UNITED24 Media Telegram Highlights
❗️A temporary truce has been declared at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said.
Repairs to power supply lines have begun, and work is underway to restore a stable power supply to the plant.
Slovakia will not block Ukraine’s accession to the EU, Prime Minister Robert Fico said following consultations with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko.
⚡️Zelenskyy held a briefing after meeting with Trump. Key statements by the president:
▪️We agreed to focus more on production.
▪️We discussed air defense with Trump. The positive signal is that we will continue working on it.
▪️We talked about long-range weapons but decided not to disclose details publicly — the US does not want escalation.
▪️The American side acknowledged the need for Tomahawks. This topic remains open.
▪️We discussed Budapest — President Trump mentioned his dialogue with the Russian side.
▪️Putin hates me, and the feeling is mutual. It’s hard to feel differently toward someone who wants to destroy us.
▪️We did not discuss Ukrainian strikes on targets inside Russia.
▪️The issue of territories is sensitive. It will be a difficult stage of negotiations, but I am confident they will happen.
EU officials have approved a €1.5 billion budget to strengthen Europe’s defense capabilities amid Russia’s war against Ukraine, Bloomberg reported.
Denmark, which currently holds the six-month EU presidency, reached a preliminary deal with European Parliament negotiators to provide grant funding through 2027. One-fifth of the amount will go toward defense cooperation with Ukraine.
The program aims to reduce the EU’s reliance on American weapons, streamline procurement, and boost competitiveness in Europe’s fragmented defense and aerospace sectors. It will receive additional funding under the new EU budget, with €131 billion proposed for defense and space from 2028 to 2034.
The agreement followed more than a year of debate over “buy European” rules, with France pushing to prioritize domestic industry. Under the deal, components from outside the EU and associated countries cannot exceed 35% of a product’s total cost.
“The European Defence Industrial Programme will strengthen our capacity to produce and supply critical defense equipment and ensure a rapid, decisive response to the increasingly complex security environment,” said Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.
Trump said his upcoming meeting in Hungary will most likely be bilateral with Putin, but they will stay in contact with Zelenskyy. [contrary to the Kyiv Indep report]
Zelenskyy offered the US a deal: Ukraine would provide thousands of drones in exchange for Tomahawk missiles and permission to use them, Sky News reports. He said hitting a military target requires hundreds of drones working together with Tomahawks — Ukraine has the drones but lacks the missiles.
Journalist: Aren’t you worried that Putin is just stalling for time?
Trump: I am. All my life, I’ve been outplayed by the smartest people, and in the end, I’ve always come out on top. It’s possible. If it takes a little while, that’s acceptable.
Russia expands Engels-2 airbase: Russians prepare 12 new parking lots for missile carriers — HUR
The HUR special unit “Aratta” reported that concrete pouring and preparation of 12 new parking areas for Tu-95MS, Tu-160, Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft are underway in the northern part of the base.
Active construction indicates Russia is preparing for new waves of strikes. Ukraine must increase its deep-strike capabilities — drones, long-range missiles, and high-precision weapons — to be able to hit such bases in advance, the military said.
A large-scale fire broke out at the Avangard plant in Bashkortostan after a powerful explosion, Russian media report.
The explosion occurred in the city of Sterlitamak and was confirmed by the local mayor’s office. Eyewitnesses said the city was filled with the smell of gunpowder.
The Avangard enterprise manufactures explosives and components for missile systems used by the Russian army.
🇩🇪🇯🇵 Germany plans to develop a new model of Taurus missiles and involve Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries in creating their engines, Reuters reports.
According to sources, Kawasaki is in talks to co-develop engines for the updated version of the missile, known as Taurus NEO, which Ukraine seeks to acquire for its defense against Russia. This cooperation could mark a significant step in Japan’s gradual shift away from its long-standing pacifist stance.
One source noted that Kawasaki was chosen because of its expertise in producing lighter and more efficient engines.
Berlin aims to secure parliamentary approval for the missile upgrade by the end of the year and plans to produce about 600 units for the German army, with deliveries expected to start in 2029.
Belarus is reaching out to the EU to break out of its “isolation” — Reuters
A senior Belarusian diplomat has met with European counterparts after Belarus sent invitations last month, a step aimed at easing Minsk’s isolation following warmer ties with the United States under President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.
Since the 2020 crackdown on post-election protests, senior Belarusian officials have largely been considered persona non grata in the EU, and sanctions have been repeatedly tightened after Minsk supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
For four years, Russian warden Aleksey Khavetsky has tortured Ukrainian prisoners at the Pakinskaya colony in the Russian Federation. Together with his colleagues, Khavetsky forces prisoners to simulate homosexual acts, beats them, threatens them, and abuses them in every possible way.
🇺🇦🇺🇸Trump said that First Lady Melania is voluntarily working on the issue of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
“She wanted to do it. She was very worried about the children. And she did a really good job. She thinks about the children all the time,” the U.S. president said.
⚡️The White House published a photo of Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump.