Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today!
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the trilateral talks with the US and Russia were “not easy,” but insisted that Ukraine would remain to be constructive and seek a fair deal to end to the Russian aggression (9:46, 14:31).
The discussions led to an agreement to exchange 314 prisoners in “first such exchange in five months,” US envoy Steve Witkoff said (11:29).
The negotiations in Abu Dhabi marked the most substantive engagement between senior delegations from Kyiv and Moscow in months, pointing to a tentative, if uncertain, revival of diplomatic efforts nearly four years into the war (16:04).
Separately, Russia signalled its readiness to engage with more European leaders, saying it could “listen to any proposal” if it considered it a serious attempt to reopen diplomatic channels and not “pathetic” posturing (10:41, 16:27).
Meanwhile, western sanctions are having a “significant impact” on the Russian economy, the EU’s sanctions envoy has said, ahead of the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion (11:20).
In other news,
US vice-president JD Vance and US secretary of state Marco Rubio have arrived in Italy for tomorrow’s opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games amid continuing controversy over the reported involvement of ICE officers within the US diplomatic protection team, with the US now denying they are present in Italy at all (9:55, 13:59).
Spain has accused Pavel Durov of “spreading lies” and seeking to undermine democratic institutions after the Telegram founder used the messaging app to attack government plans to introduce a social media ban for under-16s (17:16).
The US ambassador to Poland has blacklisted Polish parliamentary speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty from all “further dealings, contact, and communications” with the US administration, after he refused to back a call for US president Donald Trump to be awarded the Nobel peace prize (15:53, 16:51).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Spain hits back at Pavel Durov over mass Telegram post on social media ban plan
Sam Jones in Madrid and Jon Henley
Spain has accused Pavel Durov of “spreading lies” and seeking to undermine democratic institutions after the Telegram founder used the messaging app to attack government plans to introduce a social media ban for under-16s and to hold tech companies responsible for hateful and harmful content.
Durov’s extraordinary public intervention – which came a day after Elon Musk called Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, a “true fascist totalitarian” over the proposed measures – reveals the rapidly escalating tensions between European governments and powerful global technology chiefs.
In a blanket message sent to all Telegram users in Spain on Wednesday afternoon, the Russian technology entrepreneur accused Sánchez’s government of “pushing dangerous new regulations that threaten your internet freedoms”, adding that the measures could turn Spain “into a surveillance state under the guise of ‘protection’”.
Durov claimed the mandatory age verification contained in the proposed legislation would set a precedent for tracking “EVERY user’s identity, eroding anonymity and opening doors to mass data collection”. He also said that holding tech executives liable for illegal, hateful or harmful content would encourage “over-censorship” and lead platforms to “delete anything remotely controversial to avoid risks, silencing political dissent, journalism, and everyday opinions”.
Spanish government sources hit back, saying Durov’s unprecedented message to millions of users was designed to erode trust in institutions and demonstrated the need for social media and mobile messaging apps to be regulated.
“Telegram founder Pavel Durov used his unrestricted control of the app to send a mass message to all users in Spain, spreading several lies and making illegitimate attacks against the government. This is the first time this has happened in our country’s history,” they said.
“Spaniards cannot live in a world where foreign tech oligarchs can flood our phones with propaganda at will simply because the government has announced measures to protect minors and enforce the law.”
Durov was arrested in Paris in August 2024 as part of an inquiry into allegations of fraud, drug trafficking, organised crime, promotion of terrorism and cyberbullying. He was detained on suspicion of failing to take action to curb the allegedly criminal use of his platform and was eventually charged with 12 offences.
He was later released under judicial supervision and has denied all the charges against him, describing his arrest as “legally and logically absurd” and saying investigators were “struggling to find anything that I or Telegram did wrong”.
Sweden to send €95m aid to Ukraine to help with energy, heating shortages
Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson said Sweden would send €95m in further aid for Ukraine to help with “immediate needs” on energy and heating infrastructure, including through power generators.
Kristersson said he was “appalled by Russia’s destruction of Ukraine’s energy and heating infrastructure, deliberately causing a humanitarian crisis for Ukrainians this winter.”
“Sweden stands firmly by Ukraine’s side,” he stressed.
