EU's Costa: Ukraine's membership process must go forward
Costa, who debriefed council members about Monday's talks in Washington via a video call from Lisbon, told reporters that although there was much to be done and no guarantees of success, the very possibility of a bilateral meeting between Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin was "in itself fairly positive".
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The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
NATO defense chiefs hold virtual meeting on Ukraine security guarantees
NATO defense chiefs were due to hold a virtual meeting Wednesday, a senior alliance official said, as countries pushing for an end to Russia's war on Ukraine devise possible future security guarantees for Kyiv that could help forge a peace agreement. Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of NATO's Military Committee, said that 32 defense chiefs from across the alliance would hold a video conference as a U.S.-led diplomatic push seeks to end the fighting. U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's supreme allied commander Europe, will take part in the talks, Dragone said on social platform X. U.S. President Donald Trump met last Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and on Monday hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and prominent European leaders at the White House. Neither meeting delivered concrete progress. Trump is trying to steer Putin and Zelenskyy toward a settlement more than three years after Russia invaded its neighbor, but there are major obstacles. They include Ukraine's demands for Western-backed military assurances to ensure Russia won't mount another invasion in coming years. 'We need strong security guarantees to ensure a truly secure and lasting peace,' Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post Wednesday after Russian missile and drone strikes hit six regions of Ukraine overnight. Kyiv's European allies are looking to set up a force that could backstop any peace agreement, and a coalition of 30 countries, including European nations, Japan and Australia, have signed up to support the initiative. Military chiefs are figuring out how that security force might work. The role that the U.S. might play in is unclear. Trump on Tuesday ruled out sending U.S. troops to help defend Ukraine against Russia. Russia has repeatedly said that it would not accept NATO troops in Ukraine. Attacks on civilian areas in Sumy and Odesa overnight into Wednesday injured 15 people, including a family with three small children, Ukrainian authorities said. Zelenskyy said the strikes 'only confirm the need for pressure on Moscow, the need to introduce new sanctions and tariffs until diplomacy works to its full potential.' ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at
Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Europe's new iron curtain: Lithuania plans 30-mile-deep 'defence line' along Baltic borders with minefields, booby-trapped bridges and anti-tank dragon's teeth to stop Russia invading
Lithuania has revealed plans to dig a 30-mile-wide ribbon of defences on its borders with Russia and Belarus that will include minefields and bridges set to blow up in case Russia invades. The plans are part of a Baltic-wide push for more defence, amid increasing aggression from Russia and its allies. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, alongside Poland, have been fortifying their borders, adding obstacles and redoubts to existing fences. All four are also looking for EU funding for these projects. When complete, having been in the works since early last year, the Baltic defence line is estimated to be more than 940 miles long and will limit Russia's ability to launch attacks from its own territory, Kaliningrad and Belarus. Lithuania, in particular, began setting up dozens of so-called 'engineering parks' filled with 'counter-mobility' equipment. These initially included razor wire, concrete roadblocks, Czech Hedgehogs (a type of anti-tank barrier), as well as dragon's teeth (concrete pyramids). But Lithuania has now said that it is looking to further layer its defences, stretching them wide enough to protect Vilnius, the capital. Lithuania's border with Kaliningrad and Belarus is over 590 miles long. The new ribbon will be made of of three layers. The first, estimated to be three miles wide, will begin with an anti-tank ditch next to the border fence. This will then be followed by an embankment, strips of dragon's teeth and minefields, and then two layers of strongpoints for defending infantry. The second and thirds layers will see bridges primed with explosives that can be detonated at will, as well as more lines of infantry. The Polish-Belarusian country border crossing is seen behind concrete anti-tank obstacles and barbed wire in Polowce-Pieszczatka, Poland on July 21, 2025, Lithuania is also planning on felling trees along the