L to R: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and French President Emmanuel Macron en route to Kyiv, Ukraine, May 9, 2025

Friday’s Coverage: A Chat Between Zelensky and Trump

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1944 GMT:

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has held the line against the unconditional 30-day ceasefire agreed by Ukraine and European allies and supported by the Trump Administration.

Speaking with CNN, Peskov said, “We have to think about that….These are new developments. We have our own position.”

He complained, “Europe is actually confronting us very openly… and we are quite accustomed to it….Russia is quite resistant to any kinds of pressure.”

But he insisted that the Kremlin is “open for dialogue…open for attempts to have a settlement in Ukraine”.

UPDATE 1303 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and four European leaders — France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, the UK’s Keir Starmer, and Poland’s Donald Tusk — have agreed an unconditional 30-day ceasefire from May 12.

The leaders said their agreement is backed by Donald Trump. They threatened Vladimir Putin with further sanctions, including on energy and banking sectors, if he fails to comply.

Macron emphasized, “In the event of a violation of this ceasefire, we have agreed that massive sanctions will be prepared and coordinated between Europeans and Americans.”

Starmer echoed the declaration, adding that the group would “increase our military aid for Ukraine’s defense to pressure Russia back to the table”: “All of us here, together with the US, are calling Putin out. If he’s serious about peace, then he has a chance to show it now.”

Zelensky added:

He later posted the agreed text:

UPDATE 1124 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and visiting European leaders have had a 20-minute “productive” call with Donald Trump, says Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

UPDATE 1117 GMT:

Backing the quartet of European leaders in Kyiv, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has posted:

UPDATE 1110 GMT: Amid Vladimir Putin’s self-declared “ceasefire”, Russian shelling has killed three residents and injured four in the Sumy region in northeast Ukraine.

Another civilian man was slain by a Russian drone strike on Kherson city in the south.

Citing Kyiv’s authorities, the Associated Press finds at least 117 civilians have been killed and more than 1,000 injured by Russian aerial attacks since March 11, when Ukraine proposed an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

UPDATE 1102 GMT:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has asserted that Pyongyang’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is justified.

Kim proclaimed an exercise of sovereign rights in defense of a “brother nation”. He said he would not hesitate to authorize military force if the US persists in “military provocations” against Russia.

North Korea has deployed around 15,000 troops, mainly in the Kursk region of western Russia, to fill some of Moscow’s loss of almost 1 million men during its full-scale invasion.

UPDATE 1051 GMT:

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has demanded a ban on military support for Ukraine as part of any halt to Russia’s 38 1/2-month full-scale invasion.

Peskov told US outlet ABC News:

Ukraine will continue their total mobilization, bringing new troops to [the] frontline.

Ukraine will use this period to train new military personnel and to give a rest to their existing ones. So why should we grant such an advantage to Ukraine?

While insisting that Vladimir Putin supports a ceasefire, Peskov maintained, “Right now we have certain dynamics on the front, Russian troops are advancing, and advancing in quite a confident way.”

UPDATE 0837 GMT:

Tehran is preparing to deliver launchers for short-range Iranian Fath-360 ballistic missiles sent to Russia last year, claim “two Western security officials and a regional official“.

The Fath-360 has a 120-km (75-mile) range. The US said last September that Iran delivered the missiles to Russia on nine Russian-flagged ships, but three sources said at the time that the launchers were not included.

The sources for Reuters said the transfer was imminent but did not give further details. They did not explain why the launchers were not delivered with the missiles last year.

UPDATE 0803 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelensky greet Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and French President Emmanuel Macron in Kyiv:

UPDATE 0543 GMT:

Without naming Russia, the US Embassy in Kyiv issued a security alert on Friday:

[We have] received information concerning a potentially significant air attack that may occur at any time over the next several days. The Embassy, as always, recommends U.S. citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: European leaders are gathering in Kyiv on Saturday to show solidarity with Ukraine’s resistance of Russia’s 38 1/2-month invasion.

Four heads of government — the UK’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, and Poland’s Donald Tusk — will join Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We, the leaders of France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom will stand in Kyiv in solidarity with Ukraine against Russia’s barbaric and illegal full-scale invasion,” the leaders said in a joint statement.

They will reiterate Zelensky’s call, backed by the Trump Administration, for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire. With Zelensky, they will hold a virtual meeting with other leaders on progress for an “air, land, maritime and regeneration force” as part of a deal ending the Russian invasion.

“We are ready to support peace talks as soon as possible, to discuss technical implementation of the ceasefire, and prepare for a full peace deal,” said the European quartet. “We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine. Until Russia agrees to an enduring ceasefire, we will ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine.”

A Treaty Between France and Poland

On Friday, Macron and Tusk signed a treaty for security and economic cooperation in Nancy, France.

Macron said the treaty “opens a new page” in relations with “irreversible” solidarity between the two countries. He cited priority areas such as emerging technologies, AI, quantum and biotechnologies, energy, and cybersecurity.

Noting the signature of the accord on Europe Day, Tusk said:

Our nations won’t feel safer simply because we talk about it, but when our political elites, in both countries, will work together, day by day, to guarantee our security….

There is no united Europe without friendship, solidarity and Franco-Polish cooperation.

He added in French, “Long live Poland, long live France, long live our friendship.”