Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
Russian president Vladimir Putin has argued that Russia never opposed Ukraine’s EU membership, but a Nato membership would be “a different matter” and “unacceptable” to Moscow (12:05)
His comments come amid growing pressure and frustration over Russian attempts to delay further peace talks on Ukraine (9:54), with Finland’s president criticising him for “testing everyone’s patience” (11:21) and Nato secretary general warning that “the threat from the Russians is increasing every day” (11:49).
Putin has also hailed Russia’s “unprecedentedly” high level of ties with China, as dozens of leaders including the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un, arrived in Beijing on the eve of a massive military parade.
Europe’s pursuit of peace in Ukraine will continue on Wednesday when the Polish president, Karol Nawrocki, visits US president Donald Trump at the White House (16:35), and on Thursday, when the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” is expected to meet virtually and in Paris (12:30, 14:31).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Germany warns against Russian 'disposable agent' recruitment
German authorities launched a campaign warning against Russian efforts to recruit “disposable agents” via social media to carry out acts of espionage and sabotage, AFP reported.
Germany has faced a surge in spying and sabotage cases linked to Russia since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine sent tensions soaring with Berlin, which has strongly backed Kyiv, AFP said.
Police and spy agencies said they suspect several cases – from arson to property damage and drone overflights of sensitive sites – were carried out by “disposable agents” who have no training in exchange for small sums.
Recruitment usually starts “innocently” with a chat on social media, before a small sum of money is offered to encourage people to commit crimes, according to the campaign.
The Czech Republic also recently issued a warning against Russian attempts to recruit people on Telegram and other messaging systems to carry acts of sabotage on its behalf (Europe Live, 10 July 2025).
Poland's president Nawrocki to visit Trump at White House tomorrow
Polish president Karol Nawrocki is flying out to Washington this afternoon where he is due to meet with US president Donald Trump tomorrow to discuss Europe’s security, bilateral trade and defence relations, and Ukraine.
The nationalist historian who unexpectedly triumphed in the second round of the presidential election in June is seen as a close ally of the Trump administration.
Backed by the populist rightwing opposition Law and Justice party, which ruled Poland between 2015 and 2023, Nawrocki ran under a Trumpesque slogan of “Poland first, Poles first”.
He visited Trump at the White House as part of his election campaign, securing the US president’s highly prized endorsement in the build up to the polling day.
His trip to the White House tomorrow will be his first overseas visit since taking the office in July.
Last week Nawrocki hosted the presidents of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and the prime minister of Denmark in Warsaw in a regional summit billed as a preparatory meeting ahead of his White House visit.
His senior foreign policy aide, Marcin Przydacz, told reporters today that “these talks will primarily concern security issues,” as he stressed that Poland – Nato’s top spender, which gets regular praise from Trump – wants to “maintain the best possible relations with the Americans.”
Nawrocki will also present the Polish position on Trump’s talks with Putin in Alaska, “pointing to the causes of this aggression and identifying the aggressor, the Russian Federation,” with some ideas for future talks, Przydacz said.
The two leaders are also expected to touch upon economic cooperation, with Poland working with the US on LNG deliveries and plans for a new nuclear power plant.
The visit will be closely watched also because it could be the first opportunity to get a comment from Trump on the state of talks with Russia and Ukraine amid growing frustration on both sides of the Atlantic (9:54, 11:21) with what is being seen as the Russian attempts to delay the end of the war.
On the way back to Warsaw, Nawrocki is expected to stop in Rome and the Vatican. His programme includes a visit the grave of the Polish pope, John Paul II, and meetings with the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella.
Updated
Italy looks at hiding state flight paths after jamming of Von Der Leyen plane
Italy is considering keeping state flights secret after the satellite signal of the aircraft carrying the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, was allegedly jammed by Russia, Italian defence ministry sources said.
Von der Leyen, a fierce critic of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Moscow’s war in Ukraine, was flying to Bulgaria on Sunday when her charter plane lost satellite navigation aids, delaying its arrival in Plovdiv, and reportedly forcing it to circle an airport for an hour.
