President Emmanuel Macron of France is hosting a meeting of leaders who will review options for protecting any peace with Russia.

© Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters

President Trump’s extraordinary summit with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last month has yet to yield any concrete results on the war in Ukraine.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

President Trump’s extraordinary summit with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last month has yet to yield any concrete results on the war in Ukraine.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

High-level political and security figures are said to be resisting the prime minister’s demand for a comprehensive deal to end the war in Gaza.

© Pool photo by Abir Sultan

In a report on 31 August, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) outlined how the Kremlin has intensified its multi-pronged information campaign to weaken Western support for Ukraine and derail the European role in peace efforts in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.

Russia is now aggressively pushing three narrative lines at once: blaming European states for prolonging the war, reviving nuclear threats, and portraying Russian victory as inevitable.

Kremlin blames Europe for dragging out the war

Kremlin officials have returned to a long-standing propaganda line that paints European states as obstacles to peace in Ukraine. ISW noted that Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO Kirill Dmitriev recently implied that European countries are deliberately extending the conflict. According to ISW, Russia is using Dmitriev—who frequently represents Kremlin interests on Western platforms—to reintroduce this message into the Western media environment, aiming to erode US confidence in European allies.

Medvedev threatens nuclear consequences for backing Ukraine

On 31 August, Russian Security Council Chairperson Dmitry Medvedev launched a pointed attack against French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Posting on his English-language X account, Medvedev accused the two leaders of having “forgotten the lessons” of World War II. He warned that “things could end up like they did in 1945 – [Macron and Merz] too may end up being identified by their teeth,” directly invoking the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Medvedev also described recent Russian military progress as “bad news” for the European leaders.

ISW assessed that this language is intended to threaten France and Germany with nuclear consequences for their involvement in US-led efforts to end the war, while simultaneously amplifying the idea of unstoppable Russian military momentum.

Moscow promotes image of inevitable victory

Alongside these threats, the Kremlin continues to push the idea that Russian victory in Ukraine is certain. ISW reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense has ramped up its efforts to project battlefield success using large volumes of qualitative data. However, ISW assessed that these claims are inflated and part of the broader strategy to demoralize Ukraine’s allies and reduce Western resolve.

A shift toward pressing for a permanent cease-fire deal, alongside plans for a new offensive in Gaza City, means the fighting is unlikely to end soon.

© Saher Alghorra for The New York Times

It was the second massive assault in three days, as the Kremlin rebuffed peace talks sought by Ukraine and the United States.

© Marina Moiseyenko/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

President Trump’s repeated claims about having “solved” the India-Pakistan war infuriated Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. And that was only the beginning.

© Eric Lee/The New York Times

President Trump’s repeated claims about having “solved” the India-Pakistan war infuriated Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. And that was only the beginning.

© Eric Lee/The New York Times

With the decades-old peacekeeping mission set to expire, the U.N. Security Council chose to extend it through 2026, then gradually withdraw the forces the following year.

© Diego Ibarra Sanchez for The New York Times

President Emmanuel Macron of France also pushed back against accusations by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he had not done enough to protect French Jews from antisemitic attacks.

© Dave Sanders for The New York Times

President Emmanuel Macron of France also pushed back against accusations by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he had not done enough to protect French Jews from antisemitic attacks.

© Dave Sanders for The New York Times

At the White House, President Trump and Lee Jae Myung praised each other’s eagerness to talk to North Korea’s leader — even if he doesn’t want to talk to them.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

Israel’s approval of a settlement project delayed for decades shows how far Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone in dashing Palestinian aspirations.

© Amir Levy/Getty Images

After President Trump held talks with President Vladimir V. Putin, he said the Russian leader would be willing to meet with Ukraine’s president. That seems less and less likely.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

The statement by Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov deals a blow to President Trump’s efforts to mediate an end to the war in Ukraine.

