Zelensky Presses G7 for More Support as Ukraine Opens EU Membership Talks

Trump, who arrived at the summit on Monday, said after talks with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, “We had a very good conversation with President Zelensky and with President Putin, and I think maybe we can do something there. I really think so. I think both of them are open to it.”

Fighting continued in parallel. According to The Guardian, a drone set fire to an oil facility on Tuesday morning in the Poltavskaya area of Russia’s Krasnodar region, and local authorities closed a road leading to the Kerch Strait bridge linking Crimea with Krasnodar. On Monday, Ukraine hit two bridges connecting occupied parts of Kherson region with Crimea. Russia’s Defense Ministry also said a Tu-22M3 strategic bomber, used in strikes on Ukraine, crashed during a training flight in the Irkutsk region of Siberia; the four crew members managed to escape.

Zelensky accused Russia of deliberately striking the monastery district in Kyiv. He said two Russian drones hit the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO-listed site, during a large overnight attack that killed 11 people across Ukraine. He called the strike on the cathedral “one of the most serious crimes of Russia against Christian culture so far” and urged G7 leaders to take “decisive and substantial” action against Moscow.

At the same time, Ukraine made a major move toward the European Union. On Monday, Kyiv opened the first stage of accession talks in Luxembourg, a step it sees as central to anchoring itself in Western political structures while fighting the Russian invasion. Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka called it “a milestone,” saying, “The whole Ukrainian society believes that joining the European Union is our dream.”

EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said Ukraine, while gaining momentum on the battlefield, is also building its path to a prosperous and secure future inside the EU. The first negotiating cluster, called “Fundamentals,” covers judicial reform, democratic institutions, and public procurement. EU leaders agreed to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova in December 2023, but Hungary’s previous government blocked the process until that objection was lifted after Budapest reached an agreement with Kyiv this month on the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. On Friday, EU ambassadors confirmed that Ukraine and Moldova could start talks on the first reform cluster.