Ukraine and Europe will be ready to present ‘refined’ peace plan to US ‘in near future’, Zelenskyy says – as it happened

… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today!

• Donald Trump has hinted he could walk away from supporting Ukraine as he doubled down on his administration’s recent criticism of Europe, describing it as “weak” and “decaying” and claiming it was “destroying itself” through immigration (12:36, 12:44,)

• Trump also said that there was “no question” that Russia was in a stronger negotiating position in talks over ending the Ukraine war (13:11), saying Ukraine’s Zelenskyy will “have to get on the ball and start accepting things” (13:13).

• Trump also pointedly criticised EU leaders to “taking too much,” but “not producing,” as “the war just keeps going on” (13:17).

• His latest tirade – in an interview with Politico after named ‘the most powerful person shaping Europe’ – will make an already complicated relationship even more awkward (13:22).

• Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz has criticised parts of US narrative in recent days, saying it was “unacceptable” from the European point of view (11:43), with the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas (11:27, 11:53) and the European Council president António Costa (15:36) also expressing their frustration with the tone coming from Washington.

In other news,

• 71-year-old controversial billionaire and Trump fan Andrej Babiš has been appointed the next Czech prime minister, two months on from the parliamentary election in October (9:49, 10:14, 10:27, 10:31).

• Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has continued his Europe tour meeting Pope Leo (10:53, 12:23) and Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni (9:57, 14:46, 16:40, 17:05) as he seeks to consolidate the European support for Ukraine.

• Lithuania has declared a state of emergency and asked parliament to authorise military support for police and border guards after a wave of smuggler balloons from Belarus repeatedly disrupted air traffic in recent months (13:57).

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.

Speaking after his meeting with Meloni, Zelenskyy said they had “an excellent and very substantive discussion” on the Ukraine war.

“We appreciate Italy’s active role in generating practical ideas and defining steps to bring peace closer,” he said.

Zelenskyy added he “briefed [Meloni] on the work of our negotiating team, and we are coordinating our diplomatic efforts.”

“We are counting greatly on Italy’s continued support – it matters for Ukraine,” he said.

And that Meloni/Zelenskyy meeting I mentioned earlier is now under way in Rome.

Here are some pictures from the welcome ceremony for the Ukrainian president.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine and Europe will soon be ready to present “the refined” peace plan to the US, taking into account recent discussions at the level of national security advisers.

In a social media post, he said the work continued “very actively on all components of potential steps toward ending the war.”

“The Ukrainian and European components are now more developed, and we are ready to present them to our partners in the US,” he said.

“Together with the American side, we expect to swiftly make the potential steps as doable as possible,” he said.

Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine remained “committed to a real peace,” and that “everything depends on whether Russia is ready to take effective steps to stop the bloodshed and prevent the war from reigniting.”

“In the near future, we will be ready to send the refined documents to the United States,” he ended.

Ireland’s Martin also picks up on the question about Trump’s comments and he says he disagrees with his description with Europe as “weak.”

“Obviously, it depends on how one defines strength. But Europe is one of the strongest continents in the world in terms of economic strength, and that’s manifested in the EU US trade agreement. Inherently in that agreement is a recognition of strength of Europe, economically.”

He also says Europe remains a big donor for conflict areas around the world and to various sustainability initiatives.

“So I look at it from a different perspective in terms of how one defines strength, and I think Europe is strong, not weak.”

He adds:

“Clearly, in the area of security, new challenges have arrived.

The onset of the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russia has meant increased hybrid attacks across Europe, certainly in terms of greater vulnerabilities, and therefore Europe is now focusing on that in terms of meeting those security challenges.

And I’m confident that Europe has the capacity, has the economic scale to respond to those challenges.”

EU’s Costa gets also asked about Trump’s all-out criticism of Europe earlier today.

He says:

“We are allies with United States, and allies must act as allies. That means that we should not interfere in the political internal life of our countries. …

We respect the choice of Americans, and they need to respect the democratic choice of our citizens.”

