Germany alleges Nord Stream sabotage was carried 'on the orders of state authorities in Ukraine'
Meanwhile, German prosecutors alleged that Ukrainian state authorities were behind the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline linking Russia with Europe in a move which AFP said could complicate close relations between Kyiv and its key military backer Berlin.
In a statement detailing the charges brought against one suspect, German prosecutors said that he and other members of the Ukrainian military had acted “on the orders of state authorities in Ukraine”.
The suspect in question was arrested in summer 2025 in Italy and extradited to Germany the following November, and was named at the time as Serhii K., AFP said. He has denied involvement, Reuters noted.
Zelenskyy says he hopes for swift results of Irish probe into alumina exports to Russia
in Dublin
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he hopes not to wait too long for the results of an Irish government investigation into alumina exports to Russia thought to be feeding the Kremlin’s war machine.
Speaking in Dublin on Wednesday he said he was grateful that the Irish government was conducting an investigation into the issue. “We very much hope for a positive result and we do hope that we will not have to wait for it for months,” he told reporters.
Investigative journalists, including at the Guardian, revealed that the Aughinish Alumina refinery on the west coast of Ireland is part of an international supply chain that appears to be feeding the Russian war machine.
The smelter, which is owned by the Russian aluminium group Rusal, is at the heart of a booming, and legal, trade in alumina, which is derived from bauxite and serves as the base ingredient for aluminium. Ireland exported $376m alumina to Russia in 2024, a 50% increase on 2022.
Speaking alongside Zelenskyy, Ireland’s prime minister, Micheál Martin, said the two leaders had a “good discussion on that specific issue” and that Ireland was “coming to the completion of an investigation so we get the full facts”. He continued: “We do not want to be in a position where material emanating from a plant in Ireland goes to support the Russian war machine.”
At a ceremony to mark the start of Ireland’s six-month EU presidency, Zelenskyy was more blunt about unnamed European companies.
“Unfortunately there are companies in Europe that are owned or effectively controlled by Russia and its sanctioned oligarchs. They keep supplying the aggressor with essential materials even now.”
The Ukrainian president also warned he had “very unpleasant information” about Russian preparations for another massive attack. Hours later Russia launched a large-scale bombardment of Kyiv that killed at least 17 people and injured dozens more.
Zelenskyy also reiterated calls for a speedy journey for Ukraine to join the EU, calling on the union to open talks on the five remaining groups of EU rules, known as clusters. Ukraine embarked on the first phase of membership talks (cluster one on the rule of law) last month, but now wants to open talks on all remaining chapters of the EU rulebook, including the single market, environment, economic and social policy.
Martin, who earlier stressed the transformative effect of European membership for Ireland, said he intended to work to secure the opening of all the remaining clusters by the end of our term.
Russia will 'continue to increase pressure on Kyiv' to achieve its goals, Kremlin spokesperson says
Responding to the EU foreign policy chief’s comments that the bloc would increase pressure on Russia for its strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine, the Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia will equally “continue to increase pressure on the Kyiv regime in order to achieve our set goals.”
Death toll after overnight attack on Kyiv rises to 17
Meanwhile, the death toll following a Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv has risen to 17, Ukraine’s emergency services said.
Russia ‘mounted drone surveillance of European nuclear sites over 18 months’
Defence and security editor
The Kremlin orchestrated a concerted surveillance campaign using drones launched from shadow fleet vessels over an 18-month period which targeted nuclear sites in the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, researchers have said.
Analysis by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) of 144 incidents in more than a dozen countries beginning in late 2024 concluded Russian intelligence had operated with “substantial impunity”, leaving authorities across Europe flat-footed and confused.
Drones were repeatedly spotted over airbases and airports, yet none were captured or shot down by western militaries, exposing a strategic failure in Nato air defences that the thinktank said had been quietly acknowledged across Europe.
RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, a UK base that was being prepared to house US nuclear weapons, and France’s nuclear submarine base at Île Longue in Brittany were among the sites targeted by unarmed drones believed to have been launched at sea.
European governments have been reluctant to accuse Russia of being behind the incidents, but Charlie Edwards, a senior IISS fellow, said “every government we spoke to said they would welcome the report being published”.
Back to Ukraine, the Russian Defence Ministry said its “massive attack” on Kyiv using long-range, high-precision air-, land-, sea-launched weapons and drones hit military and energy facilities, as well as airports and other locations, Reuters reported.
It said it was a retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russia.
Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 drones during the attack, the Ukrainian air force said. Air defence units downed most of those but 25 ballistic missiles and 12 drones struck 33 locations.
Merz presents coalition reform package in bid to revive economy amid AfD challenge
Over in Germany, chancellor Friedrich Merz has laid out his plans for wide-ranging reforms in a bid to revive the country’s struggling economy and counter the rise of the far-right ahead of key land elections this autumn.
The package of reforms includes income tax cuts of a volume of €10bn to be financed by increased taxes on the wealthy, as well as changes to the pension system that will eventually see the retirement age rise to 67, AFP said.
The tax relief will be mainly funded by raising the top rate of tax to 47% from 45% for the highest earners with an annual income of €280,000 or more, Reuters said.
The reforms also include an action plan against benefit fraud and abolishing workers’ ability to obtain sicknotes by phone, as well as a goal to cut staffing by 8% in federal ministries through digitisation, Reuters said.
Merz’s CDU/CSU trails nationally in all polls behind the far-right Alternative für Deutschland by three to five percentage points, with junior coalition partner SPD in fourth place, behind the Greens.
In September, closely watched local elections will be held in Saxony-Anhalt, which could see AfD come to power for the first time, with the party consistently polling at above 40%.
At least 13 killed in Russian drone and missile attacks on Kyiv - full story
in Kyiv
At least 13 people were killed and dozens injured overnight in Kyiv, local authorities said, as Russia launched its latest massive drone and missile attack on the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Thursday.
Fires were burning at sites across the capital as dawn broke, with strikes or debris hitting residential buildings in several districts and a hotel on one of Kyiv’s central boulevards. The death toll of 13 may rise, as local emergency services said 86 people were injured, 70 of whom had been hospitalised.
Loud explosions shook the capital for several hours as waves of drones as well as cruise and ballistic missiles came towards the capital and Ukrainian air defence attempted to shoot them down.
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, writing on Telegram, said that at one site the first to sixth floors of an apartment building had collapsed after a direct hit. At another location, people were pulled out from under rubble after part of a block of flats collapsed.
Russia regularly launches combined missile and drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital and there had been speculation for some days that another massive attack was in the works. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Ukrainians on Wednesday that it could come that night. “I am asking all our people to be extra careful, take care of yourselves and your children, and use shelters, this is very important,” he said, speaking on a visit to Dublin.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city will mark a day of mourning on Friday to commemorate the victims of the overnight strikes on the city.
At least 13 people were killed in the attack, with almost 90 injured.
Flags will be lowered on all municipal buildings in the city, with a recommendation to all other landlords to also raise their flags, if applicable.
All entertainment events in the city will be cancelled.
'The more Moscow attacks civilians, the more sanctions must be imposed,' EU foreign policy chief says
EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas responded to the overnight attacks on Kyiv, saying she will propose further sanctions on Russia.
“Words of condemnation alone will not stop attacks on Kyiv. Only sustained military support for Ukraine and increased pressure on Moscow can do that,” she said.
“Today, I will propose to sanction more entities supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex in response to the strikes. The more Moscow attacks civilians, the more sanctions must be imposed. We keep raising the cost until Russia understands it cannot win.”
Kallas added that all EU staff in Kyiv are accounted for, as she thanked them for their service in these difficult circumstances.
Morning opening: At least 13 killed in overnight Russian attacks on Kyiv
At least 13 people were killed in overnight Russian attacks on Kyiv and Ukraine, hours after president Volodymyr Zelenskyy cut his visit to Ireland short as he warned that Moscow was preparing a “massive attack”.
At least 86 people were injured during the strikes.
Zelenskyy said that at least 20 sites were attacked overnight, “most of them ordinary residential buildings,” with damage also reported “to an ambulance station, a research institute, a hotel, and [local] businesses.”
“Air defence supplies for Ukraine are an absolute and critical priority,” he stressed, repeating his request for a US licence to produce Patriot missiles locally in Ukraine.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha urged Ukraine’s allies to help Kyiv strengthen its air defence.
“Do not delay decisions on air defence for Ukraine! This is our main request to our partners after Kyiv suffered a night of horror,” he said.
I will bring you all the updates from Kyiv.
Separately, German chancellor Friedrich Merz is presenting his government’s new reform agenda this morning, hoping to send to gain new momentum after criticism of his lacklustre performance so far. I will bring you the key lines on that too.
It’s Thursday, 2 July 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
