Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted a new draft law to parliament, seeking to guarantee the independence and necessary powers of the country’s two anti-corruption authorities as he scrambled to respond to growing criticism of the reform passed earlier this week (13:52, 15:32).
The move comes after another evening of protests across Ukraine and his consultation with European leaders, including European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen (12:56), German chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK prime minister Keir Starmer (17:21).
Elsewhere,
The EU and the US were “within reach” of a tariff deal that would place 15% tariffs on most imports from the bloc (11:56, 12:18), with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick boasting the EU “really, really, really wants to make a deal” (16:07).
But Ireland said it had won key concessions in EU countermeasures that could be adopted in the talks with the US fail (12:47), safeguarding its key interests.
The EU also had difficult discussions with China, warning the relations between the two were at an “inflection point” (11:43, 14:41, 14:45).
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.
Zelenskyy's new bill 'restores powers, guarantees independence,' affected anti-corruption agencies say
The two Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities affected by the controversial reform – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sap) – said the proposed new draft law “restores all procedural powers and guarantees of independence” for both of them.
In a joint statement issued on their Telegram channel, they said they were both involved in the preparation of the text, and urged the parliament “to adopt the president’s initiative … in its entirety as soon as possible.”
“This will prevent threats to criminal proceedings brought by the Nabu and the Sapo,” they said.
Zelenskyy speaks with Germany's Merz, UK's Starmer as he scrambles to reassure allies on anti-corruption reform plans
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with German chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK prime minister Keir Starmer this afternoon as part of his diplomatic offensive to respond to concerns about the recently adopted law that critics say weakens the independence of anti-corruption institutions.
After talking to Merz, Zelenskyy said in a readout that he informed the German chancellor about his plans for a new comprehensive law for anti-corruption bodies, inviting Germany to join the scrutiny in the drafting process.
The pair also discussed Ukraine’s route to EU accession, with Zelenskyy saying that Merz assured him of “absolute support” from Germany, and about the latest situation on the frontline and the need to increase the production of drones.
In a separate call with Starmer, the issue of the recent law reform also came up, with the UK readout saying “the leaders agreed on the importance of the role of independent anti-corruption institutions at the heart of Ukraine’s democracy.”
Separately, “they agreed international partners must continue to ramp up the pressure on Russia,” it said, adding that:
Putin must come to the negotiation table and agree an unconditional ceasefire to see a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
I am trying to find out more about the Dutch-led action and have asked Veldkamp’s ministry for more details. I will bring you more when we have it.
Netherlands and OSCE countries want independent probe into Russian torture on prisoners of war in Ukraine
Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said the Netherlands and 40 other members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe have requested an independent investigation into the torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russia.
“By invoking this so-called ‘Moscow Mechanism’, the Netherlands and partnering countries contribute to truth-finding and accountability for Russian war crimes in Ukraine,” he said.
At least two dead in overnight Russian attacks on Ukraine
Apart from the Russian attack on Odesa reported earlier (11:10), there were also other strikes on Kostiantynivka and Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, which killed at least two and injured over 40, officials said.
Two people died in the city of Kostiantynivka, where 12 people were also wounded, Reuters reported. A separate attack on Kharhiv left 33 injured.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised Russian strikes as “utterly senseless … with no military purpose whatsoever.”
EU 'really, really, really wants to make deal,' US Lutnick says
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC television that the European Union “really, really, really wants” to make a trade deal with the US, worrying it could be hit by 30% tariffs if the talks fail.
He said:
“What’s happened is Donald Trump sent them a letter and said, Look, if they don’t make a deal, you’ve got a huge trade deficit, I mean, $235bn trade deficit, which means they sell us more stuff than we sell them. And so the President said, it’s 30% if you don’t get a deal done. So you know how badly they want to make a deal?”
He didn’t confirm if the recent US-Japan deal was a direct source of inspiration for the deal with the EU or if the 15% rate is actively being discussed, but repeatedly praised the Japan agreement as a template for others.
“Look, the Japan deal … was amazing.
I mean, not only are they paying 15%, but they gave Donald Trump and the American people, $550bn to invest at our, Donald Trump’s discretion, the American people’s discretion to build in America the things that Donald Trump wants to build, power, generic drugs, shipbuilding.
Whatever Donald Trump wants to build, the Japanese will finance it, [it’s] pretty amazing.”
Lutnick also repeatedly claimed that the EU “attacks” US tech companies by targeting it with regulatory enforcement actions, naming the digital service act and the digital markets act.
“In these trade deals, we talk about it. Look, we think it’s reasonable that these companies pay fair tax in Europe.
But we’ve got to stop this regulatory onslaught of our tech companies. And Donald Trump’s got these tech companies’ back, and we are working on it.