He also picks up on the frozen assets, and says he thinks “we are very close to obtain solution” to this issue, resolving Belgium’s longstanding opposition to the proposals on the table.

Oh, that’s interesting.

Asked about the recent security incident at Dublin airport with drones approaching the airspace just as Volodymyr Zelenskyy was meant to land during his visit last week, Ireland’s Martin suggest it was not a coincidence that it happened just as the EU is discussing the issue of using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine.

He says:

“I think the drone incident does fit in, as Antonio has said, with an established pattern of similar disruption incidents that have taken place in other European states.

And one of my colleagues at recent meetings said, you know, accidents happen on an individual basis. Patterns can be discerned over a period of time, and that is what we are witnessing here, and indeed have witnessed across other EU member states in different forms.

But we need to be very clear about that. And of course, you know, we have some very serious issues on our agenda. As Antonio has said, the entire issue of the future financing of Ukraine, the utilisation of immobilised assets, which is a very big issue for Russia. And I don’t believe what’s happening is just coincidental, put it that way”

Over in Dublin, Irish prime minister Micheál Martin is now speaking at a press conference alongside the European Council’s president, António Costa.

He talks about “the need to continue and step up our support for Ukraine, political, military and financial,” as the talks continue with hopes of securing “a just and lasting peace as soon as possible.”

He blames Russia for continuing attacks on Ukraine and the recent violation of EU airspace, calling them “reckless” and “threatening European security and regional stability.” “Threat from Russia is real and impacts all EU member states,” he says.

Martin also pointedly speaks about the need to “increase pressure on Russia until it ends its injustifiable war,” calling for urgent agreement on further financing for Ukraine, including the use of immobilised Russian assets.

He also clearly backs Ukraine’s ambitions to join the EU, which is important in the context of Ireland’s upcoming EU presidency in the second half of 2026.

Responding, Costa picks up on that theme as he says that Ireland is seen “as a pro European country and an honest broker, and that will be very useful for the success of your presidency.”

But he says that “at a time of rising global tensions, it’s never been more crucial to guarantee Europe’s security,” stressing the bloc continues “working on all fronts to stop Russia’s war of aggression.”

Costa also talks about the importance of next week’s European Council summit expected to discuss further support for Ukraine.

“Europe will remain Ukraine’s strongest and most reliable partner, and this is what the European Council will deliver next week,” he says.

in Rome

We are expecting Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to meet with Italy’s Giorgia Meloni shortly, one of the European leaders that seem to still be in Trump’s good books.

Meloni will endeavour to balance her loyalties between the EU and Washington, and while Italy is preparing aid to bolster Ukraine’s energy network, she may urge Zelenskyy to accept territorial concessions to end the war, according to reports in the Italian press. Italy has also so far deemed it risky to use frozen Russian assets to fund reconstruction in Ukraine.

Writing in Corriere della Sera, Massimo Franco said the Italian government will strive to avoid appearing to be an outsider in the peace talks after its absence in London, while asserting its autonomy.

Meanwhile, Lithuania has declared a state of emergency and asked parliament to authorise military support for police and border guards after a wave of smuggler balloons from Belarus repeatedly disrupted air traffic in recent months, Reuters reported.

Vilnius airport has been closed several times due to the weather balloons, which Lithuania says are sent by smugglers transporting cigarettes and constitute a “hybrid attack” by Belarus, a close ally of Russia.

“The state of emergency is announced not only due to civil aviation disruptions but also due to interests of national security,” interior minister Vladislav Kondratovič told a government meeting.

The Lithuanian government asked parliament to grant the military powers to act in concert with police, border guards and security forces during the state of emergency, as well as on its own, Kondratovic said.

The emergency measures will last until the government calls them off.

Belarus has denied responsibility for the balloons and accused Lithuania of provocations, including sending a drone to drop “extremist material“, which Lithuania denies, Reuters noted.

These comments will do nothing to reassure European leaders concerned about the anti-EU outbursts over the weekend coming from the American right.

Sure, they are not new new, and we have known for some time that that’s what Trump thinks.

