Members of the Rada yesterday overwhelmingly confirmed Serhi Koretsky as Prime Minister, replacing Yulia Svyrydenko, who was dismissed just one year after her appointment. The 48-year-old businessman headed the gas giant Naftogaz during the harsh winter of 2025–2026. His primary task, according to Volodymyr Zelensky, is to prepare Ukrainians to weather a fifth winter of war with an energy infrastructure ravaged by Russian bombardments.
Above all, the new head of government inherits a major political crisis. The summer reshuffle that brought him to power is increasingly seen as a manoeuvre designed to obscure the president’s true objective – to get rid of Mykhailo Fedorov, the defence minister who was sacked after just six months but was already credited with a solid track record – amidst a sweeping ministerial reshuffle. At the age of 35, he had accelerated the army’s digital transformation and built up the drone industry, which plunged Russia into its worst fuel crisis in decades, halted Moscow’s ground advance and enabled the isolation of occupied Crimea.
Thousands of demonstrators marched yesterday and today in Kyiv and several other major cities, chanting “Give us back Fedorov”, right up to the windows of the presidential palace despite Russian air strikes. Fedorov responded during a press conference held in an underground car park in the capital, accusing the Chief of the General Staff, Oleksandr Syrsky, of blocking all his initiatives. When called upon to choose between the two men, Volodymyr Zelensky sided with the general, reigniting concerns about civilian control of the armed forces.
Beyond the individuals involved, the rift pits two generations and two theories of victory against one another: that of the technological reformers, who rely on drones, robotics and streamlined decision-making processes; and that of a general staff forged in the Soviet mould, which relies on endurance and mobilisation. The rebellion is spreading through the ranks of the army; a deputy commander of the air force has resigned in protest, and the commander of the joint forces has publicly called for changes. Yevheni Khmara, a decorated military officer but one with no political experience, is taking over as acting defence minister, and several officials are already predicting a future confrontation with General Syrsky. Financial Times
Europe
🇺🇦 Ukraine • Two people were killed and six injured, including a 16-year-old teenager, in the early hours of Thursday morning in Kyiv by Russian ballistic missile strikes, according to the authorities. The strikes caused fires in several warehouses in the capital, which has been targeted by Russia for the sixth time since the start of the month.
🇷🇺 Russia • Opposition figure Boris Nadejdine, who is facing prosecution for “displaying extremist symbols”, told AFP that Vladimir Putin was leading the country towards a potential “catastrophe”. A declared candidate for the September parliamentary elections, he has been barred from leaving the country and placed on the list of “foreign agents” – measures that severely hamper his campaign.
🇩🇪 Germany – 🇫🇷 France • Following the 26th Franco-German Ministerial Council, Paris and Berlin announced a series of collaborative initiatives in defence, artificial intelligence, nuclear fusion and the automotive sector. Germany will take part in a French nuclear deterrence exercise in late 2026; a Rafale fighter from the Strategic Air Force will be deployed with a German wing; and the two countries aim to finalise the Capital Markets Union by the end of the year, adopting a tougher joint stance on Chinese imports.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom • The former mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has been confirmed as leader of the Labour Party at an extraordinary party conference, with the support of more than three-quarters of Labour MPs. He will move into 10 Downing Street on Monday to succeed Keir Starmer.
🇪🇸 Spain – 🇬🇧 United Kingdom • A steady stream of pedestrians and vehicles crossed freely across the border between Spain and Gibraltar following the entry into force of the free movement agreement between London and Madrid, which brings the enclave into line with Schengen Area rules. The territory, where some 15,000 Spaniards work every day, is now relying on a “digital fortress” of cameras and facial recognition to ensure its security.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom • The British government has announced the nationalisation of the steelmaker British Steel, previously owned by the Chinese group Jingye, on the grounds of “national security”.
🇪🇸 Spain • Begoña Gómez, the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, is to stand trial before a jury on charges of influence-peddling and embezzlement of public funds, a Madrid court has confirmed; the court has dropped the corruption charge and lifted her travel ban.