You saw it. We got rid of it in Canada. We got rid of it in all sorts of countries. They knock it down. That’s one of our key objectives.”
Ukrainian journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk writes for us today explaining why Ukrainians are so angry with Zelenskyy over his reform.
Here is her take:
What shocked many was not just the content of the legislation but also the speed and manner in which it was pushed through: passed within a day, as an amendment hidden inside unrelated law enforcement reforms, and then signed and published almost immediately.
Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, Ukrainians have demonstrated an extraordinary level of unity and civic responsibility. Citizens also showed renewed faith in the institutions of the state – even those long viewed with suspicion.
People were willing to look past imperfections, to suspend criticism, and to focus on survival and victory. That is why there has been no serious internal push for wartime elections, despite foreign commentary. Elections – expensive, risky and constitutionally prohibited during war – are widely understood by Ukrainians to be unfeasible under current conditions. But this is different.
This law has become a litmus test of whether public trust in the government can be sustained. And more than that, whether the unwritten social contract – between citizens and the state – still holds.
Read her comment in full here:
EU's trade with China shows 'growing imbalance' that needs to be addressed, von der Leyen says
Separately, while the EU waits for Donald Trump to pronounce on their latest proposal for a deal, it has issued a warning to China to stop restrictive practices that are creating a damaging trade surplus with the bloc.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would find it “very difficult to maintain its current level of openness” with China if it continues with a massive trade surplus with the EU, which she blamed on “trade distortions” including state subsidies by Beijing.
She said the EU currently accounted for 14.5% of China’s total exports, yet only represented 8% of EU exports.
She argued:
“These numbers speak to the scale of our relationship, but they also expose a growing imbalance. It is mostly due to an increasing number of trade distortions and market access barriers.”
But unlike other major markets, Europe keeps its market open to Chinese goods.
This reflects our longstanding commitment to rules-based trade.
However, this openness is not matched by China. The European Union’s trade deficit with China has doubled in the last decade, reaching more than 300 billion Euros by now.”
EU's von der Leyen urges China to pressure Russia into peace talks
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has renewed calls on China to use its influence with Vladimir Putin to push for peace talks on Ukraine.
She has also reiterated demands that China stop selling dual-use domestic and industry technologies to Russia that can be repurposed for weapons.
“We have been very clear on that topic. China has an influence on Russia, like the European Union has an influence on Ukraine. It is our expectation that China uses this influence to make sure that Russia is coming seriously to the negotiation table,” she said after a summit with Chinese president Xi Jinping.
“We in the European Union don’t even have to use our influence, because President Zelenskyy has already offered and is at the negotiation table and offered to sit down and negotiate seriously with Russia in those negotiations.”
She added:
“I fully acknowledge that two sovereign countries decide on what they want to discuss and how they want to discuss, and what the outcome in the very end is, but it is important that we have a cease fire and that the negotiations at the table take place.”
Updated
Zelenskyy proposes new draft bill to address concerns on anti-corruption agencies
Well, that was quick.
Responding to mass protests in Ukrainian cities, the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he just approved a new draft bill “which guarantees the real strengthening of the law and order system in Ukraine” and independent anti-corruption bodies.
He says the draft offers protections “from any Russian influence and interference,” and is finely balanced.
“The most important things are: real tools, no Russian connections, and the independence of the Nabu and the Sapo,” he said.
The bill will be submitted to the Ukrainian parliament later today.
Updated
Russia says Germany's rhetoric is 'more and more aggressively militant' under Merz
Elsewhere, Russia accused German chancellor Friedrich Merz of pursuing a path of “militarisation” and said this was a cause for concern, Reuters reported.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told her weekly news briefing that Germany had pursued an openly hostile policy towards Russia in recent years, and that Merz was stepping up anti-Russian rhetoric “literally every day”.
“This rhetoric is becoming more and more aggressively militant. And we believe that the course he has chosen to escalate relations with Russia in parallel with the forced militarisation of Germany is a cause for great concern, first of all for the citizens of [Germany] themselves,” Zakharova said.
Updated
EU 'welcomes' Zelenskyy's new plans on anti-corruption law, wants to see concerns addressed
The European Commission declined to elaborate on the call between commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy about their controversial anti-corruption law, but welcomed the “new approach” to the reform announced last night.
The pair spoke on Wednesday, with the commission readout saying von der Leyen said the bloc was “very concerned” about the passed law (yesterday’s blog).
A commission spokesperson said today:
“I cannot give you the exact details of what, when, how and what time [was discussed].
What matters is the message that was indeed passed, a message where we expressed our concern, our worries, about the steps that had been taken in the meantime.
