Ukraine and Eastern Europe

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the creation of an "army of Europe" to guard against Russia as he suggested the US may no longer come to the continent's aid. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, he also said that Ukraine would "never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement" after US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to start peace talks.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told Washington's NATO allies that they would have to step up and assume greater responsibility for Europe's security since the U.S. no longer remains "primarily focused on the security of Europe". He said "stark strategic realities", such as U.S. border security issues and threats posed by China are a greater priority. Hegseth also said that a return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and the Trump administration does not see NATO membership for Kyiv as part of a solution to the war triggered by Russia's invasion.

NATO's new Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Kyiv on Thursday (3 October). It is Rutte's first working trip since officially taking office earlier this week. Earlier, Rutte announced that Ukraine's NATO membership would be one of the spearheads of his policy.

A major Russian air strike on Lviv, a city in western Ukraine near the border with NATO member Poland, killed seven people, wounded more than 30 and caused extensive damage to historic buildings in the city centre, regional officials said on Wednesday (4 September). The attack came a day after Russia's deadliest single attack this year, when two ballistic missiles hit a military institute in the central Ukrainian city of Poltava, killing 50 people and injuring hundreds more. Meanwhile, neighbouring Poland scrambled jets to secure its airspace for the third time in eight days.

Belarus said on Monday (19 August) that it had sent more troops to its border with Ukraine. A day earlier, President Alexander Lukashenko said nearly a third of the Belarusian army was stationed on the border, although he did not give exact figures. Belarusian General Andrei Lukyanovich said this included anti-aircraft troops.

The European Union has condemned several waves of large-scale attacks on several Ukrainian cities carried out by Russia on Monday (8 July).