World
Poland targets Europe's largest army as Tusk warns of Russian threat
Prime minister says armed forces will reach 300,000 active personnel, doubling 2014 levels, while dismissing far-right narratives that blame the EU and Ukraine.
Topic · Place
Ukraine
Russia's invasion of Ukraine reshaped European security, energy and enlargement policy. NewsBriefing covers the war's consequences for European decision-making.
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World
NATO jets down drone over eastern Latvia as Baltic airspace violations persist
Latvian defence ministry says alliance fighters destroyed unmanned aerial vehicle that entered its territory, attributing incursion to Russian electromagnetic warfare amid fifth year of Ukraine conflict.
World
Anchorage summit legacy fades as Russia-Ukraine war escalates
One year after Trump hosted Putin in Alaska, the promised diplomatic breakthrough has evaporated. Both sides are intensifying military operations while US mediation has stalled amid a new Middle East conflict.
World
US intelligence points to Russia over Leipzig airport drone bomb
A quadcopter carrying Semtex explosives breached defences at the major logistics hub for four hours before a bus driver spotted it. Berlin stops short of accusing Moscow as eastern state elections approach.
World
Lithuania warns of Russian false-flag drone attacks on Baltic infrastructure
Lithuanian intelligence says Moscow may use captured Ukrainian drones to strike energy and transport hubs, framing Kyiv, while German investigators examine an explosive device found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport.
World
Drone incidents in Bulgaria and Germany sharpen NATO eastern flank concerns
A suspected Ukrainian decoy drone exploded near a strategic gas pipeline in Bulgaria while German forces detected multiple incursions at military sites, reviving questions about alliance air defences and escalation risks.
World
Ukraine shoots down zero ballistic missiles as Patriot shortage reaches critical level
A Russian barrage of 24 ballistic missiles penetrated Ukrainian defences entirely on Wednesday, killing at least 17 people, while NATO admits supply lines have collapsed to a third of last year's rate.
World
Zaluzhnyi declares Ukraine will never join NATO, cites outdated doctrines
Kyiv's ambassador to London and former military chief says the alliance relies on Second World War thinking while Ukraine has surpassed Western forces in drone and missile production.
Politics
Glucksmann says French intelligence blames GRU for disinformation campaign
Centre-left MEP and likely 2027 presidential candidate Raphaël Glucksmann says the Secretariat-General for National Defence and Security attributed a coordinated operation to Russian military intelligence, weeks before he is expected to declare his candidacy.
World
Zaluzhnyi says Ukraine will never join NATO, urges European security bloc
Former commander-in-chief and current UK ambassador argues alliance standards are obsolete, contradicting Kyiv's official constitutional objective
World
NATO installs new NSATU commander as alliance shifts Ukraine support toward European leadership
Lieutenant General Guillaume Beaurpere succeeds Curtis Buzzard at the Wiesbaden-based command coordinating allied military aid to Ukraine, with SACEUR signalling a European or Canadian officer will take permanent charge within a year.
World
Boris Nadezhdin flees to Paris as Kremlin tightens pre-election grip
The last prominent anti-war figure in Russian public life has left the country after detention, foreign-agent designation and exclusion from September's parliamentary vote.
World
China strikes back hard after EU sanctions on Russian war suppliers
Beijing's retaliatory measures target European firms with extraterritorial reach, escalating trade tensions before October negotiations on electric vehicle tariffs.
World
Montreux Convention at 90: how a 1936 treaty still blocks NATO from the Black Sea
Turkey's control of the straits keeps the alliance out while Russia and Ukraine fight a drone war the treaty never imagined. The result is a Black Sea largely empty of warships.
Politics
Moldova president nominates investment banker Vasile Tofan as prime minister
President Maia Sandu has named Horizon Capital partner Vasile Tofan to lead the government after Alexandru Munteanu's resignation, giving him 15 days to win parliamentary approval for a programme focused on economic revival and EU accession by 2028.
World
Trump grants Ukraine Patriot production licence at Ankara NATO summit
US president reverses long-standing policy on missile technology transfer while NATO leaders pledge $80 billion for Kyiv and defence spending targets slip.
World
NATO summit in Ankara reveals fractures as Ukraine secures drone deals and presses for air defence
Volodymyr Zelensky signs agreements with Estonia, the Netherlands and Denmark while demanding Patriot licences and a European anti-ballistic system, as Donald Trump questions allied resolve and Mark Rutte unveils $217 billion in defence financing.
World
Trump presses NATO allies to deliver on 5% defence spending pledge at Ankara summit
The US president travels to Turkey expecting concrete plans from European members after last year's Hague agreement, while his administration reviews force posture in Europe and feuds with several allied leaders.
Politics
EU foreign policy paralysis rooted in leadership failures not structures
Analysis argues the bloc's diminishing global influence stems from national capitals' unwillingness to take hard political choices rather than institutional design flaws.
Europe
Ukraine shifts from security consumer to provider as Europe rethinks defence architecture
Kyiv's battlefield experience and defence innovation are reshaping European security debates, with Germany and the European Commission proposing deeper integration before full EU membership.
Politics
Rasmussen urges European defence coalition including Ukraine as US commitment wavers
Former NATO chief argues Ukraine is now Europe's strongest military power and should be integrated into a new security architecture led by France and Britain, ahead of a critical NATO summit in Ankara.
Politics
Keir Starmer resigns as UK prime minister after Mandelson scandal and electoral collapse
The Labour leader steps down less than two years after a 411-seat landslide, undone by a flawed ambassadorial appointment, policy reversals and a May local election drubbing that brought Andy Burnham to the brink of Number 10.
Politics
EU opens accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova after Hungary lifts veto
Intergovernmental conference in Luxembourg launches formal negotiations on five policy clusters, marking the start of a process that typically takes years and requires sweeping reforms in both candidate countries.
World
Pashinyan wins Armenian election but misses supermajority for peace referendum
Civil Contract takes 49.81 percent of the vote, securing a parliamentary majority but falling short of the two-thirds threshold needed to ratify a constitutional referendum demanded by Azerbaijan.
Politics
Armenians vote in election testing pivot from Russia toward Europe
Nikol Pashinyan seeks mandate for peace with Azerbaijan and EU integration while opposition leader Samvel Karapetyan campaigns from house arrest under Russian pressure.
Politics
Armenia votes on EU future as Russia pressures former ally
Parliamentary election on 7 June becomes de facto referendum on geopolitical orientation, with Pashinyan's Civil Contract leading polls but facing Russian economic retaliation and a fragmented pro-Moscow opposition.
Politics
Hungary's Magyar visits Poland to reset relations after Orban era
Peter Magyar's first foreign trip as prime minister signals a pro-European pivot, but asylum granted to wanted Polish officials and frozen EU funds complicate the reset.
Europe
Latvian ECB governor signals rate hikes as Middle East war keeps oil prices elevated
Mārtiņš Kazāks says energy shock from Strait of Hormuz closure pushes euro area between baseline and adverse scenarios, while dismissing hopes that Russian economic pain will end Ukraine war.
World
Finland's Stubb dismisses NATO crisis talk as US shifts burden to Europe
Finnish president says alliance stronger after Nordic enlargement, welcomes European defence responsibility, downplays US troop withdrawal from Germany
Politics
European observers record voters turned away over photo ID confusion in English local elections
Council of Europe delegation notes incidents at polling stations but says problem not widespread; Electoral Commission cites 90% awareness rate from May 2025
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