Closing summary
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose government has played a mediating role between Ukraine and Russia.
Zelenskyy’s visit to Saudi Arabia comes on the eve of separate, high-stakes meetings between Ukrainian and US officials. Ukrainian officials are expected to propose a ceasefire covering the Black Sea and long-range missile strikes, as well as the release of prisoners. The Ukrainian delegation is also ready to sign an agreement with the US on access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, according to reports.
Keir Starmer told Donald Trump that he wants US-Ukraine talks to have a “positive outcome” that will result in the resumption of military aid and intelligence-sharing. Starmer is scheduled to lead a call with like-minded allies from the “coalition of the willing” on Saturday.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said he hoped Washington’s cutoff of military aid could be “resolved” during US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia. Rubio said it is important to “establish clearly Ukraine’s intentions” on peace, and that Ukraine “is prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians will.”
Military officials from more than 30 nations are set to meet in Paris on Tuesday for talks on the creation of an international security force for Ukraine. The force being envisaged by France and Britain would aim to reassure Ukraine and deter another large-scale Russian offensive after any ceasefire, and could include heavy weaponry and weapons stockpiles that could be rushed within hours or days to aid in Ukraine’s defence,
The Ukrainian armed forces commander-in chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said its forces are not in danger of encirclement in Russia’s Kursk region, despite reports of a recent counteroffensive by Russian forces that has included North Korean troops.
The UK rejected Russian allegations that two British diplomats were suspected of carrying out espionage activities. Russia’s FSB security service claimed “counterintelligence work had revealed an undeclared British intelligence presence under the cover of the national embassy.”
French president Emanuel Macron warned that Moldova is facing “increasingly uninhabited” Russian attempts aiming at the destabilisation of the country. Moldova shares a border with Ukraine and wants to join the EU by 2030.
Macron slams 'Russian attempts at destabilisation’ in Moldova
French president Emanuel Macron has warned that Moldova is facing increasingly blatant Russian attempts aiming at destabilising the country.
Macron, at a joint press conference with his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu, said:
Moldova, whose airspace is regularly violated by Russian drones and missiles, also has to contend with increasingly uninhibited Russian attempts at destabilisation, targeting your country’s democratic institutions in particular.
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