Closing summary
US president Donald Trump said he is “strongly considering” imposing banking sanctions, other sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire and peace agreement is reached with Ukraine. In a post on social media, he said: “Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely “pounding” Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED. To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!”
Kyiv said on Wednesday it was asking Italy for more information about a proposal by prime minister Giorgia Meloni to extend Nato’s mutual defence umbrella to Ukraine without offering it alliance membership or sending peacekeeping troops, Reuters reported. On the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Meloni said extending Nato’s Article 5 collective security agreement would be a more “lasting solution” than sending European peacekeepers or granting Kyiv full membership.
Keir Starmer has hailed the EU’s “historic step forward” as he spoke to leaders after the bloc backed moves to free up hundreds of billions of euros for security. In a phone call with the president of the European Council, the president of the European Commission and the leaders of Canada, Turkey, Norway and Iceland on Friday, the prime minister also welcomed the prospect of talks next week in Saudi Arabia after they were confirmed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, PA reported.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s approval rating has risen by 10 percentage points since his White House spat with US president Donald Trump, a poll by a leading Ukrainian pollster showed on Friday. The poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) showed that 67% of respondents trusted Zelenskyy in March, up from 57% a month earlier.
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said that it was “clear that any hope that Ukraine gets hard security guarantees with physical US presence to back these guarantees seems to be less probable, to put it mildly, than before.” Tusk said that Poland had to respond to the new US administration’s “deep correction” in its defence priorities, even as he stressed that Poland should still continue to seek the closest possible relations with the US.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday threw his support behind a call by French president Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for an aerial and sea truce in the Russian aggression on Ukraine. “We support the idea of establishing a ceasefire as soon as possible and stopping attacks in the air and at sea as a confidence-building measure between the parties,” Erdoğan told an online meeting organised by the EU.
France’s defence minister is to hold talks next week with counterparts from Britain, Germany, Italy and Poland to discuss support for Ukraine, an adviser to the French government said. AFP reported that the ministers from Europe’s five main military powers will meet in Paris on Wednesday, a day after France hosts a key meeting of European military chiefs of staff.
Romanian far-right populist Calin Georgescu filed his candidacy Friday in a rerun of last year’s presidential election that was annulled by a top court after his surprise first-round win. As the 62-year-old Georgescu arrived at the Central Election Bureau in the capital, Bucharest, hundreds of supporters waved Romanian flags and chanted: “Last resort, another revolution!”
Three Bulgarian nationals accused of spying for Russia have been found guilty of espionage charges in a trial that heard how they were involved in a string of plots around Europe directed by a fugitive based in Moscow. After more than 32 hours of deliberations, a jury at the Old Bailey reached unanimous verdicts on Katrin Ivanova, 33, a lab technician, Vanya Gaberova, 30, a beautician, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, a painter and decorator, all of whom were living in London before their arrest.
That’s all from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed the Europe live blog for today. Thanks for following along.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s approval rating has risen by 10 percentage points since his White House spat with US president Donald Trump, a poll by a leading Ukrainian pollster showed on Friday.
The poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) showed that 67% of respondents trusted Zelenskyy in March, up from 57% a month earlier.
The survey was conducted from 14 February to 4 March – a challenging time for Zelenskyy as Kyiv’s relations with the United States, its biggest military backer, plunged into crisis after the Oval Office meeting on 28 February.
Anton Hrushetskyi, KIIS’ executive director, said the poll showed Ukrainians were rallying behind Zelenskyy more than three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“Ukrainians perceive the rhetoric of the new US administration as an attack on the whole of Ukraine and all Ukrainians,” Hrushetskyi said in a statement.
He said Ukrainians want peace but not a peace that comes at too high a cost.
Romanian far-right populist Calin Georgescu filed his candidacy Friday in a rerun of last year’s presidential election that was annulled by a top court after his surprise first-round win.
