Ukraine Russia war live: Zelensky calls for creation of ‘army of Europe’

Boris Johnson’s former director of communications Guto Harri has said Donald Trump rings the ex-PM regularly to “discuss Ukraine”.

He told Times Radio the calls happen “quite regularly”. He added: “I know on Ukraine, Boris was very eager to press upon him how important it is for the White House and for Donald Trump that there’s a decent outcome in the Ukraine for Zelensky.

“And I think that’s the best way of making the case at the moment is to appeal not just to the big picture and the superior moral case, as most of us see it, for Ukraine remaining a democratic, independent nation.. but appealing to the selfish, self-interest of Donald Trump.”

China believes all stakeholders in the Russia-Ukraine conflict should participate in the peace talks, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday, underscoring Europe’s role in them after a flurry of U.S. messaging on how to end the war.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Wang said “we hope that all parties and stakeholders directly involved participate in the peace talks in due course”.

“China views all efforts dedicated to peace positively, including any consensus reached by the United States and Russia on peace talks,” China’s foreign ministry readout quoted Wang as saying.

“As the war is taking place on European soil, it is all the more necessary for Europe to play its part for peace, to jointly address the root causes of the crisis, to find a balanced, effective and sustainable security framework, and to achieve long-term peace and stability in Europe.”

Wang also told the European Union that China is ready to step up strategic communication with the bloc, enhance mutual understanding and jointly bring more stability to the world, according to remarks made to the EU policy chief Kaja Kallas.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attention-grabbing overseas debut may have irritated some key Republicans and alienated allies in Europe, where his statements on Ukraine and NATO went down like a lead balloon.

But his forceful comments gained him a nod from one key listener: U.S. President Donald Trump.

And Hegseth – who on Saturday wraps up a week-long trip to Belgium, Germany and Poland – delivered a message at the heart of Trump’s America First agenda.

Speaking at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Hegseth said 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 2022 invasion.

Trump broadly backed Hegseth’s remarks on Thursday on NATO membership, saying, “I think probably that’s true,” because, he said, Putin would not allow Ukraine to join the military alliance.

“I thought his comments were good yesterday, and they’re probably good today,” Trump said.

Not everyone was so positive.

“I don’t know who wrote the speech, it is the kind of thing Tucker Carlson could have written, and Carlson is a fool,” Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican who leads the Pentagon’s main oversight committee in the Senate, told Politico, referring to the conservative media personality who was once a Fox News host.

Europe needs its own plan for Ukraine and for its own security or its future will be decided by other powers, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday.

“Europe urgently needs its own plan of action concerning Ukraine and our security, or else other global players will decide about our future. Not necessarily in line with our own interest,” Tusk wrote on social media platform X. “This plan must be prepared now. There’s no time to lose.”

For a man who prides himself on his mastery of the “art of the deal”, Donald Trump has made an unpromising start to his negotiations with Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

According to the US president’s vainglorious business guide, published in 1987: “My style of deal-making is quite simple and straightforward. I aim very high, and then I just keep pushing and pushing and pushing to get what I’m after.”

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The Ukrainian leader’s comments came after Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey called on the UK and Europe to “do more” to “share the burden” of regional security in a joint article for the Daily Telegraph.

They also said that a “durable peace” would need a “continuing US commitment to its allies through Nato”.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told Mr Zelensky that Britain is committed to Ukraine being on an “irreversible path” to joining Nato, after the US appeared to rule out its membership.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Healey and Mr Lammy said that for two decades the Russian leader has been “seeking to recreate the Russian empire and suffocate the countries around its borders”.

“Too often in the past, the West has let him,” they added. “We did too little in 2008 when he invaded Georgia, and in 2014 when he first went into Ukraine.”

Washington has suggested Nato membership for Ukraine is off the table and Mr Zelensky will have to cede territory to Russia, but he said: “Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement.”

Mr Zelensky said he wanted allies to gather in Kyiv or online on February 24 to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale assault.

He added: “This meeting must deliver a clear vision for our next steps on peace, security guarantees and the future of our collective policy.

“And I do not believe in security guarantees without America. Yes, it will be just weak.

“But America will not offer guarantees unless Europe’s own guarantees are strong.

“And I also will not take Nato membership for Ukraine off the table, but right now the most influential member of Nato seems to be Putin because his whims have the power to block Nato decisions.”

Volodymyr Zelensky called for the creation of an “army of Europe”, suggesting the continent could not rely on Donald Trump’s United States for its defence.

The President of Ukraine told the Munich Security Conference: “As we fight this war and lay the groundwork for peace and security, we must build the armed forces of Europe so that Europe’s future depends only on Europeans, and decisions about Europe are made in Europe.”

He told the gathering in Germany: “Some in Europe may not fully understand what’s happening in Washington right now, but let’s focus on understanding ourselves right here in Europe, we must give strength to Europe first.

“Does America need Europe as a market? Yes. But as an ally? I don’t know.

“For the answer to be yes. Europe needs a single voice, not a dozen different ones.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says the time has come for the creation of an “armed forces of Europe”, and says his country’s fight against Russia has proved that a foundation for it already exists.

The Ukrainian leader said Europe cannot rule out the possibility that “American might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it”, and noted that many leaders have long spoken about how Europe needs its own military.

“I really believe that time has come,” Mr Zelensky told the Munich Security Conference.

“The armed forces of Europe must be created.”

European leaders trying to make sense of a tough new line from Washington on issues including democracy and Ukraine’s future were set to express their reactions on Saturday, as the Trump administration continues to upend trans-Atlantic conventions that have been in place since after World War II.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were to speak on the second day of the Munich Security Conference, a day after U.S. Vice President JD Vance all but scolded European allies over democracy and raised questions about the U.S. commitment to help Ukraine’s defense against Russian forces.

President Donald Trump held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in which he said the two leaders would likely meet soon to negotiate a peace deal.

Trump later assured Zelensky that he, too, would have a seat at the table. The war was sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

Already Friday, the Ukrainian leader said that his country wants security guarantees before any talks with Russia.

Shortly before meeting with Vance in Munich, Zelensky said he will only agree to meet in-person with Putin after a common plan is negotiated with Trump. After a 40-minute meeting with Zelensky, Vance said the Trump administration wants the war to end.