But for him to repeat all these lines with some pride as he gets named by Politico as ‘the most powerful person shaping Europe’ at the same time as European leaders want – or, more accurately, really need – to stay close to him on Ukraine … it makes it all very complicated for everyone involved.

In another scathing passage on Europe, Trump claimed that “if it keeps going the way it’s going, Europe will not be in my opinion, many of those countries will not be viable countries any longer.”

“Their immigration policy is a disaster. What they’re doing with immigration is a disaster. We had a disaster coming, but I was able to stop it.”

He repeatedly says Europe accepts too much migrants from around the world, but “they want to be politically correct – which, actually, I think is the opposite of political correct – and they don’t want to send them back to where they came from.”

Asked about Europe’s role in the Ukraine peace talks, Trump says that if Europe wants to keep supporting Ukraine until they can win this war, “they should support it.”

He said:

“Europe is… I’m friendly with all of them. I mean, I like all of them, I have no real enemy. I’ve had a couple that I didn’t like over the years, [but] I actually like the current crew.

I like them a lot, but they and I know them very well. I know them really well. Some are friends. Some are okay. I know the good leaders. I know the bad leaders. I know the smart ones. I know the stupid ones. You got some real stupid ones too.

But they’re not doing a good job, Europe is not doing a good job in many ways. They’re not doing a good job. They talk too much. And they’re not producing. We are talking about Ukraine: they talk, but they don’t produce, and the war just keeps going on.”

Asked if there’s a limit to his patience on Ukraine and Zelenskyy, Trump said:

“Well, he’s going to have to get on the ball and start accepting things, you know, when you’re losing, and he is losing.”

In his Politico interview, Trump also said that there was “no question” that Russia was in a stronger negotiating position in talks over ending the Ukraine war.

“There can be no question about it. It’s Russia. It’s a much bigger country. It’s a war that should have never happened,” he said.

Trump also doubled down on his criticism of Zelenskyy saying that “he’s got to read the proposal,” adding that “maybe he has read it over the night, it would be nice if he’d read it.”

“His people loved the proposal. They really liked it. His lieutenants his top people they liked it but they said he hasn’t read it yet. I think he should find time to read it.”

He also picked up a Russian attack line and criticised Zelenskyy for not holding elections in Ukraine during the war, saying:

“They’re using war not to hold an election, but I would think the Ukrainian people would should have that choice, and maybe Zelensky would win. I don’t know who would win, but they haven’t had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy any more.”

In another part of the Politico interview, Trump said:

“Here’s my approach to Europe. I want to see a strong Europe.

When they allow millions of people to pour into their countries, many of these people are committing tremendous crimes.

And again, look at Sweden. I’m not knocking Sweden. I love Sweden. I love the people of Sweden. But they go from a crime free country to a country that has a lot of crime.

Now look at Germany. Germany was crime free and Angela made two big mistakes, immigration, and energy, but those two are beauties.”

Trump also warned that Russia’s Vladimir Putin wants to see “weak” Europe and “he is getting that” under the current trends.

“I see what’s happening, I get reports that you will never see. And I think it’s horrible, what’s happening to Europe.

I think it’s endangering Europe as we know it, Europe could be a whole different place, and I think the European people should do something about it.”

Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised the EU and the European leaders in an interview with Politico, published just now, dismissing Europe as a “decaying” group of nations led by “weak” people.

Speaking about European leaders, he said “I think they are weak,” and blamed them for being “politically correct.”

“I think they don’t know what to do,” he added. “Europe doesn’t know what to do.”

He praised Hungary and Poland for their track record on migration, but said that more broadly he was concerned about Europe as “they are allowing people to come in, unchecked, unvetted.”

Despite the pushback from Europe, Trump also reiterated that he would be prepared to support European leaders in domestic elections saying “I’ve endorsed people, but I’ve endorsed people that a lot of Europeans don’t like. I’ve endorsed Viktor Orbán.”

What Orbán “has really gotten right is the immigration because he allows nobody in his country and Poland has done a very good job in that respect, too, but most European nations, they’re they’re decaying,” he said.

