Russian invasion

Negotiations
Zelenskyj: Security agreement with US ready to be signed

Documents with US security guarantees to Ukraine are “100 percent” ready to be signed, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj told reporters in Vilnius.

– We are waiting for information from our partners about the date and place of the signing, he said, according to the AP.

The agreement will then be ratified by the US Congress and the Ukrainian parliament.

The statement comes after two days of talks with representatives from Ukraine, the US and Russia in Abu Dhabi, which according to The Guardian indicates that progress has been made. Further tripartite discussions are expected next weekend.

Sources: Russian delegation not as maximalist behind closed doors

Russian representatives continue to use harsh rhetoric in statements about peace in Ukraine, but behind closed doors the Russian negotiating delegation is more pragmatic and flexible. This is stated by two sources with insight into the negotiations to the Kyiv Independent.

– They usually present their maximalist demands in public and then let their negotiating teams work more flexibly, says an American official.

The newspaper highlights, among other things, a quote from Putin's adviser Yuri Ushakov who, after talks between Russia and the United States, said that "there is no point in hoping" for an agreement.

A Ukrainian source with insight into the negotiations raises a warning finger and believes that the US delegation has a particular view of what it means to work flexibly.

– If everyone behaves politely, it is seen as a positive sign, says the source.

Sanctions
EU says yes to phasing out Russian gas

EU member states have now formally approved this autumn’s agreement to gradually phase out all gas imports from Russia, reports TT.

Liquefied natural gas will be stopped from January 1, 2027, and deliveries via gas pipelines will be throttled by November 1 of the same year.

Both Hungary and Slovakia, which remain dependent on Russian energy supplies, voted no and have threatened to take the case to the European Court of Justice. Bulgaria abstained from voting.

France arrests captain of suspected shadow ship

The captain of the suspected Russian shadow ship that was boarded by French military last week has been arrested, prosecutors in Marseille say, TT reports.

The ship sailed from Murmansk in northern Russia and is currently anchored outside the Mediterranean city of Marseille. The arrested captain is a 58-year-old man from India, and authorities are investigating whether the ship sailed under a false flag.