Russia’s frozen ***ets must be used to rebuild Ukraine, says Zelenskyy, as he hits out at ‘terrorism’ of daily attacks – Europe live | Europe

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen opens her speech by saying Europe has been on Ukraine’s side from day one and “will be on your side for as long as it takes.”

She then talks about EU’s plans to rearm and invest in defence across the continent, including in partnership with non-member states like Ukraine.

She says the EU remains Ukraine’s largest donor, with almost €165bn of support this year alone. She announces further grants – of €1 and €3bn respectively – signed as part of today’s conference.

She then announces a new “flagship” fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine, which she says is the largest equity fund globally to support reconstruction, focusing on energy, transport, critical and raw materials, and dual use industries.

We are literally taking a stake in Ukraine’s future.

She says the EU is joined in the fund by Italy, Germany, France, Poland, and the European Investment Bank.

She then turns to Ukraine’s plans to join the EU, as she declares the commission is “ready to proceed with the next step on the accession path, to open cluster one” of accession negotiations.

“Now we have to act, to move forward for millions of Ukrainians, soldiers, teachers, doctors, farmers, you name it.

For Ukrainians from all walks of life, and for them, the future has two flags: the flag of Ukraine and the flag of Europe.”

Zelenskyy says that “around 200 agreements are ready to be signed” at this conference, with the total value of over €10bn, as he singles out energy as a particular priority for the coming months.

Putin has only two real allies, terror and winter, and we must respond to both.

He adds:

“All of us must keep up the pressure on Russia. All of us must keep working for defence so that we can bring a real ceasefire as soon as possible.”

He ends:

Let’s do everything we can for real peace as soon as possible, just peace. Slava Ukraini.

Zelenskyy says Ukraine needs a “Marshall plan-style” effort to guide its reconstruction. “We should develop it together,” he says.

He tells leaders that it’s not just charity, but investment:

“Rebuilding Ukraine is not just about our country. It’s also about your countries, your companies, technology, your jobs, the way we rebuild our country can also modernise your infrastructure and industries.”

He then says Europe should “clearly agree that frozen Russian ***ets should go towards Ukraine’s recovery.”

“Not only the income from these ***ets, but the ***ets themselves must be used and much more actively than they are now to help save lives.”

Zelenskyy also picks up Meloni’s earlier point (11:36) and says “only friends are invited to be a part of Ukraine’s economic and technological recovery,” and not “those who are helping Russia continuing this war.”

Zelenskyy also repeatedly thanks partners for their help so far, saying it is thanks to their help it was able to start building a modern air force.

“We’ve done it in record time. No other country has switched from Soviet aircraft to F-16 and Mirages this quickly,” he says.

He also raises again the issue of Ukrainian children illegally abducted by Russia during the war.

“We must explore every possible way to bring our children back home to their families, to Ukraine, so they don’t forget who they are,” he says.

Zelenskyy then calls out Russia’s claims it was ready for talks and false accusations that Ukraine was not willing to engage as “propaganda.”

Repeatedly referencing last night’s attacks on Ukraine and Kyiv, he says:

“Now everyone sees that Putin has rejected every peace proposal and is escalating the violence,” he says.

He talks about the need to step up Ukraine’s air defence systems, as he says:

I urge all our partners: increase your investments when Russia increases its attacks.

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy is speaking next.

He thanks hosts and partners for supporting Ukraine.

But he then warns them:

“Russia has also prepared for this meeting. Just last night, they launched another m***ive attack on Ukraine, manly targeting our capital Kyiv.

Ukrainians now face attacks by hundreds, hundreds of these drones, every single night.

And this is pure terrorism.”

He explains:

“This is exactly what Putin wants, for our people to suffer, to flee Ukraine, and for homes, schools, for life itself to be destroyed everywhere, not just near the frontlines.”

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni is up next.

After a few words of welcome in English, she too switches to Italian.

She says the high attendance with more than 70 national representations and thousands of companies and civil society representatives “shows … what kind of future we all together want for Ukraine and we are so convinced we will reach it.”

“We want to look beyond the unbearable justice that for more than three years has been inflicted on the Ukrainian people. And we now have to imagine Ukraine that is rebuilt, free and prosperous,” she says.

She then pointedly calls out Russia for “increasing its attacks” against civilians and civilian infrastructure, praising Ukrainian resilience against continuing attacks.

