Macron ‘very sceptical’ about Russia-Ukraine peace talks as Europe marks four years of war – Europe live

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Final reminder: our correspondent Shaun Walker will be joining us here on Europe Live to answer your questions on Ukraine at 2pm UK (3pm CET).

Post your questions to him in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Four years of war in Ukraine – in pictures

Matt Fidler

Picture Editor, News

On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion, we look back on some of the powerful photojournalism documenting the conflict.

Passengers wait for a train to leave to Przemyśl in Poland on 13 March 2022. At least 1 million people had fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries since the beginning of Russia’s invasion on 24 February 2022, according to the UN Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The Guardian

Ukrainians crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee across the Irpin River on the outskirts of Kyiv on 5 March 2022 Photograph: Emilio Morenatti/AP

People flee along a road in Irpin, north-west of Kyiv, as smoke rises from airstrikes during an evacuation of civilians on 6 March 2022 Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Iryna Kalinina, a pregnant woman who was injured in a Russian airstrike on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, is carried on a stretcher by emergency workers on 9 March 2022. Her baby, named Miron, was stillborn and Kalinina died shortly afterwards. The photograph by Evgeniy Maloletka won the World Press Photo of the Year award Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

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Four years into Ukraine invasion, Russia’s gains are small, while Kyiv remains resilient

Defence and security editor

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now entering its fifth grim year, has already gone on longer than the entire fight on the eastern front in the second world war.

A woman holding flowers pays her respect at the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photograph: Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP/Getty Images

The Soviets marched from the gates of Leningrad to Berlin in a little over 15 months in 1944-45; today the Russian rate of gain in Pokrovsk in Ukraine is 70 metres a day, in Kupiansk, 23 metres, according to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

The gains are trivial, given Ukraine’s size, amounting to 1,865 sq miles during 2025 (about 0.8% of the country) – so the idea touted by the Russians, sometimes accepted by a credulous White House, that Ukraine is suffering a slow-motion defeat, is not accurate.

In reality, even allowing for the fact that hundreds of thousands of homes are without electricity, heating and water after Russian bombing, Ukraine is clarifying its strategy and pushing back with modest success.

…

Against this backdrop, it is not surprising that Russia continues to demand that Ukraine withdraw its military from Kramatorsk, Sloviansk and the remainder of the Donetsk (the latest suggestion seems to be the creation of a demilitarised zone, though Russia wants to patrol it).

Earlier this month, a Nato intelligence official estimated that they did not believe Russia could capture the region “anytime within the next 18 months” – though it is so urbanised that it could take far longer, at a cost of 600,000 Russian casualties or more.

The diplomatic misdirection demonstrates how poorly Russia’s military is performing. Last week, Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, became the latest Kremlin official to refer to understandings agreed in Anchorage, a claim that at the August summit in Alaska US president Donald Trump had agreed with Vladimir Putin that Ukraine should be made to hand over the rest of Donetsk without a fight.

But if Trump has flirted with the idea at times, it is not a position the US has sought to enforce amid Ukrainian and European objections.

Read in full:

Reminder: Q&A with Shaun Walker on Ukraine at 2pm UK, 3pm Europe

Just a reminder that we will have our correspondent Shaun Walker join me here at 2pm UK (3pm Europe) to answer your questions on Ukraine.

Make sure you post yours in the comments section at the bottom of the page, which we are actively monitoring to pick the most interesting questions.

No Time to Heal - Guardian documentary on psychological rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldier after Russian captivity

Ukrainian soldiers suffering from PTSD, depression and anxiety are sent to the Forest Glade – Ukraine’s first center for the treatment of psychological trauma – before returning to the frontline.

After three years in Russian captivity following the battle for Mariupol, 25-year-old Kyrylo Chuvak spends three weeks at the centre outside Kyiv, a brief opportunity for rehabilitation.

Hidden in the pines near the capital city, this modest building offers soldiers psychological therapy as well as tango, archery, guided breathing, medieval games, and quiet conversations over tea.

After four years of war, and waning international attention, the battle is not only on the frontline but in the psyche.

Watch the documentary:

Kyiv marks fourth anniversary of full-scale aggression - in pictures

People holding flowers pay their respect as they look at the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine in Kyiv on February 24, 2026, as Ukraine marks the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion. Photograph: Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP/Getty Images

People holding flowers pay their respect as they look at the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photograph: Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP/Getty Images

A local resident visits a makeshift memorial for Ukrainian and foreign soldiers in Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photograph: Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP/Getty Images

A local resident reacts visiting a makeshift memorial for Ukrainian and foreign soldiers in Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images

European leaders visit a makeshift memorial to fallen Ukrainian defenders at the Independent Square on the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters

European leaders take part in a memorial ceremony for fallen soldiers at Maidan Square in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photograph: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty Images

'Russia is not winning,' Germany's Merz says, as he calls for more pressure on Moscow

Germany’s Friedrich Merz is speaking next, with pre-recorded remarks, as he is attending a state ceremony in Berlin honouring the former Bundestag president, Rita Süssmuth.

He says Germany’s support remains “iron clad” and says:

“So we must be very clear this war will only end when Putin realises that he cannot win.”

He says “we must increase pressure on Russia” and “dry up Moscow’s war funding.”

He states:

“Moscow is not as strong as it would like the world to think. Russia is not winning.”

The leaders will hear from Nato’s Mark Rutte next, but it seems that’s where the public part of the event ends and they will continue behind the closed doors.

Macron 'very sceptical' about short-term peace as 'no willingness' on Russia's side

France’s Macron is speaking next.

