‘Unconditional withdrawal’ of Russian troops one of main preconditions for lifting sanctions, EU says
The European Commission responded to reports of Russia seeking sanctions relief as part of a maritime ceasefire in Ukraine, saying today that one of its main precondition would be to see “the unconditional withdrawal of all Russian military forces” from Ukraine.
In a stark response to Russian demands, EU spokesperson said in a statement, reported by Reuters:
The end of the Russian unprovoked and unjustified aggression in Ukraine and unconditional withdrawal of all Russian military forces from the entire territory of Ukraine would be one of the main preconditions to amend or lift sanctions.
The spokesperson added that “Russia must now demonstrate genuine political will to end its illegal and unprovoked war of aggression.”
She also pointedly noted that “experience has shown that Russia must be judged by its actions, not by its words.”
Key events
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‘Unconditional withdrawal’ of Russian troops one of main preconditions for lifting sanctions, EU says
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Four US soldiers missing in Lithuania
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Austria to pause family reunification for those with asylum status
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EU could step in to support Radio Free Europe after US funding cuts, von der Leyen says
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EU steps up its preparedness planning in case of crises, threats
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Sweden raises its defence spending target to 3.5% GDP by 2030
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Nato’s Rutte, Poland’s Tusk stress the alliance’s collective defence principle
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Don’t be fooled by Putin’s tactics, German outgoing foreign minister says
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Russian neo-imperialism, radical US policy change push Europe to ‘step up and be brave,’ Spanish PM says
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Moratorium on energy targets in place, but Black Sea security deal needs conditions to be met, Russia says
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Russian strikes show Moscow not moving towards ‘real peace,’ Zelenskyy says
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Ukraine ceasefire deal looks like a Russian wishlist tied with a US bow – analysis
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Russia launches overnight drone attack on Ukrainian port providing access to Black Sea
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Morning opening: The unwelcome guest
Four US soldiers missing in Lithuania
Four US army soldiers have gone missing in Lithuania during a scheduled tactical training, the US embassy in Vilnius said in a social media post.
US Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces and Lithuanian law enforcement agencies are conducting a search operation.
The four soldiers are all from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, the statement said.
The V Corps commanding general Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza thanked the authorities for their help as the search continues.
Austria to pause family reunification for those with asylum status
Austria said it would pause family reunifications for those with asylum status from May, becoming the first in the European Union to do so.
Interior minister Gerhard Karner said in a government press release the move was necessary to counter the impact on “schools, health system and even security” in the country.
It said that in 2023 and 2024, over 17,000 came to Austria through the scheme, mostly underage school-age children from Syria.
After new security measures were implemented, including DNA testing and document verification, the number of successful applications has dropped to just 60 in February 2025, down from a thousand a year earlier.
“By May, so in just a few weeks, the stop is expected to become reality,” integration minister Claudia Plakolm told reporters, adding the country’s “systems have reached their limits”.
EU could step in to support Radio Free Europe after US funding cuts, von der Leyen says
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen hinted that the EU could step in to support Radio Free Europe after recent US funding cuts by the Trump administration.
Responding to a push from a coalition of countries, led by the Czech Republic, von der Leyen said:
Radio Free Europe provides independent reporting to many countries where media freedom is threatened. We‘ll work with partners including [flags of the Czech Republic, Austria, Belgium, Lithuanian, Latvia, Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Slovenia] to support @RFERL‘s award winning journalism. The world needs media freedom.
EU steps up its preparedness planning in case of crises, threats
The European Union has announced its EU Preparedness Union Strategy, outlining plans to prevent and respond to new crises and threats, such as floods, wildfires, or conflicts. The strategy includes stark advice to keep essential supplies to get through 72 hours of an emergency.
EU social rights and preparedness commissioner Roxana Mînzatu said the bloc wanted to “talk to our citizens, of all generations” to make sure they are “equipped, skilled, prepared” to react to power cuts, natural disasters, and other potential issues.
The underlying report said that the EU crisis management is “mostly reactive, rather than pro-active,” with insufficient tools for spotting risks early, and fragmented response mechanisms.
The strategy proposes 30 actions, including developing “minimum preparedness criteria” for essential services, enhancing the stockpiling of critical equipment and materials, and encouraging the public to adopt practical measures, such as “maintaining essential supplies for a minimum of 72 hours in emergencies.”
The full document is here if you want to read more.
Sweden raises its defence spending target to 3.5% GDP by 2030
Meanwhile, Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson has confirmed the country plans to increase the country’s defence spending to a provisional target of 3.5% of GDP by 2030 in the largest push since the end of cold war.
Sweden was expected to spend 2.14% in 2024, with projections reaching 2.4% this year, and 2.6% in 2028.
But Kristersson said that more needed to be done to respond to increasingly volatile international situation and comments from the Trump administration suggesting shifting US defence priorities, away from Europe.
