Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
US president Donald Trump said he would shorten his deadline for Russia’s Vladimir Putin to move on Ukraine from 50 days to “10 or 12” saying “If you know what the answer is going to be, why wait?” (14:06, 15:07).
The final decision on the exact deadline is expected to be made “tonight or tomorrow,” he said (15:26).
In a lively media Q&A with UK prime minister Keir Starmer, Trump also said he was “not so interested” in talking to Putin any more, after being disappointed by the outcome of their previous conversations (15:54).
Separately,
European leaders lined up to half-heartedly defend the EU’s trade agreement with the US, warning about the associated costs and consequences for the bloc, but conceding that a better deal was not on offer (10:05, 10:18, 12:00, 13:02, 13:32, 18:20).
But the EU defended the deal, with the bloc’s trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič saying he’s “100 percent sure that this deal is better than a trade war with the United States” (12:41).
Lithuania was investigating reports about an unidentified unmanned object – potentially a drone – flying into the country’s airspace from Belarus, a second such incident in a month (10:20, 17:17).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Updated
Leaders warn of damage from EU-US deal, but concede no better deal was on offer
German chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that Europe will face “substantial damages” from new US tariffs, even as he acknowledged that the bloc “could not expect to achieve any more” from talks with Trump.
He added that “negative effects “will not only be limited to Germany and Europe, but we will see the effects of this trade policy in America as well,” AFP said.
His comments come shortly after Irish prime minister Micheál Martin said the deal, as imperfect as it was, avoided a trade war with the US.
“Nobody is welcoming tariffs with open arms. I think we’ve been consistent in saying that we don’t agree with tariffs, that we prefer if there weren’t tariffs, but we have to deal with realities,” he said in comments reported by RTÉ.
Updated
Estonia summons Russian top diplomat over sea border breach
Separately, Estonia summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires over a Russian vessel’s breach of Estonian territorial waters.
Foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said on X the Baltic state “summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires to issue a formal protest regarding this serious and unacceptable violation of our maritime border”.
The Estonian army said in a statement that an unauthorised Russian border guard vessel briefly entered the country’s territorial waters by up to half a kilometre on Saturday, AFP reported.
Foreign warships can sail through Estonian waters only if conducting a peaceful passage and if they notify the foreign ministry 48 hours in advance.
“The Russian vessel did not do so,” the army said, adding that this was the first time this year that a Russian ship violated Estonia’s maritime border.
In May, a Russian fighter jet violated Estonian airspace, according to the foreign ministry.
Just a quick update on Lithuania and their continuing search for the unidentified object that reportedly flew into the country’s airspace from Belarus overnight (10:20).
The operation continues, according to the latest update by Lithuania’s public broadcaster LRT, with authorities warning mushroom pickers not to approach the object on their own.
Earlier today, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a short update on Ukraine’s effort to bring Ukrainian prisoners of war home from Russian captivity.
He said that since the beginning of the full-scale war in 2022, almost 5,900 were returned through agreed exchanges, with another 555 outside these mechanisms.
Updated
Trump was also asked if he felt Putin respected him personally.
In response he said he’d “always got along with president Putin” and “had a great relationship with him,” even if he was “tough” on him.
“I thought we’d be able to negotiate something. Maybe that’ll still happen, but it’s very late down the process. I’m disappointed.”
He then said that Russia had “massive” land is “could be so rich” and “thriving like practically no other country,” but “instead they spend all of their money on war and killing people.”
He added: “I’m not so interested in talking any more”.
'He's got to make a deal,' Trump tells Putin as he threatens to use secondary tariffs on Russia
Trump got also asked if he thought Putin was lying to him.
He replied:
“Well, I don’t want to use the word lying.
[But] it seemed on, let’s say three occasions, [we were close to] a ceasefire and maybe peace, and you divide it up and you do whatever you have to do, obviously, to get to the end.
And all of a sudden missiles are flying into Kyiv and other places.
And I say, what’s that all about?
…
You know this has happened on too many occasions, I don’t like it.”
He then repeated his threat of sanctions and secondary tariffs on Russia “unless we make a deal,” even as he says “I don’t want to do that to Russia, I love the Russian people, great people.”
