Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte made a surprise visit to Odesa in Ukraine to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy and reaffirm the alliance’s support for Ukraine after recent “outrageous” attacks by Russia (15:52, 15:59, 16:06), amid growing concerns about the US administration’s unwillingness to criticise Russia for recent attacks in Sumy with reports it refused to sign a G7 statement on the strike (9:23 and 15:48).
The European Union warned that “significant joint efforts will be needed” for a successful outcome to trade talks at the end of Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on tariffs (12:35), with European Commission spokesperson admitting that the bloc would need “an additional level of engagement from the US to keep the ball rolling forward” (12:46).
France’s national terrorism office launched an investigation into a wave of apparently coordinated attacks at multiple prisons across the country believed to be linked to a government clampdown on drug traffickers (11:07, 11:12, 13:22 and story).
A group of Serbian students were on the final approach to Strasbourg finishing their epic 1,300km cycling trip to draw the European Union’s attention to mass protests in the country against alleged corruption among political leaders (10:51, 10:56, 18:33).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
I was hoping to bring you one final update on the Serbian students cycling to Strasbourg before we close the blog today but they appear to be slightly delayed and still some 25 kilometers out from their finish line, according to their live tracker.
Their ETA has been updated to 7.30pm local time.
The good news is that there appears to be a big welcome party waiting for them when they reach Strasbourg…
Updated
We now have a bit more detail on Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s comments about that meeting on Black Sea security in Turkey involving Ukraine, the UK, France and Turkey (16:26).
Reuters reported that Zelenskyy, speaking alongside Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, said “this is a military meeting on security in the Black Sea, first of all, a coalition of the willing, appropriate steps.”
Reuters noted it was not immediately clear whether meetings were already ongoing.
“There are already quite a few such meetings, in various formats,” Zelenskyy added.
“Turkey has in 2022 already successfully agreed a ceasefire when it came to a greater grain deal … let’s be positive on the fact that Turkey, again, tries to bring together all relevant parties, And let’s hope they are successful,” Rutte said.
“We are talking about the presence of a contingent at sea, and we believe that Turkey can have a serious place in future security guarantees for the sea,” Zelenskyy said.
“This is not about ending the war, this is about what will happen after the ceasefire – security guarantees.”
80th anniversary of liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
On a different note, today marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp by British forces on 15 April 1945 and our Athens correspondent Helena Smith spoke with one of the survivors, Lola Hassid Angel.
For a long time, Lola Hassid Angel did not want to talk about the horrors of her childhood. Her experiences of the second world war had not been light: by the age of eight, the Holocaust survivor had “reached adulthood”, seen things she should never have seen, heard sounds she should never have heard, been confronted by terrors she could neither forgive nor forget.
Which is why the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen by British forces on 15 April 1945 is as much a cause for joy as for the horror to come flooding back.
“But it’s also different,” Angel, now 88 and a great-great-grandmother, admitted over tea in her apartment in Athens. “Now I want to tell the whole world what happened. And that’s because I want all these men who lead us to know what war really looks like. The Germans had a zeal for death; they had turned it into a science.”
Read Helena’s story here:
You can also read Richard Nelsson’s compilation of how the Guardian’s David Woodward, Manchester Guardian war correspondent, covered these events in 1945.
And we recently reviewed Sam Mendes’s debut documentary What They Found, which combines two precious artefacts held at the Imperial War Museum in London: 35mm film, shot by Sgt Mike Lewis and Sgt Bill Lawrie of the British Army Film and Photographic Unit, before and during the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp near the town of Celle in northern Germany in April 1945 and audio interviews given by the cameramen in the 1980s.
By their own admission, Lewis and Lawrie are not prepared for what is inside the camp gates, having only heard rumours about what the Nazis have been doing to Jews and other minorities. A little like viewers of this film who may have read and heard about the Holocaust, but who have not before encountered moving images of the unique terror of Belsen, what Lewis and Lawrie are about to see will change them and stay with them for ever.
The official commemoration of the liberation will take place on 27 April.
Updated
Ukraine, UK, France, Turkey meeting to discuss Black Sea security, Zelenskyy says
We are also getting more lines from Zelenskyy, as he revealed that representatives of Ukraine, the UK, France and Turkey are meeting in Turkey today to discuss Black Sea security.
Updated
Ukraine's military says it hit Russian brigade responsible for Sumy attack on Sunday
And in the last few minutes, Ukraine’s military said that it had hit a base belonging to the Russian rocket brigade that conducted the missile attack on Sumy on Sunday.
