u201d which he called absolutely unacceptable for Russia.<\/p>\n He also poured cold water on the prospect of a Putin\u2013Zelenskyy summit touted by Donald Trump, saying a bilateral meeting at the highest level would only be possible \u201cif all issues requiring discussion are thoroughly prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s veteran foreign minister further questioned whether Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a> had the legitimacy to sign any future peace accord, parroting a familiar Kremlin line that portrays Ukraine\u2019s leadership as illegitimate.<\/p>\n Lavrov\u2019s remarks cast doubt on the prospects for peace talks, suggesting that Russia is retreating from the understandings reached in Alaska \u2013 where Trump claimed Vladimir Putin<\/a> had accepted western security guarantees for Ukraine \u2013 or that the US administration may have misinterpreted the Kremlin\u2019s position from the outset.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> It\u2019s worth remembering that the joint statement is still technically not legally binding on the parties, but is a \u201cblueprint\u201d or a \u201croad map\u201d that further spells out and advances their political commitments on the EU-US trade, progressing the talks in Turnberry.<\/p>\n European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sits with US President Donald Trump, after the announcement of a trade deal between the U.S. and EU, in Turnberry, Scotland. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.15 EDT<\/p>\n We should hear more about the deal from the EU\u2019s trade commissioner Maro\u0161 \u0160ef\u010dovi\u010d, who is expected to be up at the European Commission shortly.<\/p>\n I will bring you the key lines here.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>EU-US agree on much-awaited ‘joint statement’ advancing political deal on transatlantic trade<\/p>\n We have just heard from the European Commission, confirming that the EU and the US have now agreed on the much-awaited \u201cjoint statement\u201d advancing the political commitments on trade agreed by Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump in Scotland last month.<\/p>\n The commission\u2019s press release<\/a> says the statement \u201clays out in detail the new US tariff regime towards the EU, with a clear maximum, all-inclusive, tariff rate of 15% for the vast majority of EU exports, including strategic sectors such as cars, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSectors which are already subject to Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariffs of 15% or above, will not be subject to additional tariffs,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n It also said that \u201cwith regard to cars and car parts, the 15% US tariff ceiling will apply in tandem with the EU initiating the procedures for tariff reductions vis-a-vis US products.\u201d<\/p>\n Separately, a senior US official told Reuters that tariff relief for EU carmakers were expected to come in \u201chopefully weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n The text of the joint statement<\/a> also confirms the EU\u2019s commitment to \u201cprocure US liquified natural gas, oil and nuclear energy products\u201d valued at $750bn through 2028, with another $40bn expected to be spent on US AI chips for computing centres.<\/p>\n Von der Leyen welcomed the publication, saying that \u201cfaced with a challenging situation, we have delivered for our Member States and industry, and restored clarity and coherence to transatlantic trade.\u201d<\/p>\n She also hinted that the EU would continue working \u201cto agree more tariff reductions, to identify more areas of cooperation, and to create more economic growth potential.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.09 EDT<\/p>\n German foreign minister rows back on comments about sending troops to Ukraine in Berlin<\/p>\n Johann Wadephul, the German foreign minister, has had to row back on comments he made earlier this week, in which he suggested that Germany\u2019s military would be too overstretched if it had to send troops to Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n German federal foreign minister Johann Wadephul delivers a speech during a Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) event in Jakarta. Photograph: Bay Ismoyo\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Wadepfuhl said in an interview that the Bundeswehr was already contributing troops to a combat-ready brigade in Lithuania. \u201cDoing that and also stationing troops in Ukraine would probably overstretch us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The discussion over troops in Ukraine concerns finding a security guarantee for Ukraine if and when Moscow ceased its war on the country. One suggestion has been for Nato<\/a> members to station troops in the country, even as Moscow has said it\u2019ll not accept such an arrangement.<\/p>\n Wadephul made the remarks ahead of the key meeting in Washington between Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelenskyy, US president Donald Trump, and a number of their European counterparts.