Following the incident, EU member states are debating how to make leaders’ flights more secure, as GPS jamming and “spoofing”, an electronic warfare tactic that causes incorrect navigation information to be displayed, have increased since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and escalated even more sharply in the past year.
Defence officials said Rome was weighing plans to classify state flights, minimise the information published on the website of the prime minister’s office and prevent specialised tracking sites from making aircraft paths visible.
Italy’s defence minister, Guido Crosetto, first floated this proposal several months ago when interference with satellite navigation started becoming increasingly common in airspace near Russia.
In August, Latvia’s electronic communications office said it had identified at least three jamming hotspots along borders with Russia. In April 2024, a Finnish airline temporarily suspended flights to the Estonian city of Tartu after jamming, while in March that year a plane carrying the British defence secretary had its satellite signal jammed as it flew near Russian territory.
A 2011 decree requires that information on Italian ministers’ movements, particularly flights, be published on the government website. Although the government would still be obliged to secure diplomatic clearance to fly over another country’s airspace, sources told the Guardian that Italy, “while respecting that protocol … could soon decide not to make such flights public”.
Merz confirms plan to take part in Coalition of Willing meeting on Thursday
German chancellor Friedrich Merz is hosting Swiss president Karin Keller-Sutter in Berlin for talks about bilateral relations, trade, relations with the US, and Ukraine.
But in his remarks Merz also once again floated the idea of Geneva hosting the future talks between Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, saying he would make this suggestion again at the “Coalition of the Willing” meeting and videoconference on Thursday.
He said the discussions will focus on security guarantees for Ukraine, but also on providing “sufficient support for the Ukrainian army.”
Separately, on trade, Merz also said he hoped Switzerland would succeed in bringing down “the exorbitantly high” tariffs imposed on it by the US, saying that even though the EU managed to get a better deal, it wasn’t “comfortable” either.
'Opportunity to find consensus' on ending war in Ukraine, Putin claims
We are getting a bit more from Russia’s Vladimir Putin and his comments during the meeting with Slovakia’s Robert Fico earlier.
Reuters picked up his words on his discussions about Ukraine’s security at his 15 August summit with Trump.
“There are options for ensuring Ukraine’s security in the event of an end to the conflict,” Putin said. “And it seems to me that there is an opportunity to find consensus here.“
It’s not entirely clear what this Russian “consensus” could entail, however, to make it acceptable to Ukraine and broader Europe.
French actor Gérard Depardieu ordered to stand trial for rape – reports
A French investigating judge ordered cinema icon Gérard Depardieu to stand trial over the alleged rape and sexual assault of actor Charlotte Arnould in 2018, AFP learned from sources close to the case.
Depardieu has denied the allegation, saying his relationship with Arnould was consensual.
AFP noted the decision comes after a Paris court in May handed Depardieu an 18-month suspended sentence after convicting him of having sexually assaulted two women on a film set in 2021 in a separate case.
Suspect in Ukraine lawmaker's murder denies working for Russia
In the meantime, we have had an update from Ukraine where a man accused of murdering a pro-western Ukrainian politician in the city of Lviv last weekend admitted that he carried out the killing but denied working for Russia, describing the attack as “personal revenge,” AFP reported.
“This is my personal revenge on the Ukrainian authorities,” the suspect told reporters in a video published by Ukrainian media outlets, denying he worked directly with Russian special services.
European Commission defends comments on GPS jamming, delay of von der Leyen's flight to Bulgaria
The European Commission was also pushed on details about president von der Leyen’s flight to Plovdiv over the weekend, which was reportedly affected by suspected Russian GPS jamming.
Last night, Flightradar24 published its data on the flight, suggesting that the delay was very minor, and the reported GPS signal quality remained good throughout the flight.
Their post prompted special Russian envoy for investment Kirill Dmitriev to say: “Facts are better than false opinions.”
But the commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho insisted in the last few minutes that the GPS signal “disappeared” on approach to the airport and the plane had to descent using alternatives, and the flight “took considerably longer” than planned as a result.
Updated
European Commission says Slovakia's Fico does not represent EU in Beijing
Ouch.
