Putin ‘trying to break people of Ukraine,’ but they will not be broken, Nato’s Rutte says
Nato’s Rutte is here now.
He talks about Nato’s push to increase its defence spending, hailing some progress in this area.
Turning to Ukraine, he says he was there last week and saw first-hand the impact of Russia’s “relentless attacks.”
“President Putin is trying to break the people of Ukraine, hoping to weaken their resolve. But Ukraine and the Ukrainian people have shown time and again that they will not be broken.”
But he says Ukraine “cannot sustain this fight or secure the peace alone,” and stresses the importance of allied support through Nato.
Ukraine’s defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov will join tomorrow’s Nato ministerial for talks on “how allies can enhance their support and also how they can make it more effective.”
Key events
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Arctic, High North ‘increasingly important for collective security,’ Rutte insists as Nato launches mission to respond to Trump’s concerns
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Putin ‘trying to break people of Ukraine,’ but they will not be broken, Nato’s Rutte says
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Denmark says will ‘substantially’ contribute to new Nato Arctic mission
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Trilateral talks with US, Russia expected to resume next week with focus on territory, Zelenskyy says
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There will be no trust in diplomacy as Russia ‘continues to kill, destroy infrastructure’, Zelenskyy says
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UK to double British troops deployed to Norway to protect Arctic, High North over next three years
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Nato’s Arctic Sentry mission begins to secure Arctic, High North after Trump’s complaints
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Germany faces waves of industrial action with Lufthansa strike set to cause disruption on Thursday
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Merz and Meloni team up to influence EU’s thinking on competitiveness reforms
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EU proposes plan to counter drone threats after months of sightings causing disruptions at major airports
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Russia will take ‘countermeasures, including military ones’ if west increases footprint on Greenland
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Norway defence chief says Russia could invade to protect nuclear assets
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Four dead after Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight amid reported US pressure on Ukraine to end war
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Morning opening: Ms von der Leyen, tear down these barriers
And that ends Rutte’s presser.
But we are likely to hear more from EU defence ministers as they arrive for this afternoon’s meeting of the EU’s foreign affairs (defence) council.
Rutte gets asked if he thinks the Arctic sentry will prove to be enough to respond to Trump’s concerns about the region’s security.
He says it’s a gradual response based on what is needed for the alliance, coming from his talks with Trump.
He adds that US talks with Denmark on Greenland are separate to that, and he is not involved in them.
Rutte also gets asked about reported Russia’s war game exercises, and he simply says that Nato needs to be in a position to respond to any threat so “nobody thinks that they can attack us, because our reaction will be devastating.”
“What we need to do and make sure of is that in a couple of years, we can still react in a devastating way if anyone tries to attack this defensive alliance and therefore it’s so important what you’re doing along the eastern flank,” he says.
“We are a defensive alliance, but our reaction will be lethal if they try to attack us,” he adds.
Rutte also gets asked about potential US troops reductions in Europe and his asks at Nato’s upcoming summit in Ankara in July.
He doesn’t exactly answer the first part of the question, saying simply that the US has lots of areas of interest to focus on, and that Europe is stepping up and doing more, but it’s a “step by step” process.
He says it is clear there will always be “a strong US presence in Europe, … not only as the ultimate guarantor of our freedom” with nuclear weapons, but “also when it comes to the conventional forces.”
On Ankara, he says he wants to discuss it with ministers first, but it will focus on implementing the decisions taken at last year’s Hague summit on ramping up defence spending.
Rutte gets asked if he shared his experience of visiting Ukraine last week with the US president, Donald Trump.
He responds with one word: “yes.”
Pushed a bit further, he says:
“The American administration is totally aware of the dreadful situation in Ukraine. …
In my regular context with the American president, of course, we update each other on what’s happening, what we are seeing. That’s part of our regular conversation. So to your questions, yes, absolute clarity in the US on what’s happening in Ukraine. There’s no doubt.”
Asked for more details on Arctic Sentry, Rutte says it’s needed “because we have a clear sense that the Russians and the Chinese are becoming more and more active there.”
(That’s not really what the Danes say, though.)
He says the mission will “enhance” how vigilant Nato is, but says he can’t say much more to not “inform the people in Moscow and Beijing a bit too much.”
Rutte also gets asked about the prospect of holding elections in Ukraine.
He doesn’t seem to be too keen to answer the question and give journalists a line on FT’s report from earlier today suggesting the US was putting pressure on Kyiv to call a presidential election (10:17).
He simply says in general terms that “it is up to the Ukrainians to decide what ultimately they can accept in terms of a peace deal, particularly when it comes to the very sensitive issue of territory.”
He says he has “full trust in the Ukrainian leadership and Ukrainian democracy,” and that is “up to them” to decide how to progress.
