NATO's supreme commander said war is not unavoidable, while warning that the alliance's forces are prepared to fight if they come under attack, according to RaiNews. The same report says a truce associated with US President Donald Trump has already fallen apart.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at least two people were killed on Monday evening in Russian strikes on Kyiv, RaiNews reported. The Italian outlet ANSA also reported that Moscow has cooled talk of any truce, while La Stampa and la Repubblica carried the NATO commander's remarks about being ready to fight now if attacked.
The statements point to a widening gap between diplomatic efforts and conditions on the ground. RaiNews framed the truce as short-lived, and the reported deaths in the Ukrainian capital came the same evening the NATO commander spoke about avoiding war while preparing for it. Il Foglio, another Italian outlet, described the commander's approach as a "theory of victory" against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The material available does not specify the terms of the truce, who negotiated it beyond the reference to Trump, or how it ended. It also does not identify which weapons or targets were involved in the Kyiv strikes, or give a total casualty figure beyond Zelensky's reference to at least two deaths.
Watch for further statements from NATO and the Kremlin on whether any ceasefire framework still holds, and for updated casualty figures from Ukrainian authorities.