The European Commission’s daily briefing is now under way, and the commission spokespeople were asked if Slovakia’s Robert Fico is representing the EU in China (12:05).
The answer was pretty straightforward:
No.
Asked further about his comments to Putin and others, the spokesperson added:
“No comments on comments.”
Zelenskyy to meet with leaders in Paris on Thursday to discuss security guarantees
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with European leaders in Paris in the format of the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, a senior aide confirmed.
Writing on X, Mykhailo Podolyak confirmed Zelenskyy will meet German chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK prime minister Keir Starmer, the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen, and Nato’s Mark Rutte.
Podolyak said the meeting was intended as “‘a synchronisation of watches’ during intensive discussions on security guarantees on Ukraine.”
He said:
“There are two parallel processes under way.
The first is a situational attempt to stop the war, with the United States and personally Donald Trump playing the main role. The second is the construction of Europe’s postwar architecture.
Europe knows its own weaknesses. Europeans lack weapons and cannot impose effective sanctions on India and China without the United States. But the European Union has assumed the task of military containment of Russia, based on the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrainian missile and drone technologies, and possibly the participation of a European contingent. Ukraine plays an active moderating role in these processes. Constant daily communication with partners is aimed at ensuring global and continental security."
Putin says Russia has never opposed Ukraine's EU membership, but draws line on Nato, as he meets with Slovakia's Fico in Beijing
Over in Beijing, Russia’s Vladimir Putin has met with Slovak prime minister Robert Fico, with the pair giving brief statements to the media in the last few minutes.
In his remarks, Putin said that that Moscow had never opposed Ukraine’s potential membership of the European Union, and dismissed claims that Moscow was somehow planning to attack Europe.
He argued, in comments reported by Reuters, that with Nato expanding eastwards, the alliance wanted to absorb the entire post-Soviet space, and Russia simply had to defend its interests. He also repeated that Ukrainian membership of Nato would have been unacceptable to Russia.
In his comments earlier, Fico spoke about the criticism he’s facing from other EU countries over his participation – as the only EU leader – in today’s Chinese event or the Victory Day parade in Moscow in May, but stressed he wanted to show his respect to all victims of the second world war.
Fico repeatedly stressed Slovakia’s commitment to the EU, but lamented that he didn’t understand some of its decisions.
In his comments, he pushed for normalisation of economic relations with Russia and criticised Ukraine for attacks on critical gas infrastructure carrying Russian gas to Slovakia and Hungary.
He also talked about the upcoming important decision on the EU’s membership for Ukraine and stressed that while“every country has the right to a European [membership] perspective,” “Ukraine must meet all conditions for entering the EU” so that “political criteria cannot prevail over preparation criteria" for joining the bloc.
He also repeated his longstanding position that Ukraine should not be allowed to join Nato.
Putin picked up on this theme in his remarks in response, saying Russia “highly values the independent foreign policy that you and your team, your government, are pursuing.”
Nato's Rutte says 'two streams' in diplomatic efforts focus on Putin-Zelenskyy meeting, Ukraine guarantees as he warns against increasing Russia threat
Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte is in Luxembourg today, meeting with the country’s prime minister Luc Frieden and defence minister Yuriko Backe.
Appearing at a joint press conference, as has become customary for his public speeches, he spent a bit of time praising US president Donald Trump for “breaking the deadlock” on Ukraine and for convening talks in Washington two weeks ago.
She said that any lasting peace requires a stronger Ukrainian army, but also “security guarantees from Ukraine’s friends and partners, the US, Europe and others,” who are “defining them now; as you know, we are sitting together in many formats, also this week.”
“There’s a lot of work going on so that when Ukraine enters into these bilateral talks or trilateral talks, they do so with unbreakable backing, and therefore ensuring that Russia will honour whatever deal is agreed, and will never threaten Ukrainian territory again after the deal.”
But he conceded that “the bad news is we are still at the early stage of all of this,” while praising Trump once again for the process he’s made since his coming to the office in January.
He said the focus was on “two streams” of bringing Zelenskyy and Putin together “to start … discussing how to end the way,” and on agreeing between the Europeans and the US on long-term security guarantees that would prevent Russia from attacking Ukraine ever again.
