Latest news with #Morgenmagazin
DW
8 hours ago
- Politics
- DW
Ukraine: Allies consider future Zelenskyy–Putin talks – DW – 08/19/2025
After meeting with President Trump, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated he was ready to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized the need for thorough preparations. The coalition of the willing, including Germany, France and the UK, was meeting to discuss the outcome of the White House talks US President Donald Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington to push for an end to the war in Ukraine Trump said he had called Russian President Vladimir Putin to arrange direct talks with Zelenskyy Trump said the US and Europe would help assure Ukraine's security in a peace deal Zelenskyy called talks a "truly a significant step toward ending the war" as well as ensuring security guarantees for UkraineFriedrich Merz will participate in a video conference of the coalition of the willing on Ukraine, a German government spokesperson said. After the meeting, he will also join a video conference hosted by European Council President Antonio Costa. Earlier, Chancellor Merz said a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents concerns all of Europe. Merz said thorough preparations were needed ahead of a possible meeting between Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy. "In my view, it would be desirable, and more than that, if this meeting finally leads to a ceasefire in Ukraine," Merz said. He stressed that Ukraine should not be pressured into ceding any territory Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, said it was unclear if President Putin would "engage in talks or play for time." His remarks came after President Trump met President Zelenskyy, as well as several key European leaders, at the White House on Monday. Putin has agreed to face-to-face talks with Zelenskyy to discuss a peace deal in Ukraine, according to Trump. The Kremlin has not confirmed the meeting. Moscow's previous strategy was to delay negotiations with "long discussions" while simultaneously attacking Ukraine "every day with bombs and missiles," Makeiev told German public broadcaster ZDF's Morgenmagazin. He welcomed the show of unity at the Ukraine summit in Washington, while stressing that territorial concessions to Russia are not an option for Kyiv. "This is not just about territory. It's not a computer game where you can simply hand over a piece of territory and keep playing with a mouse click," Makeiev said. "Millions and millions of Ukrainians live there." Only a few days ago, President Trump shook hands with President Putin in Alaska. Now, after meeting President Zelenskyy and other European leaders in the White House, he is making arrangements for the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to sit down face-to-face. DW's Mark Corrigan reports. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video European leaders who make up the "coalition of the willing" are set to hold a conference call on Tuesday on the outcome of the White House meeting on Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron said the meeting was to "keep them up to date on what was decided" in Washington. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who also attended Monday's meeting where President Trump said he would broker a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents and that he would back European security guarantees, said work on that would start immediately. The British leader said the coalition of the willing "will now work with the US" on security guarantees. "That's really important for security in Ukraine, for security in Europe, and for security in the UK," Starmer said. According to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's spokesperson, the coalition of the willing meeting will be at 10:00 UTC/GMT, followed by a meeting of the European Council at 11:00. French President Emmanuel Macron proposed Geneva could host a peace summit between Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy. "It will be (hosted by) a neutral country, maybe Switzerland, I'm pushing for Geneva, or another country," Macron said in an interview aired Tuesday on French news channel LCI. After meeting Zelenskyy, NATO and the European leaders on Monday, Trump called Putin to discuss direct talks between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. While the Kremlin has not publicly reacted, a senior US administration official said the Putin-Zelenskyy meeting could take place in Hungary. The International Criminal Court (ICC) court issued a warrant for his Putin's arrest in 2023 for the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children. As a member of the ICC, Switzerland would be expected to detain Putin, although this obligation has been ignored by other ICC members during international conferences. Hungary formally quit the ICC earlier this year after hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also wanted by the court. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has kept close ties to the Kremlin following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, a loyal Putin supporter and Kremlin provocateur on social media, said European leaders had "failed to outplay" President Trump. "The anti-Russian warmongering Coalition of the Willing failed to outplay @POTUS on his turf," Medvedev wrote in English on X. "Europe thanked & sucked up to him." He also questioned "what tune" President Zelenskyy would play "about guarantees & territories" when he is back in Ukraine. Trump told Zelenskyy on Monday that the United States would help guarantee Ukraine's security in any deal to end Russia's war there. Zelenskyy had said those plans would be "formalized in some way in the next week or 10 days." Ukraine's air force reported that Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles overnight in one of its largest attacks this month. The air force said it downed 230 of the drones and six of the missiles. Meanwhile, a fire at Lukoil's oil refinery in Russia's Volgograd southern region has been extinguished, Interfax news agency reported. Local officials said that debris from a Ukrainian drone started the fire. An overnight Russian missile strike has hit the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, knocking out power to hundreds of homes and businesses in the Poltava region. Officials say the attack damaged key infrastructure and caused multiple explosions. No casualties have been reported. "At the very same time when Putin was assuring Trump over the phone that he seeks peace, and when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was holding talks at the White House with European leaders about a just peace, Putin's army launched yet another massive attack on Kremenchuk," Vitalii Maletskyi, mayor of the city that lies in the Poltava region, said on the Telegram messaging app. "Once again, the world has seen that Putin does not want peace, he wants to destroy Ukraine," Maletskyi added. Meanwhile, a drone attack on Ukraine's Chernihiv region damaged infrastructure, with power cuts reported in parts of the northern region, the regional governor said. "Some settlements are experiencing problems with electricity supply. Energy workers and rescuers are already working on restoration," Governor Viacheslav Chaus wrote on the Telegram messaging app. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says talks between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin must begin with a ceasefire. "Someone needs to make a move and that someone is President Putin," Wadephul said during a visit to a US naval base in Japan. He said Ukraine needs to "think very carefully" about the type of negotiations and the desired outcome. Wadephul emphasized that lasting peace will require strong security guarantees for Ukraine, with both Germany and the United States ready to support them. However, he said, Putin must first be willing to "negotiate in a truly substantive manner and, above all, to agree to a ceasefire." Wadephul added that any German involvement would need parliamentary approval. He called the moment a rare opportunity to end the war in Ukraine and said every effort must be made to seize it. Joining US President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in the East Room of the White House, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed the importance of a ceasefire in Ukraine, while French President Emmanuel Macron talked about the need for security guarantees. DW's Richard Walker analyzes the messages European leaders brought to the negotiation table. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video President Trump has pledged to help guarantee Ukraine's security in any future peace deal with Russia. He made the promise during a high-level summit at the White House on Monday, attended by President Zelenskyy, NATO officials and European leaders. Trump said the US and Europe would provide "a lot of help," though details remain unclear. Zelenskyy called it a major step forward and said security guarantees for Kyiv will likely be worked out within 10 days. Trump also said he had called President Putin during Monday's summit to arrange a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said such a meeting could take place within the next two weeks and expressed hope it "finally leads to a ceasefire in Ukraine." But French President Emmanuel Macron expressed caution, saying he had the "greatest doubts about the Russian president's desire for peace." "We have the American president and Ukraine who want peace... I am not convinced about Putin," Macron said. Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, in an X post called it "an important day of diplomacy today with the focus on lasting peace not a temporary ceasefire." US President Donald Trump is arranging a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hoping it will help bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine. But, even as Trump hosted Zelenskyy, along with NATO and European leaders at the White House, Russia launched fresh attacks on Ukraine. A peace deal appeared far from imminent. Even though Trump said he no longer believes Ukraine "needs a ceasefire" to secure peace, European leaders in the room disagreed. Germany's Friedrich Merz urged Trump to "put pressure on Russia for a ceasefire," a sentiment echoed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said it should be a prerequisite for any direct talks with Russia. Despite this, Merz said a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting could take place within the next two weeks. Zelenskyy, bolstered by Trump's promise of US security guarantees for Ukraine, says he is ready to talk to Putin. The largely unspoken issue, or at least one mentioned only in passing, is Russia's demand for Ukrainian territory, an issue Zelenskyy said is "something we will leave between me and Putin." In this blog, we'll focus on what happened at Monday's meeting and how it could shape what happens next.