roads leading to towns and cities, which is expected to assist in destroying Russian armoured vehicles. The aim of the new project is to slow down land attacks and push enemy forces into easier battlegrounds, not to entirely prevent attacks. Lithuania currently has 23,000 professional soldiers, along with 104,000 reservists. It has raised its defence spending to 5.5%, one of the highest rates of any NATO nation. But war games last year suggested that Lithuanian troops would struggle to fight off an invasion from Russia, until other members of NATO stepped in to deliver reinforcements. Things would be far worse if Russia seized the Sulwalki gap, the Lithuanian-Poland border that is NATOs land connection to the Baltics. Lithuania is expected to also implement anti-personnel mines, mines designed for use against people as opposed to vehicles and equipment, after Lithuania pulled out of the Ottowa Convention along with several other NATO members. However, it has also placed a €10million (£8.6million) order for anti-tank mines on top of prior deals to buy 85,000 of them at the cost of €50million. It has also replenished its arsenal of 155mm artillery shells, the NATO standard, and has ordered 44 top-of-the-line Leopard 2A8 battle tanks from Germany. It has also bought €6million worth of Israeli Spike LR2 anti-tank missiles. Last month, Lithuanian defence minister Dovile Sakaliene said she was prepared to ask NATO to destroy drones that encroached on her nation's airspace from Belarus, after this happened twice in a matter of weeks. In June, Polish officials said they added minefields to their version of the Baltic defence line, the East Shield. Karol Frankowski, a Polish army spokesperson, said: 'We are protecting our border. We saw what happened to Ukraine during the Ukrainian war. So we need to be prepared for a potential attack.' And today, Germany's defence ministry outlined plans to buy more than €350billion (£301billion) worth of arms before the end of 2041. This included €70.3billion for munitions, €52.5billion for combat vehicles and €36.6billion for naval vessels and equipment. Lithuania's announcement comes after Russia wounded at least 14 people, including a family with three children, in an overnight attack on Ukraine's northern region of Sumy. The strike took place at a time of intense efforts by US President Donald Trump to bring an end to the Russian war in Ukraine. Russia launched 15 drones in an assault on the Okhtyrka area in the early hours of Wednesday, local prosecutors said on the Telegram messaging app. The children injured in the attack, which struck a residential neighbourhood in the town, were aged 5 months, 4 years and 6 years, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on X. 'Russia continues to manifest its fears through acts of pure terrorism across Ukraine, once again targeting the homes of families and their sleeping children,' she said. Russia has repeatedly said it does not attack civilians or civilian infrastructure. Overall, Russia launched a total of 93 drones and two missiles to attack the country overnight, the Ukrainian air force said, adding it downed 62 drones and one missile, and recorded hits at 20 locations. Ukraine's State Emergency Services reported a 'massive drone strike' on the southern region of Odesa, saying one person was wounded and a large fire erupted at a fuel and energy facility. Officials of the Izmail district in the Odesa region said port infrastructure in the city was damaged. Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine's energy sector this week. One attack sparked fires at an oil depot belonging to Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR, while another damaged a gas transport facility in the central region of Poltava. Russia has regularly attacked oil depots and fuel storage facilities since the first days of the full-scale invasion it launched in February 2022. The Energy Ministry said Ukrainian energy facilities had been attacked 2,900 times since March 2025 alone. (
The Sun
26 minutes ago
- The Sun
Watch Trump show off golf club gifted by Zelensky from hero Ukrainian sergeant who took up sport after losing leg in war
DONALD Trump has been showing off a new golf club he was gifted by Volodymyr Zelensky on behalf of a wounded Ukrainian sergeant. The putter, engraved with the phrase "let's putt peace together", was picked out by Kostyantyn Kartavtsev who lost his leg during the war with Russia. 8 8 8 Junior Sergeant Kartavtsev took up the global sport beloved by the US President after his serious war injury. Doctors recommended he played golf after fitting him with a prosthetic leg. They said it would help to clear his mind from the horrors of war and also act as a way for him to get used to the artificial limb. Zelensky handed the putter to the President as the pair sat down in the Oval Office on Monday for crunch war talks. Kartavtsev had also recorded a touching video for Trump to watch as he checked out the latest club for his growing collection. It saw him give an emotional plea for US support as he detailed the story of how he fell in love with golf. The heroic soldier said: "I am one of those soldiers you have spoken about - they're courageous, they are good soldiers. "I lost a leg rescuing my fellow men, and am recovering here with golf.' 