"The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, insisted that Ukraine can still successfully defend itself, pushing back on the narrative peddled by Russia, as he insisted that it's not Kyiv, but Moscow, who must face pressure to agree to peace. His comments come as European governments continue to plan how they could influence the US-led peace talks on ending the Russian war on Ukraine ahead of further crunch talks expected as early as next week,"
"But there is also growing focus on Europe's own defence. Later today, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, will unveil proposals for a new voluntary military service to boost the country's defences without having to return to regular conscription. Under plans, France will see the number of its reservist grow to 100,000 by 2030. The new volunteers would not serve in overseas missions like a potential peacekeeping deployment to Ukraine, Macron is expected to stress in a bid to quash domestic criticism of the idea."
"The issue of ramping up national and European military and potential participation in the future Ukraine mission is also likely to come up during talks between Germany's Friedrich Merz and Estonia's Kristen Michel in Berlin."
Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted that Ukraine can still successfully defend itself and said Moscow, not Kyiv, must face pressure to agree to peace. European governments are planning how to influence the US-led peace talks, with discussions expected as early as next week and the legally complex option of using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine high on the agenda. Attention in Europe is shifting to bolstering defence capabilities. Emmanuel Macron will propose a voluntary military service to expand reservists to 100,000 by 2030, with volunteers not deployed overseas. Germany and Estonia will discuss national and European military ramp-ups and potential participation in a future Ukraine mission.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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