UN security council meets over Ukraine as Russia and Belarus hold nuclear drills – Europe live

Key events

Morning opening: UN security council to discuss Ukraine

Jakub Krupa

The UN security council is meeting to discuss the situation in Ukraine today in response to recent brutal Russian attacks on the country and joint nuclear weapons drills starting in Russia and Belarus.

Firefighters work at the site of a private household hit during morning Russian drone strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraine. Photograph: State Emergency Service Of Ukraine/Reuters

The meeting – called by Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, Liberia, and the UK – is expected to cover the latest on the “peace and security” situation in Ukraine.

It coincides with three days of nuclear weapons drills involving tens of thousands of troops across Russia and Belarus, AFP noted, and comes just hours before Vladimir Putin is expected in China for a two-day visit.

Not very subtle.

Elsewhere, I will keep an eye on the new Hungarian prime minister Péter Magyar’s first foreign trip as he is expected in Poland today for a two-day visit, the EU negotiators who are finally finalising the implementation of the bloc’s trade deal with the US, and on the meeting of Nato military chiefs in Brussels.

I will bring you all the key lines here.

It’s Tuesday, 19 May 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.