European leaders were meeting in Brussels and London on Thursday as the push intensified for a ceasefire in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, addressing EU leaders in Brussels by video, urged them to approve a package of at least 5 billion euros ($7.8 million Cdn) for artillery purchases for Ukraine and called for continued pressure on Russia.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has scaled back a proposal to pledge up to 40 billion euros ($62.2 billion Cdn) in military aid to Ukraine this year, with each country contributing according to its economic size. This came after resistance from some countries, particularly in southern Europe.
When he addressed the EU summit by video, Zelenskyy said it was “simply anti-European when one person blocks decisions that are important for the entire continent,” referring to Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban’s opposition to EU statements supporting Ukraine.
Zelenskyy was meeting with Norwegian leaders in Oslo. Norway, which is not an EU member, announced earlier this month that it would more than double its financial support to Ukraine this year.
Zelenskyy sheds more light on Trump call
Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Ukrainian experts would be present at upcoming talks involving the United States and Russia, but would not be in the same room as Russia.
Russian and U.S. experts are due to discuss ways to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea during Monday talks in Saudi Arabia about a possible peace settlement, the Kremlin has said.
In a call with U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly agreed not to target Russian energy infrastructure for 30 days. Russia agreed to do the same for Ukraine the day before, but Zelenskyy claims Moscow has already violated the deal.
Zelenskyy said on Thursday he had not discussed with U.S. President Donald Trump the potential American ownership of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Russia since shortly after it invaded in February 2022.
According to a White House statement from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz concerning a Trump-Zelenskyy call on Wednesday, the pair of leaders “discussed Ukraine’s electrical supply and nuclear power plants.”
Zelenskyy also told reporters in Norway that Trump has not raised questions about the status of Russian-occupied Crimea during talks with him. He was being asked about reports that the U.S. president is considering recognizing the peninsula as part of Russia.
As the Brussels summit proceeded, senior military officers from countries across Europe and beyond were meeting Thursday outside London to flesh out plans for an international peacekeeping force for Ukraine.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the “coalition of the willing” plan, led by Britain and France, is moving into an “operational phase.” But it’s unclear how many countries are willing to send troops, in addition to whether there will be any ceasefire to begin with.
Initial Kursk reports questioned
Meanwhile, Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk have lost ground in recent days but are not encircled by Russian forces, three U.S. and European officials familiar with their governments’ intelligence assessments told Reuters. This is contrary to recent comments by Trump and Putin.
U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, have shared that assessment with the White House over the past week, a U.S. official and another person familiar with the matter said. However, Trump has continued to claim that Ukrainian troops are surrounded in western Russia’s Kursk region.
As It Happens6:44There can be no peace with Russia until Ukrainian children come home, says advocate
A Ukrainian who has been working to repatriate children taken by Russia says there can be no peace between the two countries until all of them are home, Mykola Kuleba, founder of the charity Save Ukraine, which has been rescuing and repatriating Ukrainian children, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
In a social media post on March 14, Trump said he had asked the Russian president to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainians who he said were “completely surrounded” and vulnerable. Putin said that he would do so if they surrendered. Trump repeated the claim in a Fox News interview on Tuesday.
The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based conflict monitor, said on March 14 that it had “observed no geolocated evidence to indicate that Russian forces have encircled a significant number of Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast or elsewhere along the frontline in Ukraine.”
The U.S. National Security Council did not respond directly to questions about the intelligence assessments but referred Reuters to the joint statement from Rubio and Waltz.
The White House, the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence all declined to comment.
Zelenskyy’s office and the Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Zelenskyy has denied that Ukrainian forces are surrounded and said Putin was lying about the reality on the ground. The Ukrainian leader acknowledged his military is in a difficult position in Kursk and that he expects continued attacks from Russia as it attempts to push Ukrainian forces out of the region.
Since August, when Ukrainian soldiers smashed their way across Russia’s western border in Kursk, Kyiv has lost almost all of the territory it gained. It once held close to 1,300 square kilometres of land but now only holds about 75 square kilometres, according to open source reports.
“This is likely part of Putin’s effort to make the point that they are winning the war and that resistance is useless and that it is inevitable that Russia’s greater strength will bring victory. That resonates with Trump,” said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Russian base struck
In fighting Thursday, Ukraine struck a major Russian strategic bomber airfield with drones, triggering a huge blast and fire about 700 kilometres from the front lines of the war, Russian and Ukrainian officials said.
Videos verified by Reuters showed a huge blast spreading out from the airfield, wrecking nearby cottages. Russia’s defence ministry said air defences had shot down 132 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions.
Other verified videos showed a giant plume of smoke rising into the dawn sky and an intense fire.
The base in Engels, which dates back to Soviet times, hosts Russia’s Tupolev Tu-160 nuclear-capable heavy strategic bombers, known unofficially as White Swans.
Ukraine’s defence ministry said its forces had struck the airfield and triggered secondary detonations of ammunition. Kyiv said Russia had used the Engels base to carry out strikes on Ukraine.
Ten people were injured in the attack, local officials said.
