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Key events
Three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine ends with fresh waves of attacks
Today’s talks in Brussels come as the three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine announced by president Donald Trump last week ended with a fresh wave of Russian strikes.
AFP reported that Moscow launched a wave of more than 200 attack drones that damaged energy facilities and apartment buildings, killing at least one person.
In a post on X, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that “Russia chose to end the partial silence that had lasted for several days.”
“Attack drones were shot down in the Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv regions, as well as in Kyiv and the region. Energy facilities, apartment buildings, and a kindergarten were damaged, and there was also a strike on an ordinary civilian locomotive on the railway… People have been reported injured as a result of these strikes. And, unfortunately, there are fatalities.”
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine “will respond in kind” to Russian attacks, before saying:
“Russia must end this war, and it is Russia that must take the step toward a real, lasting ceasefire. Until that happens, sanctions against Moscow are necessary and must remain in place and be strengthened. It is important that there be no easing of pressure and that partners do not stand aside, but continue working together for security, justice, and a reliable peace.”
Morning opening: EU defence ministers meet for talks on Ukraine, Middle East
Jakub Krupa
As the UK goes through a yet another major government crisis, EU defence ministers are meeting in Brussels today to discuss the bloc’s threat assessment, its support for Ukraine, and what Europe could do to help in the Middle East.
The ministers will consider “how we can use the €90bn loan, and how does that all proceed so that it answers the urgent needs of Ukraine?” EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters this morning.
They will also talk about how to ramp up domestic defence manufacturing in Europe to answer to the growing needs amid warnings over increasingly assertive Russia.
I will bring you all the key lines from Brussels.
But there is also a lot happening elsewhere, as the new Hungarian government led by Péter Magyar is expected to be formally appointed today, with the new prime minister asking the president, a loyalist of Viktor Orbán, to stay out of the pictures.
I will also look at travel disruptions in Brussels with major union strikes.
Finally, this evening saluti a tutti, Moldova will report for duty as we are going to see the first semi-final of the Eurovision song contest in Vienna, with some unexpected favourites emerging after last night’s rehearsals.
Oh, and if you are after updates from that other news story unfolding today, we have it here:
Lots for us to cover.
I will bring you all the key lines here.
It’s Tuesday, 12 May 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
