Zelenskyy arrives in Berlin
We are now getting reports via agencies that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has now arrived in Berlin ahead of the series of calls later today.
Zelenskyy arrives in Berlin for calls with European leaders and Trump ahead of US-Putin summit – Europe live | World news
Published: 2025-08-13 12:11:53 | Views: 12
Key events
Merz welcomes Zelenskyy in Berlin
… and here they are, as Merz welcomes Zelenskyy in Berlin.
Germany's Merz hosts Zelenskyy as weakened leader 100 days into his term — analysis
in Berlin
Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, hosts Zelenskyy as a weakened leader 100 days into his term.
A new poll shows the far-right Alternative für Deutschland overtaking Merz’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc by two points, making it the strongest party with 26% support in a fractured electoral landscape. The CDU/CSU, which won February’s general election with nearly 29% of the vote, now claims only 24% of voter intentions.
The last time the AfD came out on top in the Forsa poll was in April, in a period of political limbo between election and Merz’s new government taking office in May.
The junior coalition partners, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), have just 13% support, down three points from February, meaning that if the election were this weekend, the current governing alliance, which is already showing significant cracks, would fail to win a majority.
Merz, for decades a divisive figure in German politics, has struggled to reverse a deep pessimistic streak that has taken hold in Europe’s top economy.
GDP growth has failed to show a significant turnaround and is expected to flatline this year, while Merz’s campaign pledges for economic relief have not materialised.
A decision by the government in June not to deliver a reduction in electricity tax for households and small businesses angered many voters, while a divisive debate about the pension age has also taken a political toll.
More recently, an unusually bitter row over the planned appointment of a federal judge who fell victim to a right-wing-led media campaign against her liberal abortion stance caught Merz by surprise and eroded trust within the coalition.
On migration, which Merz has attempted to wrest as an issue from the AfD, his government has shown mixed results with a series of court setbacks and a simmering border dispute with Poland complicating his efforts to show decisive action.
Even before taking office, Merz spearheaded a major “bazooka” spending package for domestic defence, infrastructure and aid to Ukraine. But fiscal hawks within his own camp, who looked to Merz to safeguard German fiscal rectitude, were appalled by the measure they saw as a violation of his previous campaign promises.
Merz, who had no experience in government before becoming chancellor, has cut a more sure-footed figure on the world stage and won praise from many western allies for rallying European support for Ukraine as US president Donald Trump’s backing has wavered.
However the formulation of his stance on the war in Gaza has proved to be a high-wire act, alienating many of his closest allies and the Israeli government even while drawing praise from the SPD.
After weeks of ratcheting up his rhetoric criticising Benjamin Netanyahu’s military campaign in the Strip as the civilian toll rose, Merz last week made the shock announcement that Germany would no longer approve shipments of weapons that could be used in Gaza “until further notice”.
Prominent members of the CDU/CSU bloc accused Merz of failing to inform them in advance of a decision they said betrayed Germany’s responsibility for Israel’s security since the Holocaust. Voters meanwhile welcomed the move, with large majorities criticising Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Der Spiegel columnist Nikolaus Blome pointed out the irony in attacks on Merz’s go-it-alone approach, noting that many in the CDU/CSU had sought a firmer line after Angela Merkel’s 16 years of centrist politics and Olaf Scholz’s perceived waffling.
After just 100 days of this government’s terms you have to say: either Friedrich Merz will have to learn another style of leadership or his critics in the Bundestag will have to learn discipline. That was always a conservative value and still is, right?
Zelenskyy arrives in Berlin
We are now getting reports via agencies that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has now arrived in Berlin ahead of the series of calls later today.
Estonia moves to expel Russian diplomat over 'direct, active' acts 'undermining constitutional order' and sanctions
Separately, Estonia has moved to expel a Russian diplomat over alleged “direct and active” involvement in “undermining the constitutional order and legal system of Estonia.”
The ministry said the diplomat also “contributed to the crimes against the state, including several offences related to sanctions violation.”
“The Russian embassy’s ongoing interference in the internal affairs of the Republic of Estonia must end and by expelling the diplomat, we are demonstrating that Estonia will not allow any actions orchestrated and organised by a foreign state on its territory,” foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Alexei Fadeev said the expulsion was a hostile act and that Moscow would respond, Reuters noted.
Putin to discuss 'all accumulated issues' with Trump, Moscow says, dismissing consultations with Europe as 'insignificant'
Meanwhile, the Russian foreign ministry’s spokesperson Alexei Fadeev said, in comments relayed by Reuters, that Trump and Putin would discuss “all the accumulated issues” in the US-Russia bilateral relations during their meeting on Friday, dismissing the consultations with European countries as “insignificant.”
Hungarian foreign minister criticises Zelenskyy
But while today’s calls will be all about projecting Europe’s unity behind Ukraine, Hungary is very clearly not keen on that at all.
After yesterday’s criticism from the country’s prime minister Viktor Orbán, who refused to sign the EU27’s statement backing Ukraine, his foreign minister Péter Szijjártó is the one taking aim at Zelenskyy today.
In a post on social media quoting Zelenskyy’s calls for ceasefire and peace talks, he said:
“Hungary has been advocating a ceasefire and peace talks for 3.5 years. Ukraine would have been better off if @ZelenskyyUa had done the same. Hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved and millions spared from fleeing their homes.”
It’s not entirely surprising to see Szijjártó criticise Ukraine, though: he has long been an advocate for closer talks with Russia, having been awarded the Russian Order of Friendship in December 2021 and being a regular visitor to Moscow in the last few years.
In March, Bloomberg reported that Szijjártó visited the Russian capital at least 13 times since the beginning of the full-scale aggression on Ukraine in early 2022, raising some concerns among EU allies.
