At least 28 injured in suspected deliberate attack as car hits crowd in Munich – Europe live

Officers intervening at the scene of the car ramming attack in Munich fired a shot at the vehicle, police has now confirmed.

The Munich attack comes just 10 days before the German federal election, so expect it to be widely commented on by all political leaders, particularly as the issue of migration and asylum policies is absolutely central to the on-going electoral campaign.

In January, a two-year-old boy and another person were killed in a knife attack in Aschaffenburg, also in Bavaria.

Bavarian premier Markus Söder is from the main opposition CDU/CSU party (in fact, he is the leader of the CSU), which is on course to win the election and likely to lead the next government.

He told reporters at the scene:

The attack shows that something has to change in Germany and quickly. …

We cannot go from attack to attack and show concern … but must actually change something.

And he followed this up in a tweet:

• At least 28 people are injured, some seriously and critically, after a man drove his car into crowds in the Bavarian city of Munich in Germany, local authorities said.

• “It was probably an attack,” Bavaria premier Markus Söder told reporters.

• The driver drove around a police car protecting a trade union demonstration and accelerated into the crowd, local authorities believe.

• 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker has been detained at the scene and identified as the suspect, police confirmed.

• The suspect was previously known to the police in relation to drug and theft incidents, Bavarian interior minister said.

• There is no known link to the Munich Security Conference starting on Friday.

We’re getting more updates from Munich, in a news briefing from local authorities confirming that the suspect is a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker.

They confirm that their suspicion is that it was a deliberate attack.

He was known to local police in relation to drug and theft incidents.

Ukrainian defence Rustem Umerov is very diplomatic in his comments as he says:

Our focus is on security assistance. We see that all allies are supporting us, the US is with us, continuing security assistance … So it is already in process.

We says that “at this stage, [our] message is that we are continuing, we are strong, we are capable … and we will deliver.”

“We are thankful to all the countries and all the nations, and their leadership, for their security assistance,” he says.

And that’s it; he’s off to meet Nato ministers now.

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte and Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umierov are now speaking at the Nato defence ministers meeting in Brussels.

You can follow the live stream below, but I will bring you all the key lines in this blog.

… and here’s the latest update from Munich, as the police say two people are seriously injured among “around 20” hurt after a car went into the crowds during a local trade union demonstration.

Political correspondent

Alex Younger, former MI6 chief, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that “we’ve moved from a world of rules and multilateral structures and institutions to strongmen and deals, making deals over the heads of weaker and smaller countries”.

He said the UK needed to “get into deal making mode and understand the reality of what we’re dealing with”.

In further quotes, reported by the PA news agency, he said:

There’s been some very, very hefty concessions made without much being asked for in return.

The key point, though, the key point is that the vital ground of
this conversation is not about territory. It’s about sovereignty.

Russia wants Ukraine to be a non-country, and if Donald Trump gives that away, we’ve lost.

Ukraine’s will must be central to any peace deal, EU justice commissioner says

Lisa O’Carroll

in Dublin

Ukraine must be central to any peace deal that may be discussed by Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the EU commissioner for justice has said.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Michael McGrath said it was good to see Ukraine getting the personal attention of the US president but said Ukraine was a neighbour of the EU and on the path to joining the bloc with accession talks already opened.

“The people of Ukraine and the Ukrainian government… they must be involved in a central fashion in any negotiation about the future of their own country. Because what we cannot have a situation is a situation where aggression is rewarded,” he said.

… and before Rutte and Umierov speak, let’s quickly look at other reactions from Europe.

Ukraine and Europe should not be excluded from future peace talks on the Ukraine war, Kyiv’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha told Le Monde newspaper in an interview released on Thursday, Reuters reported.

“Nothing can be discussed on Ukraine without Ukraine or on Europe without Europe,” Sybiha said.

He said Ukrainian membership in Nato remained the cheapest way for the transatlantic alliance to guarantee the country’s own security, and there should be no compromise that harmed the territorial integrity or sovereignty of Ukraine.

“We want a complete accord. It is in the interests of the United States. With the Trump leadership, with a strong European commitment and European unity, we have a chance to give fresh impetus to this process. But as far as I am aware, our American allies have not yet finalised their plans,” he added, quoted by Reuters.

“All our allies have said the path of Ukraine towards Nato is irreversible. This prospect is in our constitution. It is in our strategic interest,” Sybiha said.

Jakub Krupa

We are going back to Ukraine now, as Nato secretary general Mark Rutte and Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umierov are expected to speak shortly at the Nato defence ministers meeting in Brussels.

We will bring you a live stream and all the key news lines here.

But I will also keep an eye on Munich and bring you updates when we hear more from local authorities there.