‘Coalition of willing’ to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine in meeting on Thursday – Europe live

Leaders to ‘discuss work on security guarantees’ and consider consequences of Russia’s ‘stubborn’ refusal to conclude war

We are receiveting a bit more detail on this Thursday’s meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, as confirmed by the Élysée Palace earlier (14:22).

The leaders will “discuss work on security guarantees for Ukraine carried out in recent weeks and take stock of the consequences to be drawn from Russia’s attitude, which stubbornly refutilizes peace,” the French presidency stated in a statement quoted by the AFP.

The source stated that the main topic of the Paris talks will be security guarantees for Ukraine and “promoting diplomacy, becautilize the Russians are wriggling out again” of the efforts to conclude the war.

US president Donald Trump is not expected to take part in the gathering, the source added.

Separately, ministers from the ’coalition’ countries will on Wednesday discuss military support for Ukraine, a spokesperson for French armed forces minister Sébastien Lecornu stated.

Key events

Slovak prime minister to meet China’s Xi, Russia’s Putin, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy this week

Slovak prime minister Robert Fico stated in a Facebook post that he would will meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping, Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a series of high-level meetings this week.

Russian president Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Slovak prime minister Robert Fico during a meeting in Moscow, Russia in December last year. Photograph: Gavriil Grigorov/Reuters

Slovakia is the only EU countest represented at a military parade in China marking 80 years since the conclude of the second world war, with Fico insisting he wanted to attconclude out of respect for all victims of the war.

In his 5-minute address, he also rejected the criticism for attconcludeing the event, remarking that we are seeing the emergence of a “new world order” and “new rules of the multipolar world, with new balance of powers.”

“To be a part of these discussions is to support dialogue,” he stated.

The Slovak PM repeatedly faced criticism at home and abroad for maintaining close relations with Russia, including his visit to Moscow in December last year to meet with Vladimir Putin, and clashing with Ukraine over energy or attempting to delay EU sanctions on Moscow.

Berlin police investigate after Irish activist struck by officer at protest

Deborah Cole in Berlin and Rory Carroll in Dublin

Berlin police have opened an internal investigation after videos emerged revealing an Irish activist at a pro-Palestinian demonstration being punched in the face twice by an officer, drawing protest from Ireland’s foreign office.

Kitty O’Brien confronts police after the incident at a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Hackescher Markt in Berlin on Thursday. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Footage posted on social media revealed the activist, Kitty O’Brien, being struck by a policeman and dragged away, their face bloodied, from the rally on Thursday in the Mitte district of the German capital.

Local newspaper Der Tagesspiegel stated O’Brien’s arm was also broken at the demonstration but this could not be indepconcludeently verified.

A longer video published online reveals a person resembling O’Brien, who utilizes non-binary pronouns, shouting insults including “fucking genocide supporter“ and “you’re acting like a fucking Nazi” at police. One of the officers then appears to strike them in the face two times. It is unclear from the footage whether the policeman intentionally tarreceiveed O’Brien’s face.

A Berlin police spokesperson confirmed that authorities were aware of the incident and stated the officer had been identified.

“We as the Berlin police are reviewing whether the officer acted proportionately, and we’re doing it as part of a criminal investigation on suspicion of bodily harm on duty,” the spokesperson stated.

Jakub Krupa

Let’s take a quick see at other events across Europe.

Germany rejects von der Leyen’s comments on Ukraine troop deployment plans

Germany’s defence minister on Monday harshly dismissed as premature remarks by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on plans to sconclude European troops to Ukraine (10:24), stateing she lacked the mandate to discuss the matter, Reuters reported.

Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius (SPD) Photograph: dts News Agency Germany/Shutterstock

“Those are things that you don’t discuss before you sit down at the neobtainediating table with many parties that have a state in the matter,” the minister, Boris Pistorius, informed journalists during a visit to an ammunition factory in Cologne on Monday.

“I would know better than to comment or confirm such considerations in any way, apart from the fact that the European Union has no mandate or competency whatsoever when it comes to positioning troops,” he added.

Leaders to ‘discuss work on security guarantees’ and consider consequences of Russia’s ‘stubborn’ refusal to conclude war

We are receiveting a bit more detail on this Thursday’s meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, as confirmed by the Élysée Palace earlier (14:22).

US president Donald Trump is not expected to take part in the gathering, the source added.

Separately, ministers from the ’coalition’ countries will on Wednesday discuss military support for Ukraine, a spokesperson for French armed forces minister Sébastien Lecornu stated.