“(A base) of the 448th missile brigade of the Russian occupiers was hit, a secondary detonation of ammunition was recorded. The results of the strike are being clarified,” the military said in a statement on Telegram, Reuters reported.
Zelenskyy, Rutte visited recovering soldiers, spoke of Ukraine's 'acute' needs for air defence
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post that the pair “visited a hospital where Ukrainian defenders are recovering from their wounds,” and spoke with some of the soldiers.
“I am grateful to our guys for their strength, resilience, and for protecting our people,” he said.
Separately, the Ukrainian president spoke with Nato’s Rutte about the country’s “acute” neeed for air defence systems and missiles, AFP reported.
Zelenskyy also spoke about the importance of the UK-French-led “reassurance force” being ready “fast enough” to help Ukraine, the agency said.
Peace talks on Ukraine 'not easy,' but Nato stands with Ukraine amid 'outrageous' Russian attacks, Rutte tells Zelenskyy in Odesa
Speaking in Odesa, Rutte strongly condemned the Russian attack on Sumy as “simply outrageous” and “part of a terrible pattern of Russia attacking civilian targets and infrastructure,” as he assured Zelenskyy of Nato’s continued support.
In a statement, published in the last few minutes by Nato, he said that “Ukraine’s people deserve real peace – real safety and security in their country. In their homes,” and said he wanted to use his visit to “affirm … this simple message: Nato stands with Ukraine.”
“I also know that some have called Nato’s support into question in the last couple of months. But let there be no doubt. Our support is unwavering,” he said.
He said in his remarks that he spoke with Zelenskyy about “the important talks that president Trump is leading with Ukraine as well as with Russia to try to end the war and secure a durable peace.”
He acknowledged that “these discussions are not easy – not least in the wake of this horrific violence – but we all support president Trump’s push for peace.”
“So let me say again – to the people of Ukraine: We stand with you. And look forward to a day that the brave men and women of this incredible country can enjoy freedom without fear,” he said.
'Nato support is unwavering,' Rutte tells Zelenskyy on Odesa trip
And in the last few minutes, Nato secretary general Mark Rutte revealed he made an unannounced trip to Odesa in Ukraine to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In a post on social media, he said he reassured Zelenskyy that Nato’s support remained “unwavering” and the alliance would “continue to help Ukraine so it can defend today and deter future aggression.”
Here is his post in full:
Today I visited Odesa along with @ZelenskyyUa. Ukraine’s people have endured so much - not least Russia’s Palm Sunday attack on Sumy. Nato support is unwavering. We will continue to help Ukraine so it can defend today and deter future aggression, ensuring a just and lasting peace.
I will bring you more lines from Rutte soon.
Updated
US declined to sign G7 statement condemning Russia's attack on Sumy - report
In the latest example of US president Donald Trump’s rather lenient response to Russian actions, Bloomberg (£) is now reporting that the US declined to endorse a G7 statement condemning Russia’s attack on Sumy over the weekend as it feared it could derail peace negotiations on Ukraine.
The attack on Palm Sunday killed at least 34 and injured over 110 people.
But diplomatic sources told Bloomberg that the US administration “told allies it couldn’t sign the statement denouncing the attack as it is working to preserve the space to negotiate peace.”
In his only public comments on the attack, Trump said he had been told that the Russians had “made a mistake” in the strike on Sumy.
Trump’s ‘chosen one' Meloni heads to Washington to play delicate balancing act - analysis
Giorgia Meloni’s influence over Donald Trump is to be put to the test when the pair reunite in Washington on Thursday for their first bilateral summit. She is the first European leader to meet Trump since he paused some of his planned tariff hikes last week.
The summit will be closely watched. On one hand, it is an ideal opportunity for Meloni to demonstrate an affinity with Trump, with whom her natural political tendencies lie, while boosting her credentials as a conduittowards more meaningful dialogue. On the other, it will be a delicate balancing act for the prime minister, who also knows she must be careful to maintain her allegiance to Italy’s EU partners.
Behind the scenes, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Meloni are understood to have discussed a gameplan. Still, the solo trip has caused anxiety among EU allies, with the French industry minister, Marc Ferracci, warning last week that it threatened to undermine European unity against the US tariffs.
