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Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/02/25/latest-news-bulletin-february-25th-midday
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00U.S. President Donald Trump says Russia's Putin would accept European peacekeeping troops
00:06as part of a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
00:11The United Nations General Assembly rejects a U.S. resolution that urges an end to the
00:16war in Ukraine that fails to mention Russia's aggression.
00:20Pope Francis remains in critical condition but has shown a slight improvement in laboratory
00:25tests and resumed some work.
00:28The Vatican's latest update about the pontiff's health came on Monday as the Catholic and
00:32Christian faithful around the world continue to pray for the Pope's health, including in
00:38his home country, Argentina.
00:58At St. Peter's Square, the Catholic faithful also held a vigil to send best wishes to
01:12the Pope.
01:13The 88-year-old Francis, who is battling pneumonia in both lungs, has been in critical condition.
01:19Despite showing a slight improvement, his nearly two weeks of hospitalization stands
01:25as Francis' longest as pontiff.
01:33U.S. President Donald Trump says Russia's President Vladimir Putin would accept European
01:37peacekeeper troops in Ukraine as part of a deal to end the war.
01:42He made the comments as he hosted French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House to discuss
01:46the ongoing conflict.
01:48Speaking at a joint press conference after their closed-door meeting, Macron said European
02:11nations are ready and willing to deploy troops to guarantee Ukraine's security.
02:34The French leader noted that Europe must learn and not repeat mistakes of the past.
02:38Russia revealed that the Kremlin had betrayed their trust in 2014 and violated a negotiated
02:43peace deal as it proceeded to annex the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
02:48In 2014, our predecessors negotiated peace with President Putin, but because of the lack
02:57of guarantees and especially security guarantees, President Putin violated this peace.
03:03So this is why being strong and having deterrence capacities is the only way to be sure it will
03:10be respected.
03:12Trump maintains that Putin is serious about securing a peace deal and bringing the war
03:16to a close.
03:18He added that he believes a deal can be finalized and implemented within weeks.
03:28The United Nations General Assembly refused to adopt a U.S. resolution that urges an end
03:33to the war in Ukraine.
03:35Washington's proposal failed to make mention of Russia's aggression in its invasion that
03:39violates the U.N. Charter.
03:42Three European proposed amendments were made to the U.S.-backed resolution before it was
03:46voted on, adding language that firmly acknowledges Moscow's aggression.
03:51Today we mark the three years since the beginning of Russia's illegal and unprovoked full-scale
03:58invasion of Ukraine.
04:00We reiterate our resolute condemnation of this flagrant violation of international law.
04:07The General Assembly has demanded an early end to this war of aggression and a just,
04:14lasting and comprehensive peace in Ukraine, in line with the U.N. Charter.
04:21Russia voted against the resolution claiming that Europe did not acknowledge the root causes
04:25of the conflict, leading to another anti-Russia piece of paper.
04:29The U.S. also voted against the amendments to their proposal, which passed with 93 votes
04:51in favor, 18 against and 65 abstentions.
04:56Washington also put forward its resolution to the legally binding U.N. body, the Security
05:01Council, which did pass.
05:04This resolution puts us on the path to peace.
05:08It is a first step, but a crucial one, one of which we should all be proud.
05:14Now we must use it to build a peaceful future for Ukraine, Russia and the international
05:22community.
05:25The resolution received 10 votes in favor at the 15-member council.
05:29The five abstentions came from France, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia.
05:40Top EU diplomats said Ukraine's accession to the bloc is an integral part of lasting
05:45peace.
05:46They were speaking in Kiev at a summit marking the third anniversary of the Russian invasion.
05:54Ukraine's accession to the EU will be the most important security guarantee for the
06:01future of Ukraine.
06:04EU leaders rallied around Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky after widespread dismay
06:09that Donald Trump had dispatched top aides for preliminary talks with Russian officials
06:14without Ukrainian or European representatives.
06:18There are fears in Europe that Trump's apparent pivot to Moscow could freeze Ukraine out of
06:23the peace process entirely and end up with a deal that favors Russia.
