"Something is going to happen, but they are not ready yet. However, something is going to happen. We will get it done." The President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated that he remains committed to the search for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
His statements come hours before the summit in Paris of the Coalition of Volunteers, held amid doubts about security guarantees and White House support. It is planned that Trump will speak with Zelenski by phone on Thursday. The Spanish President, Pedro Sánchez, will have to attend remotely after a malfunction in his Falcon prevents him from traveling to the French capital.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has warned, ahead of the allies' meeting, that Russia rules out the entry of foreign forces into Ukraine "in any format."
The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenski. is in Paris after rejecting the invitation from the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to come to Moscow to negotiate peace. "If Zelenski wants peace, he should come to Moscow." The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andreii Sybiha, responded that "Putin continues to mock the world with unacceptable proposals."
The North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pledged to "fully support" the Russian army as a "fraternal duty" during his meeting in Beijing with Putin.
South Korean intelligence estimates that about 2,000 North Korean soldiers sent to fight for Russia have died. They believe that North Korea plans to deploy another 6,000 soldiers, with about 1,000 combat troops already in Russia.
Ukraine Awaits Concrete Security Guarantees by Land, Sea, and Air in Paris
Ukraine expects from the meeting held by the Coalition of Volunteers in Paris at the moment concrete security guarantees by land, sea, and air to deter Russia from invading its territory again once the current war ends, as reported by Efe.
This was expressed on Thursday shortly after the meeting began - with the participation in person or remotely of the leaders of more than thirty countries - by the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, after representing his country in a meeting with the envoy of the White House Steve Witkoff and with diplomatic and security advisors of the heads of state and government of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy.
"Our main task is the practical implementation of the agreements reached by our leaders on security guarantees for Ukraine. These guarantees must be strong and effective, in the air, at sea, and on land," Yermak wrote after the advisors' meeting, also held in Paris.
The meeting also discussed, according to Yermak, the possibility of strengthening sanctions against Russia and the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war and Ukrainian minors from the occupied territories held by the Russians.
Today's meeting of the Coalition of Volunteers is intended for countries willing to contribute to Ukraine's security post-war to specify their commitment in this regard.
The public discussion about security guarantees for Ukraine initially focused on the possible deployment of a foreign troop contingent in Ukrainian territory to prevent a new Russian invasion after the war. However, the main option recently considered publicly by coalition members is the dispatch of military instructors to Ukraine to help strengthen its army.
Poland Reports Two Drones Entered Its Airspace Without Causing Damage
Two drone intrusions into Polish airspace took place during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday but were not shot down as they posed no threat, the army reported on Thursday, according to Reuters.
Poland has been on high alert for objects entering its airspace since a stray Ukrainian missile hit a village in southern Poland in 2022, killing two people, a few months after Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"We had two violations of airspace," said General Maciej Klisz, operational commander of the Armed Forces, at a press conference.
"These two violations were under the total control of national forces and units assigned to the State defense system." General Wieslaw Kukula, Chief of the General Staff, stated that the drones left Polish airspace without causing damage.
The Polish army did not provide details on where the drones entered Polish airspace.
Russia launched over 500 drones and dozens of missiles on Ukraine on Tuesday night, hitting energy and transportation infrastructure in 14 locations and injuring four railway workers.
Poland, a NATO member, has been a staunch ally of Ukraine against Russia. In August, a drone crashed in a cornfield in eastern Poland.
A prosecutor investigating the incident said at the time that it appeared to have entered Poland from Belarus, an ally of Russia.
Medvedev States Russia Could Seize British Assets and More Ukrainian Territory
A senior Russian official stated on Thursday that Russia would seize more Ukrainian territory and pursue British assets after London announced it had spent around $1.3 billion from frozen Russian funds on weapons for Ukraine, according to Reuters.
The British Defense Minister, John Healey, stated that over 1 billion pounds of military aid to Ukraine had been paid for with frozen Russian assets.
"Since the money cannot be recovered in court for obvious reasons, our country has only one way to return the valuables: return them in kind. That is, the 'Ukrainian land' and other movable and immovable property located on it," former President Dmitry Medvedev said on Telegram.
Medvedev also suggested that Russia would respond to "any illegal seizure of frozen Russian funds or benefits" by seizing "valuable objects of the British Crown," including British properties in Russia.
Ukraine Allies Meet in Paris to Show Determination to Trump and Pressure Russia
European allies of Ukraine gather in Paris on Thursday to demonstrate to Donald Trump that they are willing to provide security guarantees to Kiev once the war with Russia ends, if Washington supports them and puts pressure on Moscow, reports Afp.
The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenski, will meet with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, and the leaders forming the so-called "volunteer coalition," mainly Europeans, including the British Keir Starmer, the German Friedrich Merz, or the Polish Donald Tusk, some of them via video conference.
Facing an unpredictable Trump and a more inflexible Russian president than ever, whose army is gaining ground in Ukraine, the group wants to show that it is determined not to abandon Kiev and not to be sidelined if Washington and Moscow were to negotiate an end to the war.
"We, the Europeans, are ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine and the Ukrainians on the day a peace agreement is signed," said the French President on Wednesday night before Zelenski's arrival.
Macron stated that the details are "extremely confidential," but that "the preparation is complete" in a previous meeting of Defense Ministers.
On the eve of the meeting, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, stated that he will see how the situation develops but is willing to "achieve" his goals "by military means."
European leaders have been very reserved about the nature of the guarantees, expected to include the deployment of European troops in Ukraine, training, and "backing" support from the United States.
For his part, Zelenski stated that he trusts Kiev's allies will help "increase pressure on Russia to move towards a diplomatic solution."
But he also added: "Unfortunately, we have not yet seen any sign from Russia that they want to end the war."