EU leaders hold emergency talks after new signals from Moscow – Bloomberg
Illustrative photo: EU leaders meeting (Getty Images)
European leaders held urgent talks on Ukraine after the Kremlin said it intended to strengthen its negotiating position. The discussion followed accusations that Ukrainian drones had attacked President Vladimir Putin’s residence, Bloomberg reports.
The call was attended by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The participants discussed the situation in eastern Ukraine and the strengthening of security for allied countries.
In particular, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said work on robust security guarantees for Ukraine "continues unabated." According to him, countries from the so-called Coalition of the Willing are planning another meeting as early as next week.
The discussions in Europe took place against the backdrop of intensified diplomacy in recent days. On December 28, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the residence of US President Donald Trump in Florida, after which Trump said there had been "a lot of progress" toward resolving the war in Ukraine.
At the same time, the Kremlin has shown no real desire to end the war in Ukraine. Moreover, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said he intends to seize new Ukrainian territories, while Russia’s Foreign Ministry threatened retaliation over a fabricated drone attack.
Russia says it will strengthen its negotiating position
The Kremlin said Russia would strengthen its position in negotiations. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the decision was taken after a strike on the presidential residence in Russia's Novgorod region.
However, Russia has not so far provided credible evidence to support its accusations. Moreover, Peskov was unable to answer journalists’ questions about where Putin was when the drones allegedly attacked his Valdai residence.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has explained why Russia launched the fake claim about an attack on Putin’s residence.
Full details on Russia’s statements about the alleged attack on the residence and the inconsistencies in the Russian authorities’ accounts can be found in the material by RBC-Ukraine.
