Europe hopes to repair trans-Atlantic trust as Rubio attends key security conference

MUNICH (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on Friday for the United States and Europe to “repair and revive trans-Atlantic trust together,” saying that even the U.S. isn't powerful enough to go it alone in an world whose old order has withered.

Merz called for a “new trans-Atlantic partnership,” acknowledging that “a divide, a deep rift” has opened up across the Atlantic as he opened the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of top global security figures, including many European leaders and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Merz said that the post-World War II world order, “as imperfect as it was at its best times, no longer exists” today.

Hours later, French President Emmanuel Macron said that “Europe has to become a geopolitical power.” He said that “it's ongoing, but we have to accelerate” in areas such as defense, technology and “derisking vis-a-vis all the big powers in order to be much more independent.”

At last year's conference, a few weeks into U.S. President Donald Trump's second term, U.S. Vice President JD Vance stunned European leaders by lecturing them about the state of democracy and freedom of speech on the continent — a moment that set the tone for the last year.

A series of statements and moves from the Trump administration targeting allies followed, including Trump's threat last month to impose new tariffs on several European countries in a bid to secure U.S. control of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark. The president later dropped that threat.

“The culture war of the MAGA movement in the U.S. is not ours,” Merz said. “The freedom of the word ends here when this word is turned against human dignity and the constitution. And we don't believe in tariffs and protectionism, but in free trade.”

He said that Europe would stand by climate agreements and the World Health Organization.

But Merz said that Europe and the U.S. should conclude that “we are stronger together" in today's world.

“In the era of great-power rivalry, even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone,” he said. “Dear friends, being a part of NATO is not only Europe's competitive advantage. It's also the United States' competitive advantage, so let's repair and revive trans-Atlantic trust together.”

The Europeans, Merz said, are doing their part.

Since last year’s Munich conference, NATO allies have agreed under pressure from Trump to a large increase in their defense spending target.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that there has been a “shift in mindset,” with “Europe really stepping up, Europe taking more of a leadership role within NATO, Europe also taking more care of its own defense.”

With Rubio heading the U.S. delegation this year, European leaders can hope for a less contentious approach more focused on traditional global security concerns. Before departing for Germany, Rubio had some reassuring words as he described Europe as important for Americans.

“We’re very tightly linked together with Europe,” he told reporters. “Most people in this country can trace both, either their cultural or their personal heritage, back to Europe. So, we just have to talk about that.”

But Rubio made clear that it wouldn’t be business as usual, saying: “We live in a new era in geopolitics, and it’s going to require all of us to reexamine what that looks like.”

Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the conference that the U.S. had been sustaining the financial burden of multilateralism for too long and Europeans need to do more.

“There is a cost to the status quo and the status quo was not sustainable any more,” Waltz said.

Merz said that Europe's “excessive dependency” on the U.S. was its own fault, but it's leaving that behind.

“We won't do this by writing off NATO — we will do it by building a strong, self-supporting European pillar in the alliance, in our own interest,” he said.

He acknowledged that Europe and the U.S. will likely have to bridge more disagreements in the future than in the past, but “if we do this with new strength, respect and self-respect, that is to the advantage of both sides.”

Macron, who emphasized the priority of supporting Ukraine and called for greater regulation of social media, also stressed the importance of respect.

“This is the right time for a strong Europe,” he said. “This Europe will be a good ally and partner for the United States of America, because it will be a partner taking its fair share of the burden. It will be a partner being respected — and we have to be respected.”

Rubio arrived in Munich on Friday. He met with Merz, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and others separately on the sidelines of the conference. He is due to address the conference on Saturday morning.

The German chancellor, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and several other European leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich, before another round of U.S-brokered talks between envoys from Russia and Ukraine in Geneva next week.

Rubio wasn't participating in the meeting as his schedule was packed with separate bilateral meetings with European officials, including one with the leaders of Denmark and Greenland, a U.S. official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because neither the meeting nor Rubio’s attendance had been announced, said that Rubio was and would be discussing Russia’s war with Ukraine in other formats.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha‎ played down the fact that Rubio didn’t attend the meeting, saying that, from Ukraine’s perspective, the important meeting with the Secretary of State would take place on Saturday.