As the 62-year-old Georgescu arrived at the Central Election Bureau in the capital, Bucharest, hundreds of supporters waved Romanian flags and chanted: “Last resort, another revolution!”
Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the first round results two days before the 8 December runoff, after allegations emerged that Russia had run a coordinated online campaign to promote the outsider, AP reported.
At the time, Georgescu, who ran as an independent, denounced the court’s decision as an “officialised coup” and an attack on democracy.
“On December 6 — democracy was killed,” Georgescu told reporters Friday. “Today — the Romanian people were resurrected. I submitted the file with over 324,000 signatures, out of respect for the Romanian people who understood that they must defend their democracy and free expression.”
It is unclear whether Georgescu will be allowed to participate in the European Union nation’s new election.
Keir Starmer has hailed the EU’s “historic step forward” as he spoke to leaders after the bloc backed moves to free up hundreds of billions of euros for security.
In a phone call with the president of the European Council, the president of the European Commission and the leaders of Canada, Turkey, Norway and Iceland on Friday, the prime minister also welcomed the prospect of talks next week in Saudi Arabia after they were confirmed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, PA reported.
Issuing a readout of the call, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister applauded the progress the European Union had made at the European Council yesterday, saying it was a historic step forward and another sign of Europe stepping up.
“Closer collaboration between the European Union, its partners and our combined defence industrial base was vital as Europe stepped up to counter egregious Russian aggression,” the prime minister added.
“Updating on the intensive diplomacy between the US, UK, France and Ukraine, the prime minister welcomed the potential for peace talks in Saudi Arabia next week.
“The leaders also discussed the “coalition of the willing” and looked ahead to the chiefs of defence meeting in Paris on Tuesday. It would be another important moment to drive forward planning, they agreed.
“The leaders agreed to stay in close touch.”
On Thursday, European leaders had backed new defence spending plans aimed at freeing up billions of euros as the bloc grapples with the prospect of Donald Trump reducing security assistance for Europe.
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, as I hand the blog over to Tom Ambrose to bring you all the latest updates this late afternoon.
Trains going through Paris Gare du Nord expected to resume from 6pm
And back to Paris for a moment, train services will gradually start resuming from 6pm local time (5pm GMT) after the suspected WW2 bomb was defused, transport minister Philippe Tabarot told reporters.
The A1 motorway passing near where the bomb was found has already reopened.
Separately, the French police have published some pictures of the bomb on their social media channels.
As we reported earlier, Eurostar is expecting to run a normal service from/to Paris on Saturday.
Updated
If you want to read on the three Bulgarians convicted in the UK, here’s our explainer on this case:
Three Bulgarians convicted of spying for Russia in UK
Three Bulgarian nationals accused of spying for Russia have been found guilty of espionage charges in a trial that heard how they were involved in a string of plots around Europe directed by a fugitive based in Moscow.
After more than 32 hours of deliberations, a jury at the Old Bailey reached unanimous verdicts on Katrin Ivanova, 33, a lab technician, Vanya Gaberova, 30, a beautician, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, a painter and decorator, all of whom were living in London before their arrest.
The three were convicted for being junior members of a spy ring that was ultimately directed by Jan Marsalek, an Austrian businessman who had fled to Russia in 2020 after a company he helped to run collapsed amid a €1.9bn fraud.
Full story:
Updated
Trump 'strongly considering' sanctions on Russia to get ceasefire, peace with Ukraine
US president Donald Trump said he is “strongly considering” imposing banking sanctions, other sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire and peace agreement is reached with Ukraine.
In a post on social media, he said:
Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely “pounding” Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED.
To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!
There are already numerous US sanctions on Russia. It is not immediately clear if Trump wants to tighten the existing ones further or add new sanctions.
Updated
Eurostar expects normal services to/from Paris on Saturday
Back to Paris for a second, we have just heard from Eurostar about their expectations for their train services to resume as normal on Saturday.