Nato’s Rutte also responded to the suspected Russian GPS jamming incident affecting a plane carrying European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Bulgaria over the weekend.
He said that Nato was taking this “very seriously” and “stepping up [its response] when it comes to bybrid, cyber,” pointing to a number of incidents across Europe.
“I always hated the word hybrid, because it sounds so cuddly, but hybrid is exactly this: jamming commercial aeroplanes with potentially disastrous effects, an assassination attempt on a big industrialist in one of Nato allied countries, attacking the national health service in the United Kingdom.
These are not cuddly, small incidents. These are huge incidents which have a huge impact.”
He insisted that Nato was “working day and night to counter this, to prevent this, and to make sure that they will not do it again.”
Issuing a stark warning for Europe, he added when talking about the increase in defence spending:
“We are not only doing this for the audience of one [Trump], we are doing this because … the threat from the Russians is increasing every day.
Let’s not be naive about it. This might also involve one day Luxembourg, or my country, the Netherlands. We are all safe now. We think we are far away from Russia, but we are very close.
And the latest Russian missile technology, for example, the difference now between Lithuania on the frontline, and Luxembourg, The Hague or Madrid is 5 to 10 minutes.
That’s the time it takes this missile to reach these parts of Europe.
So we are all under direct threat from Russians, we are all on the eastern flank now whether you live in London or in Tallin … there is no difference any more.”
'Security situation in Europe will remain challenging,' Finland's Stubb warns as he says he's 'not very optimistic' on framework for peace as Putin continues to 'test everyone patience'
Meanwhile, Finland’s influential president Alexander Stubb has been speaking to reporters in Helsinki in the last half hour, alongside his Lithuanian counterpart, Gitanas Nausėda.
Stubb, who is one of the European leaders with best working relationship with US president Trump, warned about the on-going risks associated with the geopolitical situation in Europe.
“Our shared assessment is that the security situation in Europe will remain challenging and unpredictable for a long term. In these turbulent times, it’s important that you have close allies like Lithuania and Finland. We need a credible collective defence for the eastern flank of Europe,” he said.
Discussing the lack of progress on Ukraine, he said he wasn’t “very optimistic that we will achieve a ceasefire or a framework for the peace negotiations in the near future” as Putin keeps stalling any discussions.
He said that Europe should “obviously continue our dialogue and engagement” with US president Donald Trump, “who is very much in the driver’s seat,” but acknowledge that Putin was “testing everyone’s patience.”
Separately asked about the on-going discussions on security guarantees, Stubb – who was part of the European delegation to see Trump in Washington – replied:
“We need to coordinate the security arrangements with the United States, which essentially will provide the backstop for this. This is what we’re focusing on right now.
We’re focusing on these issues with our Chiefs of Defence, which are drawing the concrete plans of what this type of an operation might look like, and I stress, post peace agreement.
And then we are also discussing this on a political level, for instance, on Thursday. So we’re making progress on this, and hopefully we’ll get a solution soon.”
Stubb also warned that the China summit with Russia and India reminded everyone about “the on-going competition [about forming] the new world order.”
He said:
“What we saw with the Shanghai Cooperation Group is what we have been seeing in the sidelines for a longer time, there’s an attempt to undermine the unity of the global West.
And my message, not only to my European colleagues, but especially to the United States, is that if we don’t drive a more cooperative or dignified foreign policy with especially the global South, the likes of India, we’re going to lose this game.”
In his comments, Lithuania’s Nausėda spoke about the need to fast-track the adoption of the 19th package of EU sanctions on Ukraine, and to press ahead with Ukraine’s accession to the EU by 2030.
But he also said that the apparent diplomatic backing Russia is getting form China and India “means probably it will be even more complicated to find the solutions between the United States and Russia and Ukraine.”
Nausėda insisted that “Russia’s behaviour is based on the assumption that they don’t want any peace, and [so] the peace could be achieved only through strength, through very strong measures the international society should apply.”
Updated
EU's Europe ministers to discuss Ukraine, Moldova's accession plans amid Hungarian block
One of the topics of today’s informal meeting of Europe ministers in Copenhagen is the EU’s enlargement process, including a discussion on Ukraine and Moldova.
