Europe needs political will to act and cut ties with Russia, says Zelenskyy after leaders summit – Europe live

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Europe needs political will to act and cut ties with Russia, Zelenskyy says

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy also talks about Russia “stepping up its distructive actions,” as he stresses that “what matters most for European security now is political will” to act without delay.

“We see clearly that only joint action and united efforts can guarantee real security. No country should be left alone against this threat,” he says.

He insists that “Russia is making many mistakes, and that is why we need to increase the pressure and increase the pressure now, so that they are forced to end the war and change their policy.”

He also ramps up pressure on countries like Hungary and Slovakia to stop importing energy from Russia, as he says:

Any connection with Russia can be used against you, so the fewer ties with Russia, the safer life will be, and life must be protected.

He ends by stressing the need to move on Ukraine and Moldova’s EU membership.

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‘We will, maybe, have something more,’ Zelenskyy says about potential access to US long-range missiles

Frederiksen get asked if Denmark and Europe more broadly are ready to help scale up Ukraine’s production of drones and missiles.

She replies simply: “Yes.”

Zelenskyy, in turn, gets asked about potential strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure, and if he would comment on reports that Ukraine could get long-range capabilities.

He says Ukraine only ever strikes in response to Russian attacks.

On long-range missiles, he says that until now Ukraine had to rely on domestic production of its own missiles.

“After my meeting with President of the United States, yes, we will, maybe, have something more. I don’t know. We’ll see,” he says.

Zelenskyy says Orbán’s block on Ukraine’s membership is down to domestic politics

Zelenskyy jumps on this topic, too.

He says “yes, we have problems with Hungary,” which he attributes to Viktor Orbán’s political posturing before next year’s parliamentary election.

“We can openly speak about it, [it’s] because Viktor Orbán has elections. And I think it’s not smart [that just] because he has elections, … he’s blocking big, 40 million nation on their way to EU, … because, by the way, Russia began this war [exactly] because our will and our choice to go … to [join] Europe,” he explains.

Updated at 16.58 CEST

I will not allow one country and Viktor Orbán to block Ukraine’s membership of EU, Frederiksen says

Denmark’s Frederiksen gets asked about the prospects of EU enlargement and the EU’s broader strategy, given Hungary’s repeated opposition to moves allowing Ukraine to join the bloc.

She says that 26 member states are united on this, as she strongly pushes back against Hungary’s attempt to block Ukraine’s membership or use frozen Russian assets.

“I will not allow one country, and I will certainly not allow Viktor Orbán to take decisions about the entire European future.

So I don’t know what middle ground is, but if middle ground means that we won’t do what is the best thing to do for Europe, then I don’t think middle ground is a good idea.”

Europe needs political will to act and cut ties with Russia, Zelenskyy says

“We see clearly that only joint action and united efforts can guarantee real security. No country should be left alone against this threat,” he says.

He also ramps up pressure on countries like Hungary and Slovakia to stop importing energy from Russia, as he says:

Any connection with Russia can be used against you, so the fewer ties with Russia, the safer life will be, and life must be protected.

He ends by stressing the need to move on Ukraine and Moldova’s EU membership.

‘Russia is testing us more than ever,’ Denmark’s Frederiksen says, as she urges Europe to arm and get ‘so strong that a war is no longer an option’

Frederiksen also says the talks confirmed “our unwavering support” for Ukraine in the face of “increased” provocations from Moscow towards Europe.

“It is clear to everybody that Russia is a threat, not only to Ukraine, but to all of Europe,” she says.

She adds:

“Lately, we have seen how Russia has increased airspace violations and hybrid attacks in Europe with fighter jets and with drones, migrants being pushed across our borders, interference in democratic elections and cyber-attacks targeting critical infrastructure,

Russia is testing us, and more than ever, we need to stand strong together.”

She sets out the need to “strengthen our support to Ukraine with weapons and more sanctions against Russia.”

She adds:

“I would like all Europeans to look at it this way, that every euro or dollar or Danish crown we send to Ukraine is a direct investment in European security.”

She says that the task ahead is “to make Europe so strong that a war against us is no longer an option.”

