French President, Emmanuel Macron has disclosed that he will seek to persuade President Donald Trump to continue supporting Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia to help reach a peace agreement.
Macron is to meet later today with Trump at a G7 summit in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to join tomorrow for talks.
Macron said that he wants the United States to say, “We are with you, we will continue to support Ukraine, and we will increase the pressure on Russia to achieve a meaningful negotiation.”
“The right negotiation is one in which Ukraine and Russia are at the table, but with Europeans and Americans present as well.”
Emmanuel Macron
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed hopes ahead of the G7 summit that “for the first time, a window can open for diplomacy” on ending the war in Ukraine.
He added that he would want to discuss this further with the US President, Donald Trump, when he arrives in Évian. The war in Ukraine is also set to feature in talks by G7 leaders at a summit in France.
The remarks come after Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine’s biggest cities in an overnight barrage that killed at least 11 people and set fire to a world-renowned religious landmark.
The roof of the golden domes of the Dormition Cathedral in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a revered religious landmark, caught fire during the attack. Metropolitan Epiphanius, Head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine condemned the strike as another Russian crime “against humanity, against history, against Christianity,” and appealed for prayers to save the site.
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a sprawling complex of monasteries and churches, including some underground, built between the 11th and 19th centuries. Some of the churches at the UNESCO-listed World Heritage site are connected by a labyrinthine complex of caves spanning more than 600 meters (2,000 feet).
Referring to the attack, Zelenskyy said in a post on X, “This is how Russia shows the world its intention to continue the war.” He added that it is very important that there be a response from the G7 countries “… and that this response be decisive and substantive; more pressure on the aggressor and more support for Ukraine’s air defense, especially anti-ballistic capabilities.”
Zelenskyy also insisted the Russian attack “deliberately” targeted the Unesco-listed religious site, despite denials from Moscow. He disclosed that 35 people are reported injured in Kyiv. Across the country, 53 people have been wounded, and 11 people are known to have been killed in the Russian attack.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that the strikes targeted defense and industrial facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro, including enterprises and workshops producing components for long-range drones and cruise missiles. It said that a workshop producing medium- and long-range drones located on the premises of the Dovzhenko film studios in Kyiv was among the targets hit.
Russia also claimed to have hit Kyiv’s Radar plant, which it said makes drone components, and the Mayak plant that it said makes Ukraine’s Flamingo long-range cruise missiles. Military conscription offices in Kyiv were also struck, it said.
EU Adopts New Sanctions Against Russian Aggression On Ukraine
Meanwhile, the EU Foreign Ministers signed on “a set of restrictive measures to combat Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, its hybrid activities and its systematic disregard for international law, including human rights.”
The EU said in a statement that new additional listings include 34 individuals and 47 entities in total. The measures target, among others, several manufacturers and suppliers of drones and other military equipment to the Russian armed forces, as well as individuals and entities related to the shipment and export of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia.
10 further individuals and one entity were targeted for their malicious activities against the EU. Finally, one entity and 15 individuals were listed “for their involvement in the persecution, poisoning and death of Alexei Navalny.”
The bloc’s Foreign Policy Chief, Kaja Kallas, said that these measures strike at the heart of Russia’s military-industrial complex, its shadow fleet, and the networks that fuel Moscow’s hybrid attacks against Europe. “In parallel, work is underway on the broader 21st sanctions package,” she added.
“Every measure shrinks Russia’s room for manoeuvre. And the numbers speak volumes. Western sanctions have already cost Russia an estimated €1 to 1.3 trillion. Brick by brick, we are collapsing the foundations of Russia’s war economy.”
Kaja Kallas
Also, Kallas strongly condemned Russia’s latest attacks on Ukraine.
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