Donald Trump called Volodymyr Zelensky “a dictator without elections” and warned him to “move fast” or risk losing his country. Ukraine cannot hold elections under martial law, which was imposed after Russia’s invasion. Mr Trump also claimed America is “successfully negotiating” peace, which Europe had “failed” to do. On Wednesday the EU agreed to a 16th sanctions package against Russia.
The Trump administration ordered the Pentagon to identify $50bn in cuts next year—around 8% of the armed forces’ budget—so the funds can be redirected towards those “aligned with President Trump’s priorities”. Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, has said his department’s focus should be on border security and China, rather than on “the security of Europe”.
Hamas released the bodies of four Israeli hostages to Israel, including a mother and her two children. Earlier it told AFP, a news outlet, it was prepared to release all remaining Israeli hostages “in one batch” during the second phase of its ceasefire with Israel. Negotiations to end the war are set to resume this week. Six living prisoners will be released on Saturday.
Russia retook 800 square kilometres in Kursk, reversing 64% of Ukraine’s gains from last year’s offensive, local media said. In Ukraine, Russian strikes killed at least seven and injured 30. The worst attacks hit Kherson in the south and Kharkiv in the north. In Odessa, 49,000 were left without power after strikes on energy infrastructure.
Mercedes-Benz warned of a sharp profit drop in 2025. Operating profit margins, which fell to 8.1% in 2024 from 12.6% the year before, could shrink to 6% this year. The German carmaker is struggling with weak demand in China and Europe; rising trade tensions will deepen the downturn. It announced a plan to cut production costs by 10% by 2027.
Australia’s government said it was closely monitoring three Chinese naval ships sailing close to Sydney. Two Australian ships are shadowing the vessels, which are in international waters but within the country’s exclusive economic zone. Australia’s defence minister called the ships’ presence “not unprecedented” but “unusual”. Last week a Chinese fighter jet released flares near an Australian air-force plane traversing the South China Sea.
Turkey will export around 15,000 tonnes of eggs to America by July in order to relieve a shortage caused by a bird-flu outbreak. The disease has killed 162m chickens, turkeys and other birds in America since 2022. That is making it difficult for Mr Trump to keep his promise to reduce grocery prices.
Figure of the day: 21%, Russia’s interest rate, the highest level in two years. Read the full story.
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