He then added:
He’s got to make a deal. Too many people are dying.
Asked again about his new 10-12 days deadline, he said he would confirm the exact timing “tonight or tomorrow.”
There is no reason to wait. If you know what the answer is going to be, why wait?
This new deadline marks a dramatic acceleration on Russia and Ukraine and will be welcomed in Kyiv.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top aide, Andriy Yermak, thanked Donald Trump on social media saying he was “standing firm and delivering a clear message of peace through strength.”
When America leads with strength, others think twice.
But the key question that remains open: what will Trump actually do when the clock runs down to zero?
Trump gives Russia '10 or 12' days to move on Ukraine as 'no progress made'
Speaking at a press spray with UK prime minister Starmer, Trump got asked about his earlier comments on Russia and shortening the deadline for a peace deal on Ukraine.
In a clear bid to put more pressure on Russia, he says he will cut it down to “10 or 12” days before there’s no progress made.
“I’m going to make a new deadline, of about 10, 10 or 12 days from day. There’s no reason for waiting. It was 50 days, I wanted to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made.”
Updated
Russia’s Aeroflot cancels flights after pro-Ukraine hackers claim cyber-attack
Meanwhile, the Russian airline Aeroflot was forced to cancel dozens of flights on Monday after a shadowy pro-Ukraine hacking group claimed responsibility for what it said was a crippling cyber-attack.
The national carrier did not provide further details about the cause of the problem or how long it would take to resolve, but departure boards at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport turned red as flights were cancelled at a time when many Russians take their holidays.
The Kremlin said the situation was worrying, and prosecutors confirmed the airline’s problems were the result of a hack and opened a criminal investigation.
A statement purporting to be from a hacking group called Silent Crow said it had carried out the operation with a Belarusian group called Cyber Partisans, and linked it to the war in Ukraine.
“Glory to Ukraine! Long live Belarus!” said the statement, whose authenticity Reuters could not immediately verify.
Silent Crow has previously claimed responsibility for attacks this year on a Russian real estate database, a state telecoms company, a large insurer, the Moscow government’s IT department and the Russian office of the South Korean carmaker Kia. Some of these resulted in big data leaks.
“The information that we are reading in the public domain is quite alarming. The hacker threat is a threat that remains for all large companies providing services to the population,” the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said.
“We will, of course, clarify the information and wait for appropriate clarifications.”
Aeroflot, the transport ministry and the aviation regulator did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the hacking claim.
Trump suggests reducing 50-day deadline for Putin to agree to ceasefire in Ukraine
Continuing his visit to Scotland, US president Donald Trump is meeting with UK prime minister Keir Starmer this afternoon.
You will find some domestic news lines with heavy focus on migration and the situation in Gaza over on our UK and Middle East blogs below …
… but for us, on Europe live, it’s notable that Trump repeatedly said he was “very disappointed” with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“I’ve spoken to President Putin a lot. I was I got along with him very well, but five times, and every time, four times maybe, but we’ve had discussions, you and I have had discussions, we thought we had that settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever. …
And I say that’s not the way to do it. So we’ll see what happens with that. I’m very disappointed. I’m disappointed in President Putin, very disappointed in him.
So we’re going to have to look and I’m going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number because I think I already know the answer, what’s going to happen.”
Updated
Two more reactions from European leaders come courtesy of our business blog.
Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has long been one of the most divisive voices within the EU, and he wasted no time in criticising European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for what he described as a worse deal than the UK managed to secure.
According to Reuters, Orbán told a podcast:
This is not an agreement ... Donald Trump ate Von der Leyen for breakfast, this is what happened and we suspected this would happen as the US President is a heavyweight when it comes to negotiations while Madame President is featherweight.
Belgium’s prime minister, Bart de Wever, struck a different tone – firmly placing the blame for tariffs on Donald Trump.
He posted on the social network X:
This is a moment of relief but not of celebration.
I sincerely hope the United States will, in due course, turn away again from the delusion of protectionism and once again embrace the value of free trade – a cornerstone of shared prosperity. In the meantime, Europe must continue to deepen its internal market, cut unnecessary regulation, and forge new partnerships to diversify our global trade network. May Europe become the beacon of open, fair, and reliable trade the world so urgently needs.
