L to R: Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, and Vladimir Putin
EA-Ukraine VideoCasts: Donald Trump’s Betrayal and Alliance with Putin
Tuesday’s Coverage: Woman Killed, 12 Injured by Russian Missile Strikes on Kyiv
UPDATE 0815 GMT:
Ukraine’s air defenses downed 71 of 88 drones, 38 of them jet-powered, launched by Russia overnight. Strikes were recorded at eight locations.
UPDATE 0722 GMT:
A US official says Donald Trump, continuing his tilt towards the Kremlin, is considering the lifting of sanctions on Russia’s government investment fund.
Capitalizing on Trump’s agreement to purchase Russian diesel fuel, Moscow is telling the White House that the removal of sanctions are necessary to ensure the transactions.
The fund is headed by Kirill Dmitriev, who has led the Kremlin’s manipulation of Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff since early 2025. He has been instrumental in the Kremlin’s offering of tens of billions of dollars of deals — benefitting Trump associates and friends including Witkoff — in return for American support.
The US official, who may or may not be Witkoff, said the lifting of sanctions was part of an effort to “improve US-Russia relations and help end the war”. He praised Dmitriev as “a helpful envoy”.
“It’s been really, really good dealing with Kirill,” Witkoff told Putin last week in St. Petersburg, Russia.
UPDATE 0719 GMT:
Ukraine struck several facilities inside Russia overnight, including the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant.
The complex in Lipetsk in western Russia was set afire. It supplies Russian companies producing air defense systems, drones, missiles, and other weapons.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb spoke by phone with Vladimir Putin for 90 minutes on Tuesday.
Throughout its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has rejected a European role in talks. However, earlier this week Putin’s foreign policy Yuri Ushakov called for the involvement of “all of Europe”.
Støre said the conversation, extended beyond its scheduled 20 minutes, was “substantive, focused on the issues at hand, and professional”. However, he indicated there was no progress towards an end of Russia’s 56-month full scale invasion.
Much of what [Putin] said was already known – he recalled his views on how the conflict evolved since 2014 – and we stated our positions. These are well-known views, which we were able to acknowledge and respond to.
Instead of discussing a ceasefire, Putin delivered a lengthy lecture on medieval Slavic history, said “three sources familiar with the call”. One said Støre and Stubb did not interrupt the rant, gauging his seriousness on future dialogue with Europe.
Putin gave a similar lecture to Donald Trump during their August 2025 summit in Alaska. He spoke at length about medieval Rus princes, such as Rurik or Yaroslav the Wise, and the 17th-century Cossack leader Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. The lecture reportedly damaged the Kremlin’s attempts to manipulate Trump, and toughened US sanctions on Russia followed in October.
The conversation included steps to deal with attacks on energy infrastructure and in the Black Sea. Støre said he and Stubb spoke on behalf of their two countries only, “and no one else”. He added, “There remain significant differences in our respective positions.”
We stand with Ukraine, defend its right to self-defence, and emphasise the need for a diplomatic path to end this war in a lasting and just manner.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov snapped after the call, “It seems nothing new was discussed. This just shows the Europeans’ desire to insert themselves into the negotiating process.” Russia’s invasion “will continue and, even I will say, is likely to escalate”.
Ukraine Supported Engagement
European leaders such as Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson were cautious about the engagement. However, Støre emphasized, “All our partners and allies were informed in advance and received a detailed account afterwards.”
Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed:
We welcome such active support for our diplomatic efforts and peace process. This call was, as it was mentioned, coordinated with us, and this is the right approach….
I will say this once again, Ukraine wants to end this war. We have doable proposals and solutions. We are ready for partial ceasefires and a full end to hostilities. Of course, everything needs to be fair. We will not take any one-sided steps.
Sybiha said Ukraine is looking for “a new momentum” and wants to “define new role for Europe in our peace efforts”. He explained, “Probably the only way to get…new quality in our talks is a meeting at the level of President Zelensky and Putin”: negotiators can discuss matters to a certain level but key decisions can only be made by the heads of states.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also expressed support, citing consultations “that it would be good for European politicians to have a working contact given the planned ceasefire talks that may take place in Abu Dhabi”.
He said the Ukraine-Russia encounter, with the US present, is planned for 4 November.
