Morning opening: Another round of Russian attacks on Ukraine
Jakub Krupa
Ukraine’s foreign ministry reported at least a dozen injured in 42 Russian drone attacks overnight, hours after the two countries agreed to meet for further peace talks in Istanbul on Wednesday.
Some of the attacks involved an apartment building in Kramatorsk, and sites in Sloviansk, Sumy, and Odesa. “Another night of Russian terror,” the ministry said.
“Russia must be stopped with stronger pressure and tougher sanctions. Without decisive action, the attacks on civilians will only continue.”
Elsewhere, EU ministers meet in Copenhagen to talk about the bloc’s migration and asylum policy, and another heatwave hits south-eastern Europe with temperatures in Greece expected to rise to 43 Celsius.
I will bring you all key updates from across Europe today.
It’s Tuesday, 22 July 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
Closing summary
Jakub Krupa
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
-
Ukraine’s foreign ministry reported at least a dozen injured in 42 Russian drone attacks overnight, hours after the two countries agreed to meet for further peace talks in Istanbul on Wednesday (10:16).
-
Former Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov will lead the Ukrainian teams in these talks, with the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that “Ukraine never wanted this war and it is Russia that must end the war that it started” (11:15).
-
Meanwhile, Russia said it wasn’t expecting any “miraculous breakthroughs” at the talks (12:02), and separately said it has “significantly expanded” the list of sanctioned EU officials who will be banned from entering Russia, without declaring the names of those affected (10:31).
-
Separately, German defence minister Boris Pistorius confirmed that allies were in discussions as to where to relocate five Patriot missile defence systems for Ukraine from, with Germany volunteering two of them – but seeking guarantees they would be quickly replaced (15:47).
Elsewhere,
-
Senior EU leaders, including the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, urged Israel to deliver on its promises and dramatically improve the situation in Gaza amid “unbearable” reports from the area (14:31).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Man rescued trying to reach Spain from Morocco in rubber ring and flippers
Sam Jones
A man who was apparently trying to reach Spain from Morocco using a rubber ring and flippers has been rescued after he was spotted by a family sailing to the Balearic islands.
The family were on their yacht 13 nautical miles south of the Andalucían town of Benalmádena on the Costa del Sol, on 16 July when they manoeuvred around the stern of an oil tanker and saw something moving on the waves.
According to the Diario Sur newspaper, they assumed it was a bird until they looked through a pair of binoculars and realised it was a person.
Video of the rescue, shared on social media by the Spanish Royal Assembly of Yacht Captains (RAECY), shows the exhausted young man swimming towards the yacht as a rope is thrown for him to grab.
After bringing him on to the boat, the family gave him water, clothes and a cup of soup.
“We’ve called in a shipwrecked man and we’re going to pick him up,” says a man in the footage as he pans the camera around the empty waters. “It’s incredible where he is because just look, all the passing boats are really far away from him.”
Sources at the RAECY said the man was wearing a wetsuit and was equipped with only the ring and a pair of flippers. “He almost didn’t speak,” they said.
The family headed for the port of Estepona but were met by a maritime rescue service vessel at sea that took the man to port in Málaga and handed him over to police and the Red Cross.
Such dangerous crossings are not uncommon.
Czechs would defend country but would not necessarily take up arms, poll says
A majority of Czechs would get involved in defending the country if it was attacked militarily, although only a minority would be ready to take up arms, a new survey showed.
53% said they would be ready to get involved in support operations or logistics, and only 28% said they would be ready to get armed and involved in combat, a STEM survey showed.
The poll also showed some reluctance to commit to meeting Nato’s new 5% defence spending target, with just 8% of the population declaring their support for this move. About a third believe the spending should remain at the current level of 2%, the poll said.
Last week a similar poll in Italy showed that only 16% of those of fighting age would be willing to get involved, even as almost a third of the population feared that Italy would be involved in a war within five years.
39% of the surveyed Italians between 18 and 45 said they would declare themselves as “pacifist conscientious objectors,” and 19% would evade conscription.
Greece closes Acropolis, halts work amid record-breaking heatwave
Helena Smith
In southern Europe authorities have responded with emergency measures to deal with temperatures expected to exceed 44C as Greece and other countries across the region brace for a prolonged heatwave described as the harshest this summer.
In an announcement released this afternoon Athens’ department of antiquities announced that for the next three days the Acropolis, and all major sites around it, would be closed to tourists from 12 noon to 5pm “because of the high temperatures and for the safety of workers and visitors.”
The enforced closure of the country’s most visited archaeological treasure over so many days is not only unprecedented but another sign of how tourist-dependent nations are being forced to adapt to climate-induced extreme heat.