Indeed, we understand that the Ukrainian authorities have taken a new approach, [to] propose a new action plan or law.
We welcome the fact that the Ukrainian government is taking action, and we work with them to make sure that our concerns, which have been clearly explained yesterday and day before yesterday, are indeed taken into account.”
Another spokesperson added that the EU “stressed how important it is to fight corruption” and it will be a requirement in the accession process to the EU.
“We expect all the candidate countries, including Ukraine, to respect fully those standards,” he said.
The EU also offered “to help them ensure that our concerns, legitimate concerns, are taken into account”.
Updated
Ireland secures concessions on EU countermeasures in US trade talks
Ireland says it has won key concessions if the EU retaliates against Donald Trump’s tariffs in the event of trade talks collapsing.
Imports of thoroughbred horses has been removed from the countermeasures list, said deputy prime minister Simon Harris on Thursday.
This secures the future of a lucrative industry in Ireland which has several highly regarded international studs with animals flown in from the all over the world for breeding.
Also off the list, after lobbying from Ireland, are sugar, molasses and chocolate.
Harris said half of the “value of sensitive import dependent products, which Ireland specifically requested to be removed are gone”.
The European Council’s trade committee today votes on €93bn worth of retaliatory tariffs.
Harris has reiterated support for the European Commission which is closing in on a 15% baseline tariff.
In a statement, he said:
“While we were successful in removing some key Irish sensitivities following intensive consultation with the European Commission, this package of rebalancing measures if implemented would have an adverse effect on European and Irish business.
However let me be clear, while we do not wish to see this list ever come into effect, the EU must prepare for all eventualities and must be enabled to negotiate with the United States from a position of strength.”
Updated
EU-US trade deal 'within reach' as talks continue
EU trade commissioner Olof Gill has just offered this update on the talks with the US:
“The EU continues to engage with the US intensively at technical and political level, and that’s all I can say for the moment.”
He then added:
“As regards a deal, an outcome, we believe such an outcome is within reach, and we are working might and main to deliver that for EU citizens, for EU companies, for EU consumers.”
He declined to offer further detail on the potential deal.
Updated
EU and US nearing trade deal that would put 15% tariffs on imports from bloc
Lisa O’Carroll and Jennifer Rankin
Meanwhile, the EU was reportedly nearing a tariff deal with the US last night that would place 15% tariffs on most imports from the bloc.
The tariff rate, which would mirror a deal struck this week between the US and Japan, would apply to most goods, with some exceptions for products including aircraft and medical devices, according to diplomats with knowledge of the talks.
Member states were briefed on the latest developments by the European Commission on Wednesday afternoon.
To extract a better deal, the EU has also offered to reduce its so-called “most-favoured-nation rate” – currently at an average of 4.8% – to zero for some products as part of an agreement in principle, a diplomat said.
The final decision remains in the hands of the US president, Donald Trump, but if agreed it would mean the EU gets a worse deal than the UK, which has agreed a 10% baseline tariff.
It would also be a hard pill to swallow for the German car industry, whose tariffs would be reduced from 27.5% but would still be more than five times the 2.75% import duty they faced on exports to the US before Trump returned to the White House.
Updated
EU and China need to deal with trade imbalances, with relations at 'inflection point', EU says
Elsewhere, the EU and China held the 25th bilateral summit in Beijing earlier today, with both sides stressing the importance of resolving issues in their relationship.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen warned that the relations between the two sides were “at an inflection point”, saying that “as our cooperation has deepened, so have the imbalances”.
“Rebalancing our bilateral relation is essential. Because to be sustainable, the relations need to be mutually beneficial,” she said, calling for more work to “acknowledge our respective concerns and come forward with real solutions”.
Chinese president Xi Jinping said in turn that “the more severe and complex the international situation is, the more important it is for China and the EU to strengthen communication, increase mutual trust and deepen cooperation”.
He urged leaders to “make correct strategic choices”, adding that there were “no fundamental conflicts of interests” between the EU and China.
But the EU was growing frustrated about large trade deficit with China, calling for better access for European firms to Chinese market.
“When our concerns are not addressed, our industry and citizens will demand that we defend our interests. But our preference is always, as we do today, to have dialogue and to find good negotiated solutions,” von der Leyen said.
The two sides also take different positions on Ukraine, with China offering indirect support for Russia in its aggression, and the EU asking it to change its stance.
Here is the joint statement at the end of the talks.
Updated
Ukraine's Odesa sea ports, logistics sites hit by overnight Russian attack
Overnight, Russia also continued its attacks on Ukraine, with the country’s deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba reporting attacks on civilian infrastructure in the Odesa region.
