Liberty Case

Berlin, Germany — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that Europe must have a decisive voice in negotiations to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, as US President Donald Trump renews efforts to secure a peace agreement.

Following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin, Merz announced that Germany, France and the United Kingdom would jointly host a summit of the Coalition of the Willing in the German capital on November 19.

READ MORE : Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia school kills over 30, Zelenskiy says

“In two weeks, we will organize a Coalition of the Willing summit here in Berlin together with France and the United Kingdom,” Merz told reporters.

The summit is expected to bring together a broad group of international leaders to discuss long-term support for Ukraine in 2027, with particular emphasis on military assistance, security guarantees and diplomatic efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace.

Merz said European countries remained committed to providing security guarantees to Ukraine following a potential ceasefire and would continue working towards a negotiated settlement.

“Our message to Russia is therefore: the time has come to end this war,” he said, suggesting that a localized ceasefire in Oleshky could serve as a model for broader arrangements, including an energy truce and a ceasefire in the Black Sea.

He was referring to a recent humanitarian arrangement in the Russian-occupied town in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, which reportedly enabled civilian evacuations and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to residents who chose to remain.

Merz accused Moscow of repeatedly rejecting ceasefire proposals and warned that continued Russian attacks in the Black Sea could further escalate the conflict. He also criticized Russia for contributing to global food insecurity, saying its actions were affecting some of the world’s poorest countries.

The German Chancellor welcomed the prospect of another round of peace negotiations, describing it as an important step forward. He referred to technical-level talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives scheduled for November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi under US mediation.

Merz thanked the United Arab Emirates for hosting the negotiations, describing them as the first trilateral round of discussions since February, when diplomatic efforts were interrupted by the US war in Iran.

However, he stressed that Russia must demonstrate a genuine willingness to negotiate a ceasefire and pursue a subsequent peace agreement.

“Europe must and wants to play a role in this process,” Merz declared.

“Key elements of a peaceful solution, whether regarding sanctions or the security architecture, can only be resolved with us Europeans. And everyone involved knows that very well.”

He added that Moscow must prove its readiness to engage in serious negotiations. Until then, Germany and its European partners would continue increasing pressure on Russia while maintaining strong military and political support for Ukraine.

Merz also highlighted the military exercise Koalicja2026, which is scheduled to begin this week and is linked to preparations for potential future security guarantees for Ukraine.

The manoeuvres will be centred in Poland, with activities also taking place in Romanian airspace and the western Black Sea. German troops, alongside military personnel from the United Kingdom, France and Poland, are expected to participate.

Berlin will also host the ninth German-Ukrainian Economic Forum on the day following the Coalition of the Willing summit, further underlining Germany’s commitment to strengthening economic cooperation with Kyiv.

“Germany, as Ukraine’s largest supporting partner, is taking exactly that responsibility. We are doing so because this war affects us directly. The outcome of this war will shape European security for a long time to come,” Merz said.

During the meeting, Zelenskyy also emphasized that decisions concerning Ukraine’s future membership in the European Union must involve European countries.

“The U.S. and Russia — with all due respect to the U.S. — cannot decide whether Ukraine will become a member state of the European Union,” Zelenskyy said. “For that we need the support of other countries, and all of those countries are in Europe.”

The Berlin meeting comes amid renewed diplomatic efforts by the Trump administration to negotiate an end to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with US-mediated discussions between Moscow and Kyiv expected to resume in Abu Dhabi.

Merz’s remarks underline Germany’s position that any sustainable peace settlement must involve Europe, particularly on questions concerning Ukraine’s security, European sanctions and the continent’s future security architecture.

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Brussels/Stockholm — Supermarket refrigeration systems in several European countries were hit by a suspected wave of cyberattacks on Monday, leaving refrigerators out of service and forcing stores to dispose of potentially spoiled food, according to local media reports.

Incidents were reported in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands and Estonia, raising concerns that the attacks could be linked to a similar series of cyber incidents that targeted French supermarkets last month.

Several supermarket managers told local media that refrigerator temperatures had suddenly surged, in some cases reaching as high as 50 degrees Celsius. The incidents reportedly followed a pattern seen in France, where attackers appeared to remotely manipulate the defrosting mechanisms of refrigeration units, causing them to overheat.

Although authorities have not confirmed whether the latest incidents are connected or exploited the same software vulnerabilities as the attacks in France, a supermarket spokesperson described the incident as a cyberattack “similar to the one in France.”

Cybersecurity experts have criticised supermarkets for failing to adequately secure their refrigeration systems following the earlier incidents.

Ken Munro, a cybersecurity researcher, said supermarkets should have disconnected refrigeration equipment and the devices used to monitor and remotely manage them from the internet.

“I don’t accept any other excuse … particularly in light of the earlier [attacks in France],” he said.

Another cybersecurity researcher, Inti De Ceukelaire, suggested that some supermarket operators had failed to install necessary security updates despite the previous warnings.

“It seems that some of them simply did not get patched, which is quite ridiculous,” he said.

In Belgium, media reports said supermarket refrigerator temperatures had risen unexpectedly on Monday morning, forcing retailers to discard food products to prevent potentially unsafe items from reaching consumers.