'Golf took me out into the fresh air, helped me breathe freely and switch from war to peace; it gave me the path to healing. 'Today, I give you my [putter,] not as an athlete, but as a warrior who dreams of peace through strength." Kartavtsev ended the message with a final plea as he said: "Please help Ukraine live again without war." An emotional Trump was touched by the gift as he responded by saying: "Every time I sink a putt, I'll be thinking of you." Zelensky also showed him footage of a smiling Kartavtsev swinging a club around a golf course. After watching, Trump said: "I know a lot about golf, and your swing is great. "It looks beautiful, and you're going to be a very good golfer very soon, but I also want to thank you for this putter. "It's beautiful and it's made with real love, and it's given to me with real love from you, and I appreciate that." The idea of sending Trump the putter came from Kartavtsev directly as he contacted the Ukrainian president's office to ask if he could deliver the gift, Kyiv officials told the New York Post. Kartavtsev has been able to take up golf thanks to the Ukrainian Golf Federation's United By Golf program which focuses on veterans' rehabilitation. 8 8 8 The organisation said in a statement: "This is a gift from a man who knows the true price of peace. "Like all those on the frontlines today, he continues to defend our freedom. "The veteran community of the United By Golf club thanks Donald Trump for his leadership on the path to peace for Ukraine and his kind words to our brother-in-arms." The gift helped to make sure the meeting between Trump and Zelensky went positively after a disastrous summit back in February. Zelensky was branded "disrespectful" after a heated row with the President and VP JD Vance saw him unceremoniously booted out of the White House. Ukraine's wartime leader also offered up a sporting gift during this first Oval Office showdown. He brought Ukrainian icon Oleksandr Usyk's undisputed WBC world heavyweight title belt which he earned against Tyson Fury. The gold belt was seen in the background of the now infamous footage of the three-way shouting match. How Zelensky won over Trump this time around By Patrick Harrington VOLODYMYR Zelensky strolled away from the White House on Monday beaming - a far cry from February's disaster clash when he was banished early. The Ukrainian hailed the summit with Trump and European leaders as the "best" yet - and bagged a big win with the first confirmation of US security guarantees. Here's a breakdown of all the tactics Zelensky used to woo the President... Zelensky thanked the US and Trump at least a dozen of times during their meeting - including eight within the first minute. He also impressed with his military-style suit which Trump personally said he was thankful for after Zel sparked fury with his outfit choice previously. Being flanked by a string of Trump's favourite world leaders in Italy's Meloni, France's Macron and Finland's Stubb helped Zelensky during negotiations due to Trump's admiration of his allies. Another key tactic saw Zelensky be 'trained up' to handle Trump by European leaders prior to the crunch one-on-one meeting Zelensky also came armed with gifts for the president including the golf club and a letter from his wife to Melania. The meeting of the two leaders was far more successful this time around with Zelensky even being backed by a string of his top European allies. Talks proved to be very productive, according to all those involved, with a peace agreement now on the verge of being agreed. The next step to finalise any plans will see a meeting between Zelensky and Russia's Vladimir Putin take place. Trump, who could make it a trilateral meeting if he attends, has got both leaders to agree to talk after over three-and-a-half years of war. Discussions now centre around where the meeting will take place. The White House is reportedly planning to choose Budapest as a possible location to host a possible summit. Despite peace appearing to draw closer, Putin has continued to carry out barbaric air attacks. Ukraine 's State Emergency Services reported a "massive drone strike" on the southern region of Odesa overnight which wounded one person as a huge fire erupted at a fuel and energy facility. The Romanian air force announced they had sent out two Typhoon aircraft belonging to the German Air Force due to the attacks coming just a mile away from Nato territory. Russian forces also staged brutal strikes on Sumy region where two innocent children were among a dozen civilian victims. 8 8