Here is what the company says:
Tomorrow, Eurostar expects normal traffic between Paris and Brussels, and between Paris and London.
Eurostar will run 2 extra trains tomorrow: one leaving London to Paris in the morning, one leaving Paris to London in the afternoon.
Customers can exchange their ticket for free to travel at a different date in the same travel class or claim a refund.
Kyiv wants more information on Meloni's proposal of extending Nato defence to Ukraine without formal alliance membership
Kyiv said on Wednesday it was asking Italy for more information about a proposal by prime minister Giorgia Meloni to extend Nato’s mutual defence umbrella to Ukraine without offering it alliance membership or sending peacekeeping troops, Reuters reported.
On the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Meloni said extending Nato’s Article 5 collective security agreement would be a more “lasting solution” than sending European peacekeepers or granting Kyiv full membership.
“We welcome this statement as part of the discussion on providing Ukraine with long-term security guarantees and ensuring security and peace in general,” Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said at a briefing in Kyiv, as quoted by Reuters.
“As for this proposal specifically, we are in contact with our Italian colleagues to clarify the specifics of this proposal,” Tykhyi said
Ukraine is seeking security guarantees from its western allies ahead of any peace talks to end Russia’s invasion.
It wants Nato membership but the United States under President Donald Trump has rejected this, Reuters noted.
Poland’s Tusk also spoke of a diplomatic offensive to find a new security format in Europe, also by involving Turkey in a closer role.
He also said that he would support Poland’s withdrawal from the Dublin Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Ottawa Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention to boost Poland’s ability to defend itself.
He also said the government was working on plans to provide basic military training to all adult men in the country.
Departing from usual language of diplomacy, he also pointedly attacked Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán, who refused to sign the European Council’s conclusions on Ukraine last night.
Tusk said that Putin’s Russia was looking to “use traitors of the European interests or helpful idiots” to cause divisions among the western countries.
“You would not want to be Viktor Orbán yesterday … after the Swedes, the Danes, the French, everyone, with no exception – the Slovak [Robert Fico] kept silent, but in the end voted with us – talked about the future of Ukraine,” he said.
And Tusk, a historian, followed this by a pointed historical reference to an Greek renegade Ephialtes, who betrayed his homeland for the Persians at the Thermopylae in 480 BCE.
“In the end, he was held in contempt by both those who hired him, and those who he betrayed,” he said.
Updated
Poland needs to respond to 'deep correction' in US defence priorities, Tusk says
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said that it was “clear that any hope that Ukraine gets hard security guarantees with physical US presence to back these guarantees seems to be less probable, to put it mildly, than before.”
Tusk said that Poland had to respond to the new US administration’s “deep correction” in its defence priorities, even as he stressed that Poland should still continue to seek the closest possible relations with the US.
“But let’s not pretend that we are happy with it. There’s no reason for that. Our security is directly linked to not only the frontline in Ukraine, but also the future status of Ukraine,” he said.
“It is not my role to review certain negotiating tactics or approach to politics [of the US], but there is no doubt about it that this unpredictability … from our most important ally does not make our task any easier,” he added.
Polish president proposes constitutional requirement to spend 4% GDP on defence
Polish president Andrzej Duda proposed an amendment to the constitution that would make spending at least 4% of GDP on defence mandatory.
He said he wanted to “guarantee” this level of spending to continue as part of a broader push to modernise the Polish armed forces.
Poland spends the most among Nato members on defence as a proportion of its GDP, with plans to spend 4.7% of GDP in 2025.
Turkey backs plans for air, sea truce
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday threw his support behind a call by French president Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for an aerial and sea truce in the Russian aggression on Ukraine.
“We support the idea of establishing a ceasefire as soon as possible and stopping attacks in the air and at sea as a confidence-building measure between the parties,” Erdoğan told an online meeting organised by the EU.
Erdoğan, who controls Nato’s second strongest army after the US, offered his comments shortly after Zelenskyy reiterated his call for a limited truce along these lines after overnight attacks from Russia.
