Ukraine-US talks 'real chance for peace process' — Germany

A German-Ukrainian joint venture is set to establish Europe's first industrial-scale droneproduction line for Ukraine.

According to a statement by the two companies involved, Quantum Systems and Frontline Robotics, all drones produced in the factory will be delivered to Ukraine's military.

"The production line will combine Ukrainian battlefield-proven technology with German industrial automation," the statement reads, also calling it a "major step" towards a European drone base "driven by Ukrainian frontline innovation and German engineering."

The drone factory's location will not be disclosed for security reasons.

Ukraine is known to be a world leader in drone technologies due to its experience in the war with Russia.

US President Donald Trump said an agreement to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is "closer now than we have ever been."

Speaking after having "very long and very good talks" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as several European leaders, Trump told reporters that Europe is providing "tremendous support" to achieving peace between the two countries.

According to Trump, European leaders want to "get it ended," adding he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin several times.

European leaders have proposed a European-led multinational force, with US support, to help enforce a potential peace agreement in Ukraine.

In a joint statement issued after talks in Berlin, they said the force would form part of robust security guarantees designed to prevent Russia from violating any deal to end the war.

The statement was released as European leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the German capital.

They said any decisions on possible territorial concessions could only be taken by the people of Ukraine and only once strong security guarantees are in place.

According to the statement, the proposed force would be made up of contributions from willing nations.

Its tasks would include helping "in securing Ukraine's skies, and in supporting safer seas, including through operating inside Ukraine," according to the statement.

The leaders also agreed Ukraine's military should continue receiving extensive support and retain a peacetime strength of about 800,000 troops. They said peace would be upheld through a US-led ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism to identify violations and provide early warning of any future attack.

The leaders said the guarantees would be backed by both European countries and the United States.

Participating in talks on Monday evening along with Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz were British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The statement was signed by the leaders of Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden, as well as the heads of the European Council and the European Commission.

Britain's new MI6 chief has said Russia is deliberately prolonging negotiations over Ukraine while shifting the cost of the war onto its own population.

Speaking on Monday, Blaise Metreweli said Russian President Vladimir Putin "is dragging out negotiations and shifting the cost of war onto his own population."

She warned that Moscow was intensifying pressure below the threshold of open conflict.

"Russia is testing us in the grey zone with tactics that are just below the threshold of war," Metreweli said.

She pointed to what she described as efforts to "bully, fearmonger and manipulate" through cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, drones flying near European airports, aggressive activity at sea, and state-sponsored arson.

"Across the globe, we are now confronting not one single danger, but an interlocking web of security challenges — military, technological, social, ethical even — each shaping the other in complex ways," she said.

Metreweli said Russia had pushed the world into an era of instability. "We are now operating in a space between peace and war," she said, adding that Russia had propelled the world into an "age of uncertainty."

She warned that Moscow's behavior was deliberate and likely to persist. "The export of chaos is a feature, not a bug, in this Russian approach to international engagement, and we should be ready for this to continue until Putin is forced to change his calculus," she added.

In a separate address on Monday evening, the new head of Britain's armed forces warned that "more" Britons will need to be ready to fight for their country due to an increasingly dangerous world.

Richard Knighton, chief of the defence staff since September, called for "national resilience" in his speech at the Royal United Services Institute

Talks on ending Russia's war against Ukraine are continuing in Berlin and have not concluded with the joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Afterwards, both men are set to attend a dinner with several European leaders.

Participants include British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Kyiv and Washington remain divided over territorial issues after two days of talks in Berlin on ending Russia’s war.

Speaking to reporters after the talks in Berlin, Zelenskyy said, "There has been sufficient dialogue on the territory, and I think that, frankly speaking, we still have different positions, but I believe that my colleagues have heard my personal position."

He said the issue of territory remains painful but added he believes the United States will help Ukraine find a compromise. Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready for fair work toward a strong peace agreement and that talks with US counterparts will continue. 

Zelenskyy also said the United States is not making its own territorial demands on Ukraine. He said the US delegation had conveyed Russian demands and he stressed that Ukraine needs clear security guarantees before any decisions are made about front lines.

Earlier, Zelenskyy said negotiations with the US delegation would continue and repeated that while positions differ on territory, Ukraine remains committed to achieving a fair and lasting peace deal.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said diplomatic momentum on Ukraine has intensified, calling it possibly the strongest since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Speaking after talks in Berlin, Merz said there was now a real chance for a peace process, adding, "This plant is still small, but the chance is real." 

Merz thanked US President Donald Trump, saying the progress would not have been possible without his engagement.

He said he was satisfied with talks in Berlin between US and Ukrainian representatives on ending Russia’s war.

At a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Merz said any ceasefire must be backed by strong guarantees.

"This ceasefire must be secured by substantial legal and material security guarantees from the USA and the Europeans," he said.

Merz added that proposals presented by the United States in Berlin marked significant progress.

"What the USA has put on the table here in Berlin in terms of legal and material guarantees is really remarkable. That is a very important step forward, which I very much welcome," he said.

"Negotiators from President Trump played a key role, and I want to make this clear: without their tireless efforts and without President Trump’s commitment, we would not have the positive momentum we are experiencing here at this very moment," Merz said.

Ukraine talks in Berlin have been really positive, with broad consensus emerging on a number of issues, a US official has told the Reuters news agency.

The official said discussions had produced agreement in several areas, while some issues had been delegated to working groups for further talks.

The official praised European participants, saying European representatives had been outstanding, and added that President Trump was pleased with the current state of negotiations.

The official said there was hope the process was on a path to peace.

Security guarantees have made significant progress, according to the official, including work on Article 5-like guarantees.

The official said these guarantees would not remain on the table indefinitely and added that Trump was focused on stopping Russian forces from moving west.