Sybiha‎ said security guarantees from the U.S. for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire were “almost ready,” and that Ukraine had more clarity on what the U.S. was ready to provide following meetings in Abu Dhabi.

He declined to give details of the guarantees but said they must be legally binding and include “intelligence data, of course, support in air, and other important elements which could be provided only by the USA.”

When asked by AP if discussions had taken place over what the U.S. would do about a physical or hybrid attack by Russia in the event of a ceasefire, Sybiha said the U.S. and Ukraine “probably have this understanding," without elaborating.

Geir Moulson reported from Berlin. Claudia Ciobanu contributed to this report from Warsaw, Poland.

French President Emmanuel Macron addresses the audience during a session at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

From left, Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof, Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen, President of Finland Alexander Stubb, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Günter Sautter Foreign and Security Policy Advisor to the Chancellor, Prime Minister of Poland attend a meeting at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday Feb. 13, 2026. (Kay Nietfeld/Pool via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz meet in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, at the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz shake hands in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, at the the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

From left, Norway's Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda speak prior to a panel discussion during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz prepares to address the audience during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio shakes hands with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, at the beginning of a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio shakes hands with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, at the beginning of a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrives for the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Figures depicting US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, are displayed at Marienplatz square, as part of a protest against fossil energy by the environment organisation Greenpeace during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Police walk in formation to take their security positions around the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, for the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

FILE - Chairman of the conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, speaks at the Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. (Andreas Gebert/dpa via AP, File)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian strikes killed at least eight people across Ukraine on Friday, including in a “massive” missile and drone attack near the capital, local authorities reported.

Ukrainian officials claim the Kremlin is changing its tactics to increase civilian suffering, shifting to daytime barrages and preparing to target more key infrastructure.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signaled Kyiv's openness to a potential Easter truce. The holiday is celebrated on April 12 in Ukraine and Russia.

Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine is preparing for a shift in Russian aerial tactics, with intelligence indicating that future attacks will move beyond energy infrastructure.

Russia's Defense Ministry said 192 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight across Russia and occupied Crimea.

“The Kyiv region is once again under a massive Russian missile and drone attack,” said Mykola Kalashnyk, head of the regional military administration, in a Telegram post on Friday.

Kalashnyk said one person died and at least eight others were wounded in strikes on three of Kyiv’s satellite towns — Bucha, Fastiv and Obukhiv. Earlier in the week, residents of Bucha marked the fourth anniversary of atrocities committed in the town by Russia's invading forces.

Obukhiv resident Lesia Podoriako, 37, told The Associated Press she was at work with her child when she learned her building had been struck.

“I found out about it through Telegram channels. Then all my friends and acquaintances started calling me, telling me that our building was attacked. I have no words. The main thing is that everyone is alive and healthy,” she said.

Another person was killed in Ukraine's northern Sumy region after a Russian guided aerial bomb struck an apartment block, local Gov. Oleh Hryhorov reported. Authorities in the Kherson, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv and Donetsk regions also reported casualties from Friday's attacks.

Ukrainian officials highlighted what they said were increased daytime attacks by Russia, which they said could lead to more civilian deaths. For months, Moscow pummeled Ukraine with nighttime missile and drone strikes that could involve hundreds of drones at a time.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, said in a post on X that “almost half a thousand drones and cruise missiles” attacked Ukraine overnight.

“This is how Moscow responds to Ukraine’s Easter ceasefire proposals — with brutal attacks,” Sybiha said.

Zelenskyy on Thursday signaled Kyiv's continued openness to a potential truce on Easter, which falls next week according to the Julian calendar followed by Orthodox churches in Ukraine and Russia.

Zelenskyy told reporters that the proposal had been communicated to Moscow through U.S. channels. He added that the Kremlin's response remains unclear.