She says the event like today’s conference will also serve to make sure that people who helped the Russian war machine will not benefit from its reconstruction.

“Our task is to help Ukraine. We will do it, to rewrite this new chapter of its history,” she says.

Meloni says the participants of the conference will sign new contracts on funding Ukrainian recovery, with new agreements involving Italian firms such as energy company Enel and aerospace and defence company Leonardo.

She directly addresses European companies and tells them “do not be scared of investing in Ukraine” as she says “it is an investment … in a nation that has shown resilience, but also an investment in peace, and in the growth of Europe as a whole.”

“I’d like to think that this conference is going to be the starting point for the economic miracle of Ukraine.

We will build that miracle together with you.”

You can follow the welcome speeches in our live stream below, but I will bring you all the key lines here.

Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani is opening the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome now.

We want to host this event today and tomorrow, because we believe in Ukraine.

He adds:

This meeting is not only an economic meeting, we want to send a clear message: Ukraine is not alone.

We want to back your freedom, your independence.

He then turns to Italian and speaks about the importance of starting Ukraine’s recovery already during the war to support its critical infrastructure, including electricity grid stability.

I am keeping an eye on the arrivals at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome.

In the next hour we should hear from the host, Giorgia Meloni, but also a long list of international guests, including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, German chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish prime minister Donald Tusk.

There appears to be a slight delay to the proceedings and Meloni is only welcoming the international guests now – met with Tusk just seconds ago – but I will bring you the news lines as soon as they start.

As a result of increased Russian activity – including sabotage planning, attempted sanction evasion, state-backed cyber-attacks and disinformation – 2024 was “one of the most challenging in the modern history of the Czech Republic in terms of security,” the head of the country’s security services Michal Koudelka said.

In its annual report published today, the Security Information Service, or BIS, said Russia “continued in its attempts to restore broader espionage structures” under the diplomatic cover of its emb***y in the Czech Republic.

In addition to its officers, the Russian intelligence services recruited other people, including a named Belarusian asylum seeker who was allegedly paid by the Russian GRU in cryptocurrency to publish pro-Russian propaganda.

The Czech agency also warned about the growing number of cases of people “with no direct connection to Russia” recruited from organised crime groups through online advertisement, particularly on Telegram, which is dubbed “Telegram agents.”

It noted that Russian recruiters particularly targeted poorer economic migrants from outside the EU, and added that Russian intelligence services often used further intermediaries in the process, so the person hired for the job may not even be aware of the Russian involvement.

The report said such people were usually tasked with a wide range of activities, including “transporting people or packages, photographing and filming sensitive objects … to arson attacks.”

It particularly referenced last year’s arson attack at Prague’s Klíčov bus depot, which it said was carried out by a Colombian citizen who was offered money through internet.

The report also mentioned some hostile activity from China, including attempts to “find sympathisers who would promote China’s interests, suppress Czech-Taiwanese cooperation, and [act to] not raise the issue of human rights in China.”

Separately, we will be looking at the vote of no confidence in Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission in Strasbourg.

Our Brussels correspondent Jennifer Rankin wrote this explainer on what’s at stake.

Here is what she says:

Von der Leyen is expected to comfortably survive a vote on Thursday on the censure motion, which in theory could trigger the downfall of her commission.

While her survival is considered a certainty, the debate has lifted the lid on simmering discontent among centrist, centre-left and green MEPs who voted her back into office just under one year ago, after elections that gave rightwing nationalists their best-ever results.

But behind the scenes, her officials are worried that a large number of no-shows and abstentions from mainstream groups could damage her standing in the vote.

Russia launched around 400 drones and 18 missiles against Ukraine overnight, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying the recent attacks mark “a clear escalation of terror” by Moscow.

He said:

“Hundreds of ‘shaheds’ every night, constant strikes, and m***ive attacks on Ukrainian cities.

This demands that we speed things up.

Sanctions must be imposed faster, and pressure on Russia must be strong enough that they truly feel the consequences of their terror.”

The attack comes just hours before Zelenskyy meets with international parts at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome and talks to allies in the Coalition of the Willing.

In an early morning post, he said the talks will focus on “additional funding for the production of interceptor drones and the supply of air defence systems for Ukraine.”

“The objectives are absolutely clear. Such Russian attacks must be met with a tough response. And that is exactly what we will deliver.”

It’s Thursday, 10 July 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.