Eleven people are dead and a landmark Kyiv cathedral is still smouldering. That is the backdrop against which President Volodymyr Zelensky walked into the G7 summit in Evian, France, on Tuesday morning — not as a distant voice on a screen, but in person, at a special session convened specifically around Ukraine's survival. Donald Trump arrived at the summit on Monday radiating cautious optimism. He had spoken by phone to both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the same day, and told reporters, "They're both open to it," without specifying what "it" might involve.

"Maybe we can do something," he added — a phrase that European leaders received with both relief and suspicion. Zelensky had already proposed a direct meeting between himself and Putin on the sidelines of the summit; Moscow declined. After more than four years of full-scale war ignited by Russia's 2022 invasion, a face-to-face between the two leaders remains as elusive as ever. Host Emmanuel Macron and fellow European leaders are using the summit to press Trump not to trade Ukrainian sovereignty for a quick headline.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the UK will supply enriched uranium to Ukraine for its civilian nuclear power stations and impose a new package of sanctions on Moscow, describing Russia's latest aerial campaign as "barbaric strikes." His office said the moves are intended to choke off revenues that fund the Russian military while keeping Ukrainian homes lit through future winters.