White House clarifies Witkoff, not Trump, spoke to Putin as Ukraine denies US president’s claim its troops are encircled in Kursk – live | Europe
Trump hails 'very good and productive' discussions with Putin
US president Donald Trump has just revealed that the US had a “very good and productive” discussion with Russian president Vladimir Putin, claiming “there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end.”
Trump also said the issue of Ukrainian troops in Kursk has been raised with Putin, and it was urged “that their lives be spared” after Russia claimed they were surrounded by Russian troops.
Here is his social media post in full:
We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end
— BUT, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, AND IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION.
I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II. God bless them all!!!
Key events
Ukraine denies claims of troops encircled in Kursk
And in the last few minutes, we’ve been getting more official lines from Ukraine’s military, via Reuters.
They say that reports about Ukrainian troops being encircled in Russia’s Kursk region are false, and there is “no threat” of encirclement, as their troops were pulled back to more “favourable” positions.
White House clarifies Witkoff, not Trump, spoke to Putin
In the last few minutes, the White House has clarified that it was US envoy Steve Witkoff who spoke with Russian president Vladimir Putin, and not US president Donald Trump.
The confusion was caused by Trump’s social media post earlier, in which he praised the discussions with the Russian leader, and said “I have strongly requested to President Putin,” making it sound as if he spoke with Putin personally.
Separately, another element of his original post, that “thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely surrounded by the Russian military” in the Kursk region, drew a strong push back from Ukrainian sources and military analysts who described it as not accurate.
As Shaun Walker noted earlier, the claim appeared to be based on information fed by Putin, and is contested by those closely following the situation in Kursk.
Green party faction co-chairs in the German parliament Bundestag, Britta Hasselmann and Katharina Dröge attend a press statement after a parliamentary group meeting at the German parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin. Photograph: Hannibal Hanschke/EPA
Back to Germany for a brief moment:
Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Katherina Dröge has just confirmed that the Greens recommended that their lawmakers vote for the compromise proposal on spending and debt break.
She said the amended structure of the deal ensured that the infrastructure fund money “would actually be invested in the future, in a modern country that actually functions, and in climate protection.”
The Climate and Transformation Fund will see €100bn of investment for “a whole range of climate projects,” which “will make a difference,” the Greens leaders confirmed.
Trump's claim about Ukrainian troops encircled in Kursk 'not accurate,' analysts say
Shaun Walker
in Kyiv
A still image taken from a handout video provided by the Russian Defence Ministry’s press-service shows Russian servicemen checking damaged buildings in Sudzha, Kursk region, Russia. Photograph: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service/EPA
Sources in Ukraine and military analysts closely tracking the conflict say Donald Trump’s claims of a mass encirclement of Ukrainian troops inside Russia’sKursk region are not accurate.
Trump claimed on Friday, apparently based on information fed by Putin, that “at this very moment, thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely surrounded by the Russian military” and that he has asked Putin to spare their lives to avoid what he described as “a horrible massacre, one not seen since the second world war”.
Michael Kofman, a military analyst at Carnegie Endowment, described claims of a mass encirclement of Ukrainian troops as “fiction”.
While Ukrainian authorities have not officially announced a withdrawal, soldiers fighting in the region say a staged withdrawal has been under way for two weeks, and that while many soldiers have faced a dangerous and challenging route to withdraw, they do not believe there is a mass encirclement of troops.
“After seven months, we simply withdrew. There was no encirclement,” one senior security official told the Guardian on Thursday.
Some Russian pro-war military bloggers have also cast doubt in recent days on Russian official claims of an encirclement, saying none of the signs that might accompany it have been visible.
Ukraine's Zelenskyy blames Putin for 'complicating' talks to obstruct peace process
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has blamed Vladimir Putin’s Russia for obstructing peace discussions over the ceasefire.
In a long post on his conversation with the Vatican’s secretary of state Pietro Parolin, Zelenskyy said that “the world sees how Russia is deliberately putting forward conditions that only complicate and delay everything.”
He claimed it was because “Russia is the only entity that wants the war not to end and diplomacy to break down.”