France to host meeting of five European defence ministers on Ukraine next week
France’s defence minister is to hold talks next week with counterparts from Britain, Germany, Italy and Poland to discuss support for Ukraine, an adviser to the French government said.
AFP reported that the ministers from Europe’s five main military powers will meet in Paris on Wednesday, a day after France hosts a key meeting of European military chiefs of staff.
“In view of a recent American decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine, the ministers will discuss coordinating action of our countries in support of Kyiv,” the source close to defence minister Sebastien Lecornu, asking not to be named, told AFP.
No train service expected before 4pm - French media
French railway operator SNCF told the French newspaper Libération that the unexploded WW2 bomb is estimated to weigh about 500 kg, of which 200 kg are explosives, and is one meter long.
It was found 2 metres deep into the ground, in an area known for previous remains from the second world war.
A security perimeter of 500-meters remains in place.
Traffic is not expected to resume before 4pm local time, Libération reported quoting a report from the French transport minister, Philippe Tabarot.
All Eurostar trains to and from Paris today have been cancelled, as reported earlier.
Updated
We are waiting for further updates from Paris where emergency services are working on removing the unexploded bomb that caused this morning’s train disruptions in and out of Gare du Nord station.
We need Russia to stop attacks, Zelenskyy says, backing calls for truce in air, at sea
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has responded to overnight attacks by Russia, saying that “the first steps toward real peace must include forcing the sole source of this war, Russia, to stop such attacks against life.”
He also reiterated his call for a limited truce in the skies and at sea, as originally proposed by French president Emmanuel Macron.
Here is what he said:
Last night, the Russian army carried out another massive attack on our energy infrastructure. Various facilities were targeted in several regions – Odesa, Poltava, Chernihiv, and Ternopil. In total, the Russians used nearly 70 missiles, both cruise and ballistic, as well as almost 200 attack drones. All of this was directed against infrastructure that ensures normal life. Currently, repair and restoration work is ongoing wherever needed. Unfortunately, ordinary residential buildings have also been damaged. In Kharkiv, a Russian missile hit close to an apartment building. People were injured. They are receiving the necessary assistance.
Today, F-16 fighter jets and Mirage aircraft provided by France were used to protect Ukrainian skies. In particular, the Mirages successfully intercepted Russian cruise missiles. Thank you! I also want to recognize the performance of our anti-aircraft missile forces, army aviation, all our electronic warfare units, and mobile fire groups.
The first steps toward real peace must include forcing the sole source of this war, Russia, to stop such attacks against life. And this is something that can be effectively monitored. Silence in the skies – banning the use of missiles, long-range drones, and aerial bombs. And silence at sea – a real guarantee of normal navigation. Ukraine is ready to pursue the path to peace, and it is Ukraine that strives for peace from the very first second of this war. The task is to force Russia to stop the war.
We are focusing on travel disruptions over in France this morning after an unexploded bomb from the second world war was discovered overnight in the suburb of Saint Denis, causing widespread disruption to trains out of Gare du Nord in Paris in the direction of northern France and across the channel.
All Eurostar trains to and from Paris today have been cancelled.
But as the travel situation is expected to get better later in the day, we will later pivot back to Ukraine, including updates from European Council president António Costa’s conversations with non-EU leaders as he updates them on last night’s EU summit.
'Massive' Russian attack on Ukraine overnight
Meanwhile, in Ukraine… Russia launched a “massive” drone and missile attack on Ukrainian energy facilities early Friday, just days after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European allies proposed that Moscow and Kyiv halt strikes on critical infrastructure, AFP reported.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched at least 58 missiles and nearly 200 drones, damaging energy facilities across the country from Kharkiv in the east to Ternopil in the west.
DTEK, the largest private energy supplier in Ukraine, said its facilities in the Black Sea region of Odesa were targeted for a fourth night in a row.
