Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
Donald Trump spoke with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Friday as the US president appears increasingly disheartened over his chances of fulfilling a campaign pledge to end the war between Russia and Ukraine (9:27).
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US president was “very well informed” about the situation in Ukraine, as the pair discussed “the possibilities of air defence and agreed that we will work on increasing the protection in the sky” (16:28).
Germany also earlier said it would look to help with air defence, confirming “intensitve discussions” on the issue, including on buying the US Patriot defence system for Ukraine (11:57), with chancellor Friedrich Merz also speaking with Trump in the last 24 hours (15:43).
The phone call came after Russia struck Kyiv with the highest number of drones and missiles since the start of the war, Ukraine said (9:59), with Polish foreign minister telling Trump in a social media post that Russia’s Putin was “mocking his peace efforts” (11:21).
Separately, French president Emmanuel Macron and British prime minister Keir Starmer will co-chair a Ukraine summit in the UK on 10 July (13:17).
In other news,
Only half of young people in France and Spain believe that democracy is the best form of government, with support even lower among their Polish counterparts, a study has found (13:59).
A strike by French air traffic controllers entered its second day, leaving many passengers stranded at the start of Europe’s peak travel season (14:21).
Large parts of the Czech Republic including the capital city of Prague were hit by a major blackout, causing widespread disruption (13:42).
The number of people injured in a massive gas explosion at a petrol station in Rome on Friday has risen to 45, with two in a critical condition (16:48).
Finland’s president Alexander Stubb approved the country’s withdrawal from a treaty banning anti-personnel mines, citing a “deteriorated security situation” and longer-term threat from Russia (14:08).
Germany’s interior minister plans to host an EU summit to push for stricter rules for the bloc’s asylum system in Bavaria on 18 July, a ministry spokesperson said, as the new government seeks to deliver on a campaign pledge (13:46).
In Spain, more than 35,000 people have signed onto a petition calling on the government to decree a maximum temperature at which people can work outdoors (13:33).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
EU, US to hold last minute trade talks to avoid tariffs
EU and US negotiators will hold final stretch talks through the weekend as Brussels chases a deal before a 9 July deadline to avoid the return of steep tariffs, diplomats said, as reported by AFP.
If the European Union does not clinch an agreement with the United States by Wednesday next week, higher levies will snap back in and unleash economic pain on the bloc.
During a Friday briefing for member states, a senior EU official told countries there was no deal yet but talks would continue “likely over the weekend”, an EU diplomat told AFP.