AP news agency reported, also citing the US side, that Russia indicated it is open to Ukraine joining the EU as part of a peace deal.  

Ukraine's security service has carried out what it calls a unique special operation in the port of Novorossiysk, using underwater drones to strike a Russian submarine.

The SBU said in a statement on Telegram that underwater drones known as "Sub Sea Baby" hit a Project 636.3 submarine, known as the Varshavyanka class, or Kilo class in NATO terminology.

"For the first time in history, underwater drones 'Sub Sea Baby' blew up a Russian Project 636.3 Varshavyanka-class submarine," the SBU said.

"As a result of the explosion, the submarine sustained critical damage and has effectively been put out of action."

The SBU said the submarine was carrying four Kalibr cruise missile launchers, which Russia has used to strike targets in Ukraine.

The latest round of talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Berlin has ended, Ukrainian media have reported.

The top Ukrainian negotiator with the United States has said two days of discussions in Berlin had been "constructive and productive, with real progress achieved." 

Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, in a post on X, also thanked US President Trump and praised the US team led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for " working extremely constructively to help Ukraine find a way to a peace agreement that lasts."

Germany will deepen its commitment to Ukraine's defense through joint ventures, market integration and possible investment guarantees under a 10-point plan unveiled on Monday during  Zelenskyy's visit to Berlin.

"A strong Ukrainian defense industry is crucial for defense against Russia's war of aggression and is an important element of security guarantees to deter future Russian aggression," said the document.

Both countries' defense ministries will hold regular, high-level consultations and will cooperate more closely on defense-related research, joint ventures and procurement, with Germany, Ukraine's largest supporter in Europe, looking into the use of federal investment guarantees, according to a statement.

Berlin and Kyiv would also take measures to prevent corruption, the document said, acknowledging concerns about Kyiv's biggest graft scandal of the war that prompted the resignation of two ministers and Zelenskyy's chief of staff.

The 10-point plan calls for

• Regular high-level consultations between the defense ministries on armaments policy
• A liaison office in Berlin for the Ukrainian arms industry, called Ukraine Freedom House, to ensure better networking between both countries' arms manufacturers
• Strengthening the staff of the military attache at the German Embassy in Kyiv
• Ukraine to build combat drones developed in-house in Germany
• Expanding the joint development and production of defense equipment to other areas
• Intensifying the joint procurement of defense equipment for Ukraine by European partner countries
• Integrating Ukraine more closely into the EU-wide market for defense equipment
• The German government to examine the use of investment guarantees to promote the involvement of German arms companies in Ukraine
• Germany wanting to use Ukraine's digital battlefield data and insights into the use of German weapons in the defensive battle against Russia to improve the training of soldiers and the development of strategies
• Both sides to take precautions to prevent corruption in the procurement of military equipment

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier received Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while the Ukrainian leader is in Berlin for talks with US envoys and European leaders.

Steinmeier welcomed Zelensky at Bellevue Palace, where the two leaders embraced on the steps upon Zelensky's arrival. 

Police cordoned off the area around Bellevue Palace, the president's official residence, while snipers were positioned on the building's roof, and a helicopter circled overhead.

As the head of state, Steinmeier has mainly ceremonial duties while Chancellor Friedrich Merz is responsible for the day-to-day running of the country. Merz is scheduled to host Zelenskyy at an economic forum and talks with other European leaders later on Monday (see entry below for Zelenskyy's schedule in Berlin).

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy took part in talks with US special envoy Steve Wikoff and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner in Berlin.  

There were no immediate public statements on the talks, which lasted roughly 90 minutes after a five-hour session on Sunday.

An official briefed on the discussions told the AFP news agency the US is continuing to push Ukraine to withdraw from the eastern Donbas region as a condition of peace talks with Russia. Zelenskyy has earlier made clear that such a step is a non-starter for Kyiv. 

"Putin wants territory," the official told AFP, adding that Ukraine was "not agreeing" to the demand.

"It's a bit striking that the Americans are taking the Russians' position on this issue," the official added.

The most recent uptick in international negotiations for an end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine began when Witkoff presented a plan drafted with Russian counterpart Kirill Dmitriev that was widely regarded as favorable to Russia.

That plan was later revised by Zelenskyy and European leaders and presented to the US.

Russia declared the anti-Kremlin feminist protest punk band Pussy Riot "extremist" — a label often used in Russia to outlaw critics of President Vladimir Putin. The label makes any interaction with the band, even posts on social media, illegal in Russia

A Moscow court upheld prosecution submissions "to recognize the punk band Pussy Riot as an extremist organization and ban its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation."

The ruling makes it easier for authorities to go after the band's supporters inside Russia or people who have worked with them in the past.

Pussy Riot's exiled members have repeatedly spoken out against the Russian war in Ukraine, and the band's songs and videos have been banned in Russia since 2012.

A court in September issued them jail sentences in absentia of up to 13 years after convicting them of telling lies about the Russian army. Pussy Riot gained international notoriety in 2012 after performing an anti-Putin protest in a church.

Leonid Solovyov, the band's lawyer, told the independent outlet SOTAvision that the ruling was "another action that shuts up those who speak out of turn."

Band members, long-time opponents of the Kremlin, were expecting the decision.

"The law is designed to erase Pussy Riot from the minds of Russian citizens" they said on social media last week.

Founding member Nadya Tolokonnikova, who has recently been performing in the United States and whose arrest the Russian authorities are seeking even after having spent two years in jail for the church protest song, shrugged off the move to designate the group as extremist.

"Extremism is invading other countries and committing war crimes. Punks, artists, tricksters, blissful people — they are the voice of common sense in the country," she wrote on X late last month.