Previously, culture ministry officials had taken a day-by-day approach to dealing with soaring temperatures but opted to announce the measures in one fell swoop after meteorologists predicted the heatwave would last until Sunday.
Similarly construction workers and food delivery riders and builders in the wider area of the Greek capital were also ordered to pause work from midday until 5 pm the labour ministry said.
Tourists and Greeks who did not seek sanctuary in air-conditioned restaurants fled to coastal areas or boarded ferries for Aegina and other nearby islands in the Saronic gulf.
Fossil fuel polluters may be held accountable for climate harms, Italy’s top court says
Ajit Niranjan
In other news, Italy’s top court has ruled that fossil fuel polluters may be held accountable for the climate harms they cause – a major step that opens the door for a wave of legal battles in the EU’s third-biggest greenhouse gas emitter.
The case, brought by NGOs Greenpeace and ReCommon together with 12 citizens, seeks to force Italian oil giant Eni and its major government shareholders to comply with the Paris climate agreement.
The energy company argued that an Italian court did not have the jurisdiction to hear the case, but the court ruled in favour of the NGOs, allowing their arguments and future climate cases to be heard on merit.
“The Supreme Court establishes unequivocally that no one is above the law,” Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon said in a statement, “and that the interests of Big Oil cannot outweigh the rights of people to have their health and safety protected by courts.”
Activists have scored big wins against polluting governments and companies in countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, but the uncertainty brought by this case has kept Italy from experiencing the same flurry of climate litigation seen elsewhere in Europe.
The judgment comes as the south of Italy sees a return to the scorching – and deadly – temperatures that have roasted much of the continent in recent weeks.
Jakub Krupa
Let’s take a quick look at other news across Europe.
Allies looking where to move Patriots for Ukraine from, German defence minister says
German defence minister Boris Pistorius confirmed that Ukraine’s allies are looking at their options on where to source five Patriot missile defence systems for the wartorn country from.
“We are now looking for solutions that will allow us to identify Patriot systems in member states in Europe,” he said.
Pistorius said that Germany would have been willing to offer two of its own systems, but needed to get guarantees they would get replaced within six to eight months, Reuters reported.
Russia using children to design and test its military drones, investigation finds
Shaun Walker
Russian authorities have systematically involved children in the design and testing of drones for the country’s war in Ukraine through nationwide competitions that begin with innocent-seeming video games and end up with the most talented students headhunted by defence companies, an investigation has found.
The revelations, part of an investigation by the exiled Russian news outlet the Insider, are the latest to show just how much Russia’s leaders are dragging the country’s youth into the war effort in Ukraine, with “patriotic” and militarised education often spilling over into outright participation.
“The kids are actively involved in modelling components of systems for various drones,” one of the teenagers involved told a journalist. “I know of several people at least who were modelling UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] components for major enterprises.”
Vladimir Putin has called for Russia to boost its production of drones, which have increasingly become a key part of the war for Russia and Ukraine.
But the drone battle on the frontlines is constantly changing as both sides discover new technologies to enable drones to fly further and evade electronic jamming systems, and Russia is seeking the smartest tech prodigies among its youth to help with the effort.
The path starts with a video game called Berloga, launched in 2022, in which “intelligent bears” have to defend themselves against swarms of bees, sometimes using drones to repel them, the investigation found. Succeeding in the game, which is played by hundreds of thousands of young Russians, can lead to extra credits in exams at the end of high school.
The most successful players move into more advanced competitions, such as one called Big Challenges, which looks for promising school pupils to be headhunted by Russian companies, many of which are under international sanctions for their roles in the Russian defence industry.
The Insider spoke with three teenage finalists from the competition working on drone technology, who explained how it worked and detailed how they were fully aware of the military application of certain projects but were encouraged to hide it.
Images from Gaza ‘unbearable,’ EU’s von der Leyen says
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has also commented on the “unbearable” reports from Gaza, saying “civilians cannot be targets, never”.
She added:
“The images from Gaza are unbearable.
The EU reiterates its call for the free, safe and swift flow of humanitarian aid. And for the full respect of international and humanitarian law.
Civilians in Gaza have suffered too much, for too long. It must stop now.
Israel must deliver on its pledges.”
French foreign minister calls out Russia for targeting civilians in Ukraine
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot is in Ukraine today, as he walked through the centre of Kharkiv which is one of the cities most affected by Russian attacks.
Speaking to reporters, he said:
“Russia isn’t only leading its war of aggression on the frontline.
It also deliberately targets civilians, residential areas and businesses to undermine Ukrainian morale.”
Stop killing people at aid distribution points, EU’s Kallas tells Israel
Elsewhere, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas issued a stark warning to Israel, saying that “the killing of civilians seeking aid in Gaza is indefensible”.
