EU leaders discuss the Wagner uprising in Russia
In the wake of Russian strikes that left 12 dead in Kramatorsk, European heads of state and government will discuss the fallout from the failed uprising in Russia at a summit in Brussels. Follow hour by hour the development of the situation in Ukraine and Russia.
06:37: The number of the Kramatorsk raid rises to 12 dead The death toll from a Russian missile attack on a restaurant in Kramatorsk, a city in eastern Ukraine, in Donetsk Oblast, is 12, emergency services say, and 60 are also injured.
Three children were among those killed in the attack, they said. Kramatorsk, a large city located west of the frontline in the Donetsk region, has already been bombed by Russia, most notably when an attack on the railway station killed 63 people in April 2022.
6:12: The EU must not “lower the bar” to integrate Ukraine, says Denmark
Danish Finance Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said his government supported the membership of Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and the Western Balkans, but said “geopolitical circumstances” did not justify doing so. stalemate in government reforms, in an interview with the Financial Times.
The EU risks “importing instability” if it relaxes its standards on democracy and corruption to speed up the implementation of reforms, he said.
05:36: discussion on the consequences of the aborted mutiny in Russia at the European summit
European heads of state and government will meet on Thursday at a summit in Brussels to discuss further support measures for Ukraine and security assistance for it, in the presence of NATO’s general secretary in particular.
While last weekend’s events in Russia are not on the agenda or mentioned in draft statements, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has said EU leaders will discuss the mutiny launched by the Russian paramilitary group Wagner and then abandoned on Saturday. Like many of her European peers, the Estonian leader said the mutiny highlighted shortcomings in leadership in Russia.
01:24: Zelensky receives the 2023 prize from the British think tank Chatham House
Ukraine’s president has won the 2023 prize from the British think tank Chatham House for his leadership in relation to the Russian invasion.
His transformation from “political novice to warlord is extraordinary to say the least,” Chatham House said in a statement. “The former actor united his country” in the face of a “terrible enemy” and “created a form of diplomacy and leadership by using social media and communicating directly with leaders around the world and gathering a broad coalition to support Ukraine in the U.S. Nations and beyond”.
“President Zelensky has united his country in resistance and counter-offensive and has shown great command of international diplomacy,” said Chatham House director Bronwen Maddox, “delighted to have accepted this award in recognition of this effort”.
Russian strikes destroyed a restaurant in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Wednesday, killing at least 11 people and injuring about 60 people. US President Joe Biden has called Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin a “pariah” whose army insists it is not targeting any civilian targets in Ukraine.
Emmanuel Macron, for his part, received NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Élysée. He calls on Turkey and Hungary to ratify Sweden’s membership of NATO before the summit that the Atlantic alliance is organizing on July 11 and 12 in Vilnius.
AFP and Reuters