Denmark’s Frederiksen expresses sympathy with Britain after Manchester synagogue attack

Denmark’s Frederiksen opens the closing press conference by a brief comment on the attack in Manchester.

She says:

“First of all, let me start by expressing my deepest sympathy to the British people and to the Jewish community and to our friend Keir Starmer, who had to leave the summit today.

The incident in Manchester is terrible and horrifying and my thoughts are with the affected families in these difficult times.”

Closing press conference of Copenhagen summits under way

The closing press conference of the two Copenhagen summits is taking place now, with Danish PM Mette Frederiksen and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaking now.

You can watch it below, but I will bring you all the key lines here.

News conference following the meeting of the EPC in Copenhagen – Watch liveShare

Updated at 16.45 CEST

Russia says it’s locked in ‘fiery’ conflict with the West, rejects comparisons to cold war

Meanwhile over in Moscow, Russia said that there was no cold war with the West because it was now a “fiery” conflict, and that the European Union and the Nato military alliance were lying about alleged Moscow’s sabotage operations to justify vast military spending, Reuters reported.

“I would disagree with the comparison with the cold war,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters when asked if there was now a new cold war with an “iron curtain“-like drone wall being built in Europe.

We are already in another form of conflict. There has been no cold here for a long time; there is already fire here.

Zakharova, when asked about European accusations that Russia has intruded into Nato airspace, carried out sabotage operations and hacked key installations, said that the unfounded accusations showed that the EU and Nato were preparing “provocations” against Moscow.

“All their statements indicate – first, that they are preparing a chain of provocations. Second, that they need to justify their military budgets,” Zakharova claimed without offering any evidence to back her comments.

Updated at 16.40 CEST

Hungary’s Orbán says talks showed ‘confrontation’ of ideas on Russia; rules out Hungary’s involvement in use of frozen Russian assets

Hungary’s Viktor Orbán has just briefered the journalists after the summit.

Ever the entertainer on the doorstep, Orbán said the meeting was “interesting; even more, it was exciting,” as it “had some intellectual content,” which he rushed to add “it’s not always the case.”

He said the leaders particularly clashed on their idea of dealing with Russia. Asked if he managed to convince them of his arguments, he said:

“Not really, … they are convinced that they are right. … They have a war plan. They have a plan how to beat the Russians. Many of these countries were never occupied by the Russians, so they don’t have physical personal experience [of] what does it mean to have a war with Russia. …

We know what is at the stake, but those guys who were never under the supervision of the Russians has an appetite to beat the Russians on the frontline. We know what the war machine of Russia looks like. We don’t like the idea.

So we have a peace plan, but the others have [more of] a war plan, and that confrontation happened.

So the views are very far away from each other.”

Orbán was also very critical of the idea of using frozen Russian assets to finance further aid for Ukraine.

He said the leaders were given “a very educational presentation” by the Belgian prime minister, which showed the idea was “not very promising,” as Belgium would first need to be given assurances that other countries would share their legal responsibility for such a move.

“No way,” he exclaimed.

“The question is, whose money is that? So if it is money of somebody else, Hungary will never touch it. We are not stealers, you know. This money is not ours.”

He later added that Hungary would “never be part of the deal” if it involves taking Russian frozen assets.

EU leaders have ‘great determination’ to help Ukraine, use Russian assets, with decision towards end of October, Germany’s Merz says

Speaking with reporters on the sidelines of the Copenhagen summit, German chancellor Friedrich Merz said the leaders showed “great determination to continue helping Ukraine.”

He said they had “a very intensive” discussion about the use of frozen Russian assets to continue helping and funding aid for Ukraine.

We will now examine this carefully and there will most likely be a concrete decision on this at the next European Council in three weeks.

(The next European Council is scheduled for 23-24 October.)

“I will support any path that allows us to use Russian assets to continue helping Ukraine and to ensure that this war ends as soon as possible,” he said.

Merz added that he felt there was “very strong agreement” in the EU to explore these options, as he warned that “Putin should not underestimate our determination.”

He didn’t take any questions from reporters.

Updated at 15.42 CEST

Polish border force responds to Russian fishing boat seen near gas pipeline

The Polish border force scrambled to respond to a Russian fishing boat on Wednesday, after it was seen in close vicinity of a gas pipeline near Szczecin, off the Polish coast, a spokesperson for the Polish interior ministry said.

