Europe considers seizing frozen Russian assets for Ukraine funding

'Magnifique': Papers react to Kylian Mbappé's stunning Champions League hat-trick

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, February 20: US President Donald Trump labels Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" and blames Ukraine for starting the war. Elsewhere, a worrying study indicates that glaciers are melting at a rapid rate. Also, archaeologists discover the first pharaoh’s...

Trump blames Ukraine war on 'dictator' Zelensky

After the US held bilateral talks with Russian delegates in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, breaking from US policy on the Ukraine war, US President Donald Trump chided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a social media post on Wednesday, calling him a "dictator" and baselessly faulting him for caus...

Ukrainians dismiss Trump's broadside against Zelensky

US President, Donald Trump, has branded Volodymyr Zelensky a 'dictator' who 'refused to have elections'. Defiant Ukrainians are dismissing the extraordinary broadside, saying they have to fight on, even as their key ally engages in talks with the enemy. They're also rejecting the idea of holding el...

Fact-checking Donald Trump’s statements on Ukraine

President Donald Trump has launched a flurry of controversial claims about the war in Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky, while addressing reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Many of these claims were made without providing any evidence. We fact-check these claims in this edition of Truth or...

Why Europe’s leadership is skeptical of negotiating with Putin

The idea that US President Donald Trump’s negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin will bring about lasting peace in Ukraine has been met with scepticism across Europe. FRANCE 24 spoke to political scientist Anton Shekhovtsov about what the US can learn from earlier attempts to end Russ...

Trump "is very interested in doing business with Russia": analyst

President Zelensky said he will meet US envoy Kellogg on Thursday and that he hopes for "constructive" work with the US. The meeting comes as Trump used an extended social media post on his Truth Social platform to lash out at Zelensky and call the Ukrainian a “dictator without elections." Michae...

Trump calls Ukranian president "dictator", Zelensky says Trump living in "disinformation space"

Relations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump deteriorated rapidly Wednesday as Zelenskyy said Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space" and Trump called Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections” in comments that were sure to complica...

Andrey Kurkov: 'You can't write fiction when your houses, cities are shelled with missiles, drones'

As we approach the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, FRANCE 24's Erin Ogunkeye welcomes celebrated Ukrainian novelist and author Andrey Kurkov to share his very powerful and personal accounts of a veritable proxy war, an unprovoked war of attrition as seen from his war d...

Baltic region prepares for war as Russia and US debate Ukraine's fate

As Russia and the US debate Ukraine’s future, countries on the Baltic Sea are ramping up preparations for a military conflict amid fears that Russia is preparing for a future war with NATO....

🔴 Follow live: Trump brands Zelensky 'a dictator'

Berlin International film festival 2025: Film explores life after war trauma

The Berlin international film festival is underway in the German capital until Sunday. It closes on the same day as the German snap elections. Timely given that this 75th edition has featured quite a bit of politics - with films covering the themes of immigrant identity as well as the wars in Gaza...

'I lost it all in the war': Gaza’s fishermen struggle to rebuild livelihoods

Despite the ceasefire, now a month old, there's no business as usual in the Gaza strip. Homes are destroyed, and livelihoods too. After the destruction the war left behind, fishermen struggle to make a living as they once did....

Emmanuel Macron to host second emergency talks on war in Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting a new meeting on Ukraine in a bid to coordinate a European response to what he called an "existential threat" from Russia after a shock policy shift in Washington. Macron planned to speak to leaders of around 15 countries, who were reportedly aghast at no...

'We are all now different people' says Andrey Kurkov on FRANCE 24

In just a few days, it will have been three years since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. FRANCE 24's invites Andrey Kurkov, one of Ukraine's best known writers. Last year he published 'our daily war', a second volume of his war diaries documenting the daily realities of lif...

Trump brands Zelensky 'a dictator'

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday called Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator without elections" who "better move fast or he is not going to have a country left". The comments risk widening a personal rift between the two leaders, with possibly major implications on efforts to end t...

The Berlinale's 75th selection of hard-hitting films

The Berlin Film Festival is known for its political nature and this year's edition is no exception, with elections in Germany casting a shadow over proceedings and calls for a boycott over the event's attitude towards Palestinians in Gaza. Film critic Emma Jones takes us through some of the highly...

