Key events
Macron calls for ‘direct talks’ between Ukraine and Russia
French president Emmanuel Macron called on Saturday for “direct talks” between Ukraine and Russia in the event of a ceasefire in Moscow’s three-year invasion, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
If there is a 30-day truce, as western countries have floated, “we will look to direct talks between Ukraine and Russia, we are ready to help,” Macron said in an interview with French news outlets TF1 and LCI while travelling to Kyiv to meet European leaders.
Shaun Walker
Saturday’s visit to Kyiv is likely to focus more on finding a common western position on Ukraine to take to Donald Trump, as European leaders try their best to keep the US onside. The Trump administration has so far appeared to be much tougher on Kyiv than Moscow, but there are some small signals that the mood in Washington might be changing, after a positive meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in the Vatican on the sidelines of the pope’s funeral.
Even vice-president JD Vance, seen as the most sceptical of voices on support for Ukraine, has criticised Moscow’s stance in recent days. “Right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much,” he said earlier in the week.
Trump was asked by reporters in the Oval Office if he had a message for Putin on Friday, after the US embassy had released its air attack warning. “I have a message for both parties: Get this war ended,” he said, adding: “Get this stupid war finished. That’s my message for both of them.”
Leaders of UK, France, Germany and Poland arrive in Kyiv to push for 30-day ceasefire
The leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Poland have arrived in Kyiv for a symbolic visit to Ukraine, one day after Vladimir Putin hosted a set-piece military parade on Red Square. The visit comes as the US warned of intelligence about a big impending air attack on Ukraine.
Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv on the same train on Saturday morning, while Donald Tusk travelled on a separate train. The four leaders met in the Polish city of Rzeszow on Friday night before departing. On Saturday, they will meet Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a show of support for Ukraine, Downing Street said in a statement issued late on Friday.
“We, the leaders of France, Germany, Poland the United Kingdom will stand in Kyiv in solidarity with Ukraine against Russia’s barbaric and illegal full-scale invasion,” the four leaders said in a joint statement.
Meanwhile, Tusk said that anyone attending the military parade in Moscow to mark the end of the second world war had brought shame on themselves, after Slovak prime minister Robert Fico became the only EU leader to attend.
“I try not to comment on the decisions and behaviour of leaders of states, especially from our community,” Tusk told a news conference.
“But there is no doubt in my mind that being at the victory parade in Moscow and applauding President Putin … brings shame to everyone who is there.”
Here is a brief summary of other key developments:
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US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would like Putin and Zelenskyy to “get this war ended” in Ukraine as he pushes for a 30-day ceasefire. Trump, who departs on Monday on a trip to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, was asked what his message to Putin is in the wake of a warning from the US embassy in Kyiv about a “potentially significant” air attack in the coming days. “I have a message for both parties: Get this war ended,” Trump said of Ukraine and Russia. “Get this stupid war finished.”
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Ukrainian troops have made further attempts to breach the Russian border in the Kursk and Belgorod regions, the Russian defence ministry said on Friday. The defence ministry said the attacks occurred during a three-day ceasefire running from 8-10 May that Russia has unilaterally declared to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in the second world war. Ukraine has called the ceasefire a “farce” and on Friday documented scores of armed clashes.
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Ukrainian authorities claim to have busted a Hungarian spy ring operating on its territory, alleging that Budapest was collecting sensitive military data with one eye on a possible future incursion into the west of the country.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said North Korea’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war was justified, calling it an exercise of sovereign rights in defence of a “brother nation,” state media KCNA reported on Saturday. Kim also said Pyongyang would not hesitate to authorise the use of military force if the United States persists in military provocations against Russia.
