But first: On Tuesday evening, a Russian ballistic missile hit a power plant in Kyiv without Ukraine having received advance warning from its Western allies and despite US President Donald Trump's claims of an "energy ceasefire", President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Alarm bells: Such intelligence gaps have been rare in the past, and naturally raise questions over whether the Trump administration has limited intelligence-sharing with Kyiv amid a recent fallout following the US-Russia diesel deal. Trump denied that Washington had cut off intel when asked by reporters last night. More in our top story below.
Back on the front foot: Meanwhile, Zelenskyy will meet Prime Minister Andy Burnham in London today, as European leaders begin rallying behind him following a bruising weekend of tensions with the White House.
It’s a marked shift in approach from the UK leader, whose predecessor was all too careful to avoid alienating Donald Trump in his foreign policy.
Burnham is expected to pledge tighter sanctions and increased military and financial support for Ukraine in the coming weeks, according to a statement by 10 Downing Street. The UK has also promised to accelerate deliveries of British Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMMs) to help counter jet-powered Russian drones.
Not burning bridges: The Ukrainian President is, however, keeping the door open to Washington, saying Kyiv has proposed a fresh round of talks with the US in the coming days despite the growing diplomatic rift, my colleague Sasha Vakulina reports.
"Our team has sent the American side proposals for possible next meetings and further talks. We are ready to meet in the coming days, and I sent this proposal to Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner," Zelenskyy said on Tuesday.
Shoring up support: Zelenskyy will also join EU leaders in person on Friday this week, on the second day of the European Council summit. He's preparing several additional meetings while he’s in town, in a sign of how badly Kyiv needs political support at this precarious moment, my colleague Jorge Liboreiro reports.
Zelenskyy could also hold his first bilateral meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar, sources told Euronews, following a breakthrough over minority rights that has paved the way for further progress in Ukraine's EU accession negotiations.
Jorge also hears that the European Commission is preparing new disbursements under the €90 billion support loan this week.
EU officials and diplomats are confident that the 27 leaders will close ranks and rally behind Zelenskyy in a show of unity against Trump’s go-it-alone diplomacy. The summit conclusions may even express displeasure over the diesel deal, though this will depend on consensus between the leaders.
“We think the deal is regrettable. It’s against the strategy that we’ve been following for the past four years to put pressure on Russia and disconnect from Russian energy sources,” a senior EU official said.
“We have seen that dialogue with the US doesn’t always lead to full agreement in the way the EU and the US see things, but it's always better than not having dialogue,” the official added. “This is what needs to continue to be done.”
The pressure is also on for European nations to provide Kyiv with the air defence missiles it desperately needs, with Spain and Greece, both of which have the missiles in their stockpiles, so far resisting that pressure.
Speaking to our EU editor Maria Tadeo at the Warsaw Security Conference, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said: “I can guarantee you that we have done as much as we can every time and we will continue to do it.”
Bring back the frozen assets: Albares also said he believes the EU should revive the debate around channeling immobilised Russian state assets into a loan for Ukraine, months after it was struck down due to predominantly Belgian opposition.
"Why should we put our taxpayer money when there are frozen assets and we know that there will have to be reparations at the end of the war?" Albares questioned. Watch.
Black Sea drowns in drones: Meanwhile, European and NATO allies are scrambling to respond after drones struck two more vessels in the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria early Tuesday. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the attacks were “absolutely unacceptable”, adding that “logic suggests” Russia stands to benefit.
But Bulgaria also says there is no conclusive evidence to attribute the attacks to any country. Tuesday’s incident follows a series of drone attacks off the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts last week, including one that proved fatal.
Moldovan warning: The Moldovan National Army’s Chief of Staff, Vitalie Micov, told my colleague Angela Skujins that the drone threat is also having a marked impact on his small landlocked country, which borders Romania and Ukraine. He estimates that a drone enters Moldova’s skies almost once every two or three days, some laden with explosives.
“They are also having a significant impact on the morale of the civil society and impacting the safety and security within the region,” Micov added.
The EU response: The issue is expected to feature at Thursday and Friday’s EU summit in Brussels, where leaders are set to endorse measures to bolster Europe’s eastern flank and advance counter-drone infrastructure projects.
The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are also expected to push for the development and implementation of a long-touted anti-hybrid warfare toolbox.
Ukraine received no intelligence from partners about missiles headed to Kyiv, Zelenskyy says
A Russian ballistic missile hit a power plant in Kyiv on Tuesday evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, without Ukraine receiving advance warning from its Western allies and despite US President Donald Trump's "energy ceasefire".
Ukraine depends heavily on Western intelligence, especially from the US, to detect incoming Russian attacks and identify its own targets. Recent reports have suggested US officials had floated the possibility of cutting off intelligence during weekend talks with Ukrainian negotiators in Miami.
Kyiv, home to about three million people, has faced intensifying attacks from Russian drones and missiles, with energy infrastructure a key target. "A Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv. Once again, no early warning from our partners," Zelenskyy wrote on Facebook.
"This is absolutely unjust: when they are destroying our infrastructure, and Ukraine is not even receiving early warnings about ballistic missile launches," he added.
Sertac Aktan has the details.
More from our newsrooms
Germany, Italy and Belgium call for ‘emergency brake’ on EU legislation. The leaders of Germany, Italy and Belgium have called for a mechanism to halt new EU legislation deemed excessively burdensome for businesses, as part of a broader push to strengthen the bloc’s economic competitiveness. Vincenzo Genovese has the story.
EU advances Ukraine accession as Hungary lifts veto, paving way for Zelenskyy-Magyar meeting. EU governments have agreed to open two new phases of Ukraine’s membership bid – known as clusters — after Hungary dropped its veto following an agreement on the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority. Zelenskyy and Magyar may meet in Brussels later this week. Sandor Zsiros and Sasha Vakulina havethe details.
We're also keeping an eye on
- The leaders of the European Parliament’s political groups will meet at 16.00 CET to define next week's plenary session agenda. The far-right Patriots for Europe group is expected to propose a special committee to investigate the mass arrival of migrants into Ceuta last July.
- The National Rally’s Marine Le Pen is set to join a gathering of the Patriots for Europe group in Brussels ahead of this week’s EU summit. and will deliver a press conference at 19.30 CET.
- European Council President António Costa joins a meeting of the European Parliament’s negotiation team on the EU’s long-term budget, known as the MFF contact group.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participates in the Tripartite Social Summit in Brussels.
That’s it for today. Jorge Liboreiro, Sasha Vakulina, Vincenzo Genovese and Angela Skujins contributed to this newsletter.