Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
The stream of Putin’s speech at Valdai will remain live for the most brave among you who are really keen on listening to it in full.
Some of the other key lines from his speech so far were on Europe “being relegated to the periphery of the global competition,” and his warning to people about “falling into the temptation of delusion,” while raging against “rampant nationalism and neonazism” in Ukraine and “globalist expansionist” policy of the west.
Erm.
Here is your summary of the day:
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned European leaders that Russia was “stepping up its destructive actions” and told them that “what matters most for European security now is political will” (10:47, 16:52). He also spoke about the prospect of getting access to US long-range missiles (17:04).
Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen vowed to push ahead with Ukraine’s accession to the European Union despite Hungary’s veto, saying she would not allow “one country and Viktor Orbán” to block the process and calling for progress in technical talks with the bloc (16:55, 16:58, 17:07).
Frederiksen also warned that Russia was “testing us more than ever” as she said that Russia “will not stop until they are forced to” (10:28) and that “this war was never just about Ukraine” (10:34) as she told leaders to make Europe “so strong that a war is no longer an option” (16:49), echoing earlier warnings by Poland’s Donald Tusk who stressed that “if Ukraine loses, it means our failure” (11:15).
But it emerged that the leaders were bitterly divided about the prospect of using frozen Russian assets, with Belgium (10:21) and Hungary (16:31) leading the sceptics, while others – including Germany (15:31) – strongly in favour.
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Updated
Back to Putin, he now blames Europe for the situation in Ukraine, as he says it “continues to escalate the conflict.”
Here are just a few pictures from some of the many Russian drone strikes on Ukraine in the last 72 hours.
Updated