DW
9 hours ago
- Politics
- DW
Ukraine updates: Allies consider future Zelensky–Putin talks – DW – 08/19/2025
After meeting with President Trump, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated he was ready to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized the need for thorough preparations. The coalition of the willing, including Germany, France and the UK, was meeting to discuss the outcome of the White House talks US President Donald Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington to push for an end to the war in Ukraine Trump said he had called Russian President Vladimir Putin to arrange direct talks with Zelenskyy Trump said the US and Europe would help assure Ukraine's security in a peace deal Zelenskyy called talks a "truly a significant step toward ending the war" as well as ensuring security guarantees for UkraineFriedrich Merz will participate in a video conference of the coalition of the willing on Ukraine, a German government spokesperson said. After the meeting, he will also join a video conference hosted by European Council President Antonio Costa. Earlier, Chancellor Merz said a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents concerns all of Europe. Merz said thorough preparations were needed ahead of a possible meeting between Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy. "In my view, it would be desirable, and more than that, if this meeting finally leads to a ceasefire in Ukraine," Merz said. He stressed that Ukraine should not be pressured into ceding any territory Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, said it was unclear if President Putin would "engage in talks or play for time." His remarks came after President Trump met President Zelenskyy, as well as several key European leaders, at the White House on Monday. Putin has agreed to face-to-face talks with Zelenskyy to discuss a peace deal in Ukraine, according to Trump. The Kremlin has not confirmed the meeting. Moscow's previous strategy was to delay negotiations with "long discussions" while simultaneously attacking Ukraine "every day with bombs and missiles," Makeiev told German public broadcaster ZDF's Morgenmagazin. He welcomed the show of unity at the Ukraine summit in Washington, while stressing that territorial concessions to Russia are not an option for Kyiv. "This is not just about territory. It's not a computer game where you can simply hand over a piece of territory and keep playing with a mouse click," Makeiev said. "Millions and millions of Ukrainians live there." Only a few days ago, President Trump shook hands with President Putin in Alaska. Now, after meeting President Zelenskyy and other European leaders in the White House, he is making arrangements for the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to sit down face-to-face. DW's Mark Corrigan reports. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video European leaders who make up the "coalition of the willing" are set to hold a conference call on Tuesday on the outcome of the White House meeting on Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron said the meeting was to "keep them up to date on what was decided" in Washington. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who also attended Monday's meeting where President Trump said he would broker a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents and that he would back European security guarantees, said work on that would start immediately. The British leader said the coalition of the willing "will now work with the US" on security guarantees. "That's really important for security in Ukraine, for security in Europe, and for security in the UK," Starmer said. According to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's spokesperson, the coalition of the willing meeting will be at 10:00 UTC/GMT, followed by a meeting of the European Council at 11:00. French President Emmanuel Macron proposed Geneva could host a peace summit between Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy. "It will be (hosted by) a neutral country, maybe Switzerland, I'm pushing for Geneva, or another country," Macron said in an interview aired Tuesday on French news channel LCI. After meeting Zelenskyy, NATO and the European leaders on Monday, Trump called Putin to discuss direct talks between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. While the Kremlin has not publicly reacted, a senior US administration official said the Putin-Zelenskyy meeting could take place in Hungary. The International Criminal Court (ICC) court issued a warrant for his Putin's arrest in 2023 for the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children. As a member of the ICC, Switzerland would be expected to detain Putin, although this obligation has been ignored by other ICC members during international conferences. Hungary formally quit the ICC earlier this year after hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also wanted by the court. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has kept close ties to the Kremlin following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, a loyal Putin supporter and Kremlin provocateur on social media, said European leaders had "failed to outplay" President Trump. "The anti-Russian warmongering Coalition of the Willing failed to outplay @POTUS on his turf," Medvedev wrote in English on X. "Europe thanked & sucked up to him." He also questioned "what tune" President Zelenskyy would play "about guarantees & territories" when he is back in Ukraine. Trump told Zelenskyy on Monday that the United States would help guarantee Ukraine's security in any deal to end Russia's war there. Zelenskyy had said those plans would be "formalized in some way in the next week or 10 days." Ukraine's air force reported that Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles overnight in one of its largest attacks this month. The air force said it downed 230 of the drones and six of the missiles. Meanwhile, a fire at Lukoil's oil refinery in Russia's Volgograd southern region has been extinguished, Interfax news agency reported. Local officials said that debris from a Ukrainian drone started the fire. An overnight Russian missile strike has hit the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, knocking out power to hundreds of homes and businesses in the Poltava region. Officials say the attack damaged key infrastructure and caused multiple explosions. No casualties have been reported. "At the very same time when Putin was assuring Trump over the phone that he seeks peace, and when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was holding talks at the White House with European leaders about a just peace, Putin's army launched yet another massive attack on Kremenchuk," Vitalii Maletskyi, mayor of the city that lies in the Poltava region, said on the Telegram messaging app. "Once again, the world has seen that Putin does not want peace, he wants to destroy Ukraine," Maletskyi added. Meanwhile, a drone attack on Ukraine's Chernihiv region damaged infrastructure, with power cuts reported in parts of the northern region, the regional governor said. "Some settlements are experiencing problems with electricity supply. Energy workers and rescuers are already working on restoration," Governor Viacheslav Chaus wrote on the Telegram messaging app. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says talks between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin must begin with a ceasefire. "Someone needs to make a move and that someone is President Putin," Wadephul said during a visit to a US naval base in Japan. He said Ukraine needs to "think very carefully" about the type of negotiations and the desired outcome. Wadephul emphasized that lasting peace will require strong security guarantees for Ukraine, with both Germany and the United States ready to support them. However, he said, Putin must first be willing to "negotiate in a truly substantive manner and, above all, to agree to a ceasefire." Wadephul added that any German involvement would need parliamentary approval. He called the moment a rare opportunity to end the war in Ukraine and said every effort must be made to seize it. Joining US President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in the East Room of the White House, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed the importance of a ceasefire in Ukraine, while French President Emmanuel Macron talked about the need for security guarantees. DW's Richard Walker analyzes the messages European leaders brought to the negotiation table. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video President Trump has pledged to help guarantee Ukraine's security in any future peace deal with Russia. He made the promise during a high-level summit at the White House on Monday, attended by President Zelenskyy, NATO officials and European leaders. Trump said the US and Europe would provide "a lot of help," though details remain unclear. Zelenskyy called it a major step forward and said security guarantees for Kyiv will likely be worked out within 10 days. Trump also said he had called President Putin during Monday's summit to arrange a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said such a meeting could take place within the next two weeks and expressed hope it "finally leads to a ceasefire in Ukraine." But French President Emmanuel Macron expressed caution, saying he had the "greatest doubts about the Russian president's desire for peace." "We have the American president and Ukraine who want peace... I am not convinced about Putin," Macron said. Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, in an X post called it "an important day of diplomacy today with the focus on lasting peace not a temporary ceasefire." US President Donald Trump is arranging a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hoping it will help bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine. But, even as Trump hosted Zelenskyy, along with NATO and European leaders at the White House, Russia launched fresh attacks on Ukraine. A peace deal appeared far from imminent. Even though Trump said he no longer believes Ukraine "needs a ceasefire" to secure peace, European leaders in the room disagreed. Germany's Friedrich Merz urged Trump to "put pressure on Russia for a ceasefire," a sentiment echoed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said it should be a prerequisite for any direct talks with Russia. Despite this, Merz said a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting could take place within the next two weeks. Zelenskyy, bolstered by Trump's promise of US security guarantees for Ukraine, says he is ready to talk to Putin. The largely unspoken issue, or at least one mentioned only in passing, is Russia's demand for Ukrainian territory, an issue Zelenskyy said is "something we will leave between me and Putin." In this blog, we'll focus on what happened at Monday's meeting and how it could shape what happens next.