🇪🇺 European Union • The European Commission has proposed relaxing its carbon market to address industrialists’ discontent, by extending free allowances until 2038 and authorising the purchase of international carbon credits from 2036 onwards. Environmental organisations have condemned this as a retreat from a cornerstone of climate policy, whilst the EU has also set a target of 46 per cent of final energy consumption coming from electricity by 2040.
Middle East
🇺🇸 United States - 🇮🇷 Iran • The United States has bombed Iran for the sixth consecutive night, targeting dozens of military sites as well as bridges, a railway station, a port, an airport and electricity infrastructure; the strikes left eight people dead and 20 injured, according to the IRNA news agency. Donald Trump had threatened to strike the country’s bridges and power stations if Tehran did not return to the negotiating table. Iran retaliated by targeting Washington’s allies in the region with drones and missiles, striking a power station and a desalination plant in Kuwait, the US base at Al-Udeid in Qatar and US aircraft stationed in Jordan, with the Revolutionary Guards vowing to continue their attacks until “calm is restored” in the south of the country and in the Strait of Hormuz. The sea route, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas used to pass before the war, remains blocked by Tehran, with the United States having reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports and fired on an oil tanker attempting to force its way through.
🇸🇾 Syria • The Syrian authorities have foiled an attempt to smuggle sophisticated weapons from Iraq, with rockets and drones discovered in a tanker lorry at the al-Tanf crossing. According to a source at the Ministry of the Interior quoted by the SANA news agency, these weapons were destined for the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.
Americas
🇺🇸 United States • With three months to go until the mid-term elections, Donald Trump denounced the “shocking vulnerabilities” of the US electoral system in a televised address, accusing China of having illegally acquired the data of 220 million voters during the 2020 presidential election, allegations that have never been proven and which Beijing has dismissed as “pure fabrications”. His opponents fear this is a ploy designed to challenge the results in November, with Republicans at risk of losing their slim majority in Congress.
🇧🇷 Brazil – 🇺🇸 United States • From 22 July, Washington will impose a 25 per cent tariff on a number of Brazilian products, following an investigation based on a 1974 law, making Brazil the first target of these new surcharges. The Brazilian presidency has rejected the “illegal” measures and promised to retaliate, with the issue becoming a key topic in the run-up to October’s presidential election.
🇨🇳 China – 🇺🇸 United States • The US Department of Homeland Security intends to limit the duration of visas for foreign students and journalists, with a maximum stay of 90 days for Chinese journalists. Beijing has urged Washington to abandon this “discriminatory” regulation and has reserved the right to take reciprocal countermeasures, with the measure still to be considered by Congress.
Asia-Pacific
🇯🇵 Japan • Parliament has passed an amendment to the Imperial Succession Act which maintains the exclusion of women from the throne, despite the fact that over 70 per cent of Japanese people support the possibility of a female emperor, according to a Mainichi poll.
🇺🇸 United States – 🇵🇰 Pakistan • Islamabad has hired the US lobbying firm Ervin Graves for $1.2 million to strengthen defence cooperation and investment in critical minerals, including copper from Balochistan. Pakistan’s mediation in the negotiations between the United States and Iran has opened a window of opportunity, which the country hopes to turn into lasting benefits beyond the relationship between Donald Trump and Army Chief Asim Munir.
Africa
🇺🇬 Uganda • The country no longer has any Ebola patients, with the last recorded patient having been discharged from Mulago Hospital in Kampala after making a full recovery. Uganda, which has recorded 20 cases and two deaths, must now wait 42 days without any new cases to be declared free of the virus, whilst the outbreak continues to spread in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with nearly 2,000 cases and more than 700 deaths.
🇩🇿 Algeria • Eleven people, including children, have died and 19 others have been injured in a fire at an orphanage in the Mohammadia district, near Algiers.
