Morning opening: No, do not bomb Moscow
Jakub Krupa
US president Donald Trump clarified overnight that, contrary to reports, he does not want Ukraine to target Moscow with long-range missiles: “No, he should not target Moscow.”
But he reminded Russian president Vladimir Putin of the 50 days deadline to reach a peace settlement over Ukraine. “I don’t think it’s a long time,” he warned.
Asked what options he was expecting to have if Russia doesn’t respond to the ultimatum, he said:
“A lot of opinions change very rapidly. Might not be 50 days, might be much sooner than 50 days.”
Trump also confirmed that first Patriot deliveries for Ukraine, via Germany, are “already being shipped.”
But Russia appears to be undeterred in its attacks, with Ukraine’s air force reporting this morning that 400 drones and one ballistic missile were launched, mostly targeting three cities of Kharkiv, Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih and Vinnytsia.
At least two people were reported dead, with at least 12 injured.
Separately, we will be looking at the fallout from the French budget presentation last night, and ahead to the European Commission’s announcement of its plans for the EU’s budget 2028-2034 later today.
I will bring you all the latest here.
It’s Wednesday, 16 July 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
Man arrested in Ukraine over bomb threats against Czech, Slovak schools
A joint Czech, Slovak and Ukrainian police operation arrested a Ukrainian man who was allegedly sending bomb threats against “hundreds” of Czech and Slovak schools, the forces confirmed.
The arrest took place in the Dnipro region of Ukraine as a result of the forces’ joint investigation into multiple emailed bomb threats that started in September last year.
Czech media outlet iDnes.cz reported that the threats were emailed to hundreds of schools, and were investigated by the Slovak police at the time as potential terrorism incident.
The Slovak police said in a statement that the forces also conducted a number of house searches, seizing computers and mobile telecommunications equipment.
Patriot-owning countries to meet to coordinate aid for Ukraine next week – reports
Separately, Reuters reported that a meeting of Patriot owner nations and Ukraine donors, aiming to find additional Patriot air defence batteries for Kyiv and chaired by Nato’s top military commander could take place Wednesday next week.
Polish factory in Ukraine targeted by Russian attacks overnight, Polish minister says
Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski has just said that overnight Russian drone attacks on Ukraine “deliberately” targeted a Polish company’s factory in Vinnytsia with strikes “from three sides.”
The company is owned by the Barlinek Group, a major manufacturer of layered wood floors, Sikorski said. Vinnytsia is about 400-500 km away from the Polish border.
He said there was a number of injured, including two with serious burns.
“The Ukrainian services are active, as is our consulate,” he said.
He added:
Putin’s criminal war is approaching our borders.
The attack comes hours before Sikorski is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian and Lithuanian foreign ministers in Lublin, Poland.
EU court dismisses appeal on Jean-Marie Le Pen’s expenses
An EU court dismissed an appeal brought by Jean-Marie Le Pen’s heirs against a European parliament decision demanding repayment for about €300,000 the late French far-right leader unduly claimed in expenses, AFP reported.
The court’s press release said “according to the parliament, Mr Le Pen had improperly invoiced personal expenses under budget item 400, intended for MEPs’ parliamentary expenses.”
The court rejected the arguments made by Le Pen’s three daughters – Marine, Marie-Caroline, and Yann – saying the parliament’s procedure was “not contrary to the principles of legal certainty and the protection of legitimate expectations.”
It added that Le Pen’s right to a fair trial was also respected.
Le Pen, who died in January this year, was a member of the European parliament between 1984 and 2019.
Here’s our Ukraine war briefing in full if you want to catch up on the latest.
Morning opening: No, do not bomb Moscow
Jakub Krupa
US president Donald Trump clarified overnight that, contrary to reports, he does not want Ukraine to target Moscow with long-range missiles: “No, he should not target Moscow.”
But he reminded Russian president Vladimir Putin of the 50 days deadline to reach a peace settlement over Ukraine. “I don’t think it’s a long time,” he warned.
Asked what options he was expecting to have if Russia doesn’t respond to the ultimatum, he said:
“A lot of opinions change very rapidly. Might not be 50 days, might be much sooner than 50 days.”
Trump also confirmed that first Patriot deliveries for Ukraine, via Germany, are “already being shipped.”
But Russia appears to be undeterred in its attacks, with Ukraine’s air force reporting this morning that 400 drones and one ballistic missile were launched, mostly targeting three cities of Kharkiv, Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih and Vinnytsia.
At least two people were reported dead, with at least 12 injured.
Separately, we will be looking at the fallout from the French budget presentation last night, and ahead to the European Commission’s announcement of its plans for the EU’s budget 2028-2034 later today.
I will bring you all the latest here.
It’s Wednesday, 16 July 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