French minister Benjamin Haddad nailed the issue in his doorstep comments, saying:
“We’ll have to talk very frankly, very openly about the fact that … when it comes to Ukraine 26 countries around the table that are ready to move forward with the opening of the cluster for Ukraine, but you have one country, Hungary, that is still holding up, for domestic reasons [or] for bilateral reasons, this process, and this is something that we’ll have to address here today.”
Poland’s Ignacy Niemczycki said “the time is absolutely right” to open the first cluster of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.
“We really feel that we want to send positive signals to the Ukrainian people, not negative. So it’s obviously a difficult situation, but the easiest way forward would be for Hungary not to block Ukraine any more,” he said.
But Hungary’s János Bóka insisted the EU should be focused on the western Balkans instead.
He said:
“When it comes to enlargement, I will make the case of maintaining our focus on the western Balkans. We have promised membership to countries in the region more than 20 years ago. It is time to deliver on our promise. Otherwise, we will lose our credibility there.”
On Ukraine specifically, he added:
“I think this is a very political issue where governments need to be aware of what the electorate in the member states actually wants.”
Belgium to recognise Palestinian state at UN general assembly
in Brussels
Belgium will recognise a Palestinian state at the UN general assembly, adding to the growing number of countries seeking to put pressure on Israel and keep alive a two-state solution to end the conflict.
Belgium’s deputy prime minister, Maxime Prévot, announced the move during the night after complex negotiations within the governing five-party coalition.
He also announced 12 sanctions measures against Israel, including a ban on the import of products from occupied territories and restrictions on consular aid to Belgians living in those areas.
The Belgian government will also declare persona non grata (not welcome on Belgian soil) two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, as well as several violent Israeli settlers and Hamas leaders.
In a statement on X, Prévot wrote:
“In view of the humanitarian tragedy playing out in Palestine and particularly in Gaza, and in the face of the violence perpetrated by Israel in violation of international law, given its international obligations, including the duty to prevent any risk of genocide, Belgium had to take strong decisions to increase pressure on the Israeli government and the Hamas terrorists.”
He indicated that Belgium would recognise Palestine at this month’s UN general assembly, after France announced such an intention in July in the hope of creating momentum for peace.
But the Belgian royal decree on recognition would not be issued until the last hostage is released.
The compromise averts a political crisis within the relatively new Belgian government. Prévot, a centrist who is also foreign minister, had threatened to block government business if there was no agreement on recognition, or taking a stricter tone towards Israel.
Only last week the prime minister, Bart de Wever, a Flemish nationalist, described recognition as “counterproductive” and “pointless” without the full disarmament of Hamas.
More updates on our Middle East crisis liveblog:
Updated
Morning opening: Growing frustration over Putin's refusal to move on Ukraine
Europe looks on with growing frustration as the US-led peace efforts in Ukraine show little tangible progress amid continuing attacks, even as Russia – the aggressor – receives a warm and increasingly public embrace from China.
Europe ministers of EU countries are meeting in Copenhagen this morning, so we should get the latest EU line on this.
The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said last night that “all options are on the table” as Russia’s Vladimir Putin “has done the opposite of following through on what he indicated he wanted to do” in the weeks since his summit with the US president, Donald Trump.
“As a matter of fact, he has in a despicable, despicable manner increased the bombing campaign,” he told Fox News.
His comments indicate growing frustration within the US administration with the lack of progress on Ukraine. But we are yet to hear from Trump himself.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Putin is diplomatically active in China, meeting Xi and India’s Modi for closed talks.
On Tuesday, Putin hailed the “unprecedented level” of Russian-Chinese friendship to Xi, and socialised with Modi, who went above and beyond by posting on his social media a picture of the pair sitting in a limousine together and praising the Russian leader for “always insightful” conversation.
They discussed “the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine,” Modi said, but it remains unlikely, if unclear, whether their way of getting to the outcome is anywhere near Europe’s preferred scenario.
Let’s see what the day brings us. I will bring you all the key updates here.
It’s Tuesday, 2 September 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Updated
