Germany says Russia resisting negotiated peace – DW – 12/03/2025

Ukraine’s 2026 budget allocates nearly a third of the country’s gross domestic product to defense.

The country’s parliament approved the budget on Wednesday, allocating 27.2% to the military, weapons production and
purchases.

“The priorities are clear: ensuring our defense, social programs, and the ability to rebuild our lives after Russia’s attacks,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said the country would need over $45 billion in external financing in 2026.

Kyiv is hoping some of that money would come from a reparations loan from Europe that would use frozen Russian assets.

The budget’s approval was also a key step for Ukraine to secure a new lending programme with the International Monetary Fund.

Germany on Tuesday deployed its new Arrow air defense system to detect and intercept incoming ballistic missiles, including Russia’s Oreshnik.

“With this strategic capability, unique among our European partners, we secure our central role at the heart of Europe,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.

Developed by Israel Aerospace Industries with US support, Arrow is the upper layer of Israel’s missile shield, and it is the system’s first deployment outside the country.

It is also said to be Israel’s largest-ever military export contract.

The initial deployment is at Holzdorf Air Base, but it will be expanded to ensure the entire country is covered once it becomes fully operational by 2030.

The European Commission has presented its plan to use  frozen Russian state assets to help fund Ukraine. 

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the proposal would create a reparations loan, drawing on cash balances from immobilized Russian assets in the EU.

“We have strong safeguards in place throughout to protect member states and reduce risks as much as possible,” von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels. “For example, to ensure that an illegitimate award outside the Union cannot be enforced within. Furthermore, we have created a strong mechanism of solidarity, where the Union can intervene. We will all share the burden.”

The move could unlock up to €140 billion ($162 billion), but Belgium, where most of the assets are held, remains opposed. 

“We have the frustrating feeling of not having been heard. Our concerns are being downplayed,” Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said.

“The text the Commission will table today [does] not address our concerns in a satisfactory manner. It is not acceptable to use the money and leave us alone facing the risks,” he added.

As an alternative, the Commission also suggested joint EU borrowing to support Ukraine. 

EU leaders will debate the proposals at a summit later this month.

Germany says Russia not ‘shifting into negotiating mode’ on Ukraine.

The German Foreign Office’s remark comes after talks in Moscow between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, who was joined by Jared Kushner.

They discussed a US peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine following US consultations with Kyiv. 

The Kremlin noted that Russia accepted some proposals and rejected others. 

In a tweet on X, the German Foreign Office said it welcomed the talks.

“However, we do not currently see Russia shifting into a negotiating mode,” it added.

Russia said on Monday that it had taken full control of the key city of Pokrovsk after months of fighting, although Ukraine has disputed the claim. The situation in Pokrovsk could prove to have a major impact on the front line.

Here are the key facts about the situation on the ground right now:

• Ukraine refuted Russia’s claim of taking Pokrovsk, saying it was propaganda to influence ongoing talks with the US and that Ukrainian forces were still present in the city
• Ukrainian soldiers said heavy fog has made it more difficult to rely on drones to defend their positions
• Should Russian troops take control of all of Pokrovsk, it would provide an easier launch pad to take Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the last two Ukrainian-controlled cities in Donetsk
• Some 110,000 Russian soldiers who had been tied up in the assault on Pokrovsk would also be freed up for other operations
• Ukraine still controls around 10% of Donbas  — Donetsk and Luhansk provinces — an area of around 5,000 sq km (1930 sq miles), mostly in northern Donetsk
• Russia has laid claim to Donbas, calling on Ukraine to cede the territory without a fight, which Ukraine has rejected
• A Russian victory in Pokrovsk would also potentially leave Dnipropetrovsk more vulnerable to Russian advances — Moscow claims to already have a foothold there
• Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday it had taken control of the village of Chervone in southeastern Zaporizhzhia

Russian President Vladimir Putin is engaged in a normal negotiation process with regard to US peace proposals for Ukraine, accepting some and rejecting others, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

Speaking after talks in Moscow between Putin and US representatives, Peskov said it would thus be wrong to say that the Russian leader had outright rejected the proposals.