Rutte also gets asked about security guarantees for Ukraine.
He claims “great progress” has been made over the last six months, and says there are different elements to security guarantees, including the need to strengthen the Ukrainian armed forces, the Franco-British Coalition of the Willing, and the broader discussions with the US.
He says the current talks are “testing, under the leadership of the American president … whether the Russians are willing to play ball so that we can bring this terrible war to a lasting end so that they will never, ever try again to attack Ukraine.”
He then gets asked about the push from France’s Emmanuel Macron to reopen discussions with Russia.
He says it’s not his role to advise countries and generally says he encourages every initiative which could bring the war to an end – but stresses “the US leadership is key,” as he hails Trump for “breaking the deadlock.”
Rutte also gets asked about the absence of a senior US minister, with undersecretary Elbridge A. Colby attending instead of Pete Hegseth.
But he insists that does not mean anything in terms of US involvement in Nato, as he says that with global interests, US ministers “not always can be here.”
He says Colby is “a very important guy,” and the two have worked closely over the last year or so, and he says it is “very positive” to see him take part in tomorrow’s meeting.
Arctic, High North ‘increasingly important for collective security,’ Rutte insists as Nato launches mission to respond to Trump’s concerns
Turning to Arctic and the High North, Rutte says the region is “increasingly important for our collective security.”
He says Nato members “regularly conduct exercsies in the Arctic, ensure we are ready to fight and operation in all conditions.”
But picking up some of Trump’s concerns expressed over Greenland, he says that “in the face of Russia’s increased military activity and China’s growing interest in the High North, it was crucial that we do more.”
He says the new Arctic Sentry mission (13:11) will bring together existing exercises and logistics to show the alliance’s “clear our commitment to ensuring Arctic security and indeed the security of the whole Alliance together.”
He says that the new mission will also help allies to map “potential challenges” so “any gaps can be quickly and effectively addressed.”
He rejects a suggestion it’s just a branding exercise, and says the mission will “bring everything we do in the Arctic together under one command” in the same way Nato has changed its way of operating on the eastern flank.
“This is really big. This is a huge thing, and there’s never happened before,” he says.
Putin ‘trying to break people of Ukraine,’ but they will not be broken, Nato’s Rutte says
Nato’s Rutte is here now.
He talks about Nato’s push to increase its defence spending, hailing some progress in this area.
Turning to Ukraine, he says he was there last week and saw first-hand the impact of Russia’s “relentless attacks.”
“President Putin is trying to break the people of Ukraine, hoping to weaken their resolve. But Ukraine and the Ukrainian people have shown time and again that they will not be broken.”
But he says Ukraine “cannot sustain this fight or secure the peace alone,” and stresses the importance of allied support through Nato.
Ukraine’s defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov will join tomorrow’s Nato ministerial for talks on “how allies can enhance their support and also how they can make it more effective.”
Denmark says will ‘substantially’ contribute to new Nato Arctic mission
Meanwhile, Denmark has (unsurprisingly) also pledged to “substantially” contribute to a newly launched Nato mission in the Arctic, the Arctic Sentry (13:11).
“We will substantially contribute, and we will maintain momentum to ensure that the Arctic is reflected in Nato’s plans and exercise activities in the long term,” defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen said in comments reported by AFP.
He added that the details of the support would be determined in coordination with Nato allies.
Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte is due to speak with reporters any moment now, so expect more details from him. I will bring you all the latest here.
Trilateral talks with US, Russia expected to resume next week with focus on territory, Zelenskyy says
Separately, Zelenskyy told Bloomberg (£) that the next round of talks with US and Russia is set to focus on the thorny issue of territorial concessions demanded by Moscow.
He said the talks are expected to take place on Tuesday or Wednesday next week, but it was still unclear if Russia would agree to talks taking place in the US, Bloomberg reported.
Zelenskyy also said that “neither the Russians, nor us” were keen on the US compromise idea of establishing a free economic zone in the eastern region of Donbas.
“If it is our territory – and it is our territory – then the country whose territory it is should govern it,” he said.
There will be no trust in diplomacy as Russia ‘continues to kill, destroy infrastructure’, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that “as long as Russia continues to kill people and destroy our infrastructure, there will not be sufficient public trust in active diplomacy.”
“This is important for all of Ukraine’s partners – in the United States and Europe – to understand,” he said.
He said that “security issues are the key priority right now,” as Ukraine faces continuing attacks, including on civilian population and energy infrastructure.
“Everything else must be addressed only in conjunction with truly guaranteed security,” he stressed.
Zelenskyy also offered a bit more detail on the overnight Russian attack on Kharkiv region (10:17), which killed four: three small children and their father. He said the children’s mother is in hospital.