Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian and European officials would meet at the end of the week to discuss the details of a ceasefire plan (16:27), as Europe continues to search for ways of forcing Russia to sit at a negotiating table and end its invasion of Ukraine (14:43).
The EU was also considering legal options regarding its proposed reparation loan to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets in Europe in a bid to convince Belgium, which continues to block the proposal over (12:16).
The comments come as leaders of the Nordic countries warned that Russia posed “a real threat” to the region (11:13) and increasingly made it “a hotspot” for any future confrontation (10:58).
Separately,
The Lithuanian president, Gitanas Nausėda, said the country will not tolerate repeated violations of its airspace with army ready to shoot down any further balloons (14:21) after criticising Belarus for repeated provocations against Vilnius.
But the Belarusian autocratic leader, Alexander Lukashenko, said the criticism and the decision to close the Lithuanian-Belarusian border was “a crazy scam” based on “an absurd excuse” (10:04).
Meanwhile, Poland confirmed plans to reopen two of its border crossings with Belarus to facilitate local trade, but said the move required further consultations with Lithuania (15:20).
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.
Ukrainian, European officials to meet for ceasefire plan talks, Zelenskyy says
After this brief coffee break in Berlin, let’s go back to news, as we’re getting a new line on Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian and European officials would meet at the end of the week to discuss the details of a ceasefire plan, Reuters reported.
“It is not a plan to end the war. First of all, a ceasefire is needed,” Zelenskyy told media.
“This is a plan to begin diplomacy... Our advisers will meet in the coming days, we agreed on Friday or Saturday. They will discuss the details of this plan.”