Updated
Travel industry fears summer disruption amid new biometric checks at European borders
Transport correspondent
UK travel industry leaders have called on the European Commission to tell all border authorities to stand down the new entry-exit system (EES) if needed, as fears increase of summer disruption.
European airports have warned of a potentially “disastrous” experience for passengers and huge queues unless the new biometric controls for foreign visitors are relaxed.
Most British holidaymakers to Europe will need to be fingerprinted, photographed and registered, and UK firms have reported wide divergence in how the rules have been applied since the soft launch of the scheme in October.
The staggered start has already seen long queues at some European airports, despite provisions for border officers to relax the requirements. Currently, states only need register a minimum 35% of travellers, but in theory all passengers are due to complete the EES registration from 10 April.
Border authorities are allowed to reduce the number or extent of checks – or even stand down the system – to avoid significant disruption and large queues.
Many border crossings had the EES infrastructure up and ready well before last October’s launch, including on British soil at Eurotunnel in Folkestone and Eurostar’s London St Pancras International station.
But most visitors to the 29 countries introducing EES will probably register their details at border control on landing at airports. The trade body Airports Council International (ACI) has reported that the system was causing delays of up to three hours, with airports in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy among the worst affected.
'Allies should respect, not lecture each other,' Tusk tells US after move to blacklist parliament speaker
On that Polish-US clash over Trump’s Nobel peace prize (15:53)…
Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has just pushed back against the US blacklisting of his coalition partner, saying:
“Mr. Ambassador Rose, allies should respect, not lecture, each other. At least this is how we, here in Poland, understand partnership.”
Meanwhile, the blacklisted parliament speaker Czarzasty replied on X, saying he would not change his views, regardless of the newly imposed ban on his engagement with the US administration.
Updated
Russia willing to engage with 'serious' attempts to talk, Lavrov says, but blasts 'pathetic' comments on reopening diplomatic channels
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia was always willing to engage with “serious” attempts to restablish diplomatic channels, as he blasted “pathetic” comments from European leaders suggesting they may call Russia’s Vladimir Putin one day.
His comments come after French president Emmanuel Macron appeared to suggest that France was looking to re-establish diplomatic contacts with Russia, with preparatory talks at the technical level, as reported by the French press (10:41).
According to the English language transcript of his interview for Russian state RT television, he said:
“A few weeks ago, French president Emmanuel Macron stated once again that he would call President Putin ‘someday.’
This is not serious diplomacy; it is pathetic. If you wish to call and discuss something seriously, then call. The Russian President will always answer, will listen to any proposal, and if it is serious, I can assure you it will receive a serious, concrete, and practical response.”
Lavrov claimed that Russia continued to maintain contact with “some European leaders,” who “call and ask us not to publicise the conversations.”
He argued:
“Yet nothing they tell us in these closed, confidential meetings differs from their public statements. It is the same old refrain: ‘let’s end this,’ ‘we need to do something.’ I see no coherent position from Europe.
They are trapped by their own rhetoric, locked into an uncompromising stance: ‘Russia’s strategic defeat,’ ‘Ukraine cannot lose, and Russia cannot win, otherwise Europe loses face.’ Everything they do now is designed to prevent and disrupt the negotiations that have been taking shape between us and the Americans, and which Ukrainian representatives are now joining.”
Ukraine-Russia talks end without breakthrough, but mark 'most substantive engagement' in months - snap analysis
Russian affairs reporter
Ukraine and Russia concluded a second day of US-led talks in Abu Dhabi on Thursday without a breakthrough towards ending Europe’s most deadly conflict since the second world war.
The two sides agreed to a reciprocal exchange of 157 prisoners of war each, offering a rare concrete outcome from the discussions.
But Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy involved in the talks, cautioned that “significant work remains” in the weeks ahead, dampening expectations of any swift move towards peace.
Even so, the meetings marked the most substantive engagement between senior delegations from Kyiv and Moscow in months, pointing to a tentative, if uncertain, revival of diplomatic efforts nearly four years into the war.
Thursday’s meeting, which lasted three hours, followed a round of trilateral negotiations on Wednesday that ran for about five and a half hours.
Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said the trilateral negotiations had been “genuinely constructive”, thanking the US and the United Arab Emirates for their role in mediating the talks.