In a post on X, she said she spoke with Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sarr “to recall our understanding on aid flow and made clear that IDF must stop killing people at distribution points”.
“All options remain on the table if Israel doesn’t deliver on its pledges,” she added.
Israel’s association agreement with the EU is already under scrutiny as a result of its actions in Gaza, with a recent proposal of 10 various sanctions potentially available to the EU (blog).
Putin appears unfazed by ‘emotional’ Trump’s threats over Ukraine
Pjotr Sauer
Vladimir Putin appears unfazed by Donald Trump’s first tangible break with Moscow – a sign, analysts and Kremlin insiders say, that the Russian leader had long anticipated a deterioration in relations from the apparent improvement at the beginning of Trump’s second term.
While Moscow views the souring of ties with Trump as regrettable – the US president dramatically shifted tone last week as he announced a deal to arm Ukraine and threatened massive sanctions against Russia – sources say Putin was always going to prioritise the war.
He remains confident that Russian forces are gaining ground and that Ukraine’s resistance could soon unravel.
“Moscow is disappointed and upset that it didn’t work out with Trump,” said a former high-ranking Kremlin official.
“But whatever expectations Putin might have had for a good relationship with Trump, it was always going to come second to his maximalist goals in Ukraine. For Putin, the invasion of Ukraine is existential,” the source, speaking on condition of anonymity, added.
The Russian president, who for months has gone out of his way to flatter Trump, has not yet commented on his threats, while the Kremlin and top officials have refrained from direct criticism. Behind the scenes, however, there was a mixture of frustration and acceptance.
“In Moscow, there had been hope and anticipation of forging a strong relationship with Trump,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, an independent Russian political analyst. “But the baseline expectation in Russia has always been tougher US sanctions and a steady flow of weapons to Ukraine,” Stanovaya added.
Russia ‘monitoring’ positioning of US nuclear weapons in Britain
Separately, the Kremlin also responded to reports in The Times newspaper (£) that the US had stationed nuclear weapons in Britain for the first time since 2008 that could be in future carried by Britain’s new F-35A fighter jets.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “We see a line towards escalation of tensions, towards militarisation, including nuclear militarisation.”
He added: “Our relevant departments are monitoring developments in this area and formulating tasks to ensure our security against the backdrop of what is happening.”
No ‘miraculous breakthroughs’ expected in Istanbul peace talks, Russia says
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said it was not expecting “miraculous breakthroughs” from the talks in Istanbul.
“There is no reason to expect any breakthroughs in the category of miracles – it is hardly possible in the current situation,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, as reported by Reuters.
“We intend to pursue our interests, we intend to ensure our interests and fulfil the tasks that we set for ourselves from the very beginning.“
Asked if he could give a sense of how the Kremlin saw the potential time frame of a possible peace agreement, Peskov said he could give no guidance on timing.
“There is a lot of work to be done before we can talk about the possibility of some top-level meetings,” he said.
His comments come a day after Zelenskyy renewed his offer to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin for direct talks.
Former defence minister Umerov to lead Ukraine’s team for talks with Russia
Former defence minister Rustem Umerov will lead Ukraine’s team for tomorrow’s peace talks with Russia, the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Umerov, who was moved to lead the National Security and Defence Council as part of a broader government reshuffle, met with Zelenskyy to discuss the key aims for the negotiations.
He will be joined for talks by representatives of Ukrainian intelligence, the country’s foreign ministry, and the presidential office.
Zelenskyy said:
“Our position is as transparent as possible. Ukraine never wanted this war, and it is Russia that must end the war that it itself started.”
Russia expands list of sanctioned EU officials
Meanwhile, the Russian foreign ministry said it has “significantly expanded” the list of sanctioned EU officials who will be banned from entering Russia, without declaring the names of those affected.
It said the move was in response to the new EU sanctions, the latest round of which was adopted last Friday, Reuters reported.
Morning opening: Another round of Russian attacks on Ukraine
Jakub Krupa
Ukraine’s foreign ministry reported at least a dozen injured in 42 Russian drone attacks overnight, hours after the two countries agreed to meet for further peace talks in Istanbul on Wednesday.
Some of the attacks involved an apartment building in Kramatorsk, and sites in Sloviansk, Sumy, and Odesa. “Another night of Russian terror,” the ministry said.
“Russia must be stopped with stronger pressure and tougher sanctions. Without decisive action, the attacks on civilians will only continue.”
Elsewhere, EU ministers meet in Copenhagen to talk about the bloc’s migration and asylum policy, and another heatwave hits south-eastern Europe with temperatures in Greece expected to rise to 43 Celsius.
I will bring you all key updates from across Europe today.
It’s Tuesday, 22 July 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