Ukraine’s energy minister German Galushchenko said Russia was trying to “hurt ordinary Ukrainians by shelling energy and gas production facilities”.
Train disruptions in Paris - in pictures
All Eurostar services to and from Paris today cancelled
Eurostar has just confirmed to the Guardian that “all Eurostar trains are cancelled to and from Paris today.”
That includes all services on lines: London-Paris, Paris-London, Brussels-Paris and Paris-Brussels.
“Customers can exchange their ticket for free to travel at a different time or date in the same travel class. This is subject to availability,” it added.
Updated
No regional trains until mid-afternoon, RER B operator confirms
Regional traffic from Paris Gare du Nord will not resume before mid-afternoon, the train operator of the RER B line confirmed in a social media post.
'Change your journey for different date,' Eurostar says
Eurostar has issued an update on its website saying that they were “expecting disruption to our services in and out of Paris this morning,” and advising passengers to “please change your journey for a different date of travel.”
In a further statement to the Guardian, it added that Eurostar cancelled all trains to and from Paris until midday CET (11am GMT).
Eurostar sincerely apologises for the disruption and understands the inconvenience this may cause.
Services between Brussels – Marne La Vallée, London – Brussels and London – Amsterdam are running normally, it added.
Updated
French transport minister Philippe Tabarot spoke about the incident on Sud Radio earlier this morning.
He indicated that disruptions were likely to continue throughout the day, potentially with limited traffic restored “by the afternoon.”
Regional train operator running one of the five regional lines RER, RER B, suggested in a social media post that there are plans to resume some train connections from 10am local time, but added “there is a good chance it will be pushed back,” meaning disruptions may continue into the day.
You can check live travel updates from Paris du Nord here and for Eurostar services here (from Gare du Nord) and here (from London).
Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest train station in Europe, with over 250 million passengers a year using it with all transport modes, which gives you an idea of the scale of disruption this morning.
Morning opening: 'Watershed moment' for Europe - now what?
European leaders have reaffirmed their “continued and unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders” on Thursday night, as they announced plans to massively increase defence spending.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called it “a watershed moment” for Europe.
Setting out their red lines, the EU countries – without Hungary, which refused to sign the conclusions – agreed there can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine, any truce should only be part of a lasting and comprehensive peace agreement, and Ukraine needs to be put in the strongest possible position to negotiate its future.
But the key thing is a clear commitment to spend more, produce more, and streamline procurement processes to rearm Europe.
Since Donald Trump was inaugurated as the US president and put a question mark over US support for Europe, a number of EU countries have revised their defence spending targets, and more are planning to do so in the coming weeks.
The feeling among European leaders was best captured by the Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen:
I do not think we have a lot of time. So [we need to] rearm Europe: spend, spend, spend on defence and deterrence.
The political signal from last night’s meeting of the European Council, attended by Zelenskyy, was clear. Now, it’s about the implementation of these decisions.
Separately, Zelenskyy and the US side indicated that they are likely to meet next week, potentially to sign the much-awaited minerals deal, which could help progress the Trump-led peace process. But there is still a lot of distrust and questions over the US motivations, and on whether Russia is genuinely prepared to sit down to talk about peace given it continues to attack Ukraine.
Top EU officials, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president António Costa will debrief other non-EU leaders on last night’s talk today, including the UK.
I will bring you all reactions and other developments across Europe.
It’s Friday, 7 March 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
Eurostar, French trains disrupted due to suspected unexploded WW2 bomb
Eurostar trains between London and northern France and French trains TGV, RER, and TER have been suspended after a suspected object was found near Paris Gare du Nord, Paris North, train station.
A social media account of RER B line reported the disruption was caused by a suspected unexploded bomb from the second world war,
French media said it was discovered during overnight maintenance works on railway tracks in the commune of Saint Denis, with emergency services attending.
Severe travel disruptions are expected as a result.