Volodymyr Zelensky says Donald Trump 'trapped in disinformation bubble'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday accused Donald Trump of succumbing to Russian "disinformation", deepening a rift between Kyiv and the new US administration. For more, FRANCE 24's international affairs editor, Rob Parsons....

Trump hit back at Zelensky after Washington received pushback from Kyiv

US President Donald Trump hit back at Ukraine's Vlodymir Zelensky after Washington received pushback from Kyiv for being left out of talks with Russia in Riyadh. Trump launched a series of attacks on Zelensky, as he confirmed a probable face to face meeting with Vladimir Putin by the end of the mon...

Rwanda-backed M23 moves in on Congo border city

While the rest of the world focuses on the US, Ukraine, and the Middle East, is Rwanda’s Paul Kagame on the quiet staking out a land grab in eastern Congo? Former UN advisor on DRC Gregory MTHEMBU-SALTER, Director of Phuzumoya Consulting, joins François Picard to offer in-depth analysis and a de...

'Navalny' film producer Odessa Rae remembers 'extraordinary' Russian opposition leader

A year after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the Oscar-winning documentary producer of the 2022 film "Navalny" has spoken to FRANCE 24 about her memories of him. Odessa Rae spent over three months living with the Russian dissident in Germany following his 2020 poisoning as s...

War in Ukraine: Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg arrives in Kyiv

Trump's Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg while arriving in Kyiv said his mission was to "listen and to make sure that the Americans understand the Ukrainian position". FRANCE 24's correspondent in Kyiv, Gulliver Cragg has more....

Trump threatens new 25% tariffs on all auto, drug and semiconductor imports

US President Donald Trump has floated the idea of slapping import duties on all imports of cars, pharmaceuticals and chips, saying to reporters that he could make a formal announcement on April 2. The new tariffs are supposed to encourage companies to manufacture their goods in the United States, a...

War in Ukraine: US president Donald Trump wants the Nobel peace prize

As Donald Trump is willing to accelerate the end of war in Ukraine negociations, FRANCE 24's international affairs commentator Douglas Herbert talks about his strategy. The US president "has no strategry', he "wants the Nobel peace prize" as "he is still resentful that Barack Obama got it years bac...

What is the Ukrainians' reaction to Trump blaming Ukraine for not ending the war?

Some Ukrainians live commented, on Facebook, Trump blaming Ukraine for not ending the war saying "if you are watching this maybe switch your tv, if you are not don't read the news tomorrow". FRANCE 24's correspondent in Kyiv, Gulliver Cragg has more....

Chances of asteroid hitting Earth are 'higher than ever'

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, February 19: European leaders are set for another emergency meeting in Paris, as Russia says it won't allow British troops on the ground in Ukraine. Elsewhere, Sudanese paramilitaries have announced plans for a breakaway government. Also, there's a 3.2 percent chance of...

US propagandist paid by Kremlin targets German election with network of fake news sites

A former Florida deputy sheriff who sought refuge in Russia after facing a string of charges in the US has set up a network of more than 100 AI-generated fake news sites in a bid to tilt Germany's upcoming election in favour of the far right, analysts say. ...

Russia and US agree to work toward ending Ukraine war, excluding Kyiv

Top Russian and US officials held talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in a bid to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed the talks, saying any discussion aimed at ending the war should be "fair" and involve Europe. ...

EU imported more Russian LNG in 2024, despite drop in gas consumption

Europe's gas demand dropped to an 11-year low in 2024, with imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) declining 19 percent from the previous year. However, imports of Russian LNG into the EU increased by 18 percent, with France, Spain and Belgium sourcing the most, according to a new industry report....

Russians feel "wind in their sails" as Trump pressed to show resolution to war, expert says

Russia told the United States in talks in Riyadh on Tuesday that it opposed any NATO member sending troops to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire, Moscow's foreign minister said. FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks to John Lough, senior research fellow at the New Eurasian Strategies Centre. He says that the Ru...

Rubio: US and Russia agree to restore embassy staffing, create team to negotiate Ukraine peace

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy postponed a trip to Saudi Arabia scheduled for this week, citing the fact that officials from his country were not invited to U.S.-Russia talks in the kingdom on negotiating an end to the war. Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working towards ending...