Spanish PM supports EU-US deal 'without any enthusiasm'
Meanwhile over in Madrid, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez is the latest to publicly respond to the EU-US agreement, saying wearily he supports the deal “without any enthusiasm”.
He says that Europe needs to draw lessons from this situation and double down on its plans to achieve strategic autonomy and develop better trade ties with other countries, including the Mercosur bloc.
He says the EU needs to diversify its trade relations with other countries, and he supports von der Leyen’s ambition to get deals with Indonesia and India.
Updated
'Best deal under very difficult circumstances,' Šefčovič defends EU-US deal
Responding to some criticism coming from the member states, Šefčovič warns them that the world as we knew it before April, and Trump’s new trade policy, “is gone.”
He says the EU needs to adjust and a strategic deal with the US is the best possibly option.
He repeats that 30% tariffs, the default scenario without the deal, would put companies under dramatic pressure and lead to substantial job losses, potentially eventually putting the EU to negotiate in worse circumstances.
This is the best deal we could get under very difficult circumstances.
Šefčovič adds that the conversation with the US yesterday started with a 30% tariff threat.
He adds that the deal was not only about trade, but also about broader security, Ukraine, and joint response to growing geopolitical volatility through keeping the US on side in future talks.
“I’m 100 percent sure that this deal is better than a trade war with the United States,” he says.
Updated
On China, Šefčovič says “despite the strenuous efforts of my colleagues and myself and several long meetings with my Chinese counterpart,” there are growing trade issues with “the list of accumulated issues on the table” not getting any shorter.
He specifically talks about subsidies, access to public procurements, and critical raw materials and export permissions.
Šefčovič also talks about the energy part of the deal, saying that given the EU “will be phasing out the Russian energy supply by 2027, it is very clear that Europe will need to solid, consolidated and reliant supply of energy,” not just LNG, but also oil and nuclear.
He also stresses the importance of working with the US on developing technologies, including high-quality chips for AI.
Updated
Šefčovič says the EU’s view is that 15% is “acceptable” if it is “inclusive”, meaning with no stacking tariffs and further changes.
He says that politically the two sides are “opening a new chapter” and “understand each other’s senstiivties, perspectives” better after these negotiations.
Not surprisingly, Šefčovič highlights what he sees as positives of the deal – including on steel, cars and future technologies - and confirms he briefed the member states and members of the European Parliament earlier today.
He stresses that “all in all, this is an agreement which should generate meaningful and mutual benefits, and I hope it will be a stepping stone to a broader EU US trade and investment agreement in the future.”
EU-US deal brings 'renewed stability, opens door to collaboration', EU trade chief says
Šefčovič opens by saying the deal “brings renewed stability and opens door to strategic collaboration.”
He says it’s important to “pause … and consider an alternative.”
He says:
“A trade war may seem appealing to some, but it comes with serious consequences. With at least a 30% tariff, our transatlantic trade would effectively come to a halt, putting close to 5 million of jobs, including those in SMEs in Europe, at grave risk.”
He says that businesses wanted to “avoid escalation and work towards a solution that delivers immediate relief.”
EU trade commissioner briefing the press
EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič’s press briefing is about to start.
You can watch it live below, but I will bring you all the latest updates here.
Mixed reactions to EU-US deal in Germany as relief mixes with exasperation and disappointment
Reactions from Europe’s largest economy over the Trump tariff deal hatched in Turnberry, Scotland at the weekend, have inevitably been mixed, with some breathing a sigh of relief that there is finally a concrete figure to work with, but others exasperated, and warning that with such an unpredictable US president, it would be foolhardy to see the figure agreed upon as set in stone.
MPs from Ursula von der Leyen’s own political heimat, the CDU, as well as leading German economists have reacted with disappointment and urged caution.
Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party in the European parliament, described the deal as “merely damage limitation,” in an interview with Bild, and nothing to be celebrated.
The result, he told the tabloid, “is certainly better than many had feared.” At least, he said, “it gives the European economy planning security”. He said the deal had made clear the importance of forging trade deals with other parts of the world, and had at least reinforced the importance of an integrated single market (even as non-EU member UK has struck a better deal).