<\/p>\n Wadepfuhl, who is on a trade trip to Asia, has since said that ultimately it would be for the defence minister Boris Pistorius to make a decision, and has denied that he \u201cdirectly or indirectly\u201d doubted the capacity of Germany\u2019s military.<\/p>\n The remarks come at a time when Germany is in the midst of a lively debate about how it might boost military recruits, and whether it should reintroduce conscription.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Ukrainian man arrested over Nord Stream pipeline attack, German prosecutors say<\/p>\n In other news, Italian police have arrested a Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines, Germany\u2019s prosecutor general said, adding that he would be brought before a German judge after being transferred, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n French prime minister Francois Fillon, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and European Union Energy Commissioner G\u00fcnther Oettinger turn a wheel to symbolically start the flow of gas through the Nord Stream Baltic Sea gas pipeline at a cemerony on 8 November 2011 in Lubmin, Germany. Photograph: Sean Gallup\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The suspect, identified only as Serhii K. under German privacy laws, was part of a group of people who planted devices on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in September 2022, a statement from the prosecutor\u2019s office said.<\/a><\/p>\n The prosecutor\u2019s office allege that the man and his accomplices had set off from Rostock on Germany\u2019s north-eastern coast in a sailing yacht to carry out the attack, adding that the vessel had been rented from a German company with the help of forged identity documents via middlemen.<\/p>\n Carabinieri officers arrested the suspect overnight in the province of Rimini on Italy\u2019s Adriatic coast, the German prosecutors\u2019 statement said.<\/p>\n Reuters noted that no one has ever taken responsibility for explosions that severely damaged pipelines carrying gas from Russia to Europe in September 2022, marking a major escalation in the Ukraine<\/a> conflict and ramping up an energy supply crisis on the continent.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.43 EDT<\/p>\n Lavrov blames Ukraine, Coalition of the Willing for no progress in peace talks<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has been speaking in the last few minutes, shifting blame for little progress onto Ukraine.<\/p>\n In comments, reported by Reuters, he claimed without offering evidence that Ukraine wanted to \u201cundermine Trump\u2019s efforts to resolve conflict,\u201d and insisted that Russia<\/a> \u201cwas already ready for an honest talk about security guarantees,\u201d but along the lines of its maximalist 2022 proposal.<\/p>\n Lavrov even appeared to question Zelenskyy\u2019s legitimacy to sign any deal, saying that \u201cwhen it comes to signing something, the issues of legitimate of the Ukrainian representative will have to be resolved.\u201d<\/p>\n He also criticised the \u201cCoalition of the Willing,\u201d saying they wanted to \u201cshift the focus away from resolving the root causes of the conflict,\u201d and saying that he hoped \u201csuch European adventurism fails.\u201d<\/p>\n Lavrov also rejected any suggestion that European troops could be present in Ukraine as part of security guarantees, saying it would be \u201ccompletely unacceptable\u201d for Russia.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.54 EDT<\/p>\n Ukraine wants to get more details on security guarantees in ‘7-10 days’<\/p>\n Zelenskyy also told reporters that he would want to see an agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine before meeting Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin, AFP said.<\/p>\n Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy attending a meeting with Ukrainian and foreign reporters in Kyiv. Photograph: UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n He warned that in the meantime both sides were preparing for further fighting, with Russia building up troops on the southern frontline and Ukraine<\/a> test launching a new long-range cruise missile.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to have an understanding of the security guarantees architecture within seven to 10 days,\u201d Zelensky said, in comments to reporters released for publication Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to understand which country will be ready to do what at each specific moment,\u201d he said. A group of allies led by Britain and France are putting together a military coalition to support the guarantees.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy also indicated his preference on where the meeting could take place, calling for a \u201cneutral\u201d European country.<\/p>\n \u201cSwitzerland, Austria \u2013 we agree… For us, Turkey is a Nato<\/a> country and part of Europe. And we are not opposed,\u201d Zelensky said of possible venues.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Zelenskyy says he asked Trump to get Hungary to drop its opposition to Ukraine’s EU accession<\/p>\n We are also getting more details from Zelenskyy\u2019s comments to a group of reporters, via agencies.