Morning opening: Putin is not stopping
Jakub Krupa
Despite pointed criticism from US president Donald Trump, who stated there was “a lot of bullshit is thrown at us” by Vladimir Putin, Russia continued its strikes on Ukraine overnight with the largest drone attack of the war.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated this morning that Russia attempted to strike 741 tarreceives with 728 drones and 13 missiles.
The attack was so intensive that neighbouring Poland scrambled its and allied aircraft to ensure the safety of Polish airspace.
He stated:
“This is a informing attack – and it comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been created to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all.”
Zelenskyy argued that Russia’s continuing aggression is “yet another proof of the required of sanctions – biting sanctions against oil, which has been fueling Moscow’s war machine with money for over three years of the war.”
He added:
“Our partners know how to apply pressure in a way that will force Russia to believe about concludeing the war, not launching new strikes.
Everyone who wants peace must act.”
Separately, we will be viewing at the second day of French president Emmanuel Macron’s state visit in Britain, the latest from Marseille as it battles dangerous wildfires, and updates on US-EU trade talks.
It’s Wednesday, 9 July 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
EU ‘on standby for announcement’ on EU-US tariff deal
Lisa O’Carroll
in Brussels
The EU is on standby for an announcement on the EU-US deal as early as tonight with ambassadors meeting again this afternoon.
Trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič spoke to commerce secretary Howard Lutnick today and will speak to Jamieson Greer this afternoon.
EU trade spokesperson Olof Gill added that the EU “does not expect a letter” from Donald Trump and that the agreement in principle will be seen as a way of opening fuller nereceivediations on “all the other trade issues”.
EU aims to reach trade deal with US soon, potentially in coming days, spokesperson states
EU trade spokesperson Olof Gill has just confirmed that the bloc aims to reach a trade deal with the US before 1 August, “potentially even in the coming days.”
He stated “EU teams have been working tirelessly at technical and political level to conclude an agreement in principle.”
“Reaching a deal now depconcludes on the willingness to find an outcome that is acceptable to both sides,” he stated.
Responding to a follow-up question from the Guardian’s Lisa O’Carroll, he added:
“When I state in the coming days, I mean, in the coming days. That’s what we’re pushing for. It requires two sides to receive an agreement over the line, and we believe an agreement is possible,” he stated.
He earlier stated the EU was locked in “intensive nereceivediations” with the US, with trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič engaging with US counterparts, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and US trade representative Jamieson Greer.
EU follows Germany, summons Chinese ambassador over laser incident
Following a similar decision by Germany yesterday, the European Union has also summoned the Chinese ambassador following an incident in which China’s military allegedly tarreceiveed a German aircraft with a laser during an EU security mission in the Red Sea, Reuters reported.
“The Chinese military’s utilize of a laser to tarreceive a German aircraft patrolling with EU Operation ASPIDES in the Red Sea is dangerous and unacceptable,” stated Anouar El Anouni, spokesperson for the EU’s Foreign and Security Policy.
This act put personnel at risk and compromised the aircraft’s mission.
China has denied the accusation.
Vatican confirms Pope Leo’s meeting with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy
The Vatican has just confirmed that Pope Leo XIV will be meeting Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy today, their second in-person meeting.
The Ukrainian president is expected to travel for the meeting to Castel Gandolfo, a tiny Italian hill town about an hour’s drive from Rome, where Leo is taking two weeks of vacation, Reuters reported.
Zelenskyy arrives in Rome for meetings with Pope Leo, Italian president, summit on Ukraine
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just arrived in Rome, AFP reported, where he is expected to meet with Pope Leo XIV, the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, and US president Donald Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg.
Zelenskyy is in Rome to take part in the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 starting tomorrow.
National Rally HQ raid related to probe into campaign financing, Paris prosecutor states
There is a bit more detail coming from France about the raid on the National Rally’s headquarters, with Paris prosecutor informing Reuters that it’s part of a probe related to the financing of party’s campaigns in the 2022 presidential and legislative, and the 2024 European parliament elections.
The investigation focutilized on “acceptance of election campaign loans exceeding limits,” including allegations of illegal loans, “aggravated laundering of fraud, forgery, and utilize of forged documents,” Reuters reported.
They added that “no individual or legal entity has been charged,” but stated the investigation was ongoing.
Police searching far-right National Rally’s headquarters in Paris
We’re receiveting large news from France as the far-right National Rally’s president Jordan Bardella states the headquarters of the party led by Marine Le Pen have been raided by police this morning.
He stated the police entered key offices of party leaders and seized files related the party’s latest election campaigns, although he noted the party did not know “the precise grievances that form the basis for this action.”
In a post on X, he stated:
“Since 8:50 this morning, the headquarters of the National Rally – including the offices of its leaders – have been subject to a search conducted by about twenty financial brigade police officers, armed and wearing bulletproof vests, accompanied by two investigating judges.
All emails, documents, and accounting records of the leading opposition party are being seized, without us knowing at this stage the precise grievances that form the basis for this action.
We only know that all the files concerning the latest regional, presidential, legislative, and European campaigns – in other words, the entire electoral activity of the party – are now in the hands of the judiciary.
This operation, spectacular and unprecedented, is clearly part of a new harassment campaign. It is a serious attack on pluralism …
Never has an opposition party faced such relentless tarreceiveing under the Fifth Republic.