Hard to see Putin meet Zelenskyy before end of August, Kremlin says
But the Kremlin said today it was hard to see how Vladimir Putin could meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the end of August, as proposed by Ukraine.
Such meeting would fall within the 50-day deadline proposed by US president Donald Trump, Reuters noted.
Instead, Russia said its focus was on establishing buffer zones along the border with Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said that Russia had not expected a breakthrough in the talks.
'Quickest round of talks yet' as Russia, Ukraine make little progress on peace
in Istanbul
This round of talks appeared the quickest yet: Negotiators appeared to be wrapping up within 35 minutes of the negotiations starting. It is possible that the two sides have got more efficient, given the low expectations for real negotiations.
A visibly exhausted chief Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov attempted to dispel suggestions that talks took place quickly, saying that three parallel tracks of negotiations took place including in the preamble to talks.
The first track is intended to set up a meeting between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, “where the participation of [Donald] Trump and [Turkish president] Erdoğan would be most valuable”, he said.
The second addressed the push for a ceasefire, and the third discussed potential further exchanges of prisoners of war, as well as the return of Ukrainian civilians including children.
It appears that little progress was made on all three fronts, with the Ukrainian side keen to show they are still keen to keep showing up and negotiate despite few results from three rounds of talks.
“Real steps are possible– and the other side must demonstrate a constructive and realistic approach,” said Umerov.
“We will always prioritise a ceasefire. At the moment it is not up to us …We are ready to do it, it is the Russian side that is not in agreement.”
Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi scorned the Russian side’s proposal of a series of brief humanitarian pauses of up to 48 hours, saying: “This is not really a genuine ceasefire.”
“Humanitarian pauses on the frontline are happening from time to time. It’s surprising to see the Russians trying to sell this as a kind of ceasefire.
A full ceasefire on land, sea and air, this is what you call a ceasefire. When bombs don’t fall on civilian infrastructure.”
He added: “Ukraine has zero pre-conditions for a ceasefire … but Russia rejects this idea of a ceasefire. Why? You have to ask Moscow.”
Tykhyi described the atmosphere in the talks as “more down to earth”, and less emotional than in previous rounds, although there appeared to be little movement on the draft documents outlining each side’s plan for a potential ceasefire.
“Guns need to be silent so diplomats can talk. If we had a full ceasefire the diplomacy would be much much more effective,” he said. “The Ukrainian document is doable, while the Russian one is very far away.”
The Russian side has also repeatedly dodged calls for Putin to meet with Zelenskyy in recent months, with the Ukrainian side now proposing a meeting before the end of August after previously suggesting one in June.
“We understand that in Russia there is one person who takes decisions,” said Tykhyi. “If Putin says he is ready to meet Zelenskyy, president Zelenskyy is ready to meet with him tomorrow. Why is it so hard to just sit and talk, we don’t understand this. Why is it so difficult for Putin to show up and meet with president Zelenskyy?”
Despite what appeared to be slow progress, brief talks and visibly exhausted negotiators, the Ukrainian delegation said they expected further negotiations to take place.
They missed few opportunities to thank their Turkish hosts, as well as president Trump, suggesting they were eager to show that they are a willing partner for peace negotiations, however fruitless. By contrast, Moscow has appeared willing to set the pace, which risks extending talks far beyond Trump’s suggested 50-day ultimatum.
“We want this war to end. We never wanted this war to start in the first place: This is why we will use every opportunity, however small, to advance peace,” said Tykhyi.
Updated
First, let’s get an update on Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul last night.
Over to Ruth Michaelson.
Morning opening: Protests against weakening anti-graft agencies continue in Ukraine
After another nights of protests in Kyiv and across Ukraine, the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised a new bill to strengthen the rule of law in Ukraine in what my colleague Luke Harding described as an apparent attempt to assuage popular anger at his decision to weaken the powers of two independent anti-corruption agencies.
The move comes amid growing criticism also coming from Ukraine’s main international partners, including the EU, Germany and France.
In a nightly video address, Zelenskyy sought to deflect criticism by promising a new presidential bill.
It would guarantee the independence of anti-corruption institutions and at the same time ensure there was “no Russian influence”, he said. “Of course, everyone has heard what people are saying these days – on social media, to each other, on the streets. It’s not falling on deaf ears,” he added.
But the apparent concession left protesters unimpressed, Luke noted.
The controversy comes at a politically particularly tricky moment for Ukraine and could derail the progress it has been making with international partners on getting more aid.
Elsewhere, I will be looking at the EU-China summit with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen openly talking about the relations being at “an inflection point” and at a meeting of German and French defence ministers at Europe’s largest ammunition maker, Rheinmetall, in the town of Unterlüß in northern Germany.
I will bring you all key updates from across Europe today.
It’s Thursday, 24 July 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
