Ukraine and Eastern Europe

Russian glide bombs and ballistic missiles struck a Ukrainian prison and a medical facility overnight as Russia’s relentless strikes killed at least 22 people across the country, officials said on Tuesday 29 July, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to punish Russia with sanctions and tariffs unless it stops. Trump said on Monday he is giving Russian President Vladimir Putin 10 to 12 days to stop the killing in Ukraine after three years of war, moving up a 50-day deadline he had given the Russian leader two weeks ago. “I’m disappointed in President Putin,” Trump said during a visit to Scotland.

China and the European Union have issued a joint call to action on climate change during an otherwise tense bilateral summit in Beijing on Thursday 24 July but major disagreements remain over trade and the war in Ukraine.  The two sides issued a joint statement on climate change, urging more emission cuts and greater use of green technology and affirming their support for the Paris Climate Agreement as well as calling for strong action at the upcoming COP30 climate summit in Brazil. European Council President António Costa called on China to use its influence over Russia to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, a long-standing plea from European leaders that is likely to fall once again on deaf ears.

Ukrainians are taking to the streets to protest a new law they worry will undermine the work of two key anti-corruption agencies and erode the independence of bodies meant to provide a check on power. Protests are growing and spreading around the country even as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered a vague new bill to alleviate demonstrators’ concerns. After a day of pressure from Ukrainian citizens, the European Commission and many European governments, Zelenskyy said he “heard the public opinion” and promised to fix the situation with a new bill that he pledged would preserve the independence of corruption agencies.

This week, a team of Japanese professionals conducted a landmine detection training programme for Ukrainian demining teams using equipment supplied by Japan. This initiative is intended to support Ukraine's ongoing efforts to clear explosive remnants of war in the context of Russia's ongoing invasion.

The war in Ukraine, following Russia’s unprovoked invasion in February 2022, has now raged on for three and a half years. Thousands of Ukrainians, military and civilian, have died, and millions of Ukrainians have been displaced. Vladimir Putin brought this calamity on the Ukrainian people, and on his nation too, for political capriciousness and naked ambition. Leaders of European countries understood the seriousness and significance of the moment, not only those near Russia, such as Poland, the Baltic States, Finland and Sweden, but in wider Europe too, including Germany, France, the UK, the Netherlands and beyond. Yet whilst the leaders rose to the occasion, the European public has remained largely indifferent. The majority of Europeans have so far acquiesced to the decision of their leaders to pour billions of euros into the Ukrainian war effort, but the conflict remains distant, and most Europeans carry on with their lives as usual. Putin is perceived more as an oddity than a threat. There is a great risk in this. The European Union High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, and former Estonian politician, Kaja Kallas, is quoted as saying “Ukraine fights today so that we may not have to fight tomorrow. Their fight is our fight.” True! But that is not the full story.

On Monday evening (7 July), US President Donald Trump announced that the US will supply more weapons to Ukraine. According to Trump, recent Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities left him with little choice. “We are going to send more weapons,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves. They are being hit very hard.” It is unclear what kind of weapons Trump is referring to.