The economic policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU, Andreas Lenz, said 15% was surely better than the 30% previously suggested, but was a “painful compromise”, which harmed both economy and consumers.
The most positive aspect of the agreement for the German economy, of course, is that the current 27.5% tariffs on cars, will be reduced to 15%
Chancellor Friedrich Merz clung to the car customs cut in his attempt to put a positive spin on the whole deal, which he said would at least avoid an unnecessary escalation in transatlantic trade relations.
“With this agreement, we have succeeded in averting a trade conflict that would have hit the export-oriented German economy hard. This applies particularly to the automotive industry, where the current tariffs will be almost halved from 27.5 percent to 15 percent. It is precisely here that the rapid reduction of tariffs is of utmost importance,” he said on Sunday.
However, the lack of a deal on aluminium and steel, currently expected to be 50%, hangs heavily over economic movers and shakers this morning.
Wolfgang Niedermark, foreign trade expert at the Federation of German Industries (BDI), called it an “additional blow” and said it sent “a fatal signal to the closely intertwined economies on both sides of the Atlantic.”
We should get more detail on the deal from EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič as he is expected to speak at the European Commission’s press conference at the top of the hour.
We will bring it live on the blog.
in Brussels
The zero rate tariff on US imports will not apply to sensitive agricultural products, senior officials in Brussels have confirmed.
Specifically this means exports from the US of beef, rice, ethanol, poultry, and sugar are not included in the deal clinched last night.
The concessions on tariffs have only been made on agricultural products that the EU does not grow or produce including nuts.
15% tariff to apply to 70% of EU exports to US
in Brussels
The 15% tariff agreed in the EU-US deal will apply to 70% of all exports to the US worth €380bn, officials have said.
Rates on pharma and steel are still being negotiated and are not expected to conclude by Friday, Donald Trump’s self-imposed deal for a deadline. While the talks continue, a zero tariff rate will continue to apply on pharma and 50% on steel.
Wine and spirits are still being negotiated with talks more advanced on spirits than wine.
The EU will lower what it calls “nuisance” or negligible tariffs on a group of products including non-sensitive agricultural products worth about €70bn a year.
The €600bn investments in the US, referred to in the deal last night refer to private investments already or about to be committed by private businesses. It does not refer to any EU fund.
Zero rated tariffs on US exports to the US will apply to a range of still to be finalised products that include nuts, lobster, processed fish, cheeses, some dairy products, and pet food.
Exports to the US that will be zero rated including aircraft and aircraft parts, some medical devices and some non-available natural resources such as cork used as bottle stoppers and flooring.
Tariffs on pharmaceuticals will never go above 15%, EU officials insist
in Brussels
Tariffs on pharmaceuticals exported from the EU to the US will never go above 15% under the deal struck last night between Donald Trump and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Senior EU officials have said they will remain zero rated until such time as Trump completes his 232 national security investigation into pharmaceuticals.
But if he does, at the end of that, decide to impose tariffs on EU imports, they will be set at a top level of 15%.
This explains the contradictory statements last night between Trump and von der Leyen with the former claiming medicines were not in the tariff deal and the European Commission chief saying they were.
On steel, EU officials have confirmed, they are now going to open negotiations on a quota.
This is not for presidential negotiations, they have said.
On value of deal, EU officials have said that the 15% tariff will apply to 70% of all exports to the US.
Updated
French PM Bayrou says EU-US deal marks 'sombre' day
French prime minister François Bayrou joined the growing list of European leaders expressing their less-than-enthusiastic reactions to the EU-US trade deal.
In his first reaction on social media, he said:
Von der Leyen-Trump Agreement: it is a sombre day when an alliance of free peoples, united to affirm their values and defend their interests, resigns themselves to submission.
'There will be no defeat,' defiant Zelenskyy aide says after another night of Russian attacks
Senior Zelenskyy aide Andriy Yermak posted a video of a tower bloc in Kyiv hit by Russian drones saying “this is how Putin responds to calls to end the war and sit down at the table” after another night of attacks on Ukrainian cities.
