Closing summary
And on that point, with updates from all sides of today’s talks, it’s a wrap.
US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian aggression on Ukraine “must end” (19:07, 19:33) as they discussed the earlier talks between Russian president Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff (8:59, 11:29).
Some European leaders joined their call, the leaders’ said, without disclosing the details (19:09).
The White House is expected to go ahead with its secondary tariffs on Russia on Friday, a White House official told media, despite Trump’s praise for a “highly productive” meeting in Moscow, (18:46, 19:00).
The Kremlin also described the US-Russia talks as “useful and productive,” without elaborating on the contents (14:32).
Elsewhere,
The nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki has been sworn in as the Polish president (9:17, 9:50, 10:00), using his inaugural address to criticise the EU as he vowed to represent “sovereign” Poland, in a sign of potential clashes to come with the country’s pro-European government (10:17, 10:33. 10:56, 17:22).
The Italian government has given the final approval for the construction of a multibillion-euro bridge linking Sicily to the mainland, a project that has been a topic of debate since at least the late 1960s but has been held back by a litany of concerns, including the huge cost, seismic risks and mafia infiltration (18:06).
Hundreds of firefighters are battling to stop the spread of a fast-moving wildfire in southern France, after one woman died and nine people were injured as the blaze scorched a vast area of the Corbières hills (18:12).
Lithuania’s ruling Social Democrats party picked social affairs minister Inga Ruginienė as its candidate for prime minister, making her the likely successor to Gintautas Paluckas who resigned on Monday (18:23).
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.
'War must end,' Zelenskyy says after talking to Trump and European leaders
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he agreed with Trump that “the war must end” as they discussed the outcome of today’s meeting between Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Zelenskyy also disclosed that “European leaders were on the call” as he thanked them for their support for Ukraine.
“We discussed what was spelled out in Moscow. Ukraine will definitely defend its independence. We all need a lasting and reliable peace. Russia must end the war that it itself started,” he said.
Updated
Trump’s phrase “some of our European allies” suggests it wasn’t just Zelenskyy that he spoke with this afternoon – worth keeping an eye out for reactions from other European capitals to get a fuller picture of what happened in Moscow, beyond Trump’s traditionally bombastic rhetoric.
Trump hails Witkoff's 'highly productive' meeting with Putin, says 'everyone agrees this war must come to close'
US president Donald Trump has just put out his take on today’s Putin-Witkoff talks, saying it was a “highly productive meeting” and “great progress was made,” on which he “updated some of our European allies.”
He added:
“Everyone agrees this war must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
'Meeting went well' with Russians engaging, but sanctions still expected on Friday - White House official
The White House official quoted by Reuters added that the Putin-Witkoff meeting went well, and “the Russians are eager to continue engaging” with the US, but the secondary sanctions were still expected to be implemented on Friday.
In the meantime, Trump and Zelenskyy have reportedly ended their call now, so we may be getting some more details from them soon.
Reuters is carrying a one-line quote from a White House official saying that secondary sanctions on Russia are expected to be implemented on Friday.
I will bring you more details as soon as we have them.
You’re now up-to-date on other events in Europe.
I am watching out for updates from that Trump-Zelenskyy call and will bring you more as soon as we have it.
Inga Ruginienė picked as Lithuania's likely next prime minister
Lithuania’s ruling Social Democrats party picked social affairs minister Inga Ruginienė as its candidate for prime minister, making her the likely successor to Gintautas Paluckas who resigned on Monday, Reuters reported.
The 44-year-old social affairs minister and former trade union leader Ruginienė will face a confidence vote in Lithuania’s parliament and must get lawmakers’ approval for her cabinet programme before taking office.
Ruginienė has been the leader of Lithuania’s trade union confederation since 2018, before joining Paluckas’ cabinet in 2024. “I am guided by left-wing, social democrat values“, she told the country’s public broadcaster this week.
The Social Democrat party holds 52 out of 141 seats in parliament and has formed a government coalition with the centre-left For Lithuania and populist Nemunas Dawn.