Russia’s representative, Kirill Dmitriev, similarly struck a positive note, saying there had been progress and “forward movement” in discussions on ending the war.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, later said the peace talks would continue in the near future.
Updated
US blacklists Polish parliament speaker after refusal to back Trump for Nobel peace prize
The US ambassador to Poland has blacklisted Polish parliamentary speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty from all “further dealings, contact, and communications” with the US administration, after he refused to back a call for US president Donald Trump to be awarded the Nobel peace prize.
The conflict follows a widely reported request from the US House speaker, Mike Johnson, and the Israeli Knesser speaker, Amir Ohana, asking Czarzasty and other European parliamentary speakers to support Trump’s candidacy and sign a drafted letter of support.
But on Monday, Czarzasty said he would not support the motion because in his view the US president “does not deserve” the award.
He said that Trump was “destabilising” international organisations by promoting his own initiatives such as the Board of Peace, and pursued “the politics of power” based on “transactional politics.” He also criticised the US policy on Greenland, amid Trump’s continuing interest in controlling the Danish territory.
Responding to his comments, US ambassador to Poland Tom Rose said today that his “outrageous and unprovoked insults” made Czarzasty “a serious impediment to our excellent relations” with the Polish government, and announced that “effective immediately, [the embassy] will have no further dealings, contact, and communications” with him.
“We will not permit anyone to harm U.S.–Polish relations, nor disrespect @realDonaldTrump, who has done so much for Poland and the Polish people,” he said.
Czarzasty is the speaker of the Polish Sejm, the lower chamber of the Polish parliament. A former Communist party member before 1989, he also leads the New Left party, a junior partner in the pro-European coalition government of prime minister Donald Tusk.
EU deal on Ukraine loan could boost UK if it agrees to help pay costs
in Brussels
Meanwhile, it emerged that the UK could reap greater benefits from a €90bn (£78bn) EU loan for Ukraine, if it agrees to help pay the cost of borrowing, after European countries signed off long-awaited financial aid for Kyiv.
British firms could have greater opportunities to supply defence equipment to Ukraine funded by the loan if the government agrees a “fair” contribution towards EU borrowing costs.
Senior EU diplomats meeting on Wednesday approved a long-awaited loan for Ukraine, which includes the new element of a more open door towards the UK.
The UK clause, including the requirement for British financial contribution, had been approved by Monday, according to three diplomatic sources. EU member states, however, will need to hold further talks on how to include the UK, including agreeing a list of products that could be procured from British suppliers.
The decision comes after the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, signalled he would like to reopen talks with the EU on a defence pact. Negotiations to join the EU’s €150bn Security Action for Europe (Safe) programme collapsed last year.
As the current Safe scheme progresses without the UK, the loan for Kyiv offers a more immediate way for the EU and UK to find rapprochement on defence.
The loan is a crucial lifeline for Ukraine, which has been enduring months of brutal Russian attacks damaging its energy and heating systems, leaving people in the cold and dark, while the country is in the grip of a bitterly cold winter.
EU leaders last year agreed to lend Ukraine the money to fill a critical funding gap in 2026 and 2027, as Kyiv risks running out of money to fund its defence, pay public servants and pensions.
The loan will be funded by borrowing on capital markets, secured against unused spending in the EU budget. EU leaders alighted on this solution, after disagreeing over the alternative of securing the loan against Russia’s frozen assets.
Under the plan, €60bn is earmarked for Ukraine’s defence and €30bn for general budget support.
Abu Dhabi talks 'not easy' but Ukraine remains constructive, Zelenskyy says after Kyiv talks with Poland's Tusk
Speaking alongiside Tusk, Zelenskyy said the discussions in Abu Dhabi were “not easy,” but insisted that Ukraine would remain to be constructive and seek a fair deal to end to the Russian aggression.
He said that all security guarantees given to Ukraine would strengthen the security of this part of Europe, and insisted there should be no reward for the Russian aggression.
Zelenskyy said that Kyiv was ready to swap its drones for air defence missiles and Polish MiG-29 fighter jets, Reuters reported, and that the two countries also discussed the development of power grid connectivity between them.
Responding, Poland’s Tusk said he wanted to be in Kyiv, “because this is the place on the world map where all people see very clearly, as if through a magnifying glass, what is good and what is evil.”