A spokesperson for the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium said the agency was closely monitoring the situation. The attackers remain unidentified, and authorities acknowledged that establishing their identities may prove difficult.

Meanwhile, John Billow, director of Sweden’s National Cyber Security Centre, told POLITICO that the latest incidents showed similarities to the attacks in France. The agency is in contact with affected organizations.

The European Commission also confirmed that it was aware of the incidents and was using the EU-Cyclone network to coordinate responses and share information among member states.

Following the French Attacks

The latest incidents follow a wave of cyberattacks targeting French supermarkets in mid-October, when attackers reportedly exploited vulnerabilities in refrigeration systems manufactured by Danish company Danfoss.

At least some of the refrigeration units affected in Monday’s incidents were also using temperature-control technology supplied by Danfoss. The company said it had been working with customers to implement security fixes following the earlier attacks.

The French incidents had prompted intervention by the country’s prime minister and national cybersecurity authorities, highlighting the growing vulnerability of essential retail infrastructure to digital threats.

The European Commission warned that the latest incidents demonstrated how cyberattacks could increasingly disrupt critical parts of Europe’s food supply chain.

EU Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen expressed serious concern over the repeated attacks.

“They are a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain and undermine consumers’ confidence in it – a warning that we must take seriously,” Hansen said.

He added that the repeated occurrence of such cyberattacks was deeply concerning.

The incidents have renewed calls for stronger cybersecurity measures across Europe’s supermarket networks, particularly for internet-connected refrigeration equipment and other remotely managed systems essential to food safety and supply-chain operations.

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URDA, Spain — At least 68 people were killed after two high-speed trains collided on Wednesday in Spain’s second deadly rail disaster this year, leaving carriages severely damaged and triggering a major rescue operation.

The regional government of Castilla-La Mancha confirmed the death toll and said another 58 people were receiving medical treatment in hospitals. Emergency crews continued searching through the wreckage for survivors and victims.

According to preliminary reports, a train operated by state-owned RENFE struck the rear of a train operated by private company Iryo after the latter had stopped on the tracks. The impact knocked two carriages off the track in a rural area between two villages.

Spain’s rail infrastructure operator ADIF said the accident occurred on Wednesday morning in the province of Toledo. Both trains were carrying hundreds of passengers and travelling in the same direction, from Madrid towards Seville in southwestern Spain.

Transport Minister Details Possible Sequence of Events

Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a computer malfunction had disrupted the railway safety system along a 63-kilometre (39-mile) stretch of track at around 8:30 a.m., forcing trains in the affected section to stop.

According to Puente, the central command centre subsequently instructed the RENFE train to resume its journey without speed restrictions. The train collided with the stationary Iryo train at approximately 8:53 a.m.

Puente said the RENFE train should not have been instructed to move while a stop signal remained active. He added that, if it had been permitted to proceed, it should at least have been ordered to travel at a reduced speed.

Authorities were still examining data to establish the train’s speed at the time of the collision. Puente said it might have been travelling at up to 200 kilometres per hour (124 mph) along that section of track.

“I am not attributing responsibility to anyone, I am just stating the facts,” Puente said, stressing that the sequence of events was still being examined.

Bystanders Rush to Help Survivors

David Gómez, a construction worker, was working nearby with his brother and another colleague when they heard the crash and rushed to help, he told Spanish newspaper El País.

“People were trying to get out through the windows … We cut through some fences to access the area and treated people with the first-aid kits we had brought,” Gómez said, describing their efforts before emergency services arrived.

He also recalled a disturbing moment while trying to rescue an injured passenger. “As I was trying to pull a young woman out, there was a piece of a leg,” he told the newspaper.

Passenger Describes Violent Impact

The collision occurred on a flat stretch of railway surrounded by olive groves between the towns of Urda and Los Yébenes. The impact left one carriage torn into twisted pieces of metal and other debris scattered down a gravel slope.

Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said emergency teams were concentrating on rescuing survivors and recovering victims from the two most severely damaged carriages. Injured passengers were being transported to hospitals across the region.

“It was a high-speed impact, so we are expecting this to be a tragedy,” García said.

Ignacio Relaño, a passenger travelling on the RENFE train, told Spanish public broadcaster TVE that the train had briefly stopped before moving again and colliding with the Iryo service.

“We all felt the train abruptly slowing down and then the impact,” he said.

“The car leaned to one side like it was about to tip over. I hit my nose, everything went flying, luggage, cell phones. Everything shook.”

Rail Services Suspended

Rail services were suspended between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia following the collision, disrupting journeys across parts of central and southern Spain.

Until this year, Spain had recorded no fatal accident on its dedicated high-speed rail lines since the network opened in 1992. The system has long been a source of national pride and a symbol of the country’s modern transport infrastructure.

The collision has revived painful memories of another deadly high-speed rail accident in southern Spain in January, reportedly involving trains operated by the same two companies.

Rescue and recovery operations continued as authorities worked to identify victims, assist survivors and establish the precise circumstances surrounding the disaster. Investigators are expected to examine the safety-system failure, the instructions issued by railway control and the events leading up to the collision.

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