#us-europe-relations

#us-europe-relations

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they "agreed that this was a critical moment - for Ukraine, its people and for shared security across the Euro-Atlantic region". A White House official confirmed the call took place on Wednesday but did not give details. It comes the day after Trump called European leaders "weak", suggesting the US could scale back support for Ukraine. In the wide-ranging Politico interview published on Tuesday, Trump also claimed Ukraine was "using war" to avoid holding elections, prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to reply he was "ready" for them.

"completely cut off"

Behind the scenes: White House officials are losing patience with European leaders, whom they claim are pushing Ukraine to hold out for unrealistic territorial concessions by Russia. Axios has learned that the sanctions the U.S. is urging Europe to adopt against Russia include a complete cessation of all oil and gas purchases - plus secondary tariffs from the EU on India and China, similar to those already imposed on India by the U.S.

Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Kyiv and Lviv overnight. The scale of the assault prompted Poland to protect its airspace, with a mission lasting several hours. No Russian violation of Polish airspace was reported. The Polish border is some 90 kilometers from Lviv. Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance has said that European countries will need to provide the "lion's share" of any security guarantees for a post-war Ukraine.

The left, thanking her for raising the plight of Ukraine's abducted children with Putin, seemed to set a more diplomatic tone.

Rutte described Trump's influence as a father figure in U.S.-Europe relations, though he clarified he did not intend to call him "daddy" in a literal sense.

NATO is at a historical crossroads, grappling with internal conflicts and the challenge of America’s demands for increased military funding that may harm European economies.