‘Ukraine is not afraid of meetings; we expect the same brave approach from Russia.’ What we know on day 1,262

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Europe must participate in the peace process between his country and Russia after a call with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz , on Thursday. The Ukrainian president embarked on a lightning round of calls with European leaders ahead of a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin expected soon. As the Kremlin refused a three-way meeting with Zelenskyy and Trump, Zelenskyy said: “Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same brave approach from the Russian side.”

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen , said she had spoken with Zelenskyy about the developments of the past days and “next steps on the way towards a negotiated peace agreement and Ukraine’s future membership in the European Union as well as its reconstruction ”.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, reaffirmed France’s full support for a ceasefire in Ukraine and the launch of talks aimed at reaching a lasting and solid peace, after a “long discussion” with Zelenskyy and other European leaders. “I reiterated to the Ukrainian president France’s full support for establishing a ceasefire and launching discussions toward a solid and lasting solution that preserves Ukraine’s legitimate rights and guarantees its security and that of Europeans .”

Zelenskyy said he had discussed a new International Monetary Fund financial assistance programme for Ukraine with the IMF’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva. “We are prepared to carry out the necessary steps quickly. The government is already working on this.” Ukraine’s current $15.5bn programme with the IMF expires in 2027 .

Russian drone strikes injured three women in the Bucha district of Kyiv oblast and houses caught on fire, officials said early on Friday. Kharkiv was hit by Shahed drones, causing fires; while on Thursday eight injuries were reported from Russian shelling in Donetsk oblast.

The director of Russia’s notorious Taganrog prison , where officials are accused of overseeing the systematic torture and starvation of hundreds of Ukrainian detainees, has been notified by authorities in Kyiv that he is suspected of having committed a war crime , write Shaun Walker and Andrew Roth. Aleksandr Shtoda, head of the Sizo 2 pre-trial detention centre in Taganrog, has been formally placed under investigation.