Overview

• Russian forces carried out one of the war’s largest overnight attacks on Kyiv, killing at least 17 people and damaging the EU delegation building, with no EU staff injured.
• After speaking with President Trump and President Zelenskyy, the European Commission chief said Putin must come to the negotiating table.
• The four-day trip will take her to Latvia, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Lithuania to reassure neighbors and coordinate support.
• Von der Leyen called for firm, credible guarantees to turn Ukraine into a “steel porcupine” and said Europe will fully play its part through a new EU arms-funding program.
• NATO’s European members have pledged to lift defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, yet EU capitals face financing constraints even as Russian strikes and hardline Kremlin demands persist despite U.S.-led diplomacy.