Trump also said warned that Europe would also get “much weaker” as a result of migration, “because the people coming in have a totally different ideology.”

He pointedly attacked his longstanding political enemy, London mayor Sadiq Khan, saying he is “a disaster,” adding: “I hate what’s happened to London, and I hate what’s happened to Paris.”

“Europe, they want to be politically correct, and it makes them weak. That’s what makes them weak,” he said.

Trump also added that European countries “should get the people out that came into the country illegally.”

Trump also said he didn’t have much hopes about European involvement in the Ukraine peace talks, as “they talk, but they don’t produce, and the war just keeps going on and on.”

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked Pope Leo for “his constant prayers for Ukraine and for the Ukrainian people, as well as for his calls for a just peace.”

“I informed the pope about diplomatic efforts with the United States to achieve peace. We discussed further actions and the Vatican’s mediation aimed at returning our children abducted by Russia,” he said.

Zelenskyy also reiterated his invitation for Pope Leo to visit Ukraine.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also said she was “sad” that the EU could not reach an agreement with the UK on the SAFE defence fund.

Asked about the development, Kallas said:

“I was not part of the negotiations, and I must say, I was also quite sad that [we] didn’t reach an agreement.

But again … the UK can participate also via the bilateral agreements with the member states, who are applying together with them. So 35% of those agreements can also come from others outside the European Union. So they are definitely not out of the defence cooperation.”

Responding to more questions from EU lawmakers in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Kallas warned against European countries “walking into Russian traps” in a bid to get a peace settlement at all cost under US pressure.

She says that Moscow is “just pretending” to want peace talks, while everyone keeps putting more pressure on Ukraine “because otherwise Russia is not coming to the table, and then you get a baseline where Ukraine has agreed to [make] concessions, and Russia hasn’t, and that is the baseline which can only get worse.”

“That’s why we have had this very, very clear stance that we should not walk into those to those traps and we have clear points that we want to see” from Russia before talks, she says.

She also stresses again that Europeans should show more “self-confidence” as “for any peace plan to work, it needs Europeans.”

“You can agree whatever, but if the Europeans or Ukrainians are not agreeing to this, then it just doesn’t work,” she says.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz also responded to the latest statements from the US, inlcuding its new national security strategy.

Speaking on a visit to the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, he said that he wasn’t surprised by the strategy “in substance,” linking it to vice-president JD Vance’s Munich speech earlier this year.

“Some of it is understandable, some of it is comprehensible, some of it is unacceptable to us from a European perspective,” he said.

Merz added that there was “no need for the Americans to want to save democracy in Europe.”

But he said the document confirmed his view that the EU needed to “become much more independent from the US in terms of security policy.”

Merz also suggested that Trump could visit Germany in 2026, with the invitation accepted “with great enthusiasm,” but no date has been set yet.

Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is responding to EU lawmakers questions on foreign policy, including on the recent apparent anti-EU turn in the US.

Responding to various accusations about the EU’s alleged anti-democratic nature, including an avalanche of posts from billionaire Elon Musk, she says the EU “needs to be more self-confident,” recognising that this criticism is “not true.”

“It seems to me it’s made to be a provocation so that we would react,” she says.

She warns that “in politics, if you go to debate things that you know are not true, you actually” end up accidentally legitimising them.

“We know that this is ridiculous, it’s not true what they are saying about the European Union,” she stresses.

She also says:

“Criticism regarding the liberties here should be aimed at different direction. Russia perhaps, where dissent is banned, where free media is banned, where political opposition is banned, where X or Twitter, as we know it, is, in fact, also banned.”

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with Pope Leo this morning, with the pair discussing the war in Ukraine, according to the Vatican readout.

Pope Leo “reiterated the need for the continuation of dialogue and expressed his urgent desire that the current diplomatic initiatives bring about a just and lasting peace,” the statement read.

The two leaders also discussed “the questions of prisoners of war and the need to assure the return of Ukrainian children to their families,” it added.

Later today Zelenskyy will also meet with Meloni, as mentioned earlier (9:57), as he continues his Europe tour to shore up support for Ukraine amid growing US pressure on Kyiv.

US officials claim they are in the final stage of reaching an agreement but there is little sign that either Ukraine or Russia is willing to sign the existing framework deal drawn up by Trump’s negotiating team.

Among the sticking points is a Russian demand that Ukraine give up large swathes of territory in exchange for peace, but Zelenskyy said Kyiv had no legal or moral right to do this.

“Russia is insisting that we give up territories, but we don’t want to cede anything,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference. “There are difficult problems concerning the territories and so far there has been no compromise.”

in Rome

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is in Italy today, and will meet Pope Leo at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, close to Rome, around now before returning to the Italian capital in the afternoon for a meeting with the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.

It will be the second time that Zelenskyy has met Leo, elected pontiff in May, since July.

That meeting, during which they discussed the return of forcibly deported Ukrainian children and the need to pursue peace through dialogue, also took place in Castel Gandolfo, where Leo retreats once a week.

After Zelenskyy met British, French and German leaders in London on Monday, Meloni – who has nurtured good relations with the US president, Donald Trump – reiterated the “importance of a unity of views between European partners and the United States for achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine”.

Meloni will meet Zelenskyy at her office in Palazzo Chigi at 3pm CET.

Pope Leo last week stressed the importance of Europe’s involvement in US efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, while suggesting that Italy specifically could play the role of mediator.

“Specifically, I think Italy’s role could be very important. Culturally and historically, Italy has the capacity to act as an intermediary in the midst of a conflict that exists between different parties: Ukraine, Russia the United States.”

Soon after being elected pope, he said the Vatican could act as a mediator in resolving global conflicts. He has also expressed his willingness for the Holy See to host talks in the Vatican to try to end the war.

“But the Holy See does not have a direct involvement, because we are not members of Nato nor of any of the talks so far, and even though many times we have called for a ceasefire, for dialogue and not war,” he said last week.

“And it is now a war with many aspects: with the increase in arms, all the armaments production going on, cyber-attacks, energy. Now that winter is coming there is a serious problem there.”

Controversial billionaire Andrej Babiš has been appointed the next Czech prime minister, days after proposing a plan to resolve his conflict of interest as major shareholder of agriculture giant Agrofert.

More than two months on from the parliamentary election in early October, and a prolonged standoff with the president, Petr Pavel, over his potential conflict of interest, Babiš has finally been designated as the new, 14th Czech PM at a ceremony this morning.

With his personal fortune estimated at over $4bn, Babiš is among the 10 richest Czechs, with wealth rivalling the US president, Donald Trump (believed to hold just over $5bn), of whom he is a fan, with elements of his campaign replicating that of Trump (including red baseball caps and ‘Czech Republic first’ slogan). At 71, he is also the oldest prime minister the Czech Republic has ever had.

The full cabinet appointment is expected later this month.

His coalition government will see Babiš’s ANO party team up with two fringe parties, Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), an anti-immigration party that won 7.9% of the vote, and a rightwing group called the Motorists, which received 6.8%.

Babiš is an ally of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán in the Patriots for Europe group in the European parliament and has taken an ambivalent line on aid to Ukraine – a departure from his predecessor Petr Fiala’s government, which quickly took a firm stance to support Kyiv after Russia’s invasion in 2022.

His return to frontline politics comes at a particularly tense moment as Europe keeps discussing its plans to support Ukraine, including through a controversial proposal to use frozen Russian assets for a reparations loan for Kyiv.

Babiš has pledged to cut military aid to Ukraine from the national budget and has said the new government may end the Czech-run ammunition initiative which procures large-calibre ammunition for Ukraine from around the world, Reuters noted.

All of this matters as we keep an eye on the latest on the peace talks, with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy continuing his meetings in Europe. He will be in Rome and the Vatican today.

I will bring you all the key updates throughout the day.

It’s Tuesday, 9 December 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.