Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk is a pretty blunt talker, particularly when it comes to the threat he feels Russia poses beyond Ukraine to the rest of Europe. The leaders of the European Union’s 27 states were set to spend Thursday evening locked in negotiations about how exactly to fund a major package of financial aid for Ukraine.

The European official said the man accused of coordinating a plot to put explosives in packages on cargo planes, for example, was recruited by Russian intelligence after involvement with smuggling guns and explosives. The man is linked to at least four other plots.

Undisclosed appendices to current peace proposals detail the Trump administration’s plan to unlock frozen Russian funds held in Europe and bring Moscow in from the cold.

European Union officials wanted to use Russia’s frozen assets to back a major loan to Ukraine. Unable to overcome opposition, they settled on another way to lend the money.

Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday that an International Claims Commission for Ukraine launched by some European powers had no legal force for Russia and was driven by an attempt by European countries to spread propaganda against Russia.

The United States just wrapped up two days of talks with Ukrainian and European negotiators in Berlin, followed by more discussions among leaders in Europe – all of which ended with positive signals about a future peace agreement.

Putin said 'if the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means.'

While Nawrocki's presidential election campaign this year was backed by Poland's largest nationalist opposition party PiS, his eventual victory in June's run-off vote owed much to