Their concerns are not without reason. Meloni, a former Eurosceptic, defended a blistering attack against European values by Trump’s deputy, JD Vance, at the Munich Security Conference in February. She will be back in Rome on Friday to meet Vance, who is in Italy for the Easter weekend.
Read the analysis in full:
Earlier today, I brought you the latest on the fragile state of the EU-US trade talks in Washington.
On Thursday, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni will try a different tactic as she goes to Washington for talks with US president Donald Trump, who has (so far) been more receptive to interventions from individual national leaders rather than the EU as a whole.
So let’s go to our Rome correspondent Angela Giuffrida for her analysis…
Updated
Macron to honour craftspeople who rebuilt Notre Dame
Elsewhere, French president Emmanuel Macron will bestow awards on around 100 craftspeople and officials who helped restore Notre Dame to its former glory after a fire nearly destroyed the beloved Paris cathedral six years ago, AFP reported.
The ceremony at the Élysée Palace will take place from early Tuesday evening, around the same time the devastating fire broke out at the Gothic masterpiece in 2019.
AFP noted that Macron will honour Philippe Jost, who headed the public organisation tasked with restoring the cathedral and was elevated to the rank of “commander” of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest national award.
Jost succeeded Jean-Louis Georgelin, the general who had been put in charge of overseeing the restoration but who died in 2023.
Georgelin was conferred with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, the highest rank of the award established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.
The architects Remi Fromont and Philippe Villeneuve will also be decorated.
Alongside them, nearly 100 civil servants, entrepreneurs and craftspeople will be awarded the Legion of Honour or the National Order of Merit, another top award established by Charles de Gaulle.
They represent around 2,000 people who took part in the restoration of the cathedral.
They come from “all the trades” and include carpenters, ironworkers, scaffolders, rope access workers, organ restorers and stained glass artisans, the French presidency said.
The Serbian students cycling towards Strasbourg that we reported on earlier today (10:51 and 10:56) are now back on the move on the final stage of their journey.
You can follow their finish live here – they are currently passing through a small town of Durmersheim in Germany, near the French border.
EU could end penalties for companies that break Russian gas contracts
The European Commission is considering plans that would allow European companies to break long-term Russian gas contracts without paying penalties to Moscow, it has been reported.
Citing three officials with knowledge of the plan, the Financial Times reported (£) that the commission was studying the possibility of allowing companies to declare force majeure, which would absolve importers of their obligations to pay penalty fees for ending contracts.
The plans are reported to be part of a roadmap on how the EU will rid itself of Russian fossil fuels by 2027, a document scheduled to be published on 6 May, following repeated delays.
A commission spokesperson declined to comment.
Full story:
France's anti-terrorism prosecutor's offices takes charge of investigation into prison attacks
Back to France, the country’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said it had taken charge of the investigation into attacks on several French prisons overnight that we reported earlier (11:07).
Reuters said that France’s DGSI national security agency will also be involved into the investigation into the attacks, the prosecutor said.
Updated
More than 1,000 sign academics' petition against Hungarian constitutional changes targeting LGBTQ+ community
… and more than 1,200 people have signed a petition, launched by academics at Budapest’s Eötvös Loránd university, protesting against the Hungarian government’s ban on public events by the LGBTQ+ community.
On Monday, Hungary’s rightwing populist government, led by Viktor Orbán, voted through a constitutional amendment backing the ban, in what rights campaigners described as a “significant escalation” in the government’s efforts to chip away at human rights.
The university remains committed to inclusion, the petition noted. “As university lecturers and researchers, we protest against this curtailment of basic rights,” it said.
It also sought to highlight the worrying precedent set by the ban. “The government’s spurious claim, all too familiar from history, to protect our children sets the stage for the curtailment of the freedom of assembly of arbitrarily designated groups – in the first instance LGBTQI communities – as well as their surveillance and punishment.”
Staff at the internationally renowned university had decided to speak out as “many of our students and staff rightly feel threatened by discriminatory, arbitrary legislation and stigmatisation,” the petition noted.
The signatories said they would work to ensure that students or employees belonging to the LGBTQ+ community would feel free to speak up when it comes to matters concerning themselves or the wider university community.
“It is especially important to take this responsibility at a time when our institutions and communities are under increasing government pressure and similar attacks are taking place in other countries,” the petition said.
Rights campaigners have called on the European Commission to launch a procedure against the Hungarian government, arguing that the legal changes – believed to be the first of their kind in the EU’s modern history – are a breach of EU law.
