Ukraine and Eastern Europe

Key European leaders will join Ukrainian president Zelensky at talks with US president, Donald Trump, in Washington on Monday (18 August). Zelensky is currently in Brussels where he met with European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. European leaders have announced they will be joining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on a trip to the White House on Monday. They include UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, French President Emmanuel Macron, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Speaking to the press after her meeting with president Zelensky, Von der Leyen said she is glad to be accompanying Zelensky and other European leaders to Washington tomorrow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Berlin on Wednesday (13 August) to join German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a video call with other European leaders and US President Donald Trump. The talks, initiated by Merz, are seen as a last-ditch attempt by Europe to influence Friday's meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

European Union leaders have appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to defend their security interests at a summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday 15 August over the war in Ukraine. EU leaders are doing their best to exert some influence over the summit that they have been sidelined from. It remains unclear whether even Ukraine will take part but EU leaders underlined that “the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.” According to AP, Trump has said that he wants to see whether Putin is serious about ending the war now in its fourth year. In a statement on Tuesday 12 August, EU leaders said that they “welcome the efforts of President Trump towards ending Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.” The European Union will make a fresh attempt to rally Trump to Ukraine’s cause on Wednesday at virtual meetings convened by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump did not confirm whether he would take part, but he stated: “I’m going to get everybody’s ideas” before meeting with Putin.

A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump has been agreed, a Kremlin official said on Thursday 7 August, the eve of a White House deadline for Moscow to show progress toward ending the 3-year-old war in Ukraine. Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, quoted by AP, said a summit could possibly take place next week at a venue that has been decided “in principle.” Next week is the target date for a summit, Ushakov said, while noting that such events take time to organise and no date is confirmed. The possible venue will be announced “a little later,” he said.

Russian glide bombs and ballistic missiles struck a Ukrainian prison and a medical facility overnight as Russia’s relentless strikes killed at least 22 people across the country, officials said on Tuesday 29 July, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to punish Russia with sanctions and tariffs unless it stops. Trump said on Monday he is giving Russian President Vladimir Putin 10 to 12 days to stop the killing in Ukraine after three years of war, moving up a 50-day deadline he had given the Russian leader two weeks ago. “I’m disappointed in President Putin,” Trump said during a visit to Scotland.

China and the European Union have issued a joint call to action on climate change during an otherwise tense bilateral summit in Beijing on Thursday 24 July but major disagreements remain over trade and the war in Ukraine.  The two sides issued a joint statement on climate change, urging more emission cuts and greater use of green technology and affirming their support for the Paris Climate Agreement as well as calling for strong action at the upcoming COP30 climate summit in Brazil. European Council President António Costa called on China to use its influence over Russia to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, a long-standing plea from European leaders that is likely to fall once again on deaf ears.

Ukrainians are taking to the streets to protest a new law they worry will undermine the work of two key anti-corruption agencies and erode the independence of bodies meant to provide a check on power. Protests are growing and spreading around the country even as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered a vague new bill to alleviate demonstrators’ concerns. After a day of pressure from Ukrainian citizens, the European Commission and many European governments, Zelenskyy said he “heard the public opinion” and promised to fix the situation with a new bill that he pledged would preserve the independence of corruption agencies.

This week, a team of Japanese professionals conducted a landmine detection training programme for Ukrainian demining teams using equipment supplied by Japan. This initiative is intended to support Ukraine's ongoing efforts to clear explosive remnants of war in the context of Russia's ongoing invasion.