Finance Minister Rimantas Šadžius is currently the acting prime minister until a new cabinet is sworn in.
Journalist missing in Norway survived five days in wilderness with leg injury
But we also got some good news from Norway, where rescuers have found the award-winning environmental journalist Alec Luhn alive after he went missing in the remote Folgefonna national park and survived nearly a week alone in the wilderness with a serious leg injury.
Luhn, a US-born reporter who has worked for the New York Times and the Atlantic and was a regular Russia correspondent for the Guardian from 2013 to 2017, was reported missing on Monday after he failed to catch a flight to the UK from Bergen.
At a press briefing from Haukeland hospital in Bergen, the head of the air ambulance service and trauma centre, Geir Arne Sunde, said Luhn had hurt himself on the evening he set out. “He is seriously injured, but not critically injured,” he said, adding that Luhn was awake, relieved and grateful for his rescue.
“He has managed in the mountain in very bad weather for five days, without much food or drink,” Sunde said. “He has been very lucky.”
France battles 'unprecedented' wildfires, killing at least one
Hundreds of firefighters are battling to stop the spread of a fast-moving wildfire in southern France, after one woman died and nine people were injured as the blaze scorched a vast area of the Corbières hills.
The fire, which started on Tuesday afternoon, has burned 13,000 hectares inland from the Mediterranean near the Spanish border, and is the largest and fastest-spreading wildfire in France this summer.
It began in the village of Ribaute in the Aude department, spreading across the rural, wooded area of the Corbières, famous for its vineyards and medieval villages.
A woman died in her home and one person was in a critical condition with severe burns, according to the Aude prefecture. Several firefighters were also injured. At least 25 homes were destroyed or damaged.
This is “a disaster of unprecedented scale”, the firefighter spokesperson Eric Brocardi told RTL radio, saying the fire was spreading at 3.4mph (5.5km/h).
“It’s a catastrophe of unprecedented scale,” prime minister François Bayrou said as he visited Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse.
“What is happening today is linked to global warming and linked to drought,” he said.
Updated
'God save cacio e pepe' as inclusion of butter in UK recipe draws outrage from Italian media
One of the UK’s most popular food websites has cooked up a storm in Italy after allegedly botching a recipe for the traditional Roman pasta dish, cacio e pepe, drawing diplomatic representations from the main trade association for Italian restaurateurs.
A recipe on Good Food, formerly owned by the BBC, which continues to licence the web address bbcgoodfood.com – described cacio e pepe, a culinary institution in the Italian capital, as a “store cupboard favourite” that could easily be whipped up for “a speedy lunch” using “four simple ingredients – spaghetti, pepper, parmesan and butter”.
The notion that making cacio e pepe is easy was bad enough, but the presence of parmesan cheese and butter has been deemed a cardinal sin. Traditional cacio e pepe contains three ingredients: pasta (usually tonnarelli, a type of spaghetti), pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper.
Such is the fury, Fiepet Confesercenti, an association that represents restaurants in Italy, said it would demand a correction from the website in order to “safeguard this iconic dish”. Furthermore, it has taken up the issue with the British embassy in Rome.
Claudio Pica, the president of the Rome unit for Fiepet Confesercenti, said the association was “astonished” to see the recipe on such a popular and esteemed food site, adding that letters have been sent to Immediate Media, the site’s owner, and the British ambassador to Rome, Edward Llewellyn.
“This iconic dish, traditionally from Rome and the Lazio region, has been a staple of Italian cuisine for years, so much so it has been replicated even beyond Italy’s borders,” he added. “We regret to contradict the historic and authoritative British media, but the original recipe for cacio e pepe excludes parmesan and butter. There are not four ingredients, but three: pasta, pepper and pecorino.”
Italian newspapers have had a field day over the controversy, with the Rome-based Il Messaggero writing: “Paraphrasing the famous British anthem ‘God save the king’, Rome restaurateurs are now saying: ‘God save the cacio e pepe.”
