France’s president Emmanuel Macron, in a pre-recorded address to the nation, said the US has “changed its position” on the Ukraine war while trying to impose trade tariffs on European goods.

“We are entering a new era,” Macron said. He said France made the “right choice” by supporting Ukraine for the last three years.

It’s not just the people of Ukraine who are fighting for their freedom. It’s also our security which is under threat. If a country can invade its neighbour in Europe and go unpunished … peace can no longer be guaranteed on our own continent.

Macron said history has taught us that the Russian threat “is real” and affects European countries. “Ukraine has become a global conflict,” he said.

Russia has become and will remain a threat to France and Europe.

He urged for steps to guarantee the security of France, Europe and Ukraine. “The path to peace cannot be achieved by abandoning Ukraine,” he said.

Emmanuel Macron is due to make a televised address to France where he is expected to speak about the Ukraine crisis, European security and the threat of a transatlantic trade war after Donald Trump paused US support to Ukraine and also threatened to slap tariffs on goods from the EU, following on from levies imposed on China, Mexico and Canada.

Macron’s pre-recorded speech on primetime TV will begin at 8pm local time (19:00 GMT).

The White House said Donald Trump is working “very hard” to end the war in Ukraine.

Asked if the US’s decision to stop sharing intelligence with Ukraine was temporary or permanent, the White House’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt said:

What the National Security Council told me in regards to that was that they paused or they are reconsidering the funding for Ukraine.

She described Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s statement on Tuesday, where he said Kyiv is “ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible”, as a “positive step forward”.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there has been “positive movement” in the relationship with US that could lead to another meeting between the two sides soon.

In a statement posted to X, Zelenskyy said “a lot of international work” had been done on Wednesday, and that he had spoken with the leaders of the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Germany. “Thank you for all the support,” he said.

Zelenskyy said he was preparing for the summit of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday. “Everyone can see how quickly diplomatic events are unfolding,” he wrote.

Today, the Ukrainian and American teams began working on an upcoming meeting. Andriy Yermak (Zelenskyy’s chief of staff) and Mike Waltz (US national security adviser) have spoken, and there’s positive movement. We hope to see some results next week.

Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting, Friedrich Merz, is facing a barrage of criticism from opposition politicians over his radical proposals to loosen rules on running up debt to allow for higher defence spending and boost the economy.

The CDU/CSU leader’s proposals for a multibillion-euro package, agreed with his potential coalition partners the Social Democrats, have been described as everything from a “bazooka” to “an extremely risky bet” by economists. He himself has called them vital “in light of the threats to our freedom and peace on our continent”.

Merz is the likely next chancellor after his party came in first in national elections on 23 February and he is in coalition negotiations to form the new government, a process expected to run until Easter.

Merz will seek parliament’s approval next week for the plans, which would give the go-ahead to the relaxation of tight constraints on defence spending currently governed by a constitutionally protected “debt brake” according to which outgoings cannot exceed 1% of GDP – currently €45bn.

This would allow Germany to raise a potentially unlimited level of debt in order to finance its military and to continue to provide the necessary assistance to Ukraine.

Under his proposals, an additional €500bn, decade-long fund for infrastructure would also be introduced.

AFP is reporting that Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join EU leaders for a Brussels summit tomorrow aimed at cementing the bloc’s support for Ukraine.

“President Zelensky will attend the summit in person,” an EU official said on the eve of the summit gathering all 27 leaders for the first time since Zelensky’s White House clash with Donald Trump upended US support for Ukraine.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff said he and US national security adviser Mike Waltz had “discussed the next steps towards a just and lasting peace” in Ukraine during a call on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Andriy Yermak said on X that he and Waltz had also “exchanged views on security issues and the alignment of positions,” and scheduled a meeting of Ukrainian and US officials in the near future “to continue this important work”.