Zelenskyy has previously offered a ceasefire for the Easter period — but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that Moscow wants a lasting peace settlement, not a temporary truce.

President Vladimir Putin unilaterally declared a 30-hour ceasefire last Easter, but each side accused the other of breaking it.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said Russia was increasingly striking the country during the day, an apparent departure from months of nighttime barrages.

Andrii Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation within Ukraine's defense ministry, said that the daytime strikes aimed to “increase civilian casualties.”

“That is why the combined attack is carried out on a working day, using a large number of drones and missiles,” Kovalenko wrote on Friday in a Telegram post.

Zelenskyy told reporters on Thursday that Ukraine is preparing for Russian aerial attacks that could target water systems, logistics and other critical networks. After months of sustained strikes on power facilities, Kyiv now expects increased pressure elsewhere.

“According to intelligence documents we have received, the Russians will target logistics – railways and other infrastructure. They will also target the water supply,” Zelenskyy said at a press briefing.

Around midday on Friday, Russian forces dropped five aerial bombs on the city of Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine. At least two people were killed and three were injured, according to a Telegram update by Vadym Filashkin, who heads the regional military administration.

Elsewhere in Ukraine on Friday, a Russian drone strike damaged a bus in the southern city of Kherson, leaving the driver seriously wounded and at least eight passengers hurt, according to regional officials.

Separately, authorities reported sustained attacks on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, beginning on Thursday and continuing into early Friday. Drone strikes near the city center caused several injuries. Two people later died in hospital, local Gov. Oleh Syniehubov wrote in separate Telegram updates.

Bohdan Hladykh, head of Kharkiv’s Department of Emergency Situations, said Russia struck the city at least 20 times during the day on Thursday with explosive drones.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy told reporters that the battlefield situation has stabilized, with recent intelligence assessments pointing to the most favorable conditions for Kyiv in months. While fighting remains intense across eastern sectors, Ukrainian forces have disrupted Russian offensives in recent weeks and regained limited ground.

“On Wednesday I received a report from our intelligence and an analysis from British intelligence. I received MI6’s assessment of the situation at the front: right now, it is the best situation for Ukraine in the past 10 months,” the Ukrainian leader said at a press briefing Thursday.

Zelenskyy added that Ukraine has invited U.S. negotiators to visit Kyiv, as part of ongoing discussions on security guarantees and a broader framework for ending the war. Recent talks have involved senior American officials as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, with Ukraine seeking clearer commitments on long-term defense support and responses to any future Russian aggression.

Two people were hospitalized on Friday following a Ukrainian drone strike on Russia's Leningrad region, over 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) from the border, said regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko reported, who added that the drones also set fire to an “unoccupied” building within the Morozov industrial zone.

The settlement of Morozov houses a state-owned plant that makes explosives and components for ammunition, including solid fuel used in Topol-M missile systems. The plant was put under U.S., EU and other Western sanctions following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Twelve people, including at least three Russian soldiers, were injured in a Ukrainian drone strike late Thursday on Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported.

Four drones were downed during the night on the approach to Moscow, mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported Friday. He did not reference any casualties or damage.

Associated Press journalists Vasilisa Stepanenko in Obukhiv and Derek Gatopoulos in Kyiv contributed.

Broken glass is seen on beds at an which was damaged after a Russian strike on residential neighbourhood in Kriukivshchyna, Kyiv region, Ukraine, on Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A destroyed car is seen after a Russian strike on residential neighbourhood in Vyshneve, Kyiv region, Ukraine, on Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A house is seen damaged after a Russian strike on residential neighbourhood in Kriukivshchyna, Kyiv region, Ukraine, on Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People walk in front of a house which was damaged after a Russian strike on residential neighbourhood in Kriukivshchyna, Kyiv region, Ukraine, on Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People remove broken glass from their windows after a Russian strike on residential neighbourhood in Kriukivshchyna, Kyiv region, Ukraine, on Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, Russian soldiers fire a grenade launcher towards Ukrainian positions on an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)