‘If we don’t help Ukraine further, we should start learning Russian,’ Kallas echoes Rutte’s warning
EU’s Kallas continues:
On Ukraine, the European Union is doing its part here too, not least because Ukraine is Europe’s first line of defence. We know that Russia responds to strength and nothing else.
She highlights the importance of the 18th sanction package proposed by the EU, saying that “every sanction weakens Russia’s ability to fight this war.”
But she ends on a warning again:
We have to do more for Ukraine, for our own security too.
To quote my friend Nato secretary general Mark Rutte: if we don’t help Ukraine further, we should all start learning Russian.
The stronger Ukraine is on the battlefield today, the stronger they will be around the negotiation table when Russia finally is ready to talk.
Key events
Senior Ukrainian officials have discussed the possibility of the US supporting defence projects in Ukraine under a joint investment fund set up last month, Kyiv’s first deputy prime minister said on Wednesday.
The talks, which included US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, took place during the G7 summit in Canada, Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on Facebook.
EU accuses China’s AliExpress of ‘systemic failure’ over illegal goods
Jennifer Rankin
The European Commission has accused online retailer AliExpress of a “systemic failure” to prevent the sale of illegal and dangerous goods on its platform, as Brussels stepped up its case against the Chinese company.
Issuing formal findings of an investigation launched in March last year, EU regulators said on Wednesday that AliExpress was failing to do enough to prevent the sale of counterfeit clothes and dangerous children’s toys, among other items.
The company, which claims 104 million monthly users in the EU, did not devote enough resources to content moderation to take down illegal goods on sale on its platform, regulators said.
An EU official said the company – which is owned by Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce group founded by the Chinese billionaire Jack Ma – had “underestimated the general risk of the sale of illegal products”.
The official added: “General measures they have in place to avoid the dissemination of illegal products do not work properly – it shows a systemic failure.”
The European Commission said these were preliminary findings, pending further investigation and responses from AliExpress.
If EU officials uphold the verdict, the company can in theory be fined up to 6% of global turnover under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
Spy ships, cyber-attacks and shadow fleets: the crack security team braced for trouble at sea
Miranda Bryant
As international tensions mount and hackers grow more sophisticated and audacious, the Nordic Maritime Cyber Resilience Centre is constantly monitoring the global threat of war, terror and piracy.
Ships being taken over remotely by hackers and made to crash is a scenario made in Hollywood.
But in a security operations room in Oslo, just a few metres from the sparkling fjord and its tourist boats, floating saunas and plucky bathers, maritime cyber experts say not only is it technically possible, but they are poised for it to happen.
“We are pretty sure that it will happen sooner or later, so that is what we are looking for,” says Øystein Brekke-Sanderud, a senior analyst at the Nordic Maritime Cyber Resilience Centre (Norma Cyber). On the wall behind him is a live map of the ships they monitor and screens full of graphs and code. Two little rubber ducks watch over proceedings from above.
In an unstable world, shipping, ports and terminals are taking on enormous strategic importance as targets for destabilising infrastructure and espionage. This is particularly relevant in the Nordic countries, which share land and sea borders with Russia.
Finland and Sweden are now Nato members and all countries are beefing up their defence capabilities amid hybrid attacks and rising fear of war.
With the ever increasing digitalisation of ships – and, as a result, more opportunities for hacking – plus rapidly sharpening AI tools to speed up getting around complicated systems, it is a case of when, not if.
Jakub Krupa
And speaking of Russia’s impact on its neighbours, let’s quickly go to Miranda Bryant in the Nordics and see how the region monitors the global threat of war, terror and piracy on seas from its Maritime Cyber Resilience Centre.
Europe will never return to Russian gas, European Commission insists
Jennifer Rankin
The European Commission has insisted there will be no return to Russian gas, as it published plans to phase out fossil fuel imports from its eastern neighbour by 2028.
The EU energy commissioner, Dan Jørgensen, said a proposed ban on Russian gas imports would remain, irrespective of whether there was peace in Ukraine.
EU officials recalled when Russia cut gas supplies in 2006, 2009 and 2014, as well as the deliberate reduction in flows in 2021 before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which contributed to a huge rise in energy prices and surging inflation across the continent.
Under the proposals, European companies would be banned from importing Russian gas or providing services at EU liquified natural gas terminals to Russian customers. Any contracts entered into from today would have to be wound up by 1 January 2026, but companies with pre-existing agreements have a final deadline of 1 January 2028.
The proposal is facing a backlash from Hungary, Slovakia and Austria, but these countries are not thought to have enough support to block the plan from becoming EU law.
Jørgensen said plans to phase out Russian fossil fuels were not a response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“This is a ban that we introduce because Russia has weaponised energy against us, because Russia has blackmailed member states in the EU, and therefore they are not a trading partner that can be trusted,” he said.
“That also means that, irrespectively of whether there is a peace or not – which we all hope there will be of course – this ban will still stand.”
EU importers will be required to provide customs officers with detailed information about the source of gas to prevent any attempts to sell Russian imports under a new flag.
About 13% of EU gas imports is expected to come from Russia in 2025, compared with 45% in 2021. While Europe has cut supplies of pipeline gas from Russia, in 2024 it bought record amounts of Russian LNG, raising questions about the EU’s commitment to Ukraine and climate goals.
The commission expressed confidence that European companies terminating long-term gas contracts would not be liable for damages. Jørgensen said the EU ban was beyond any individual company’s control. “It is not them who are breaking the contract, it is indeed force majeure.”
