Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump says ‘we’ve got to get Russia done’ after Moscow threatens US over Tomahawks

More detail has emerged about Trump and Zelensky’s Friday meeting, with the Ukrainian leader telling reporters that the two plan to discuss Ukraine’s air defence and long-range strike capabilities.

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Zelensky said that he had shared with Trump a “vision” of how many US Tomahawk missiles Ukraine needs for its war effort against Russia and that the two leaders would discuss further details on the matter at their working lunch at the end of the week.

Zelensky has been lobbying Washington to supply the US-produced Tomahawk missiles, which have the capacity to hit Moscow, but which Ukrainian has said would only be used against military targets. Moscow has said such a move would represent a serious escalation. Trump has suggested he would consider sending the missiles to Ukraine, but has also said he may talk to Vladimir Putin about it.

The European Union will provide €10m (£8.7m) to support the creation of a special tribunal aimed at prosecuting Russia for the crime of aggression, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said.

Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv alongside Ukrainian official Andrii Sybiha, Kallas said the funding marks the bloc’s first direct financial commitment to the tribunal effort.

She also pledged an additional €6m (£5.2m) to assist Ukrainian children who have been deported to Russia and survivors of sexual violence linked to the conflict.

“The first €10m in funding to establish a special tribunal to address Russia’s crimes” has now been allocated, Kallas said, underscoring the EU’s continued backing for Ukraine as the war enters its third year.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he believes that Russian leader Vladimir Putin can be forced to make peace in Ukraine.

Speaking at the Nato Parliamentary Assembly, Zelensky said that the war in Ukraine remains the biggest source of global instability despite the end of the conflict in Gaza.

“Putin can be forced to make peace – like any other terrorist. Even Hamas is now preparing to release hostages. If this is possible, then Putin can also be forced to restore peace,” Zelensky said.

He went on: “Before winter, Putin hopes to use this terror to break our resistance regime. We cannot allow this.”

Prosecutors in Pland have charged two Russian citizens with spying for Russian intelligence and one of them for plotting to send a parcel of explosives.

European authorities have been on high alert for explosive packages since a series of explosions occurred in courier depots in Britain, Germany and near the Polish capital Warsaw in July 2024. Western officials blamed those incidents on Russia.

Moscow denies the accusations.

One of the Russians, referred to as Igor R under Polish privacy laws, was charged with participating in a plot to send a parcel bomb via courier, for which a Ukrainian citizen was also charged earlier this year.

“The parcel contained explosive devices and materials in the form of nitroglycerine, as well as hidden military-grade electric detonators and initiating devices … The entire package constituted a so-called shaped charge bomb,” prosecutors said.

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky will meet on Friday this week for a “working lunch”, the White House has confirmed.

The two leaders spoke to one another on both Saturday and Sunday as Ukraine presses for access to more US-made weapons to counter Russian attacks.

Nato chief Mark Rutte has mocked Russia over the “limping” condition of one of its submarines, in comments likely to spark anger in Moscow.

Russia’s Black Sea Fleet said the diesel-powered submarine Novorossiysk had surfaced off France to comply with navigation rules in the English Channel.

Moscow rejected reports it had suffered a serious malfunction.

But Rutte, in a speech in Slovenia, said the vessel was “broken”.

“Now, in effect, there is hardly any Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean left. There’s a lone and broken Russian submarine limping home from patrol,” he said.

“What a change from the 1984 Tom Clancy novel ‘The Hunt for Red October’. Today, it seems more like the hunt for the nearest mechanic.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has expressed hope that Donald Trump will exercise the same influence on the war in Ukraine that he has in the Middle East, where he helped end the war in Gaza.

Speaking in Sharm El-Sheikh ahead of a summit with Trump and other global leaders to cement the Gaza truce, Merz said the meeting in Egypt showed that the end of war is possible if the international community stands together.

His comments echoed those made by Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, who earlier said: “When peace is achieved for one part of the world, it brings more hope for peace in other regions where life is still under threat.”

President Trump plans to welcome President Zelensky to Washington on Friday, according to a report.

Three sources told the FT that the Ukrainian president held two phone calls with his US counterpart over the weekend to discuss the US supply of Tomahawk missiles and how to end the war in Russia.

A Ukrainian delegation has also arrived in Washington for a week of discussions with US officials.

With Keir Starmer facing scorn from both Israel and the US ambassador in Tel Aviv over the UK’s role in the Middle East peace process, the US president has once again come to his aid. Political editor David Maddox explains why.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed the return of Israeli hostages from Gaza and the end of the war in the enclave.

He wrote on X: “In Ukraine, we welcome all the efforts that have led to today’s outcome for the Middle East. The hostages have been freed, and the war in Gaza is coming to an end. This is truly an extraordinary event.

The leadership and determination of President Trump have worked, and it is important that all the necessary help has come from countries and many people who have real influence.”

He added: “We are working so that the day of peace comes for Ukraine as well.”