He suggested that Nato could soon raise its 2% target to between 3% and 5%, and Sweden would have to respond accordingly.
“It is difficult to know exactly where it will land. We are pushing for it to be high enough to significantly increase the European Nato countries’ ability to defend Europe,” he said.
Nato’s Rutte, Poland’s Tusk stress the alliance’s collective defence principle
Nato’s Rutte and Poland’s Tusk are now speaking in Warsaw.
In his opening comments, Tusk talks about the importance of Nato and Poland being in a position to respond to whatever comes out of the US-led peace discussions with Russia on Ukraine, as he admits Europeans have “limited, to put it mildly,” influence over these discussions.
He says that any “just” peace settlement needs to have strong guarantees of Ukrainian sovereignty in the future.
He also stresses the importance of Nato’s collective defence principle enshrined in Article 5 and the alliance’s “crucial” commitment to defend Poland on that basis, and goes through the country’s efforts to protect its eastern border with Belarus.
Rutte praises Poland for spending 4.7% GDP on defence, the highest level among Nato allies, and says other countries should follow its example.
Let’s not forget that Russia is and remains the most significant and dark threat to our alliance. Let’s not forget that Russia is moving into a wartime economy. And that will have a huge impact on their capacity and capability to build their armed forces.
He also repeats the pledge to defend Poland or any other Nato country in case of any attack.
When it comes to the defence of Poland and the general defence of Nato territory, if anyone were to miscalculate and think they can get away with an attack on Poland or on any other ally, they will be met with the full force of this fierce alliance. Our reaction will be devastating.
This has to be very clear to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and anyone else who … wants to attack us.
And since they don’t take questions, that’s it for their press briefing.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte is in Warsaw this morning, meeting Poland’s president Andrzej Duda, prime minister Donald Tusk, and defence and foreign ministers to talk about Ukraine, the Eastern flank of Nato, and the upcoming Nato summit in the Hague.
His meeting with Tusk is now under way and the two leaders will speak at a joint press conference at the top of the hour.
I will bring you the key lines.
Don’t be fooled by Putin’s tactics, German outgoing foreign minister says
Germany’s outgoing foreign minister welcomed US mediating efforts between Russia and Ukraine but warned against being misled by Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying genuine dialogue cannot occur when ceasefires are continually tied to new demands and concessions, Reuters reported.
“It is also good that the United States is trying to take on a mediating role here. At the same time, we must not fool ourselves, and above all, we must not allow ourselves to be blinded by the Russian president,” Annalena Baerbock said on the sidelines of a climate conference in Berlin on Wednesday.
Russian neo-imperialism, radical US policy change push Europe to ‘step up and be brave,’ Spanish PM says
Sam Jones
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has said the push for increased EU defence spending could make the country both safer and more prosperous, but has vowed not to increase defence investment at the cost of social or environmental programmes.
Speaking in congress on Wednesday morning, the socialist leader said it was time to be brave and to recognise the huge threats the world now faces.
“Russian neo-imperialism and the radical change in US economic and military policy compel Europe to step up and be brave,” he said. “As Europeans, we continue to believe in diplomacy and prosperity. But neither Russia nor the US sees things that way … Others will no longer protect our skies and our borders, so we will have to do that ourselves. As long as this government is in office, this push will not come at the expense of the welfare state. We will support Ukraine without touching a penny of our social or environmental budgets.”
The prime minister – whose push for an increase in defence spending has not gone down well with many in the more leftwing Sumar platform that is the junior partner in his socialist-led coalition – said the new investment could be used to bring a “technological and industrial” advance that would benefit Spain.
Despite announcing that the new defence spending plan would be in place before the summer, Sánchez gave no further details.
Spain, which currently spends 1.3% of its GDP on defence, has committed to reaching the Nato member target of 2% before 2029.
Moratorium on energy targets in place, but Black Sea security deal needs conditions to be met, Russia says
We have just heard from the Kremlin with Russia’s take on overnight developments, as Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov insisted that Putin’s order for a moratorium on attacking energy infrastructure remained in force.
But in further lines reported by agencies, the Kremlin also said that the Black Sea initiative agreed yesterday will be activated after a number of conditions are met, drawing attention to its demands on sanctions relief (9:09).
The Kremlin also said that Russia was satisfied with how its dialogue with the US was developing and the progress made so far, Reuters reported.
Russian strikes show Moscow not moving towards ‘real peace,’ Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has responded to the Russian attacks on Ukraine overnight, saying they revealed that Moscow was not moving towards “real peace.”
In a post on Telegram, he called out attacks just hours after ceasefire negotiations as “a clear signal to the whole world that Moscow is not going to pursue real peace,” and called for more pressure to be put on Russia, including further US sanctions.
He stressed that the US proposal for a complete ceasefire has been on the table since 11 March, but “literally every night” Russia continues to reject the offer.