324 Russian drones and 7 missiles were reported overnight.
Yermak sought to increase pressure on Russia, saying “there is no alternative to sanctions, increasing Ukraine’s long-range capabilities, and tough actions against Putin’s entourage and himself.”
[Putin] wants nothing but war and Ukraine’s defeat. And there will be no defeat.
Yermak also warned that Russians were also “testing Nato’s reactions” with drones crossing into other countries, warning that these “signals cannot be ignored” – a reference to the earlier drone incident in Lithuania (10:20).
Lithuania investigating second drone incident in month
An unmanned drone is believed to have entered the Lithuanian airspace overnight from Belarus, a second this month, with residents in the capital city of Vilnius reporting the characteristic sound and later receiving an alert from authorities about the incident.
Locals were told to be cautious and not to approach the object, which was believed to have crashed in the early hours of this morning.
It was earlier sighted close to Vilnius, flying at an altitude of 200 meters, Lithuanian media reported, posting a grainy footage of the object.
The search for the drone continued this morning, and authorities told reporters they had no clarity on whether the object posed any danger.
But defence miniser Dovilė Šakalienė said that additional resources will be directed to monitor the Lithuanian-Belarusian border.
If confirmed, it would be a second case of an unmanned flying object entering Lithuanian airspace from Belarus after a decoy Gerbera drone crashed near the border at the beginning of July.
EU deal seen as victory for Donald Trump - snap analysis
in Brussels
While EU leaders can breathe a huge sigh of relief that a trade deal with the US is done, the agreement is being widely seen as a victory for Donald Trump.
Several commercial banks have told clients this morning it is an “asymmetrical” deal favouring the US over the EU.
As if to underline the contrasting fortunes of China which imposed retaliatory tariffs from the beginning, Trump has just made further concessions to Beijing.
It emerged on Monday, that Washington has paused curbs on tech exports to China to avoid disrupting trade talks with Beijing and support Trump’s efforts to secure a meeting with President Xi Jinping this year.
The industry and security bureau of the US Commerce Department, which oversees export controls, has been told in recent months to avoid tough moves on China, the newspaper said, citing current and former officials.
The EU acknowledges that the deal is worse than the zero-zero tariff deal it offered Trump in April.
“Fifteen percent is not to be underestimated, but it is the best we could get,” European Commision chief Ursula von der Leyen admitted last night.
Stability and predictability would be returned to Europe’s businesses and markets, she said describing the deal in Trump like terms as “huge”.
But Renew group MEP Sandro Gozi described the deal as “unbalanced and dangerously shortsighted.”
Hildegard Müller, president of the German car industry federation, the VDA, said “further escalation” of a tariff and potentially trade war has been averted but added the deal would push costs up for an industry, already struggling against Chinese rivals.
“The US tariff of 15 per cent on automotive products will cost German automotive companies billions annually and place a burden on them in the midst of their transformation.”
And financial institutions?
“Is this a good deal for the EU? Probably not. The outcome is heavily asymmetrical, and it leaves US tariffs on imported EU goods at much higher levels than EU tariffs on imports from the US,” Unicredit said in a note to clients.
Morning opening: The art of the deal
Good news: the EU has a new trade deal with the US.
Bad news: There don’t seem to be many people who think it’s a particularly good deal.
The framework agreement, agreed by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and US president Donald Trump at a late meeting in Scotland, manages to avert a damaging transatlantic trade war, imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods – half the threatened rate.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz focused on the fact that it managed to keep the unity of the European Union and offer some stability to businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, even if he would have liked the deal to achieve more.
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said she needed to see the details of the deal to assess it further, asking questions about possible exemptions, promises of European investment and gas purchases from the US, and how to help affected industries.
French Europe minister Benjamin Haddad said that while the deal would “bring temporary stability,” it was generally “unbalanced,” calling the situation “not satisfactory and … not sustainable.”
Not ideal.
Global markets responded positively, as you can see on our business live blog, but there is much more to this deal than that. It is not business as usual.
Elsewhere, I will be looking at Spain where the country’s embattled prime minister Pedro Sánchez is due to give a summer press conference and the latest reports from Ukraine.
I will bring you all key updates from across Europe today.
It’s Monday, 28 July 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