Updated
Italian government gives final approval for bridge linking Sicily to mainland
in Rome
The Italian government has given the final approval for the construction of a multibillion-euro bridge linking Sicily to the mainland, a project that has been a topic of debate since at least the late 1960s but has been held back by a litany of concerns, including the huge cost, seismic risks and mafia infiltration.
Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing government has set aside €13.5bn to build what would be the longest single-span bridge in the world. A dream of Italy’s late former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and revived soon after Meloni’s government came to power in 2022, the 3.7km bridge and its surrounding facilities are expected to take 10 years to build.
Cars, trains and foot passengers currently cross the Strait of Messina, between the Sicilian city of the same name and Villa San Giovanni in Calabria, by ferry – a journey that takes about 30 minutes.
The green light for the bridge, which the government argues would give a much-needed economic boost to Italy’s poorer south, was given by an inter-ministerial committee on Wednesday, said the transport minister, Matteo Salvini, who is also the project’s chief backer. Salvini described it as “a metro over the strait”.
As we await an update from Trump-Zelenskyy call, let’s take a quick look at other events in Europe.
World awaits Trump’s next move as Russia ceasefire deadline approaches
Diplomatic editor
After taking six months to conclude that Vladimir Putin may not be a kindred transactional authoritarian leader but an ideological nationalist seeking the return of what “belongs to Russia”, the deadline Donald Trump set for the Russian president to agree a Ukraine ceasefire or face US sanctions on oil exports arrives on Friday.
What Trump – who some had claimed was a Russian asset – does next to punish Putin could define his presidency.
It is a remarkable turnaround and one that seasoned Trump watchers such as Michael McFaul, the former US ambassador to Russia, said they had never expected.
But as the deadline approaches, there is lingering scepticism about how far Trump will go. He has dispatched his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to Moscow for the fifth time for last-minute talks and on Friday Trump admitted he did not think sanctions would have much impact as Russians are “wily characters and pretty good at avoiding sanctions”.
He has also given himself maximum room for political manoeuvre by ensuring the US Senate did not pass legislation before its summer recess that would have empowered him to slap bone-crushing 500% tariffs on exports from countries that import Russian oil, principally India, China, Brazil and Turkey.
The one prerequisite is that Trump must not back off, McFaul said. “Making threats and not carrying through with them is one of the biggest mistakes you can make in diplomacy.” The former ambassador recalled George Shultz, the great Reagan-era US secretary of state, saying “never point a gun at anyone unless you are prepared to shoot”.
US Trump talking to Ukraine's Zelenskyy hours after Putin-Witkoff meeting
Both Axios and Reuters are reporting that US president Donald Trump is now speaking with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Let’s see what this conversation brings.
US to decide on Russia sanctions later today, Rubio says
US state secretary Marco Rubio said he was hopeful of making announcements later on Wednesday on whether potential sanctions against Russia would still proceed this week, Reuters reported.
Rubio said he has spoken to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is on his way back from a trip to Russia, and would have more discussions throughout the day.
“We’ll have more to say about that later on today,” Rubio said when asked if sanctions on Russia would go into effect later this week, adding that there would hopefully be some announcements soon.
Maybe positive, maybe not.
Poland's Nawrocki wants to see army grow to 300,000, largest Nato army in Europe
As we await more updates from Moscow or Washington, let’s briefly go back to Warsaw for my first full report on Karol Nawrocki’s inauguration as the new Polish president.
In the last few minutes, he has been formally taking over the role of the military commander in chief.
Addressing soldiers in Warsaw, he said his ambition is to grow the Polish army to “at least 300,000” from around 210,000 now, making it the largest Nato army in Europe.
Updated
Trump expected to speak with Zelenskyy - reports
Meanwhile, US media outlet Axios is reporting that Trump is expected to speak with Zelenskyy later today, discussing the next steps after Witkoff’s meeting with Putin in Moscow.
One to watch.
