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Putin-Trump call scheduled for afternoon, Kremlin confirms
We have just heard from the Kremlin on the exact timing of the Putin-Trump phone call, with officials saying it is scheduled for 1pm to 3pm GMT (2pm to 4pm CET).
“There is a large number of issues from the normalisation of our relations and the Ukrainian issue, all of which the two presidents will discuss,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, quoted by AFP.
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Daniel Boffey
Chief reporter
While Donald Trump talks of the “big beautiful ocean” separating the US from the war in Ukraine, 1,000 miles of rail track links London St Pancras to the city of Lviv in western Ukraine.
The 19-hour trip takes in Brussels, the German economic powerhouse of Frankfurt, and Vienna, the Austrian capital, before the train rattles into Kraków in south-east Poland and Przemyśl, the Polish border town where the slimmer railway gauges of western Europe meet the wider tracks of Ukraine and Russia to the east.
At each stop, Europeans are grappling in different ways with new and unsettling realities after the US president appeared in recent weeks to herald the end of Pax Americana.
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You can read Daniel Boffey’s account of his train trip from London to Lviv, to follow how Trump’s new world order has shaken Europe, here.
Trump's plan is for Ukraine to 'surrender' to Russia, former head of US forces in Europe warns
Daniel Boffey
Chief reporter
A former head of US forces in Europe has said that Donald Trump’s peace plan is for Ukraine to “surrender” to Russia.
Retired US general Ben Hodges, who was Commanding General of United States Army Europe until 2018, castigated Trump for siding with Russia and cited the humiliation of Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House as evidence of his intent.
Hodges said:
This is anything but a peace plan. It is a surrender. It’s a pressure from the United States for Ukraine to surrender to Russia.
The mask came off when we saw this debacle in the Oval Office two weeks ago, and then all the actions that have taken place since.
The administration only expects Ukraine to make any say, to give up anything, especially territory, and I don’t understand why the administration thinks this is good for America’s strategic interests.
Trump is due to speak to Vladimir Putin on Tuesday over a proposed 30 day ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.
Hodges said there was no indication that the Kremlin would seek any form of peace unless it meant victory in their goal of leaving Ukraine as a broken state.
I think that this idea that somehow Russia would live up to any agreement, is nonsense.
“There’s no evidence in history that Russia would live up to any agreement where there wasn’t a large force that would compel them to do so. And and then finally, I would say they don’t see any indication of [Russia] actually being interested in a peaceful solution, except where they control everything.”
Hodges, who lives in Frankfurt, was speaking to the Guardian’s chief reporter, Daniel Boffey, as he travelled by train from London to Lviv, in western Ukraine, to explore how Europe is adapting to the new political, security and economic realities.
Hodges said: “It’s clear that the Trump administration has zero respect for Europe as a whole, or frankly, for most European countries. I mean, they don’t take European interests into consideration. They don’t care, except to demand that Europe buys American goods.”
He added: “I would ask, please don’t give up on the United States. I mean, you know, our relationship between the US and many European countries has been lacking over the decades. But you know, eventually we would always kind of get it sorted out. So even as bad as it seems right now, don’t give up on the United States.”
Germany set to vote on Merz's plans to unlock record level of state borrowing
Kate Connolly
Berlin correspondent
Germany’s likely next chancellor is to face a key vote on plans to unlock a record level of state borrowing, which he argues is necessary to boost the country’s military spending and inject growth into its ailing economy.
Friedrich Merz intends to release a €500bn infrastructure fund and relax debt rules – currently protected by the constitution – via the outgoing parliament, where parties in favour of the proposals – his conservatives, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens – have the necessary two-thirds majority.
Merz needs the support of almost all the MPs who have signalled their willingness to back the scheme as he also reckons with some dissenters, including a former CDU general secretary who Merz sacked in 2023.
Financial markets have followed the developments closely, reacting positively to the news last week that Merz had secured the Greens’ support. Experts have said the fiscal injection has the power to lift Germany’s economic fortunes after two years of negative growth, but some have warned that they must be accompanied by robust reform proposals.
Jakub Krupa
Elsewhere, we will also be monitoring the situation in Germany today, where the Bundestag will vote on a historic package of spending reforms proposed by chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz.
The sitting starts very soon, at 10am (9am GMT), with votes expected around 2pm (1pm GMT).
So let’s hear from our Berlin correspondent on the significance of the vote…
Morning opening: Waiting for the call
Jakub Krupa
US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin will speak on the phone today discussing the next step in Trump’s plans for bringing about a ceasefire in Ukraine.
On Sunday, Trump said that negotiators had already talked about “dividing up certain assets”, including power stations. The legal status of Russia-occupied territories is also believed to be on the table.
Much to Europe’s frustration, it once again finds itself not at the table and having to rely on readouts from Washington or Moscow containing only what they choose to disclose.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha sought to strike an upbeat tone this morning, telling reporters in India that “with leadership of president Trump, we could achieve long-lasting, just peace.” But he also repeated some of Kyiv’s red lines, including its refusal to recognise any of the occupied territories as Russian.
For now, Europe continues its work on a security arrangement that could support a ceasefire or a peace deal, if one is agreed. On Thursday and Friday, European leaders will meet again for the European Council in Brussels, and army chiefs will continue their coordinations in London.
But today’s Trump-Putin phone call will define the future of the talks.
We will bring you all the updates throughout the day.
It’s Tuesday, 18 March 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