He said:
“All decent people in the world cannot have the slightest doubt about whose side to stand on and whom to support, because by supporting Ukraine in its heroic resistance against senseless Russian aggression, we support everything that is good, right and true in the world.”
Tusk said that Poland was preparing a new €47m aid package for Ukraine, mainly on armoured equipment, to help it fight the Russian aggression, and pledged Poland’s support in Ukraine’s relations with the EU.
He also repeated that the EU should throw its weight behind the negotiation process to make sure the ultimate peace deal on the table is acceptable to Kyiv, and insisted Poland would block any attempts to pressurise Kyiv into agreeing to a bad deal.
Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.
He also said that Poland will host the next Ukraine reconstruction conference in Gdańsk in June this year.
Updated
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy has also been speaking alongside Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk in the last few minutes as part of Tusk’s visit to Kyiv.
I will bring you the key lines here shortly.
Updated
Ukraine's Zelenskyy confirms prisoners swap, says Ukraine 'bringing our people home'
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just commented on the prisoners swap announced by US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff earlier (11:29).
In a post on X, he said Ukraine was “bringing our people home,” confirming 157 Ukrainians are part of the exchange.
“Warriors from the Armed Forces, National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service. Soldiers, sergeants, and officers. Along with our defenders, civilians are also returning. Most of them had been in captivity since 2022,” he said.
Zelenskyy added that “today’s exchange came after a long pause, and it is critical that we were able to make it happen.”
“We will continue to work to release our people from captivity. We must bring everyone back – and we certainly will. We are working on every name so that each family can finally welcome their loved ones home,” hew said.
Updated
US vice-president meets with US athletes ahead of Winter Olympics as US says no ICE agents involved in delegation
Back to Italy, US vice-president JD Vance and US secretary of state Marco Rubio have met with some US athletes competing in the Olympic Games, starting officially tomorrow (although the first few competitions are already under way, don’t tell me you didn’t watch curling last night).
“The whole country – Democrat, Republican, Independent – we’re all rooting for you, we’re cheering for you, and we know you’re going to make us proud,” Vance told the athletes.
He added that the competition “is one of the few things that unites the entire country,” and is expected to watch the US women’s hockey team take on the Czech Republic later today, AP reported.
But as I mentioned earlier (9:55), there is still an on-going backlash over the security arrangements around Vance and Rubio, including media reports about expected inclusion of US Immigration and Customers Enforcement, or ICE, officials in the delegation, supporting the US state department’s Diplomatic Security Service.
The Italian press reported that overall some 300 US agents were expected to come to Italy to protect the vice-president from all US agencies.
Italy’s interior minister Matteo Piantedosi said earlier this week that ICE officials will not conduct any policing on Italian streets, dismissing political outrage over their presence as baseless, Reuters reported.
And in the latest plot twist, a top security official for the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said on Thursday that no agents from US ICE were part of the delegation at all – despite US officials previously suggesting the opposite.
“I can tell you unequivocally that there are no ICE agents that are part of the Team USA delegation on the ground here in Milan,” Nicole Deal, Chief of Security and Athlete Services for USOPC, told reporters, as quoted by Reuters.
Deal blamed the backlash on “misinformation and assumptions.“
But some of that frustration among locals is still seen in the city, as perhaps best captured by this mural spotted by a Reuters photojournalist on the streets of Milan.
Updated
Russia expels German diplomat in tit-for-tat move
Separately, Russia’s foreign ministry said it had expelled a German diplomat in response to what it said was Berlin’s unfounded expulsion of a Russian diplomat accused of espionage in January, Reuters reported.
“The expulsion of a German diplomat from Russia is completely unfounded and totally unacceptable,” said German foreign minister Johann Wadephul, adding that Russia was resorting to unjustified retaliatory measures instead of diplomacy.
Speaking during a trip to Brunei, Wadephul said the diplomat in question was a member of the military attache staff at the German embassy in Moscow.
“We reserve the right to take further action,” he added.
Ukraine-Russian talks in Abu Dhabi end, spokesperson says
The Ukraine-Russia talks in Abu Dhabi have now reportedly concluded, Ukrainian and western agencies are reporting, quoting Diana Davityan, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian led negotiator Rustem Umerov.
Turning Russian Starlinks off resulting in 'disastrous' impact on Russian troops in Ukraine, Ukrainian ministry adviser claims
Tech adviser to the Ukrainian defence ministry, Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, said that turning off the Russian Starlinks is having a “disastrous” impact on Russian troops operating in Ukraine (10:58).
“All command of the troops has collapsed. Assault operations have been stopped in many areas,” he claimed in a Facebook post.
Let’s see if we hear more on this during the day.
Updated
‘I wondered if I would be a coward or not’: five Ukrainian men on how war has changed them
in Kyiv
Russia’s invasion forced Ukrainian men of all ages to the frontlines, most with no experience of combat. The Guardian spoke to five soldiers about how life in the army transformed them and their relationships.
On the day of the invasion I went home, drank some wine, then the next day took my gun and went to the army offices.
Updated
US, Ukraine, Russia agree to exchange 314 prisoners after 'productive' talks, US envoy Witkoff says
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff said that the US, Ukraine and Russia have agreed to exchange 314 prisoners in “the first such exchange in five months.”
He said:
“This outcome was achieved from peace talks that have been detailed and productive. While significant work remains, steps like this demonstrate that sustained diplomatic engagement is delivering tangible results and advancing efforts to end the war in Ukraine.”
Witkoff added that “discussions will continue, with additional progress anticipated in the coming weeks.”
Updated
Sanctions having ‘significant impact’ on Russian economy, says EU special envoy
Lisa O’Carroll and Jennifer Rankin in Brussels
Back to Ukraine, western sanctions are having a “significant impact” on the Russian economy, the EU’s sanctions envoy has said, ahead of the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
David O’Sullivan, a veteran Irish official, said sanctions were “not a silver bullet” and would always face circumvention, but insisted that after four years he was confident they were having an effect.
“I am fairly bullish. I think that the sanctions have really had a significant impact on the Russian economy,” he told the Guardian in a rare interview.
“We may be, in the course of 2026, coming to a point where the whole thing becomes unsustainable, because so much of the Russian economy has been distorted so much by the building up of the war economy at the expense of the civil economy. I think defying the laws of economic gravity can only go on for so long.”
O’Sullivan was speaking after weeks of intense Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as the country endures a bitterly cold winter, with temperatures in Kyiv plunging to -20C this week.
O’Sullivan, who has more than four decades’ experience in the EU institutions, was appointed EU special envoy for sanctions in December 2022 with a remit to counter their evasion and circumvention.
JD Vance arrives in Milan for 2026 Winter Olympic Games
As reported earlier, US vice-president JD Vance has now arrived in Milan, where he is expected to attend tomorrow’s opening of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympic Games (9:55).
Major power outage reported in German city of Stuttgart
I’m also keeping an eye on media reports about a major power outage in the German city of Stuttgart this morning.
“It is known that there was a short-term power outage in the city area this morning. Currently, numerous traffic lights are still out of service. Larger intersections are also affected. The cause of the outage is not known,” the local police force said in a statement on social media.
Stuttgarter Zeitung reported that the brief outage affected traffic lights and light rail, as well as internet services in the city.
Updated
Russian Starlinks terminals inside Ukraine have been deactivated, Ukraine's defence minister says
Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that Starlink terminals used by Russia for drone attacks inside Ukraine have been deactivated, as Kyiv continues to work with the operator to verify and “white list” the devices in the country.
In a post on Telegram, he said the “white lists” are updated once a day, saying it’s a “very large-scale process” to verify all devices.
Over the weekend, Fedorov thanked Elon Musk for his commitment to remove Russian Starlink terminals used for drone attacks inside Ukraine.
“Looks like the steps we took to stop the unauthorized use of Starlink by Russia have worked. Let us know if more needs to be done,” SpaceX CEO Musk said on X.
Musk denied in 2024 that Starlink terminals had been sold to Russia; according to Ukrainian intelligence services, the Russian army has obtained terminals through third countries rather than any official contract with Musk.
Kremlin declines to comment on reported Moscow visit by Macron's top French diplomat
Separately, the Kremlin declined to comment on media reporting that French president Emmanuel Macron’s top diplomat, Emmanuel Bonne, travelled to Moscow in recent days for secret talks with Russian counterparts.