We will have to wait for more details, but as our Russian affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer explained in his analysis published in the last hour:
By steering clear of an outright rejection of Trump’s proposal, Putin appeared to be buying time – walking a fine line between avoiding an open rebuff of Trump’s peace initiative and imposing his own stringent conditions, effectively prolonging the negotiations.
To his admirers, it was a masterclass in Putin’s diplomatic manoeuvring, flanked by seasoned foreign policy veterans Sergei Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov – both with decades of experience. …
For longtime observers, it was a familiar Russian tactic. Moscow has long excelled at delaying negotiations, offering just enough hope of progress to keep talks alive while avoiding major concessions.
To decrypt signals coming from the Kremlin, read his insightful piece in full here:
Trump hails 'very good and productive' discussions with Putin
US president Donald Trump has just revealed that the US had a “very good and productive” discussion with Russian president Vladimir Putin, claiming “there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end.”
Trump also said the issue of Ukrainian troops in Kursk has been raised with Putin, and it was urged “that their lives be spared” after Russia claimed they were surrounded by Russian troops.
Here is his social media post in full:
We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end
— BUT, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, AND IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION.
I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II. God bless them all!!!
Germany preparing to release €3bn in aid for Ukraine
As part of the press conference, FriedrichMerz also said that Germany was preparing to send €3bn in immediate aid to Ukraine in the next package, set to be released later this month.
The aid, approved by parliament and by the outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz, should be formally released once the proposed changes to rules on defence spending will pass the parliament.
German parties reach agreement on spending, debt reform plans
German chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz attends a press conference after he reached an agreement with the Greens on a massive increase in state borrowing just days ahead of a parliamentary vote next week, in Berlin, Germany. Photograph: Axel Schmidt/Reuters
As it’s now confirmed: the three German parties involved in discussions on creating a new €500bn euros fund boosting public spending and relaxing the constitutional debt break have agreed on the final shape of the proposal, presumed chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed.
The conservative CDU/CSU party, which won last month’s parliamentary elections, have agreed with the social democratic SPD, it’s likely next coalition partner, and the Greens, moving back to the opposition, on the structure of the proposal.
As a result of pressure from the Greens, who threatened to withhold their support and potentially derail the process, the Climate and Transformation Fund will be doubled from the originally proposed 50bn to €100bn. All new spending will also be subject to the additionality clause, meaning it will not be available for already existing projects.
In line with earlier proposals, defence spending above 1% GDP will be exempt from the debt brake, but the definition of defence expanded to cover more areas, including the German army, civil protection, intelligence services, data and information security, and – crucially – support for other states attacked under international law, like Ukraine.
The chance should enable Germany to quickly ramp up it defence spending from the current level of 2.12% GDP.
Or, as Merz put it, “this agreement is a message to our friends and opponents, the enemies of freedom: we are capable of defence, we are fully prepared …, there will be no shortage of resources to defend freedom and peace on our continent.”
“Germany is back,” he added.
The proposal also includes some fiscal flexibility for German states, amounting to 0.35% of GDP.
The co-leader of SPD, Lars Klingbeil, said the agreed plan marked “a powerful boost” for Europe’s largest economy.
“We have laid the foundation for Germany to get back on its feet and protect itself,” he said.
The Green party is expected to host is press conference a bit later, and we will bring you the key lines from their briefing then.
The Bundestag will vote on the plan on Tuesday.
G7 warn Russia of further sanctions if no ceasefire agreed
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas (left to right), Japan foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya, UK foreign secretary David Lammy, France foreign affairs minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Canada foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly, US state secretary Marco Rubio, Germany foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, and Italy foreign minister Antonio Tajani at the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting (FMM) in La Malbaie, Que. Photograph: Canadian Press/REX/Shutterstock
G7 nations emphasised the need for robust “security arrangements” to ensure a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, warning Moscow to follow Kyiv in agreeing a ceasefire or face further sanctions, according to a final draft statement.
“G7 members called for Russia to reciprocate by agreeing to a ceasefire on equal terms and implementing it fully,” the G7 nations, comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, said in a final draft statement seen by Reuters.
The draft, approved by senior diplomats, still needs a green light from ministers, G7 officials said.