06:29European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was still committed to
06:33admitting Ukraine.
06:34If they continue at that speed and at that quality, perhaps they could be earlier than
06:402030.
06:41So thank you very much for giving the impulse and let's work hard on all sides really to
06:47keep the momentum up.
06:51US politicians also recently ruled out granting NATO membership to Ukraine.
06:56Membership to the alliance has frequently been cited by Russian President Vladimir Putin
07:01as one of the main reasons for launching the war.
07:05We hope that United States will continue support like all the partners.
07:11All the partners do it and we need also not to lose this unity between Europe and United
07:16States.
07:19As fighting rages on the front line, political pressure is mounting for a coordinated European
07:24effort to secure peace.
07:29But I think we in Europe, we need to get our act together.
07:33And in order to get an act together, you have to have a plan to the Americans.
07:36Because if you don't have a plan to the Americans, you're not going to get involved in the negotiations.
07:41Could EU accession replace NATO accession as a security guarantee for Ukraine?
07:46According to the leaders who sat in this room, yes it can and yes it should.
07:50Becoming part of the bloc could provide Ukraine with the necessary deterrence against a new
07:54Russian attack in the future, they said.
07:57But there's a catch.
07:58EU accession would always lack a key player in this game of geopolitics, the United States.
08:05Jorge Libodeiro, Euronews, Kiev.
08:11As the war rages in Ukraine, European states from NATO's reaction force are conducting
08:16the force's largest-scale military exercise.
08:19Said FASTAR-25 comprises of 10,000 military personnel from nine nations, including soldiers,
08:26sailors and marines.
08:28It involves 1,500 military vehicles, including battle tanks, rocket launchers, infantry fighting
08:33vehicles, armoured personnel carriers and 17 naval assets, including frigates, destroyers,
08:40submarines and more than 20 aircraft.
08:43Located here between Ukraine and Moldova close to the Black Sea, this exercise is a rapid
08:49response force ready to be deployed if necessary.
08:52It also represents a significant strengthening of European defence strategy within NATO.
08:58The US has no direct involvement with this exercise, but looming large are comments from
09:03the US President Donald Trump, who said Ukraine bears responsibility for the war it's fighting
09:09on its territory.
09:10But senior military personnel say it's NATO's clear view that the war in the Ukraine was
09:15an attack by Russia.
09:25Lieutenant General Lorenzo Daddario is the commander of NATO's Rapid Deployable Corps,
09:30a rapid force which can be deployed quickly under the authority of the Supreme Allied
09:35Commander.
09:36It's a completely different scenario that we had, you know, up to a few years.
09:42And I think that has prompted us as an alliance to continue to get ready and also to continue
09:48to demonstrate our ability to defend.
09:52Is it your firm belief that this war in Ukraine was unprompted, unprovoked?
09:57Certainly it was unprovoked and certainly it was a war that was an aggression on Ukraine.
10:04There's been a lot of pressure for European countries within NATO to provide more weapons
10:10and more defence.
10:11Has that shown up?
10:13I think all countries that are on NATO are intent in making sure that their defence,
10:19their tools are better tooled and better trained.
10:22This is for sure.
10:23You know, this is what we do as soldiers.
10:26NATO says steadfast Dar-25 increases NATO's interoperability, efficiency and resilience
10:32for the serious risks that lie ahead for Europe.
10:35Shona Murray, Runeuz, Smardan, Romania.
10:42Former French surgeon Joël Lascuarnac is on trial for the alleged rape or sexual abuse
10:47of hundreds of victims.
10:50He's accused of sexually assaulting 299 people who were his patients, most of them children,
10:55between the years of 1989 and 2014.
11:00The 74-year-old does not deny committing the heinous acts, but says he doesn't have memory
11:05of committing every one of the cases he's accused of.
11:09But his victims are ready for justice to be served.
11:24The case will span four months and comes shortly after the highly publicised rape case of Giselle
11:29Pellicot.
11:30If convicted, Lascuarnac faces up to 20 years in prison.
11:35He is already serving a separate 15-year sentence after being convicted of sexually assaulting
11:40and raping children in 2020.