The progress of peace talks to end the grinding conflict has come back into political focus on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The paper suggests that Russian demands for Ukraine’s standing army to be restricted to a certain size in peacetime should be matched with limits on Russia’s army. The working paper said no lasting deal would be possible “without the EU at the negotiating table”. In a joint statement, French president Emmanuel Macron and UK prime minister Keir Starmer said Ukraine had their “full and sustained support”. The pair said Russia was paying a “grim toll” for minimal gains it was making on the battlefield.

Source: The Irish Times February 25, 2026 16:37 UTC