Jakub Krupa
In yesterday’s blog, I told you about the plans by the European Commission to phase out fossil fuel imports from Russia by 2028.
Our Brussels correspondent Jennifer Rankin has the full story next.
EU summons Russia envoy over attack on diplomat in Vladivostok
The European Union has summoned Russia’s envoy to Brussels for an explanation after one of the bloc’s officials was attacked in the eastern city of Vladivostok last month, an EU spokesperson said, quoted by AP.
The diplomat was attacked on 26 May. Their name, nationality and medical condition weren’t provided.
German news outlet Der Spiegel reported yesterday that the official was a Romanian woman who had traveled to the city on official business.
The magazine said that the woman was attacked after leaving her hotel for an early morning walk. It said a car pulled up alongside her, and that two men got out. She was threatened, and then beaten up. The men were believed to work for Russian security authorities, the news magazine said, citing EU diplomatic sources.
“We condemn any violence against EU diplomats. They must be able to carry out their duties free from fear and intimidation,” EU spokesperson Anitta Hipper said. “The safety of our staff is paramount, and we will continue to review the protection of our diplomatic staff.”
Spain pushes back against mooted 5% Nato spending goal: AFP
Despite Kallas’s rhetoric, not every country appears to be entirely persuaded about the need to radically ramp up defence spending within Nato.
AFP noted that Spain is baulking at suggestions the target should rise to five percent as an aggressive Russia, whose invasion of Ukraine has stretched into a fourth year, menaces Europe.
“Many countries want five (percent), we respect that… but Spain will fulfil those objectives set for us,” defence minister Margarita Robles said on the sidelines of a meeting of Nato counterparts in Brussels this month.
Ukrainian parliament passes law to allow multiple citizenship
Ukrainian parliament passed a law to allow Ukrainians to have multiple citizenship in an attempt to ease a demographic crisis caused by Russia’s war and to enhance ties with diaspora, Reuters reported.
The bill was passed by 243 deputies, lawmakers said.
The change will help millions of Ukrainians living abroad, who until now could not get a second citizenship of their host country, despite significant practical benefits.
“This decision is an important step to maintain and restore ties with millions of Ukrainians around the world,” Oleksiy Chernyshov, minister for unity, said in a social media post on Facebook after the vote.
Government officials have estimated the Ukrainian diaspora at about 25 million people. Government and analysts estimate the population in the country at about 32 million people now.
Putin to speak with foreign reporters later today
Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin is set to take questions from international journalists on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Associated Press reported.
Putin scheduled a roundtable session with senior news leaders of international news agencies, including the Associated Press.
Among other issues, he’s expected to spell out Moscow’s position on the conflict between Israel and Iran that he offered to help mediate in a weekend call with US president Donald Trump, AP noted.
I will keep an eye on this event and bring you the key news lines when it happens.
‘If we don’t help Ukraine further, we should start learning Russian,’ Kallas echoes Rutte’s warning
EU’s Kallas continues:
On Ukraine, the European Union is doing its part here too, not least because Ukraine is Europe’s first line of defence. We know that Russia responds to strength and nothing else.
She highlights the importance of the 18th sanction package proposed by the EU, saying that “every sanction weakens Russia’s ability to fight this war.”
But she ends on a warning again:
We have to do more for Ukraine, for our own security too.
To quote my friend Nato secretary general Mark Rutte: if we don’t help Ukraine further, we should all start learning Russian.
The stronger Ukraine is on the battlefield today, the stronger they will be around the negotiation table when Russia finally is ready to talk.
Russia ‘direct threat’ to EU, with ‘long term plan for long term aggression’, EU’s foreign policy chief warns
Opening the debate in the European Parliament, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warns:
We are living in very dangerous tough times.
Russia is already a direct threat to the European Union.
Russia is violating our airspace, conducting provocative military manoeuvres near EU borders, targeting our trains and planes, attacking our pipelines, undersea fibre optic cables and electricity grids, assaulting our industry, including companies supporting Ukraine, and is recruiting criminals to carry out sabotage attacks, and it is steadily building up its military forces and expanding its nuclear arsenal.
Last year, Russia spent more on defence than the European Union combined.
This year, Russia is spending more on defence than its own healthcare, education and social policy combined.
This is a long term plan for a long term aggression. You don’t spend that much on military if you do not plan to use it.
She goes on to call on countries to work towards the new Nato 5% defence spending target as early as they can, adding:
Europe’s collective economic might is unmatched. I don’t believe that there is any threat that we can’t overcome if we act together and with our Nato allies.
Morning opening: Ukraine and Europe left in limbo as attention shifts elsewhere
Jakub Krupa
Ukrainian diplomats have been left frustrated – and in some cases embittered – at Donald Trump’s refusal to make Ukraine a priority after Volodymyr Zelenskyy flew 5,000 miles to the G7 conference in Canada only for the US president to return home the night before the two leaders were due to meet, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour reported.
The snub came a day after “one of the most horrific attacks” on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, during the three-year war, with the death toll from the Russian strike rising to 21, with more than 130 injured.
The move shows a dramatic shift as the world focuses on the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
But where does it leave Europe and Ukraine?
European lawmakers will be this morning discussing the upcoming Nato summit in The Hague, looking at some of these issues.
I will bring you the key lines from their discussion.
It’s Wednesday, 18 June 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