© Pool photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko

In an interview NBC’s “Meet the Press” is set to broadcast an interview on Sunday morning with Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia

© Pool photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko

The Ukrainian leader held talks with Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada and was set to meet with President Trump’s envoy, Keith Kellogg, amid continuing diplomatic efforts to end the war.

© Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press

The contested region is where Russia’s war in Ukraine began a decade ago. Scores of Ukrainian soldiers have died defending it. Would Ukraine give it up now?

© Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

At least half a million people in the enclave were facing the most severe conditions measured by U.N.-backed international experts: starvation, acute malnutrition and death.

© Saher Alghorra for The New York Times

President Trump has few sources of independent advice just as he is trying to broker an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, perhaps the trickiest negotiation of his presidency.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump has few sources of independent advice just as he is trying to broker an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, perhaps the trickiest negotiation of his presidency.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

Nearly a week after President Trump’s Alaska summit, his suggestions of imminent breakthroughs have not come to pass.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

President Trump says President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has agreed to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, but Mr. Putin has not confirmed.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

Diplomats scrambled to come up with detailed proposals for security guarantees and other sticking points following two high-level summits in Alaska and Washington.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

President Trump says President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has agreed to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, but Mr. Putin has not confirmed.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

© Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

The leaders of Germany, France, Britain and other supporters of Ukraine have come together in exceptional ways to help sway the U.S. president.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump has cast himself as a global peacemaker. His interventions have calmed some conflicts, while in others his role is less clear.

© Daniel Mihailescu/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The remarks were a considerable shift for France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, who called Moscow a potential threat for many European countries.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

The remarks were a considerable shift in sentiment between President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, who called Moscow a potential threat for many European countries.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

President Trump had suggested a meeting between Russia and Ukraine’s leaders could be a potential next step on the path to peace. Russian state news media barely mentioned the idea.

© Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

President Trump has offered only vague assurances of security guarantees for Ukraine if President Volodymyr Zelensky agrees to cut a deal with Russia.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and other European leaders have learned a thing or two about negotiating, Trump-style. So has Vladimir Putin.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

Jolted by President Trump’s support for possible land swaps in Ukraine, they went to back President Volodymyr Zelensky, a move that appeared to have accomplished its goal.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and other European leaders have learned a thing or two about negotiating, Trump-style. So has Vladimir Putin.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump has offered only vague assurances of security guarantees for Ukraine if President Volodymyr Zelensky agrees to cut a deal with Russia.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

President Trump has not committed to adding American forces to the mix in Ukraine. No one has detailed publicly what form defenses would take, but there are several options.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

The net effect of the Alaska summit was to give President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a free pass to continue his war against his neighbor indefinitely without further penalty, pending talks on a broader peace deal.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

In Alaska, the Russian leader proposed that Ukraine hand over the remainder of the Donbas region to Moscow to stop the fighting.

© John Macdougall/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Before a meeting with President Trump, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that Russia’s 2014 seizure of Ukrainian land became “a springboard for a new attack.”

© Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

European leaders are joining a trip to Washington to make sure the trans-Atlantic alliance remains intact.

© Benoit Doppagne/Belga, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

European leaders are joining a trip to Washington to make sure the trans-Atlantic alliance remains intact.

© Benoit Doppagne/Belga, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Evacuees at a shelter in eastern Ukraine reacted angrily to talk that land that has long been theirs could be given to Russia in exchange for peace.

© Finbarr O’Reilly for The New York Times

The net effect of the Alaska summit was to give President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a free pass to continue his war against his neighbor indefinitely without further penalty, pending talks on a broader peace deal.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

© Pool photo by Leon Neal

With no strategy of their own for ending the war, the continent’s leaders are anxious that President Trump will force Kyiv to accept terms that favor Russia too much.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

While no deal was announced, the Russian leader secured some wins and left on good terms with the U.S. president.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump gave President Vladimir Putin a warm public reception, effectively ending his diplomatic isolation over the past three years for his invasion of Ukraine. But Mr. Putin did not agree to stop the war.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times