(Asked about the next steps at the commission’s briefing, Hrncirova said she could not offer any timeline on this process. – Jakub)
Updated
European Commission ‘analysing’ Hungarian constitution amendments
Separately, European Commission spokesperson on equality Eva Hrncirova was asked about the executive’s view on the Hungarian constitutional amendment passed yesterday that campaigners described as a “significant escalation” in the government’s efforts to crack down on dissent and chip away at human rights.
She said the EU was “obviously aware” of the amendment, but needed time to “analyse the changes, because [they] cover several topics and we need to look at them very carefully to be able to see them from the perspective of the European law.”
Yesterday’s vote prompted further protests in Budapest against the decision, so let me bring you some pictures from that protest, and…
Updated
EU food, safety standards, digital regulation not part of negotiations with US, Commission says
And on trade talks with the US, the European Commission’s trade spokesperson Olof Gill just told reporters that the EU needed “an additional level of engagement from the US to keep the ball rolling forward.”
“Our offers are still clearly and plainly on the table, zero for zero tariffs on industrial products, including cars, and we’re willing to look at a range of other areas,” he said.
Responding to Trump’s comments that the EU “have got to come to the table, and they’re trying to,” Gill said: “Mr President, we are at the table,” as he rejected the suggestion that the EU exploits the US by saying “the facts do not support this claim.”
Pushed on what is being discussed, he said that – despite Trump’s longstanding frustration with EU regulations – “EU standards, particularly as they relate to food, health and safety, are sacrosanct.”
“That’s not part of the negotiation. It never will be, not with the US, not with anyone else,” he said.
He also added that “our regulation that applies to technology and digital markets, that’s not up for negotiation.”
These comments will particularly resonate with the US as there is growing anticipation that the EU should announce its first enforcement against Apple and Meta under the Digital Markets Act in the coming days and weeks.
'Significant joint efforts' needed to resolve trade differences with US in 90 days, EU says
The EU has said that “significant joint efforts will be needed” for a successful outcome to trade talks at the end of Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on tariffs.
The European Commission, which handles trade policy for the 27 EU member states, was reporting back on a meeting between its lead trade official Maroš Šefčovič and US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and US trade representative Jamieson Greer in Washington on Monday.
The account of the meeting from the commission suggested the US side had yet to bring much to the table.
The EU will continue to approach these talks in a constructive manner, with a view to identify areas of common interest. It is clear that significant joint efforts will be needed to achieve a successful outcome within the 90-day window.
The EU is doing its part. Now it is necessary for the US to define its position. As with every negotiation this must be a two-way street... With both sides bringing something to the table.”
Recap: The EU’s retaliatory action against US tariffs on steel and aluminum was due to be phased in from today [15 April], but the commission decided to hold back the counter strike to allow space for negotiations, in response to Trump’s pause on “reciprocal tariffs” for 90 days.
EU officials also went public last week with their offer for tariff-free transatlantic trade on cars and industrial goods, a proposal outlined in private on 19 February, according to the commission.
The commission described Monday’s meeting as a “scoping exercise” that explored areas of a potential deal.
Some EU insiders have questioned whether Lutnick and Greer are calling the shots, with Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro and the president himself, seen in the driving seat of trade policy.
No 'clear outline' of Ukraine deal, but political will is there, the Kremlin claims
We are now getting some lines from the Kremlin, responding to US reactions and comments on US-Russia talks overnight that I brought you earlier (9:23).
The Kremlin declined to offer a precise time frame for further talks on Ukraine settlement, but insisted there is political will to move towards an agreement, even if there is no “clear outline” of what it could cover.
But, echoing some of Witkoff’s comments, it played up the “enormous potential” for US-Russia cooperation, which it argued “can help stabilise the world.”
Merz's Taurus comments spark optimism among Ukraine friends, draw ire from Moscow, frustration from domestic allies
Meanwhile in Germany, comments by presumptive new German chancellor Friedrich Merz this week that he was open to sending long-requested Taurus missiles to Kyiv sparked optimism among friends of Ukraine, ire in Moscow and a not-so-fast from a key coalition partner in Berlin.
Merz, who is expected to take office on 6 May, said on a Sunday night talkshow when asked about the long-range missiles that unlike current leader Olaf Scholz, he would consider sending them as part of a wider package of support agreed with European allies.
He also mentioned that they could be used to target the Kerch Bridge, the most important land link between Russia and the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula.