French newspaper l’Express (€) and Bloomberg reported on Wednesday night (£) that Bonne held “a series of rare face-to-face meetings with Russian officials as Europe seeks closer involvement in Ukraine peace talks.”
He was reported to have met with Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov.
The Kremlin said this morning that it would neither confirm nor deny that the talks took place, adding that “French sources are very fond of leaking to the media,” Reuters reported.
How close are the sides to a peace deal on Ukraine? - analysis
Russian affairs reporter
A viable path to peace remains complicated, with Moscow continuing to press maximalist territorial demands on Ukraine.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said last week that negotiations were hinging on a single, highly contentious issue: land. The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that any peace deal must have Ukraine cede the entire eastern Donbas region, including areas still under Ukrainian control.
Kyiv has rejected those terms, though Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is willing to consider alternative arrangements, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from parts of the east and the establishment of a demilitarised zone.
US officials have been pressuring Ukraine to give up Donbas, promising security guarantees only if Kyiv first agrees to territorial concessions.
Even if some compromise were reached on territory, other obstacles would remain. Moscow has said it would not tolerate European troops on Ukrainian soil, which Kyiv sees as essential for security guarantees. The Kremlin has also demanded strict limits on the size of Ukraine’s military, a condition Zelenskyy has repeatedly ruled out.
Despite the wide gap between their positions, both sides have often engaged in a careful dance in front of Donald Trump, seeking to appear open to peace so as not to anger the US president, while placing the blame on the other side.
JD Vance about to land in Italy for 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games
In other news, Air Force Two carrying the US vice-president JD Vance is currently on approach to Milan’s Malpensa airport.
The vice-president, together with the US state secretary Marco Rubio, is coming to Italy to take part in tomorrow’s opening ceremony of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games.
His presence – and security arrangements – sparked a controversy and protests after it emerged that agents from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or Ice, will be involved in his security detail.
As my colleague Sean Ingle reported, the backlash was so powerful that US Olympic officials also had to change the name of an athlete hospitality space in Milan from “Ice House” to “Winter House.”
It was a move welcomed by the American figure skater Amber Glenn, who told reporters:
“It’s unfortunate that the term ‘ice’ isn’t something we can embrace because of what is happening, and the implications of what some people are doing.”
Corriere della Sera’s Milan edition is reporting that there will be FOURTEEN planes in total involved in the US delegation, with 300 agents assigned to protect Donald Trump’s number two.
Updated
55,000 Ukrainians killed in war against Russia, Zelenskyy says
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy told French broadcaster France 2 last night that the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed on the battlefield as a result of the country’s war with Russia is estimated at 55,000, with many more missing.
Independent international estimates – such as from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington – talk about 100,000 to 140,000 killed.
Zelenskyy also stressed what is at stake for Ukraine, saying that “if we lose this war, we simply lose our country’s independence,” and warning that Russia’s Putin would not stop at Ukraine and could pose direct threat to more European countries.
“Ukraine’s neighbours understand that they will be the first victims” of the Kremlin’s expansionist policy, he said.
Morning opening: Trilateral talks on Ukraine war in Abu Dhabi get back under way
Ukraine-Russia talks have restarted this morning, after Russian president’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev reported “positive movement forward” last night.
“The warmongers from Europe, from Britain, are constantly trying to interfere with this process, constantly trying to meddle in it. And the more such attempts there are, the more we see that progress is definitely being made,” he claimed.
The talks continue in a trilateral format of consultations, Ukraine’s lead negotiator and former defence minister Rustem Umerov said.
Separately, Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk is in Kyiv today to express his solidarity with the wartorn country amid continuing energy, heat outages. Last week Poland was one of the EU countries which sent heat and power generators to the Ukrainian capital.
His visit comes just days after Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte visited Ukraine.
Separately, EU leaders António Costa and Ursula von der Leyen are expected in Paris today for talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, about the upcoming EU summit on competitiveness on 12 February.
Macron, somewhat sidelined by the seemingly growing German-Italian partnership, will want to put on the table his ideas on how to fix the bloc.
Lots for us to cover.
It’s Thursday, 5 February 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
