LIVE – War in Ukraine: Zelensky wants the war with Russia to end in 2025

A Russian court on Friday ordered the arrest of a journalist from the American channel CNN, currently outside Russia. Nick Paton Walsh is accused of illegally crossing the border from Ukraine while reporting in the Kursk region, partially occupied by the Ukrainian army. His name was placed on the “wanted list”.

According to the Russian Criminal Code, this charge is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Ukraine also opened an investigation this Friday for “war crimes”, after the death in custody in Russia on September 19 of a Ukrainian journalist, Victoria Rochtchina, arrested by Russian forces in occupied territories.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Ashkhabad, capital of Turkmenistan, this Friday on the sidelines of a regional forum. There he met his Iranian counterpart Massoud Pezeshkian.

The two leaders were pleased to share “close” positions on international issues. Tehran has been accused for several months by the West of having supplied Shahed explosive drones and short-range missiles to Russia, thus helping the Russian army in Ukraine. Accusations rejected by Iran.

“We actively work together on the international scene and our assessments of events in the world are often very close,” assured Vladimir Putin. “Relations with Iran are a priority for us and they are developing successfully,” he added during a brief speech broadcast on Russian state television.

“Our support for Ukraine will not weaken,” assured German Chancellor Olaf Scholz while receiving Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin.

“We will not accept a peace dictated by Russia,” he added. He is due to speak with Ukraine’s president this afternoon, as part of a whirlwind European tour aimed at securing more military support for his country in the face of the Russian invasion.

On the sidelines of his visit to Berlin, Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of his desire for an end to the war with Russia by 2025.

“Ukraine wants a fair and rapid end to this war (…), I would like to see this no later than next year, 2025,” he said alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, stressing that it is “very important for us that attendance does not drop next year.”

The Ukrainian president arrived in Berlin early Friday afternoon to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz as part of a mini-European tour intended to obtain more support in the face of the Russian invasion and present his “plan for victory”. The plane carrying President Zelensky “landed” in Berlin, the Ukrainian presidency told AFP.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, received by Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday, said he had requested diplomatic support from the Holy See to help repatriate Ukrainians detained by Moscow.

“The question of the repatriation of our compatriots was at the heart of my meeting with Pope Francis. We are counting on the assistance of the Holy See to help repatriate the Ukrainians captured by Russia,” Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on mid-day.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the Holy See has increased diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire and accelerate the process of releasing detainees, including children.

The Ukrainian president arrived at the Vatican, where he is expected to be received by the Pope. The trip is part of an express tour in Europe, the day after a visit to London and Paris.

Russian nighttime strikes in Ukraine killed four people, including a teenager, and injured ten others in the coastal region of Odessa in the south of the country, the regional governor announced Friday.

“The enemy attacked the Odessa region with ballistic missiles. Four people were killed, including a teenage girl,” Oleg Kiper said on a social network.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced Thursday evening in Rome, after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, that Italy would host the next conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine in July.

“Ukraine is not alone, and we will be at its side as long as necessary,” Ms. Meloni assured the press, specifying that this meeting would take place on July 10 and 11, 2025.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky leaves Italy on Friday, which announced the holding of a conference on the reconstruction of his country in July, and ends his European tour in Germany aimed at obtaining more support in the face of the Russian invasion.

Mr Zelensky meets Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday morning before flying to Berlin. There he will meet with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose government plans to halve in 2025 the amount allocated to bilateral military aid intended for Ukraine, to the great displeasure of kyiv.

Hello and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the war in Ukraine which has lasted for more than two years now, with the invasion of Vladimir Putin’s troops.