16 h. ago Russia and Belarus carry out military drills amid rising tension – Europe live

Allies rehearsing scenarios of an attack on Belarus in the first such exercises since Russia invaded UkraineEU trade spokesperson Olof Gill also defended the EU’s sanctions from criticism that they are not going far enough.He said:“Our assessment is that the successive sanctions packages we have brought forward, which includes new initiatives plus additional initiatives to make the previous one stronger if that makes sense, our assessment is that those sanctions are working. The economic evidence shows that they are having an impact on the Russian economy, and that is precisely what they intended to do. “Phasing out of Russian fossil fuels is something that we have been doing and are doing actively for a number already of years, since the beginning of the war, with a very clear roadmap, with now even a clear legislative proposal in order to phase out the remaining gas still entering the EU. This is something on which the EU has been very actively and we have a very, very clear roadm...

Events

67 h. ago Russia and Belarus start wargames on EU doorstep in feared invasion rehearsal

As Europe reels from the unprecedented drone intrusion last week, the “Zapad” or “West” 2025 drills are set to take place in Russia and Belarus until Tuesday, September 16

Events

3 d. ago Nato on high alert as Russia and Belarus start military drills on Polish border

The manoeuvres come two days after the unprecedented violation of Polish airspace by Russian attack drones

Events

3 d. ago Putin's threat to the West: Russia begins huge 'Zapad' military drills involving new Oreshnik nuclear missiles days after using drones to test NATO weaknesses as fears grow over European invasion

Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have ramped up security ahead of the drills, with Poland ordering the complete closure of its border with Belarus for their duration

Events

3 d. ago Russia and Belarus launch military exercise that fueled Western concerns

Russia and Belarus have launched a long-planned joint military exercise involving thousands of troops that has raised concern in the West

Events

4 d. ago Poland sends 40,000 troops to eastern border as Europe moves closer to war with Russia and Putin masses his forces in Belarus for huge Zapad 2025 military drills following drone 'attack'

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk has dubbed the upcoming military exercises 'very aggressive' and has closed the country's border with Belarus in anticipation of the intimidating display.

Events

4 d. ago British Army sends message to Putin as UK readies for drills amid NATO tensions

The British Army will carry out military exercises in the Scottish Borders later this month as NATO ramps up efforts to prepare for more Russian incursions.

Events

4 d. ago NATO braced for more Russian drones as Putin prepares nuclear war test

Poland has deployed 40,000 troops to its border as Belarus and Russia begin their nuclear war training drills

Events

5 d. ago War games involving Russia and Belarus start this week. What to know about the military drills

The last time Russia and Belarus held major joint military drills in 2022, Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine just days later

Events

5 d. ago Attorney general trashes calls from Nigel Farage to leave the ECHR

Attorney general Richard Hermer said Britain would be left in ‘splendid isolation’ with Russia and Belarus if it left the ECHR

Politics

6 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russian drone alert in Poland before Belarus border closure

Warplanes scrambled after warning from Ukraine; Poland to seal border over Russian and Belarus’s ‘very aggressive’ Zapad war games. What we know on day 1,295Warplanes were scrambled early on Wednesday after Ukraine’s air force warned that Russian drones had entered Nato-member Poland’s airspace. “Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness,” Poland’s operational command said. The Ukrainian air force said drones were heading west and threatening the city of Zamosc in Poland. Ukrainian media reported that one was heading towards the western Polish city of Rzeszow, and said airports were being temporarily closed.Poland will close its border with Belarus on Thursday as a result of the “very aggressive” Zapad military exercises taking place in Belarus involving Russia, Donald Tusk has announced. The Polish prime minister said it was also a response to a growin...

Events

6 d. ago François Bayrou leaves Élysée after resigning as France’s PM – Europe live

Emmanuel Macron to name successor ‘within days’ as political crisis grips FranceFrance to get third PM in a yearLithuania has also said it will strengthen its borders with Belarus and Russia during the Zapad military exercise, the country’s border guard said today.The authorities said they would carry “even more active border monitoring, patrols, and other border control measures,” looking for any potential border violations and provocations against Lithuania. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Bayrou heads to Élysée to hand in resignation as France’s PM – Europe live

Emmanuel Macron to name successor ‘within days’ as political crisis grips FranceFrance to get third PM in a yearLithuania has also said it will strengthen its borders with Belarus and Russia during the Zapad military exercise, the country’s border guard said today.The authorities said they would carry “even more active border monitoring, patrols, and other border control measures,” looking for any potential border violations and provocations against Lithuania. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on UK attitudes to Europe: Labour is following where it could be leading | Editorial

There are signs of ministerial courage in making the case for closer ties to our neighbours, but the government could go further and fasterBritain’s relationship with the European Union was not a prominent issue in national debate when Sir Keir Starmer became prime minister, and Downing Street has striven to keep it that way. Labour strategists have seen Europe as a fissile topic, and Sir Keir’s opposition to Brexit in the 2016 referendum as a liability with swing voters. The prime minister has moved Britain closer to Europe, but in timid increments. The summit that formally “reset” relations early this year was long on statements of ambition, but short on substance. The government’s private recognition that economic logics impel Britain back into a European orbit has been in constant tension with fear of making that case in public.The balance now appears to be shifting. In a speech on Wednesday, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister responsible for EU relations, made the...

Politics

3 w. ago North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervises test of new antiair missiles

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has supervised the test-firing of two types of new antiair missiles displaying his expanding military capabilities as the South Korean and U.S. militaries carry out joint drills

Events

3 w. ago Europe’s show of unity at the White House is a plus for Ukraine, but peace is still a distant dream | Andrey Kurkov

As Russian drones and missiles continue to rain down death, the prospect of a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting seems unlikelyIt was night in Ukraine when President Trump met President Putin in Alaska – a night during which Russia shelled only frontline Ukrainian cities. People in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Dnipro and even Kharkiv could sleep, but they did not. They were waiting for news from Alaska. I was also awake and watching the news feed, aware that this meeting would lead to nothing, or worse, something bad for Ukraine. But in difficult, seemingly hopeless situations, human nature is prone to desperate optimism. In the middle ages, people often hoped for a miracle, forgetting about the logic of events. So, the night of 15 August was a night of hope for a miracle, which, of course, did not happen.Unlike on the eve of the Alaska meeting, in Ukraine, there was no particular tension in the buildup to the meeting of European leaders at the White House on Monday, despite images of a hugely powerful ...

Events