Zelenskyy visits Ukrainian troops near frontline
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he visited Ukrainian troops near the frontline in Sumy region, talking to commanders about the situation on the ground.
“There were reports on the liberation of Andriyivka and Kindrativka in the Sumy region, Russian attempts at counterattacks, our next steps to liberate Ukrainian land,” he said.
He added they “talked in detail about the needs, the level of support in general, the training of recruits and instructors.”
Zelenskyy also thanked the soldiers for their service, awarding some of them with state medals.
US imposes additional 25% tariff on India for Russian oil imports
Oh.
While we haven’t heard from any US officials on the Kremlin meeting just yet, the White House has just announced an additional 25% tariff on India for “directly or indirectly importing Russian … oil.”
The tariff was introduced through a presidential executive order signed, with today’s date, by US president Donald Trump.
The order, posted on the White House’s website, says that:
“I have received additional information from various senior officials on, among other things, the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation with respect to the situation in Ukraine.
After considering this additional information, among other things, I find that the national emergency described in Executive Order 14066 continues and that the actions and policies of the Government of the Russian Federation continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
Concluding, it said:
“To deal with the national emergency described in Executive Order 14066, I determine that it is necessary and appropriate to impose an additional ad valorem duty on imports of articles of India, which is directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil.”
Updated
Russian market awaits outcome of Putin's talks with Witkoff
The Russian rouble and markets held their breath as they awaited the outcome of Putin’s talks with Witkoff, Reuters noted.
“The market is awaiting the outcome of the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff,” T-Bank’s analysts said.
Many analysts believe that the rouble is overvalued and awaiting a trigger to weaken.
“In the coming days, the currency market will be waiting for news from the visit of the US president’s special representative and clarification of the situation regarding possible US sanctions,” said PSB Bank’s Evgeny Loktykhov.
Updated
US envoy Steve Witkoff meets Putin as Trump’s Ukraine deadline approaches
in Kyiv
Russian news agencies said the talks between the US special envoy and the Russian president ended after about three hours, and Witkoff’s convoy was seen leaving the Kremlin. There was no immediate statement from either side on how the talks had gone.
The visit is Witkoff’s fifth trip to Moscow in his capacity as Trump’s lead negotiator with the Kremlin, and comes as Trump has begun to talk tough on Russia for the first time since taking over the presidency.
Trump cut short an earlier 50-day deadline to Putin, claiming he saw no desire in the Kremlin to change its behaviour and calling recent strikes that killed civilians in Kyiv “disgusting”. He has now promised to introduce secondary tariffs on countries that import Russian oil if no progress is made by Friday.
After Trump made the threat of further sanctions, the former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev claimed the harsh rhetoric could lead to a direct conflict between Russia and the US. In response, Trump ordered two nuclear submarines to be repositioned.
Putin has given little indication that he is ready to make concessions or willing to adjust Russia’s core war aims. However, reports by Bloomberg and the independent Russian news outlet the Bell have suggested that the Kremlin could propose a halt to long-range strikes by both sides as an offering to Trump.
Both Trump and Kyiv have been calling for a full and unconditional ceasefire, to allow negotiations to begin, but a halt to long-range strikes could offer welcome breathing space to both sides.
Updated
'Useful and constructive' talks between Putin and Witkoff, Kremlin aide says
In the first briefing from the Russian side, the former Russian ambassador to the US and Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters the talks were “useful and constructive.”
He said Russia “received some signals from Trump” and “sent some signals” in response, but did not elaborate on what they were.
He said Putin and Witkoff also discussed the prospects for the development of the “strategic partnership” between the US and Russia.
Updated
Putin-Witkoff meeting ends - reports
After just under three hours, Russian news agency Ria is reporting that the meeting between Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff has now concluded.
Let’s wait to see what, if anything, we hear in briefing from both sides of the conversation.
Updated
We are getting a bit more detail on the Russian strike on Ukrainian gas facilities overnight (11:59), via Reuters.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said in a statement that the attacked station was used as part of a route connecting Greek liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals with Ukrainian gas storage facilities via the Transbalkan gas pipeline.
