Zelenskyy on security guarantees shuttle as fighting rages in Ukraine war

Baltic and Nordic leaders successful Denmark’s Copenhagen are gathering Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is connected a diplomatic thrust trying to cement information guarantees for Kyiv successful the lawsuit of a bid woody to extremity Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine.

“The heads of authorities and authorities volition sermon however the Nordic-Baltic countries tin guarantee further enactment for Ukraine connected the frontline and successful the negotiating room,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s bureau said successful a connection connected Wednesday.

The gathering brings unneurotic the leaders of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden – with Zelenskyy to sermon Ukraine’s future.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said connected Tuesday that advancement was being made connected security guarantees for Ukraine, but helium stressed that specified measures would lone beryllium implemented aft a bid statement is reached.

“We request to coordinate the information arrangements with the United States, which fundamentally volition supply the backstop for this … We’re focusing connected these issues with our chiefs of defence, which are drafting the factual plans of what this benignant of cognition mightiness look like,” Stubb told reporters.

“We’re making advancement connected this and hopefully we’ll get a solution soon,” helium said, portion cautioning that helium was not optimistic astir a ceasefire oregon bid statement with Russia successful the adjacent term.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen talk astatine a quality league connected July 3, 2025, successful Aarhus, Denmark [Martin Sylvest Andersen/Getty Images]

The ‘coalition of the willing’

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said helium expected clarity astatine a acme of Ukraine’s allies connected Thursday “or soon after” connected what information guarantees Europe tin connection Kyiv erstwhile the warfare halts.

“I expect tomorrow, oregon soon aft tomorrow, to person clarity connected what collectively we tin deliver,” Rutte said astatine a quality league with Estonian President Alar Karis successful Brussels. “That means that we tin prosecute adjacent much intensely, besides with the American side, to spot what they privation to present successful presumption of their information successful information guarantees.”

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron volition co-host Thursday’s mostly virtual gathering of leaders of the alleged “coalition of the willing” – a postulation of Western states moving connected semipermanent guarantees for Ukraine, and NATO. Zelenskyy moves connected to conscionable Macron contiguous successful Paris up of that summit.

Western officials person said specified guarantees are aimed astatine deterring Russia from launching different warfare aft hostilities end, whether done a ceasefire oregon a imperishable bid deal.

They are expected to centre connected continued subject enactment for Kyiv, on with an planetary unit to reassure Ukraine. However, European leaders person made wide that specified a unit would lone beryllium feasible with US participation.

United States President Donald Trump past period promised American involvement, but Washington has yet to spell retired what it would contribute. Rutte sought to reassure eastbound NATO members that resources for Ukraine’s information guarantees would not travel astatine the disbursal of the alliance’s ain defences.

“We person to forestall spreading our resources excessively thinly, and this means that we ever person to look astatine what the interaction volition beryllium connected the NATO plans,” helium said.

Moscow, meanwhile, rejects the idea of European peacekeeping troops connected the crushed successful Ukraine, and insists that immoderate aboriginal colony indispensable bespeak what it calls “new territorial realities”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Indonesia’s Kompas paper that regions annexed by Russia – Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson – indispensable beryllium “recognized and formalized successful an planetary ineligible manner” for bid to last.

Trump has suggested immoderate eventual woody would impact Ukraine ceding immoderate territory, but galore analysts judge 1 of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s halfway demands volition beryllium Ukrainian designation of Moscow’s power implicit the parts of Donbas inactive nether Kyiv’s authority.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected specified concessions, informing that losing immoderate territory would embolden Russia to motorboat caller attacks successful the future. The Ukrainian constitution besides forbids it.

Russia takes much territory successful Kherson

As diplomacy continues down the scenes, Russia’s battle continues to intensify crossed eastbound Ukraine. Its forces assertion to person encircled and present captured “about half” of Kupiansk, a strategical metropolis successful the northeastern Kharkiv region. Moscow’s Ministry of Defence besides claimed its forces had seized the colony of Fedorivka successful Donetsk.

In the skies, Russia launched a sweeping overnight aerial campaign, striking targets crossed 9 regions. Ukrainian officials said astatine slightest 4 railway workers were injured, portion Poland scrambled defence craft arsenic explosions echoed adjacent its border.

Ukraine’s exigency services reported that 5 radical were injured and 28 homes damaged successful an onslaught connected the Znamianka assemblage successful the Kirovohrad region. In Khmelnytskyi, transport services faced “significant docket disruptions” aft strikes damaged residential buildings and triggered fires.

Local authorities said 2 radical were killed successful Russian shelling of Polohivskyi territory successful Zaporizhia, portion abstracted attacks caused deaths successful Kherson, Kyiv portion and Donetsk. The autarkic quality outlet Kyiv Independent reported astatine slightest 5 civilians killed crossed the state successful the latest question of strikes.

Russia said it had changeable down 158 Ukrainian drones successful the past 24 hours, portion claiming that Ukrainian attacks crossed its borderline killed 12 radical and wounded astir 100 successful the past week. In the Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a Ukrainian drone onslaught injured 3 radical successful the colony of Proletarsky.

The diplomatic manoeuvring comes arsenic Putin seeks to deepen ties with North Korea and China. His gathering connected Wednesday with Kim Jong Un successful Beijing, alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping astatine a expansive subject parade, underscored the increasing concern betwixt Moscow and Pyongyang.

Trump responded by accusing the 3 leaders of conspiring against the United States – a assertion dismissed by the Kremlin.