Local Germany
04-06-2025
- General
- Local Germany
Cologne sees largest evacuation for bomb defusal since 1945
The largest evacuation for a bomb defusal since 1945 began in Cologne on Wednesday morning. A large part of the city centre was closed off so that three American World War II bombs could be defused. According to reporting by the German Press Agency (DPA), more than 20,000 people have been evacuated from their homes -- including all residents within a 1,000-meter radius around the site in the Deutz district. The city of Cologne announced on its website, "The evacuation is the largest measure after the end of the Second World War. All those involved hope that the defusal can be completed in the course of the day on Wednesday." A city spokeswoman told DPA that it's not yet possible to say when the defusal will begin. City officials must first check that all people have been evacuated, which could take several hours. Kai Kulschewski, head of the department for explosive ordnance disposal at the Düsseldorf district government, told WDR that the duration of the operation "depends on how successful the evacuation is, and whether the population adheres to the when there is no one left in the radius, then we can start working." Roadblocks have been erected around the containment area since 8 am on Wednesday morning. In the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, 1,500 to 2,000 bombs from the Second World War are found per year, of which around 200 are as large as those that are set to be defused in Cologne. Cologne has the most densely populated city centre in all of Europe, said Ralf Mayer, head of the Cologne public order office, in ARD's Morgenmagazin . EXPLAINED: How many WWII bombs are still being found in Germany? Advertisement Disruptions in Cologne and in regional railway traffic The potential blast zone in this case includes a hospital, two retirement and nursing homes, museums and the television station RTL as well as the Hohenzollern Bridge, which is the busiest German railway bridge. Deutsche Bahn expects "considerable restrictions in local and long-distance traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia", especially since the Cologne-Messe/Deutz station is also closed. Passenger trains were initially allowed to continue over the Hohenzollern Bridge after 8 am, but did not stop at Cologne Messe/Deutz station, the railway announced. From the start of the defusal, the Hohenzollern Bridge is to be temporarily closed to passing traffic. Some trains may have to be diverted, and individual train cancellations are also possible. From this point on, Cologne Central Station can no longer be approached from the direction of Deutz. Shipping on the Rhine is also set to pause temporarily, and the airspace overhead will be closed for a short time. With reporting by DPA.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Merz Rules Out Tax Increases If Conservatives Win Sunday's Vote
(Bloomberg) -- German conservative frontrunner Friedrich Merz pledged that a government under his leadership wouldn't raise taxes to fund the hundreds of billions of euros of investment needed in areas like defense and infrastructure, saying it would be 'poison' for Europe's biggest economy. Trump to Halt NY Congestion Pricing by Terminating Approval Airbnb Billionaire Offers Pre-Fab Homes for LA Fire Victims Sorry, Kids: Disney's New York Headquarters Is for Grown-Ups Trump Targets $128 Billion California High-Speed Rail Project Child Migrant Watchdog Gutted in DOGE Cuts In one of his final public appearances before Sunday's national ballot, Merz told viewers of ZDF TV's 'Morgenmagazin' breakfast show that if he captures the chancellery as expected, he'd instead focus on cutting spending on social benefits and financial support for refugees. Loosening restrictions on government borrowing — enshrined in the so-called constitutional 'debt brake' — isn't a priority, he added. 'The most important bet on the future is that we marshal our strength to get this economy growing again,' Merz said. 'For companies and households, we'll rather have to ease the tax burden,' he added. 'But this is a task for the whole of the next parliament, it doesn't happen overnight by hitting a button.' Voter support for Merz's CDU/CSU bloc has held steady at around 30% throughout the three-month election campaign since Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismantled his ruling coalition in November and triggered the national ballot. The far-right Alternative for Germany is in second place at about 20%, with Scholz's SPD trailing in third at around 15% and the Greens fourth at 13%. Merz will need at least one coalition partner to secure a majority in parliament and the SPD and the Greens are his most likely options. Depending on the number of smaller parties that clear the 5% threshold for getting seats in the Bundestag, he may be forced into an unwieldy three-party alliance. The other three main candidates — Scholz, Robert Habeck of the Greens and AfD Co-leader Alice Weidel — are all appearing separately on 'Morgenmagazin' on Friday. This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation. --With assistance from Chris Reiter. Japan Perfected 7-Eleven. Why Can't the US Get It Right? How Med Spas Conquered America The Undocumented Workers Who Helped Build Elon Musk's Texas Gigafactory Before DeepSeek Blew Up, Chatbot Arena Announced Its Arrival Elon Musk's DOGE Is a Force Americans Can't Afford to Ignore ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
21-02-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Merz Rules Out Tax Increases If Conservatives Win Sunday's Vote
German conservative frontrunner Friedrich Merz pledged that a government under his leadership wouldn't raise taxes to fund the hundreds of billions of euros of investment needed in areas like defense and infrastructure, saying it would be 'poison' for Europe's biggest economy. In one of his final public appearances before Sunday's national ballot, Merz told viewers of ZDF TV's 'Morgenmagazin' breakfast show that if he captures the chancellery as expected, he'd instead focus on cutting spending on social benefits and financial support for refugees.
