Ukraine-Russia war latest: Europe considers postwar ‘buffer zone’ as US to sell thousands of missiles to Kyiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed Russia’s major aerial attack on Kyiv shows President Vladimir Putin is “choosing ballistics” instead of “real steps towards peace”.

Speaking in his nightly address on Thursday, Zelensky said despite claims of being ready to negotiate, Moscow’s war goals “have not changed”.

Watch his full address below.

Estonia’s defence minister has said that the best security guarantee for Ukraine would be membership in Nato.

Speaking to reporters, Hanno Pevkur said that the US would need to be united on security guarantees with European leaders to successfully bring the war in Ukraine to an end.

Zelensky has called for sanctions to be placed on Russia after its latest attack on Kyiv, which killed 23 people.

“Russia kills every day,’ he wrote in a post on X. “Therefore, every day they must feel pain for what they are doing. And this is possible. The world’s sanctions. Tariffs. Support for Ukraine. Our strong army. Our ability to defend lives and respond powerfully to the Russian war machine. Eternal memory to all whom the Russian state has killed.”

Support for Ukraine and its defence industry will be the most important topic when EU defence ministers meet in Copenhagen on Friday, Denmark’s Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told reporters.

Volodymyr Zelensky has paid tribute to the Ukrainian soldiers slain in the country’s fight for independence.

In a post on X, he wrote that the nation remembers those who have fought for it every year on August 29.

“This battle for Ukraine’s right to exist has been ongoing since 2014. Since 2022, Ukrainians have been defending themselves in a full-scale war. It is an extremely long and difficult path of courage. And we do not forget those thanks to whom Ukraine stands,” he continued.

A British Council building was among nearly 100 buildings damaged in Russian strikes on Kyiv on Wednesday night.

The office has been “severely damaged” and will not reopen until further notice, the director of the British Council Ukraine told BBC Radio 4 on Thursday.

Colm McGivern refused to be drawn on whether Russian forces had deliberately targeted the centre, but said Moscow is targeting education and cultural buildings.

“I don’t want to speculate on whether or not it was deliberate and intentional for the Russians to attack the British Council,” he said.

“But what I do think was deliberate, and what I do think is intentional, is Russia’s continued attacks on education and cultural infrastructure in Ukraine, attacking schools, attacking theatres, forcing children to learn from bomb shelters, preventing universities from opening fully and teaching their young learners.

“And the British Council is absolutely determined, steadfastly determined, that we will continue to support education and cultural expression, education and cultural links for Ukraine with the UK, in order to keep those sectors strong.”

Russian defence systems intercepted and destroyed 54 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian defence ministry said on Friday.

It comes after yesterday’s “massive” attack by the Russians on the Ukrainian capital, which left 23 dead.

European leaders are reportedly weighing on creation of a 40km buffer zone between the Russian and Ukrainian frontlines as part of a peace deal.

The proposal is among several that military and civilian officials are considering for either a postwar or ceasefire scenario in Ukraine, the Politico reported, citing five European diplomats.

“They’re grasping for straws,” Jim Townsend, a former Pentagon official who oversaw Europe and Nato policy under Barack Obama administration, told the website.

“The Russians are not afraid of the Europeans. And if they think that a couple of British and French observers are going to deter them from marching into Ukraine, then they’re wrong.”

Donald Trump’s peace efforts appear to be failing after Vladimir Putin’s forces launched the second-largest attack on the Ukrainian capital, killing 23 people, just days after both leaders met in Alaska.

President Donald Trump “was not happy” when he learned that Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles and drones overnight, killing at least 23 people and damaging buildings, including the British Council in Kyiv.

“He was not happy about this news, but he was also not surprised. These are two countries that have been at war for a very long time,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, adding that Trump will make an additional statement on the situation later on Thursday.