Popular Social Democrat Boris Pistorius, who is expected to stay on as defence minister in Merz’s new cabinet, has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest German supporters. He nevertheless took umbrage at his incoming boss’s hints that the long-range missiles for Ukraine were any kind of done deal.
Pistorius told a party event in Hanover that repeated hints he had secretly supported Taurus shipments to Ukraine all along were false. “I never said that,” he said.
He added that there were good reasons for supplying the missiles, but “also many arguments, good arguments, against them”.
Pistorius also raised doubts about Merz’s comments about coordination with European allies.
“I don’t know a European partner with such a (weapons) system,” he said.
Meanwhile Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov charged Merz with his “tougher position” would “inevitably lead only to a further escalation of the situation around Ukraine”.
Deputy Security Council chief Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president, called Merz a “Nazi” for his suggestion to hit the Crimean bridge.
“Chancellor candidate Fritz Merz is haunted by the memory of his father, who served in Hitler’s Wehrmacht. Now Merz has suggested a strike on the Crimean Bridge. Think twice, Nazi!” Medvedev posted on X.
“Attempts have been made to intimidate staff in several prisons, ranging from burning vehicles to firing automatic weapons,” the French justice minister, Gerald Darmanin, said in a post on X.
“I am going to Toulon to support the officers concerned. The French Republic is facing up to the problem of drug trafficking and is taking measures that will massively disrupt the criminal networks,” he added.
Updated
French justice minister to travel to Toulon after prisons attacked with automatic weapons
French justice minister Gérald Darmanin will travel to Toulon in southern France later today, after a number of French prisons were targeted with fires and use of weapons last night, French media reported.
A source close to the minister told AFP, quoted by Le Figaro and Le Monde, that the attacks appeared to be coordinated and in response to the government’s strategy on drug trafficking.
Le Figaro said that prisons in Marseille, Valence, Nîmes and Luynes, Villepinte and Nanterre were also among those affected.
Updated
Serbian students on final stretch of 'Tour de Strasbourg' to highlight corruption allegations
For more than four months, the students’ nationwide campaign against corruption has dominated headlines across much of Serbia’s media, tracking the near-daily protests that have at times attracted hundreds of thousands and rattled the country’s top echelons of power.
But since early April, around 80 of the protesters have been on a mission to draw the EU’s attention to their movement, with a 1,300km cycling journey that is set to arrive today in Strasbourg, the French city where the European parliament meets.
“Europe has been asleep for too long,” Vladimir Beljanski of the Vojvodina Bar Association told local news site N1 in explaining why he and others had decided to embark on the two-week journey. “It is important to draw Europe’s attention. Serbia is part of Europe. We are not a wild Balkan tribe where resources can be extracted while ignoring the rule of law, quite the opposite.”
The student protests began in November in response to the collapse of a train station roof in the northern city of Novi Sad. The tragedy, which killed 16 people, soon became a flashpoint amid Serbia’s increasingly authoritarian rule, attracting protesters from across the country who demanded greater government transparency.
The protests have since become the biggest challenge yet to the country’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, and his decade-long grip on power. Vučić has responded by accusing the students of working against the state and protesters have said they’ve been attacked on numerous occasions.
Months on, the EU’s response to the protest has been lukewarm, with officials refraining from directly criticising Vučić. But the cyclists said they hoped their arrival in Strasbourg today, along with a rally planned in front of the EU parliament and European Court of Human Rights, would help to raise awareness of the resistance they’ve faced.
“Instead of getting answers – we got batons. Instead of dialogue – we got censorship,” they said on the website launched to track their journey. “We grew up believing freedom and justice were basic human rights. Now we see them as privileges being stripped away.”
Elsewhere, I will be following a group of Serbian students who are on the final stretch of their “Tour de Strasbourg” as part of the broader students’ protest movement in Serbia against the increasingly authoritarian rule of the country’s president Aleksandar Vučić.
They have been getting lots of love and support along the way, and today they are about to go on the very final stage of their trip taking them 81 km from Karlsruhe in Germany to Strasbourg, France, where they hope to get by 6pm local time.
Let me bring European community affairs correspondent Ashifa Kassam with more on their initiative.
Key questions for Ukraine's European allies - analysis
David Shimer, the former director for eastern Europe and Ukraine on Joe Biden’s national security council, writes for the Guardian today, asking “two key questions for Ukraine’s European allies” as he worries about the US military aid ceasing soon.
The war between Russia and Ukraine is approaching a historic turning point: unless the Trump administration adjusts course, US military aid for Ukraine is about to cease.