The meeting had been a first face-to-face exchange of opinions, he said, and Russia was willing to continue negotiations with the US for as many times as it took to find an agreement.

Following the talks between Putin and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, a Kremlin aide had said that “compromises have not yet been found,” particularly on the issue of what territories, if any, Ukraine should cede to Russia, which launched an ongoing full-scale invasion of its neighbor in 2022.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on Wednesday that the European Union plans to use frozen Russian assets to support a loan for Ukraine fail to address Belgium’s concerns, warning that the risks to Brussels were being “downplayed.”

Prevot said the European Commission’s proposals “do not address our concerns in a satisfactory manner” and insisted Belgium wanted full safeguards.

Germany’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, said Berlin took Brussels’ objections seriously and that a solution should be possible if EU allies remained united.

What are Russian frozen assets and where are they held?

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, nearly €300 billion ($347 billion) in Russian assets were frozen under Western sanctions.

While many countries hold these assets, including the United States, Canada, the UK and Japan, the largest chunk lies in EU member countries, and the largest share of all, about €180 billion held by Euroclear, is located in Belgium.

EU states have debated using these assets to help fund Ukraine’s reconstruction, but Belgium vetoed a proposed “reparations loan” in October, warning it could face legal challenges and bear the risk if Russia seeks repayment.

That’s why Belgium refused to sign up and asked for the liability to be shared by other countries.

NATO foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss additional support for Ukraine, with Germany and Norway promising hundreds of millions ahead of the summit.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Berlin will provide an additional $200 million (€171.6 million) worth of military equipment for Ukraine through the NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism, while Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide pledged €500 million.

These pledges came ahead of Wednesday’s meeting.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged member states to step up military aid, saying Kyiv remains reliant on allies for military supplies as Russia presses its attacks.

Rutte said further contributions are expected soon to the PURL initiative, which procures United States-made weapons and ammunition to European allies and Canada for transfer to Ukraine.

Additionally, Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna offered Estonian troops should security guarantees for Ukraine include a peace force.

Also on the agenda of the meeting are talks on strengthening the alliance’s defense and deterrence capabilities.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will, however, skip the meeting and will be represented by his deputy, Christopher Landau.

The European Council said on Wednesday it has reached a deal with the European Parliament to phase out all Russian gas imports by 2027, locking in a legally binding timetable to end the bloc’s dependence on Russian energy.

According to the agreement, Russian LNG imports will be prohibited from late 2026, with pipeline gas following by autumn 2027.

Short-term and long-term contracts will be wound down under staggered deadlines.

Russia accounted for 12% of European Union (EU) gas imports as of October, down from 45% before its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Danish Climate Minister Lars Aagaard called the deal “a big win for us and for all of Europe.”

“We have to put an end to EU’s dependence on Russian gas, and banning it in the EU permanently is a major step in the right direction,” Aagaard said.

Russia continues to make billions of dollars from energy supplies to the EU despite sanctions following the war.

Both United States and Russian officials said some progress had been made in Tuesday’s talks regarding ending the war in Ukraine, however, major roadblocks remain.

The hours-long talks between the Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff, along with President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner ended without agreement.

Top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said no compromise had been reached on the critical issue of who would keep which territories in Ukraine but noted that “some American proposals can be discussed.”

He described the talks as “very useful and constructive” despite Russia’s critical, “even negative, stance on a number of proposals.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News on Tuesday that talks have focused on identifying terms Kyiv could accept while securing its long-term security.

He said the US hopes the agreement would allow Ukrainians “not just to rebuild their economy, but to prosper as a country.”

Welcome to our coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner traveled to Moscow for talks to end the Ukraine war.

The Kremlin called the meeting ‘constructive’ but said no compromise had been reached over the revised version of the Ukraine peace proposal.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on social media that any peace proposal would need guarantees that Russia would not launch “yet another invasion.”