Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky at the EU summit in Brussels on June 18. Photo: press service of the European Commission Newly appointed Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar managed to remove any mention of the possibility of Ukraine's accelerated entry into the bloc from the EU leaders' statement, which was approved at the bloc's summit in Brussels.

French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AFP There has been a serious split among EU countries over who should negotiate with Russia and when, POLITICO reports. In particular, French and German leaders Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz opposed negotiations between the office of European Council President Antonio Costa and the Kremlin.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and the EU leadership in Kyiv in February 2026. Photo: press service of the President of Ukraine Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky called for his country to be admitted to the EU under an accelerated procedure. “ Ukraine is counting on an accelerated process. I know that not all leaders like this format - accelerated.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev (right). Photo: press service of the Bulgarian Parliament Bulgaria will no longer supply weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, said Prime Minister Rumen Radev. “ We have already delivered enough, and our country continues to suffer socio-economic damage from this bloody war. We are confident that achieving a peaceful solution is impossible through military means ,” Radev said , as quoted by the government press service.

EU summit December 18-19. Photo: press service of the President of Ukraine. EU countries are considering excluding newly arrived Ukrainian men of military age from the program to provide temporary protection to Ukrainian refugees. This program was introduced after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Previously, the EU Council extended until March 4, 2027 the validity of this protection scheme for Ukrainian refugees located on the territory of the union.

President Vladimir Zelensky, December 2025. Photo: press service of the President of Ukraine Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky rejected Germany's proposal to grant Ukraine " associate membership " in the EU, which implies restrictions on some rights, in particular the right to vote in the bloc's most important decisions.

President Vladimir Zelensky with the leaders of France, Germany, Poland and Great Britain in Kyiv on May 10, 2025. Photo: press service of the President of Ukraine Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky harshly criticized the German Chancellor's proposal to grant Kyiv the status of an "associated" member of the EU with limited rights.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (second from left) during talks on a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine in Paris in April US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that peace talks between Ukraine, the US and Russia have not yielded results, and Washington " is not interested in being drawn into an endless cycle of meetings that lead nowhere ." According to him, Washington is ready to continue to play the role of mediator in the negotiations if they see that “ the dynamics will change .”

President Vladimir Putin at SPIEF 2025. Photo: forum press service President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on simplified admission to Russian citizenship for residents of the self-proclaimed Transnistria region. The document was published on the official legal information portal.

President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in August 2025. Photo: White House press service The Kremlin continues to insist on the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territory of the entire Donbass to conclude a peace agreement with Kiev. “ They know in Ukraine that this needs to be done and that sooner or later they will do it anyway ,” Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said in an interview with Russian state television on May 10.

Photo: State Customs Committee of Belarus Since Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have championed for the strictest EU sanctions against Moscow. They have also actively advocated for restrictions - though less severe than those targeting Russia - against the Kremlin’s main regional ally, Belarus.

President Vladimir Zelensky during negotiations with Trump in December 2025. Photo: press service of the President of Ukraine 54% of Ukrainians believe that corruption in government bodies of the country is a greater threat to the development of Ukraine than Russian aggression, according to the results of a survey by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS). Military aggression was named as a greater threat (compared to corruption) by only 39% of respondents.

Photo: 33rd separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) 36% of Ukrainians agree to the withdrawal of troops from the entire Donetsk region in exchange for security guarantees from the United States and Europe, according to the results of a survey by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS). At the same time, the majority (29%) of those who agree to this option admit that this is a difficult condition.

Photo: State Customs Committee of Belarus Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Eastern European countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have advocated for the toughest EU sanctions on Russia. They were no less active in advocating for the introduction of restrictions (albeit not as stringent as those against Russia) in relations with the Kremlin’s main ally in the region, Belarus.

Photo: Lithuanian Customs Department For the first time in history, the EU has activated a “ tool to combat sanctions circumvention ” against Kyrgyzstan due to the re-export of a number of sanctioned goods from this country to Russia, the European Council said in a statement . Brussels has banned the export of computer numerical control (CNC) machines to Kyrgyzstan, as well as telecommunications equipment, including routers and switching equipment.