Ukraine confirms €500m loan to help with emergency gas purchases, energy resilience
Just hours before the calls, Ukraine has announced a €500m financing deal to help with the country’s energy security, signed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and guaranteed by the EU.
The deal gives the state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz a financing line, the EBRD’s largest single loan facility in Ukraine, to cover emergency gas purchases.
Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that “for the first time, such a loan is provided under EU guarantee, without a Ukrainian state guarantee.”
“This will allow Ukraine to better prepare for the heating season and provide Ukrainian homes with heat and light even on the most difficult days of winter,” she said.
The EBRD’s press statement said:
The latest EBRD finance to Naftogaz follows major Russian attacks on the company’s upstream gas production and processing facilities in the first half of 2025.
These have resulted in significant production losses for the year, as the company rebuilds its damaged operations, and created the need for more gas imports.
Trump alone in a room with Putin is a recipe for disaster – just look to their last meeting – analysis
in Washington
The lessons of Helsinki are clear: putting Donald Trump alone in a room with Vladimir Putin is an unpredictable – and often dangerous – affair.
It was 2018 when the two leaders met at the invitation of Sauli Niinistö, the Finnish president, to discuss a collapse in US-Russia relations, accusations of elections interference, and the grinding war in east Ukraine, among other topics.
By the time he came out of the room, Trump looked dazzled by the Kremlin leader. Asked at a press conference about the conclusions of the US intelligence community that Russia had interfered in the elections, Trump said: “President Putin says it’s not Russia. I don’t see any reason why it would be.”
Somehow, the stakes are even higher as Trump and Putin plan to meet on Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, where Trump has said the two will discuss “land swapping” in Putin’s first meeting with a G7 leader since his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
European leaders are fearful that Trump could once again emerge from a closed-door meeting preaching the Kremlin gospel.
The White House has been lowering expectations for the summit – a sign that no concrete deal is on the table. “This is really a feel-out meeting, a little bit,” Trump said during a news conference on Monday.
But Putin will still try his luck to shape Trump’s image of what a peace deal could entail in a way that will bring maximum benefit to the Kremlin.
Putin “wants a deal with Trump that will be presented to Kyiv and other European capitals as a fait accompli,” wrote John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and a former ambassador to Ukraine.
The lack of invites for European leaders “has the smell of the Yalta Conference in 1945 … where the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom decided the fate of half of Europe over the heads of those nations”.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said on Tuesday that the meeting between Trump and Putin would be one-on-one, and a “listening exercise” for Trump during which he could suss out the Russian point of view.
“That’s the way Trump does it. He just wings it,” said Fiona Hill, the former presidential aide.
“And Putin likes sparring … he prides himself on being able to be light on his feet in these kinds of settings,” she said.
The lack of advisers in the room has raised a key question: will any agreements made in a private setting, even if interpreters or other notetakers are present, lead to lasting outcomes?
Stick together and work against Russian 'deception,' Zelenskyy says before call with Trump
In his latest update before travelling to Berlin, Zelenskyy repeated his key lines about “putting pressure on Russia” to achieve a peace settlement.
But in what feels like a pointed warning about Putin, he added:
We must learn from the experience of Ukraine, our partners, to prevent deception by Russia. There is no sign now that the Russians are preparing to end the war.
He said that “our coordinated efforts and joint steps … can definitely force Russia to make peace.”
Timings for the day
As part of what promises to be a very busy day for diplomacy, we are also expecting to get press statements from Merz and Zelenskyy around 3pm BST (4pm CEST), after their call with Trump.
So to help you plan your day, the rough timings appear to be:
1pm BST, 2pm CEST – Internal Europe call with Zelenskyy
2pm BST, 3pm CEST – Call with Trump and JD Vance
3pm BST, 4pm CEST – Press statements by Merz and Zelenskyy, call with “the coalition of the willing”
Zelenskyy expected in Berlin to join Merz in person for Trump call, bilateral talks
The German government’s spokesperson has confirmed that Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be “working in Berlin” today, joining Merz in person for the call with Trump and Vance.
The pair is also expected to meet for a separate bilateral meeting, expected to be a further show of support from the German chancellor.
Morning opening: Hello Donald, this is Europe speaking
European leaders will speak with the US president, Donald Trump, and his vice-president, JD Vance, today, consulting ahead of this Friday’s summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Representing Team Europe are the host, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, the Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, the Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, and the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer.
They will be joined by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council president, António Costa, and that famous Trump-whisperer, the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte.
They will be also joined by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who in a further show of unity with his partners will not only be on the call, but will be joining the host in person in Berlin.
The series of calls will begin with internal consultations between European leaders and Zelenskyy around 2pm local time, followed by a call with Trump an hour later and a debrief of “the coalition of the willing” later.
The call with Trump will be the European leaders’ last chance to substantially shape Trump’s thoughts going into the meeting in Alaska on Friday, and repeat some of the red lines put forward by Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has previously said Ukraine could not agree to a Russian proposal to give up more of his country’s territory in exchange for a ceasefire because Moscow would use what it gained as a springboard to start a future war.
Last week Russia indicated it was prepared to consider a ceasefire in the Ukraine war for the first time, in exchange for Ukraine withdrawing from the parts of Donbas it still controlled. Though Trump then suggested that Russia and Ukraine could engage in some “swapping of territories”, Zelenskyy said he understood that Russia was “simply offering not to advance further, not to withdraw from anywhere” and that swaps were not on the table.
With growing uncertainty about which Trump will show up to talks with Putin in Alaska on Friday – the one who repeatedly said was “disappointed” with Putin, or the one who wants to reset relations with Moscow – this could be one of the most consequential phone calls in years for Europe and Ukraine’s future.
I will bring you all the key updates here.
It’s Wednesday, 13 August 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
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