Russian invasion

Negotiations
Source: “Paranoid” Hegseth kicks Driscoll out of talks

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has been kicked out of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, sources tell The Telegraph. The decision was reportedly made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who believed Driscoll had acted outside his mandate.

He is considered to have gone “a little too far,” but it is not clear in what way.

– He was reprimanded, says a source.

Driscoll has been seen as a possible replacement for Hegseth if the role were to become vacant, and the sources describe Hegseth as “paranoid.”

Witkoff to meet Zelensky ahead of Berlin summit

US envoy Steve Witkoff is to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders this weekend, writes TT. The agenda includes peace negotiations with Russia.

The meeting is taking place in Berlin, ahead of Monday's summit in the city.

The latest draft peace plan includes Ukraine being allowed into the EU as early as January 1, 2027, as the Financial Times reported on Friday. Europe and Ukraine have also requested that the US provide security guarantees before any negotiations on possible land cessions begin, writes AFP.

The world's response
German soldiers to strengthen Poland's eastern border

Germany is to send soldiers to Poland to strengthen the country's eastern border, reports AFP.

According to a spokesman for the German Defense Ministry, the main task of the German soldiers will be “engineering work.” This could include digging trenches or laying barbed wire.

Poland announced plans last year to reinforce a long stretch of the border with Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Poland has served as a transit country for weapons from Western countries. Germany is Ukraine’s second-largest supplier of military aid and has sent large quantities of weapons to Kyiv.

Security in Europe
Billström: Clearly Europe needs to scale up

Regardless of how the war in Ukraine ends, Europe will need a strategy to isolate Russia. That’s what Tobias Billström, former moderate foreign minister and now strategic director at arms manufacturer Nordic Air Defense, told Newsweek.

“It’s pretty clear that Europe needs to scale up,” Billström said.

He believes that the war in Ukraine has led to a technological boom and that Europe must now invest in its drone defense. Nordic Air Defense manufactures, among other things, the anti-drone weapon Kreuger 100XR, something that Billström hopes can become part of the EU's planned so-called drone wall.

Sanctions
Kristersson on frozen Russian assets: "Very good"

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) writes on X that the EU's decision to freeze Russian assets is "very good".

At an ambassadorial meeting on Thursday, a decision was made to make it impossible for any country to veto the continued freezing of Russian state assets.

The decision was made by a large majority and means that new decisions do not need to be made every six months to freeze the assets, writes TT.

"It is a clear signal of the EU's long-term support for Ukraine", writes Kristersson.