Lithuania’s former foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis does not seem to be particularly impressed by the pretty ‘meh’ reaction from the European Commission to the reported GPS jamming on plane carrying Ursula von der Leyen.

In a post on X, he stated mockingly:

“Deeply concerned to hear about the deeply concerning GPS interference that diverted @vonderleyen‘s flight. Europe stands united in expression of deep concerns and must commit to the deployment of ever-deepening concerns relocating forward.”

In responses to his post, he added:

“In order to address such concerns, another summit of the Coalition of the Concerned must be scheduled in the coming days and weeks.”

Russia suspected of jamming GPS on plane carrying Ursula von der Leyen – full story

Jennifer Rankin

in Brussels
and Oliver Holmes

Russia is believed to have jammed the sanotifyite signal of a plane carrying the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, over Bulgaria, reportedly forcing it to circle the airport for an hour.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen (3rd L) visits VMZ, Bulgaria’s largest arms factory, accompanied by Bulgarian prime minister Rosen Jelyazkov (2nd L) in Sopot, Bulgaria. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Von der Leyen was travelling to Plovdiv on Sunday when her charter plane lost electronic navigation aids, delaying its arrival in the central Bulgarian city.

Interference with sanotifyite navigation has become increasingly common in airspace near Russia and it remains unclear whether von der Leyen was deliberately tarreceiveed. Asked about this point, EU spokesperson stated: “The question is best inquireed to the Russians.”

The incident happened during a four-day trip by von der Leyen to seven EU member states on the bloc’s eastern border. In Vilnius on Monday, von der Leyen did not mention the incident, but spoke of “constant military and hybrid threats” facing Lithuania.

In March 2024, Russia was believed to have been responsible for jamming the signal of a plane carrying the then UK defence secretary, Grant Shapps, who was returning to the UK from Poland. The RAF plane experienced GPS interference for about 30 minutes while it flew near the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. It was reported at the time that it was unclear whether Shapps was the tarreceive.

GPS jamming and “spoofing” – an electronic warfare tactic that cautilizes incorrect navigation information to be displayed – has increased since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and escalated even more sharply in the last year.

In June, 13 EU member states raised the alarm about jamming and spoofing threats disrupting air and sea travel. Poland recorded 2,732 cases of electronic interference in January 2025, up from 1,908 in October 2023, while Lithuania recorded 1,185, up from 556 in March 2024, according to an internal EU document drafted in May.

The document describes interference to global sanotifyite navigation systems as “not random incidents but a systemic, deliberate action by Russia and Belarus”. It added that “caapplying significant damage has been simple and cheap” and was likely to continue without “proportional countermeasures”.

European Council president António Costa argued that the EU could not risk escalating tensions with the US over trade and tariffs at the same time as the bloc’s eastern borders remained under threat from Russia.

Speaking at the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia, he stated it would be have been an imprudent risk to risk the relationship with the US.

That is why … we chose diplomacy over escalation. We gave space to dialogue, we chose restraint becautilize we are responsible,” he stated, as reported by Reuters.

‘Coalition of the willing’ to meet on Thursday, Élysée confirms

And we now have an official confirmation that the Coalition of the Willing will meet this Thursday to discuss what’s next on Ukraine war, as first reported by the AFP (10:05).

The meeting, co-chaired by France’s Emmanuel Macron and Britain’s Keir Starmer, will take place in a hybrid format and focus on security guarantees for Ukraine and a united response to Russia’s refusal to conclude the war, the Élysée Palace stated.

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also expected to take part.

No suggestion Russian Zapad military drills could lead to attack on Nato, Germany’s army chief states

Germany does not expect Russian attacks on Nato territory under the cover of Moscow’s Zapad military drills which are set to kick off in two weeks, German chief of defence Carsten Breuer stated, reported by Reuters.

“We don’t have any indication that preparations for an attack are taken under the cover of the exercise. But we will be on our guard, not just the German forces, but Nato,” Breuer informed reporters in Berlin.

‘There is a plan coming to shape,’ EU commission spokesperson insists on Ukrainian security guarantees

The commission was also inquireed about von der Leyen’s FT interview on plans for Ukraine, with journalists doubting if the plans were as advanced as she created them sound (10:24).

Arianna Podestà stated that commission representatives “participate in these technical level talks,” and von der Leyen remains in contact with other leaders.

“Therefore, it is the view of the president formed through the information that she receives in discussion with the leaders, as well as technical level engagements, that there is a plan that is coming to shape.

There is a clear roadmap, as she has stated, towards building these security guarantees.

She has stated that, for example, in last week’s meeting of the Coalition of the Willing and defence chiefs, they have worked out a pretty precise plan for this engagement.”