He doesn’t mince his words as he says he is “very sceptical” about the prospect of short-term peace, as “there is no willingness on the Russian side to have peace.”

He calls for more support for Ukraine, and also puts pressure on the EU leadership to make sure the €90bn loan gets paid out soon. “We will deliver that, no choice,” he says. (Tell that to Hungary’s Orbán.)

He then also mentions the need for further sanctions on Russia, including on its shadow fleet to “kill its business model.”

On security guarantees, he says these are “being finalised,” and they need to be “agreed on in concrete terms.”

He ends with his words of admiration and solidarity with the Ukrainians.

'We need peace, but have to prepare' for other scenarios, Zelenskyy says, hinting at further talks with Russia in 7-10 days

After brief opening remarks from Britain’s Starmer, Zelenskyy says he remains “thankful” for all the support.

He says there are “no secrets” as Russia continues to attack its civilians and energy system as “a terrible winter” continues, and asks for help to renovate the grid.

He also thanks for all the military aid Ukraine is getting through the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, list of weapons bought through Nato.

He expresses gratitude for the latest deliveries on air defence, “half of the package is already here,” which he says is very important.

He briefly mentions the awkward issue of further EU sanctions on Russia and the EU’s €90bn loan, as they continue to be blocked by Hungary.

Zelenskyy says he will update other leaders on the talks later when the press is out of the room, but stresses “we need Europe in negotiations.”

He says there will be further talks in the trilateral format with the US and Russia “during this week or 10 days.”

“We need peace, but we have to prepare to any other kind of challenges from Russian side,” he says.

Coalition of the Willing's meeting on fourth anniversary gets under way

The meeting of the Coalition of the Willing is now under way, co-chaired by Britain’s Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron.

They are dialling in from London and Paris, joining Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a big group of European leaders who are in Kyiv.

I will bring you all the key lines here, and you can watch it here:

Over 200,000 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine identified

Russian affairs reporter

Western intelligence agencies believe the true toll is significantly higher, estimating that as many as 325,000 Russian troops may have been killed, as many deaths cannot be independently verified by journalists.

Russia will press ahead with its war aims in Ukraine, Kremlin says

Russian affairs reporter

Ask your questions about Ukraine war for our live Q&A at 2pm UK, 3pm CET

In today’s blog, we are covering all the key events as Ukraine and Europe mark the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russian aggression in 2022.

At 2pm UK (3pm CET) I will be joined by our correspondent Shaun Walker, the author of our brilliant long read on the build up to the war, how the CIA and MI6 got hold of Putin’s Ukraine plans and why nobody believed them – to answer your questions about the war.

You can post your questions below the line, at the bottom of the blog.

Putin is standing in way of peace, Starmer says, as he says Ukraine is 'frontline of our freedom' and marks its resilience

UK prime minister Keir Starmer has also delivered brief remarks on the fourth anniversary of the war at today’s cabinet meeting, praising Ukraine’s resilience.

Starmer said “we must defeat the falsehood that Russia is winning,” saying it took only 0.8% of the Ukrainian territory in the last year “at a terrible cost … of half a million losses.”

He says that “we all want a just and lasting peace” in Ukraine, and says “in terms of getting to that just and lasting peace, it is Putin who is standing in the way.”

He says that’s why “we must always double down on our support for Ukraine” with capabilities, resources and more sanctions, with the UK announcing the latest round of targeted measures today.

The prime minister also says:

“This is not a remote conflict a long way away from the United Kingdom.

It’s about us in so many levels. It’s about our values of freedom, democracy and the right of a country to decide for itself. …

It has already impacted us over and above the work we’ve done on capability, resource sanctions, etc, because it has hit every family with the cost of living. …

How and when this conflict ends is going to affect everybody in the United Kingdom for a very long time, which is why it’s so important that we make sure that it’s a just and lasting peace.

Ukraine is very much the frontline of our freedom, and we need to bear that in mind as we mark this four years since the outbreak of this.”

You can watch his remarks here:

Ukraine needs 'ammunition today and every day' in its fight against 'Russian terror,' Nato's Rutte says

Ukraine needs to get “ammunition today and every day until the bloodshop stops” along with the “essential” military, financial and humanitarian aid needed to fight against “Russian terror from the skies,” Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte said this morning.

In a speech in Brussels, he said that “Ukraine continues to blunt Russia’s aggression and despite Putin’s posturing, Russia has failed to meet their ambitions on the battlefield.”

“Their security is our security. There cannot be true peace in Europe without real peace in Ukraine.”

He added that Russia’s Vladimir Putin must also show “if he is serious about peace.”

Referencing Winston Churchill’s speech from the second world war, saying that “our qualities and deeds must burn and glow through the gloom of Europe,” Rutte declared that “the flame of freedom is alive in Ukraine, and that flame continues to burn and glow.”

In the meantime, we got the text of Rutte’s speech at the Nato ceremony earlier, so let me bring you his lines now.

Russia shows contempt for Europe, Zelenskyy warns

Zelenskyy continues with a very strong line urging Europe to act against Russian interests in Europe as he says:

“In many ways, we can see how Russia shows contempt for Europe, but Russians should learn that Europe is not just a land for the villas of Russian oligarchs.

It’s not a museum for the lovers of Russian officials to admire beauty, another place of leisure for Russian killers.

Russians must learn that Europe is a union of independent nations and millions of people who do not tolerate humiliation and will not accept violence.”

He urges them to “continue to defend the European way of life”.

He gets a long, standing ovation in response to his speech.