After observing the 70-meter-long unit for some time, the border force engaged with it and asked the boat to move away from the pipeline and leave the area immediately.

The boat obeyed their instructions, the spokesperson said.

The incident comes amid growing threats from Russia, with Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, saying earlier today that Poland sees new incidents “every week, … almost every day” (11:15).

US to give Ukraine intelligence on long-range energy targets in Russia, say reports

Dan Sabbagh

Defence and security editor

The US will provide Ukraine with intelligence on long-range energy infrastructure targets deep inside Russia, according to overnight reports, a move that would signal a significant shift in White House support for Kyiv.

US president Donald J. Trump (R) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) meeting at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York. Photograph: Presidential Press Service Handout Handout/EPA

The decision would be the first example of a change in policy by Donald Trump since his comments on social media towards the end of September that Ukraine could win back all of the territories occupied by Russia.

Reports in the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, citing unnamed US sources, said the policy had quietly changed ahead of that statement and that the White House wanted Nato allies to follow suit.

No decision, however, had been made on whether the US would supply Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine. Earlier this week the US vice-president, JD Vance, said Trump was considering a request from Kyiv for the missiles that have a range of 1,500 miles.

Western, and particularly US, intelligence in the form of satellite imagery and other monitoring data is considered a significant help in permitting the accurate targeting of Russian facilities deep inside its borders.

A focus on energy targets, such as oil refineries, would allow Ukraine to extend an already successful campaign that has hit 21 out of 38 refineries with long-range drone strikes. That has led to fuel shortages in parts of Russia, and on some days it has been estimated that daily production is down by fifth.

Chinese captain of Russia tanker stopped off France to be tried for refusing to cooperate, prosecutors say

The Chinese captain of a tanker from Russia’s “shadow fleet” is to be tried in a French court early next year for refusing to comply with orders from French authorities, prosecutors said, as reported by AFP.

The captain and first mate of the Boracay, a Benin-flagged vessel blacklisted by the European Union off France, were detained on Tuesday over refusing to provide evidence of nationality or cooperate with French authorities.

The captain has been summoned to appear in court in February, but the first mate has been released, said the public prosecutor’s office in the northwestern city of Brest.

Russia accused of sabotaging last power line into Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Dan Sabbagh

Defence and security editor

Russia has been accused of deliberately sabotaging the last remaining power line into the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, after satellite imagery of the damaged area showed no sign of Ukrainian shelling that Moscow says is preventing a repair.

A Russian service member stands guard at a checkpoint near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

Outside power, normally used for cooling, has now been down for a record eight days, forcing the Russian operators of the plant in occupied Ukraine to rely on back-up diesel generators to avoid a meltdown of its six reactor cores.

Surroundings of the Zaporizhzhia power plant

The photography was commissioned by Greenpeace and it was examined by experts at McKenzie Intelligence, in an effort to assess the damage at the Zaporizhzhia plant, which lies on the frontline of the war.

McKenzie Intelligence concluded in a short report that there is “no evidence of any crater, either fresh or historic” around the damaged pylon and that it is still standing “and therefore should be a relatively simple task to repair”.

That contrasts with comments made last week by the Russian operators of the plant. The site’s communications director said on 25 September that “restoration efforts [were] currently being complicated by ongoing shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the plant and in the immediate vicinity of the damaged line”.

The plant’s final external power line was cut at 4.56pm on Tuesday last week, creating a set of circumstances described by Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, as “clearly not a sustainable situation in terms of nuclear safety”.

Eight back-up generators are currently powering the cooling systems, with a further nine in reserve, said the IAEA in an update released on Tuesday. There is enough power to fuel the generators for 10 days, with further deliveries expected to maintain this level, the watchdog added.

Though the imagery of a pylon over a field in Russian held territory about 1.5km from the power plant is faint, the absence of dark pock marks on the ground, characteristic of areas that have been shelled, is obvious. Both legs of the pylon and a horizontal connecting structure are visible.

Shaun Burnie, a nuclear specialist with Greenpeace, said the imagery showed that “Russia has deliberately sabotaged the external power line”.

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