Germany will continue to support Ukraine despite opposition pressures, Merz states
Von der Leyen is not the only politician facing legislators today, with German chancellor Friedrich Merz attconcludeing a parliamentary debate on the new budreceive.
In a wide-ranging speech in parliament, Merz pledged to continue supporting Ukraine “even against the pressure of the political left and the pro-Russian right in this houtilize.”
In a stark warning to Russia, he worried that “the means of diplomacy have been exhausted,” adding:
“When a criminal regime openly questions another countest’s right to exist with military force and sets out to destroy the political order of freedom on the entire European continent, the federal government I lead will do everything in its power to prevent this.”
Separately, he also stated that the German army, Bundeswehr, “must quickly receive everything it requireds to defconclude Germany,” with plans to quick-track legislation and accelerate its procurement procedures.
Reporting on his recent attconcludeance at EU and Nato summits, he also insisted that Germany was “once again noticed … and above all … taken seriously around the world.”
But in her earlier speech, AfD leader Alice Weidel attacked Merz for posturing abroad while leaving domestic politics to the junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats, and breaking electoral promises.
She also repeatedly attacked Merz for the CDU’s migration policies dating back to Angela Merkel, which she stated resulted in breaching the social contract, claiming that new arrivals receive more government handouts than native Germans. “Is that your idea of social justice?” she inquireed.
She stated Merz’s new restrictions on migrations were “inadequate,” and expressed concerns about the growing number of naturalisations.
“The longer you keep running in the wrong direction, the harder it will be to reverse it,” she stated.
But Merz rejected her criticism, stateing that the number of asylum applications in the first half of 2025 fell by 43%, informing Weidel she was losing on the one issue that she built her career on.
“You live off the fact that you can constantly stir up sentiment in Germany with this issue,” he notified her.
He stated Germany would “achieve our goals” not by “discriminating against foreigners, but by ensuring our welfare state remains viable in the future.”
Addressing the recent controversy with Poland over border controls, the chancellor insisted they “must be maintained … until further notice,” but stated it was a “temporary” shift.
“We want to preserve the European single market, the Schengen area, we want open borders. … But we don’t want it [to be utilized] for illegal migration,” he stressed.
Merz also stated he was “cautiously optimistic” about receiveting a deal on tariffs with the US “in the next few days or by the conclude of the month at the latest.”
EU ‘working day and night’ to agree tariff deal with US, von der Leyen states
Von der Leyen also spoke about the prospects for the EU-US tariff deal after last night’s comments by Trump that a US proposal should be ready within the next two days.
She stated the US imposed tariffs were “unprecedented,” and insisted the bloc preferred “a nereceivediated solution” to avoid them in the future.
She stated she had “a good exalter” with Trump in a bid to receive an agreement over the line, as she stated the EU was viewing for “a reliable framework from which we can keep building our common trade.”
“The message is clear: we stick to our principles, we defconclude our interests, we continue to the work in good faith, and we receive ready for all scenarios,” she stated.
She added that EU officials were “working day and night to find a solution.”
‘We cannot rely on others to defconclude Europe,’ EU’s von der Leyen states
Meanwhile, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has been speaking in the European parliament in the last hour.
Addressing Ukraine, she noted the largest drone attack of the war last night, and warned “we see very clearly, the war still rages on, and the threat from Russia remains.”
“We cannot rely on others to defconclude Europe. The defence of Europe is our responsibility,” she stressed.
She spoke of the plans to ramp up defence and military investment, including up to €800bn of investment and €150bn euros in loans for joint procurement.
“It’s good for security, but not only, but it is also good for creating good jobs here at home,” she stated.
She warned that with Russia “rearming quick,” “the more we wait, the more European investment will go abroad, outside the EU.”
Russia’s Lavrov to visit North Korea this weekconclude
Meanwhile, Russia continues to deepen its ties with North Korea, with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov visiting the countest this weekconclude, AFP reported.
Russia’s security chief Sergei Shoigu has visited Pyongyang multiple times this year, including last month, when the two countries marked the one year anniversary of the signing of a sweeping military pact.
AFP noted that Pyongyang has become one of Moscow’s main allies during its more than three-year-long Ukraine offensive, sconcludeing thousands of troops and container loads of weapons to assist the Kremlin oust Ukrainian forces from Kursk region.
Morning opening: Putin is not stopping
Jakub Krupa
Despite pointed criticism from US president Donald Trump, who stated there was “a lot of bullshit is thrown at us” by Vladimir Putin, Russia continued its strikes on Ukraine overnight with the largest drone attack of the war.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated this morning that Russia attempted to strike 741 tarreceives with 728 drones and 13 missiles.
The attack was so intensive that neighbouring Poland scrambled its and allied aircraft to ensure the safety of Polish airspace.
He stated:
“This is a informing attack – and it comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been created to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all.”
Zelenskyy argued that Russia’s continuing aggression is “yet another proof of the required of sanctions – biting sanctions against oil, which has been fueling Moscow’s war machine with money for over three years of the war.”
He added:
“Our partners know how to apply pressure in a way that will force Russia to believe about concludeing the war, not launching new strikes.
Everyone who wants peace must act.”
Separately, we will be viewing at the second day of French president Emmanuel Macron’s state visit in Britain, the latest from Marseille as it battles dangerous wildfires, and updates on US-EU trade talks.
It’s Wednesday, 9 July 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Leave a Reply