Since taking office, Trump has not approved a single military aid package for Ukraine. Even if Trump were to reverse course and utilize this remaining drawdown authority, the amount available is insufficient to sustain US support for Ukraine over time. To do that, Congress would need to approve additional Ukraine funding, which will not happen while the Republican party controls both chambers and the White House. As a result, the era of US military aid to Ukraine is approaching its end.
Vladimir Putin is stalling the Trump administration’s ineffective pursuit of a ceasefire as he waits for Biden-era military aid deliveries to run dry.
European leaders have stepped up in recent months to try to help Ukraine survive in the absence of US leadership. European discussions about a postwar reassurance force are important, but the actual war is still ongoing, and further planning is needed to deal with the impending loss of US material support.
The key questions for Ukraine’s European backers are twofold: how can Ukraine persist with a combination of its own domestic production of weapons, European security assistance, and US intelligence sharing?; and what is the most viable pathway to finance this support?
'Not good for Europe to be security vassal of the US,' JD Vance says
Separately, US vice-president JD Vance has given a wide-ranging interview on his approach to European policy, telling UnHerd that “it’s not good for Europe to be the permanent security vassal of the United States.”
He insisted that he “loves Europe,” despite his critical comments in Munich or during his recent trip to Greenland.
In most attention-grabbing comments, he once again criticised Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for “absurd” comments that the Trump administration is “somehow on the side of the Russians,” which he said was “certainly not productive.”
He also repeated some of his criticism of European leaders on migration and integration, saying that “European populations keep on crying out for more sensible economic and migration policies, and the leaders of Europe keep on going through these elections, and keep on offering the European peoples the opposite of what they seem to have voted for.”
He also warned that Europe should step up and work on its defences, as “most European nations don’t have militaries that can provide for their reasonable defence,” noting exceptions in the UK, France, and Poland.
He also called for stronger Europe, saying: “I don’t want the Europeans to just do whatever the Americans tell them to do. I don’t think it’s in their interest, and I don’t think it’s in our interests, either.”
The entire thing is worth reading to better understand the vice-president’s thoughts – it’s here.
Morning opening: What does Vladimir Putin want?
On Monday, several European leaders lined up to criticise Vladimir Putin for Russia’s continuing attacks on Ukraine, and sabotaging the peace efforts of the Trump administration in the US.
But the White House view remains distinctively different.
Speaking alongside El Salvador president Nayib Bukele, Trump once again took aim at Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy instead, saying:
“The mistake was letting the war happen. If Biden were competent. And if Zelenskyy were competent -- and I don’t know that he is, we had a rough session with this guy over here.”
“You don’t start a war against somebody that’s 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles.”
On Putin, his tone was distinctively different as he argued:
“And you take a look at Putin -- I’m not saying anybody’s an angel, but I will tell you, I went four years, and it wasn’t even a question. He would never -- and I told him don’t do it. You’re not going to do it.”
Ultimately, he concluded that Biden, Zelenskyy and Putin are all at blame for the war:
“And Biden could have stopped it, and Zelenskyy could have stopped it, and Putin should have never started it. Everybody’s to blame.”
But perhaps even more revealing were comments by Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, who was in Moscow last week.
Speaking on Fox News, Witkoff said he was confident after his latest five-hour “compelling” meeting with the Russians that a deal with Putin was “emerging”.
“Towards the end, we actually came up with – I’m going to say finally, but I don’t mean it in the way that we were waiting; I mean it in the way that it took a while for us to get to this place – what Putin’s request is to get to, have a permanent peace,” he said.
But in comments that are likely to spook European partners by signalling Putin’s broader security demands, he said the peace deal is “about the so-called five territories, but there’s so much more to it: there’s security protocols, there’s no Nato, Nato Article Five, I mean, it’s just a lot of detail attached to it.”
“It’s a complicated situation … rooted in … some real problematic things happening between the two countries and I think we might be on the verge of something that would be very, very important for the world at large,” he added.
Witkoff also added that he believed “there is a possibility to reshape the Russian-United States relationship through some very compelling commercial opportunities that I think give real stability to the region too.”
So, what, back to business as usual? That’s certainly what Putin wants.
It all increasingly makes it look, as our Russia expert Luke Harding put it, that “the truth is that America either wants Russia to win, or doesn’t care if Ukraine loses.”
On that depressing note…
It’s Tuesday, 15 April 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
