Merz discusses Iran, Ukraine, Nato with Trump
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said he just spoke with the US president, Donald Trump, as he’s on his way back to Washington from China.
In a post on X, he said:
“I had a good phone call with @POTUS Donald Trump on his way back from China.
We agree: Iran must come to the negotiating table now. It must open the strait of Hormuz. Tehran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons.
We also discussed a peaceful solution for Ukraine and coordinated our positions ahead of the Nato summit in Ankara. The US and Germany are strong partners in a strong Nato.”
But earlier today, Merz told a meeting of German Catholic that he “would not recommend to my children today that they to go the US to get an education and to work,” AFP reported.
“I am a great admirer of America’s, but right now my admiration is not increasing,” he said, to laughter from the audience.
Wonder if he repeated any of that in his chat with Trump.
Poland, Lithuania monitoring US discussions on military presence in Europe
Elsewhere, Poland and Lithuania keep asking questions about US plans on military presence in Europe, including the consequences of widely reported plans to cancel the temporary deployment of 4,000 US-based troops to Poland.
Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk said in the last half hour that he “received assurances … that these decisions are logistical in nature and they will not directly affect the deterrence capabilities and our security.”
He said the US decision to shift its policy on overseas deployments had been coming “for years,” putting more onus on Europe “to take greater responsibility for its security.”
“Poland is absolutely the leading country here, nothing will change here,” he said.
Several senior Polish politicians, including president Karol Nawrocki and defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, recently said they were in fact engaging with the US on potentially increasing their military presence in the country (Europe Live, Wednesday).
Similar signals are coming from Lithuania, which also closely monitors the US announcements.
Lithuania’s defence minister Robertas Kaunas said last night that Lithuania was looking into whether it could convince the US to deploy more troops to the country, potentially including some of those recently withdrawn from Germany.
President Gitanas Nausėda also said last week that Lithuania was keen to see US troops withdrawn from Germany to stay in Europe, with his country open to hosting a larger group than currently.
But a recent survey, quoted by the Lithuanian media, showed that Poland is the only EU country where the general public is actually keen to see a permanent US military base in their country (51% in favour, 23% against), while the Lithuanian voters are much more sceptical (29% in favour, 43% against).
Updated
Kyiv, Lviv declare day of mourning after 24 killed in Russian strikes on capital
Responding to the new death toll from Russian attacks, Kyiv officials declared Friday a day of mourning, with national flags at half-mast across the city of 3 million, Reuters reported. All entertainments were cancelled or postponed.
Residents brought flowers, stuffed animals and sweets to a makeshift memorial at the destroyed housing block, Reuters said.
Earlier, Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi said the western Ukrainian city also lowered its flag as a sign of respect.
Ukraine attacks Russia with drones after suffering three days of massive strikes
Senior international reporter
Ukraine has launched a large-scale long-range drone attack targeting several regions in Russia including the huge Ryazan oil refinery, after three days of massive strikes by Moscow against Ukraine.
Kyiv’s attack on Friday followed a series of drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, including on the capital, Kyiv, where a cruise missile hit an apartment block on Thursday, killing 24 people including three children.
The final death toll in Kyiv emerged as emergency teams finished digging through the rubble of a nine-storey block which was hit in what the Ukrainian air force said was Russia’s biggest barrage of the country since it launched its all-out invasion in February 2022.
Russia, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, launched more than 1,500 drones and dozens of missiles in attacks across Ukraine this week over three consecutive days, Ukrainian officials said.
36 countries and EU back special tribunal to investigate Russia's aggression against Ukraine
Back to Ukraine, 36 countries and the European Union have backed plans for the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.
It looks like the tribunal, long in the making, is now getting closer to being actually established.
During a Council of Europe meeting in the Moldovan capital of Chişinău, ministers “expressed their intention to join a new Enlarged Partial Agreement,” which is diplospeak for “want to join the thing.”
Alain Berset, the secretary general of the Council of Europe, said that the tribunal “represents justice and hope” and “the time for Russia to be help to account for its aggression is fast approaching.”
“The path ahead of us is one of justice – and justice must prevail”, he said.
Australia through to Eurovision's final after second semi-final night
In other news, let’s catch up with the last night’s second semi-final of the Eurovision song contest, which saw Australia (checks notes; looks sceptically at the map of Europe) through to the grand final on Saturday.
The Guardian’s Eilish Gilligan said that heading into the competition as an early favourite behind Eurovision heavy-hitters Denmark and Finland, Australia’s 2026 Eurovision hopeful Delta Goodrem delivered a note-perfect rendition of her power-ballad entry, Eclipse.
Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Malta, Romania, Ukraine and Norway also qualified for the big night on Saturday, with the UK, Italy, Germany and France guaranteed a spot as the “Big Four,” alongside the host, Austria.
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Finland and Latvia see overnight alerts over potential incursions by stray drones
Finland and Latvia were both forced to step up their air defences last night after early alerts about potential drone incursions into their territory, but no incursions were eventually reported.
The Latvian army issued an alert after midnight local time, with Nato Baltic air policing mission fighters scrambled to respond to the incident – just hours after the country’s government effectively collapsed over the previous incursion.
It later said that the risk “passed” without incidents, adding that the problem of stray incursions will continue for as long as Russia persists with its aggression on Ukraine.
Over in Finland, no incursion was eventually reported after an alert was issued for Helsinki and Porvoom, prompting a brief closure of the Helsinki airport.
But the country’s prime minister, Petteri Orpo, stressed at this morning’s press conference that even the mere prospect of a stray Ukrainian drone crossing into Finland was unacceptable and this was relayed to the authorities in Kyiv.
The country’s president, Alexander Stubb, later stressed that “there is no direct military threat against Finland.” “I thank the Finnish authorities for their swift reaction to the drone alert this morning. Our authorities demonstrated their readiness and capacity to react,” he said.
Air force commander Timo Herranen said the army was ready to shot the drone down if needed.
Updated
Morning opening: 24 killed in Russian attack on Kyiv
At least 24 people, including three children, were reported killed in yesterday’s Russian attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The death toll update came after a night of search and rescue operations.
“The Russians practically demolished an entire section of the building with their missile,” president Zelenskyy said after visiting the site in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs said it was “one of the deadliest attacks on Kyiv since the start of Russia’s full-scale war.”
Zelenskyy added:
“A Russia like this can never be normalised – a Russia that deliberately destroys lives and hopes to remain unpunished. Pressure is needed. It is Ukraine that is defending Europe and the world so that such strikes, in which children are killed, do not spread further.”
Separately, Russia and Ukraine have reportedly exchanged 205 prisoners of war each, which Zelenskyy said was the first part of a broader swap of 1,000 for 1,000.
It’s Friday, 15 May 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