Ukraine ceasefire deal looks like a Russian wishlist tied with a US bow – analysis
Andrew Roth
The Kremlin is pressing its advantage with a White House that is impatient to show that Donald Trump is the only leader who can deliver peace in the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine.
At first blush, the deal agreed by US negotiators in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday offers concession on concession to the Kremlin, leaving observers to question whether Russia had given anything to secure its first offer of sanctions relief since the beginning of the war.
But the White House account of the agreement did not even include the fine print. In its readout, the Kremlin said that it would only implement the Black Sea ceasefire once the US delivers sanctions relief on Russian agricultural products and fertilisers, as well as delisting a major state-owned bank called Rosselkhozbank that services the Russian agricultural industry.
That would be the first significant rollback of sanctions on Russia since the war began, and indicates that Moscow will seek a dual price to halt its war against Ukraine: political and military concessions from Ukraine as well as an escape from the international isolation that began after its full-scale invasion in 2022.
And, so far, it looks like that is a deal that the Trump administration is willing to make.
Full analysis:
Russia launches overnight drone attack on Ukrainian port providing access to Black Sea
Russia launched an overnight drone attack on the Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv, which provides the country with access to the Black Sea, and struck Kryvyi Rih in what Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday was the war’s biggest drone attack on the city, Reuters reported.
The attack came just hours after the US said it reached agreements with Russia and Ukraine to “eliminate the use of force” in Black Sea, although it wasn’t clear if it came into force immediately after Russia appeared to put forward conditions on the arrangement.
The Ukrainian military said its air defence units had shot down 56 of 117 drones launched by Russia in the overnight attack.
Reuters noted that there was no immediate comment from Russia, but the Russian defence ministry said that its air defence units destroyed nine Ukrainian drones overnight, including two over the waters of the Black Sea.
Morning opening: The unwelcome guest
Jakub Krupa
US vice-president JD Vance has decided to join his wife, Usha, on a trip to Greenland later this week, attracting even more attention to the controversial visit criticised by both Greenlandic and Danish leaders.
In a social media post last night, Vance said:
There was so much excitement around Usha’s visit to Greenland this Friday that I decided that I didn’t want her to have all that fun by herself, and so I’m going to join her.
He said he wanted to “check out what is going on with the security there of Greenland” after “a lot of other countries have threatened Greenland, have threatened to use its territories and its waterways” to pose threat to the US and Canada.
But in a potentially inflammatory part of his video, he said:
I say that speaking for President Trump: we want to reinvigorate the security of the people of Greenland because we think it’s important to protecting the security of the entire world.
Unfortunately, leaders in both America and in Denmark, I think, ignored Greenland for far too long.
That’s been bad for Greenland, it’s also been bad for the security of the entire world.
We think we can take things in a different direction, so I’m gonna go check it out.
Despite the rhetoric, the character of the visit will also change: after protests from Greenlandic leaders, the Vances will no longer take part in a dog-sled race or visit historical places, but solely focus on the US military base, Pituffik Space Base.
As Danish broadcaster DR notes, its history goes back to 1953 when 116 Greenlanders were forcibly removed from the area to make room for the base (they later won a lawsuit and received some compensation for the move).
The base was previously known as Thule Air Base, but was renamed Pituffik Space Base in 2023, after the plain on which the base is built, Pituffik.
DR also noted that in 1968 an American military bomber B52 carrying nuclear weapons crashed near the base.
The White House press release highlighted the base’s importance during the cold war, and noted:
In the decades since, neglect and inaction from Danish leaders and past U.S. administrations have presented our adversaries with the opportunity to advance their own priorities in Greenland and the Arctic. President Trump is rightly changing course.
Responding to the announcement, Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said this morning on P1 Morgen that it was “very positive that the Americans cancelled their visit to the Greenlandic society.”
“Instead, they will visit their own base, Pituffik, and we have nothing against that,” he said, noting with satisfaction that cars shipped to the island in the last few days in preparations for the broader US visit are now being sent back.
The minister argued that by limiting the visit, the US is actually de-escalating the tension, even as it theoretically upgraded its delegation by sending the US vice-president. The Danish press also called it “a small victory.”
But defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen remained unconvinced about the visit, saying it was not the right development in relations between close allies, DR reported.
The acting government of Greenland only said diplomatically that it “notes that the previously announced US delegation visit to Nuuk and Sisimiut has been cancelled by the US government.”
Expect this topic to continue to attract a lot of attention ahead of Friday, as a practical test of what US leaders are prepared to do and say on Greenland, which remains a Danish territory and does not appear to show much interest in becoming a part of the US.
Elsewhere, we will be following updates on Ukraine ahead of what appeared to amount to a Black Sea ceasefire, as Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Emmanuel Macron in Paris this evening, ahead of another meeting of “the coalition of the willing” tomorrow.
It’s Wednesday, 26 March 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