<\/p>\n The Ukrainian president revealed that during his meeting with Donald Trump on Monday, he asked the US leader to pressure Hungary into dropping its veto on Kyiv\u2019s bid to join the EU, AFP reported.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is absolutely fair that Ukraine<\/a> wants to join the European Union… This is our sovereign right,\u201d Zelensky told reporters.<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump promised that his team would work on this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Bloomberg reported<\/a> yesterday (\u00a3) that Trump indeed called Hungary\u2019s Viktor Orb\u00e1n later to discuss the issue.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Drone that fell in Poland ‘probably’ came from Belarus, prosecutor says<\/p>\n If you followed the blog on Wednesday<\/a>, you know we looked at an incident with an allegedly Russian drone that crossed into Poland and exploded in a cornfield, some 100 km from Polish-Belarusian border.<\/p>\n A police officer walks near a police tent, after an unidentified object fell and exploded in a cornfield overnight, according to Polish authorities, in the village of Osiny, eastern Poland. Photograph: Kacper Pempel\/Reuters<\/p>\n A regional prosecutor issued an update today, saying that \u201cthere is a very high probability \u2026 that the object probably came from Belarus.\u201d<\/p>\n That marks a slight shift of tone, as on Wednesday officials claimed the drone was launched from Russia<\/a>.<\/p>\n But deputy foreign minister Marcin Bosacki said this morning that a protest note would be given to Russia later today, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.39 EDT<\/p>\n European leaders scrambled to shield Ukraine in high-stakes Trump talks \u2013 but did they? European community affairs correspondent<\/p>\n Days after the unprecedented flurry of diplomacy, questions continue to swirl over what \u2013 if anything \u2013 might come out of it. On Monday, Trump and several European leaders, said Putin had agreed<\/a> to face-to-face talks with Zelenskyy in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n European leaders meeting with Ukraine\u2019s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington DC earlier this week. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Moscow, however, has yet to confirm that any such meeting \u2013 which would be the first since Russia launched its full invasion of Ukraine<\/a> more than three years ago \u2013 is being planned, with a Kremlin aide saying only that Putin and Trump discussed the idea of \u201craising the level of representatives\u201d in the Ukraine talks.<\/p>\n Trump had also indicated a willingness to be part of security guarantees<\/a> for Kyiv if there was a deal to end fighting. But the exact nature of those guarantees remains to be seen, with Trump later ruling out<\/a> the possibility of the US putting troops on the ground in Ukraine and instead floating that Washington could provide air support.<\/p>\n Concerns also continue to linger over what exactly Trump proposed in Alaska and what, if anything, Putin agreed to during the near three-hour meeting. As Pjotr Sauer, a Guardian Russian affairs reporter, noted<\/a>, some fear Trump may have overstated the outcome and misjudged Moscow\u2019s willingness to compromise.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>‘Let’s first hear what Russia is willing to do,’ Zelenskyy says on territorial concessions<\/p>\n In further comments from Zelenskyy this morning, reported by Reuters, he said it was unclear what concessions regarding territory Moscow was willing to make to end the war.<\/p>\n Trump has previously said Kyiv and Moscow will both need to cede land.<\/p>\n \u201cTo discuss what Ukraine<\/a> is willing to do, let\u2019s first hear what Russia is willing to do,\u201d Zelenskiy said. \u201cWe do not know that.\u201c<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Morning opening: More questions than answers Three days on from the White House summit on Ukraine<\/a>, the signals are no longer as positive as US president Donald Trump would have wanted us to believe.<\/p>\n A firefighter works at the site of the Russian missile strike, amid Russia\u2019s attack on Ukraine, in the village of Sknyliv on the outskirts of Lviv, Ukraine. Photograph: Roman Baluk\/Reuters<\/p>\n Overnight, Politico reported that the US undersecretary of defence for policy, Elbridge Colby, told<\/a> European allies that the US would only offer minimal guarantees for Ukraine, with most burden left for Europe to pick up.<\/p>\n![\"Pjotr](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Pjotr_Sauer_.png\")
Pjotr Sauer<\/p>\n![\"Jakub](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755775808_981_Jakub_Krupa.png\")
Jakub Krupa<\/p>\nJakub Krupa<\/p>\n![\"Kate](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Kate_Connolly,_L.png\")
Kate Connolly<\/p>\n![\"Ashifa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Ashifa_Kassam.png\")
Ashifa Kassam<\/p>\nJakub Krupa<\/p>\n