It noted that it had already been used to deliver LNG from the US and test volumes of Azerbaijani gas.
“This is a Russian strike purely against civilian infrastructure, deliberately targeting the energy sector and, at the same time, relations with Azerbaijan, the United States and partners in Europe, as well as the normal lives of Ukrainians and all Europeans,” the ministry said.
Updated
Russia arrests man accussed of passing satellite secrets to US
In other events that happened just before the talks between Witkoff and Putin, a man accused of passing Russian satellite secrets to the United States has been arrested for suspected treason and placed in pre-trial detention, a court in the Russian city of Kaliningrad said on Wednesday.
Reuters said the suspect was only identified by a single letter, with the court saying he was a former employee of a company producing electronic engines for space satellites.
It said he was suspected of collecting and storing information about the firm’s technology on behalf of US intelligence services between July 2021 and December 2023.
The agency noted that the man could face a potential sentence of life imprisonment.
Updated
Russia strikes Ukrainian gas facility overnight, hours before talks
Hours before the meeting, Russia has struck a gas facility in Ukraine’s Odesa region, with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying it was an attempt to undermine Ukrainian preparations for winter, Reuters reported.
“This was a deliberate blow to our preparations for the heating season, absolutely cynical, like every Russian blow to the energy sector,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
Ukraine has faced a serious gas shortage since a series of devastating Russian missile strikes this year, which significantly reduced domestic gas production.
The Russian defence ministry confirmed the attacks on gas transportation facilities in Ukraine, the Tass state news agency reported.
Updated
US special envoy Steve Witkoff meets Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin
We are getting first pictures from inside the Kremlin showing Russia’s Putin welcoming Witkoff for their talks.
Earlier today, Witkoff also went for a walk through Zaryadye Park near the Kremlin with Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president’s envoy for investment and economic cooperation, AP reported, pointing to footage aired by Tass.
Updated
US special envoy Witkoff meets Russia's Putin - reports
Nawrocki will take part in a number of ceremonial appointments throughout the day. I will keep an eye on this.
But let’s go back to Russia and Ukraine, as Interfax is now reporting that – as expected (8:59) – the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is meeting the US special envoy Steve Witkoff for their crunch talks ahead of this Friday’s Trump deadline to end the war in Ukraine.
Updated
Nawrocki also outlines more areas where he is likely to clash with the government, as he calls for a radical overhaul of the judiciary to “restore the rule of law”.
He says he will be ready to block appointments of judges he does not see fit to perform their roles, saying they are “not gods, but meant to serve” the nation,
He says he will create a council dedicated to repairing Poland’s constitutional order, and start work on a refreshed constitution to be adopted by 2030.
He ends his speech shouting:
May God bless Poland, long live Poland.
And that’s it.
Updated
'No to illegal migration, no to euro,' Nawrocki outlines his presidency in punchy speech
Nawrocki’s punchy opening paragraphs give us a taster of what lies ahead.
“The free choice of a free nation has brought me before you today – despite the campaign of propaganda, lies, political theater, and the contempt I encountered on the road to the office of president.
And I forgave … as a Christian … I forgive all that contempt.”
He then swiftly turns against Tusk’s government – although not naming him – saying:
“These elections … sent a strong message – a message from the sovereign people to the entire political class … that things cannot continue to be governed in this way. That Poland should not look the way it does today.”
He outlines his manifesto saying his presidency will say “no to illegal migration, yes to Polish złoty, no to joining the euro,” and that he will block any attempt to raise the retirement age.
But he declares he will be “the voice of the nation”, and will seek to operate “across” existing political divides.
He says he wants Poland that is “part of the EU, but not becomes the EU” and wants Poland to stay sovereign. He stresses he will not agree to any further transfer of competences to the EU.
He also makes a pointed reference to Poland’s most important alliances, including with the US.
There is a White House delegation of US officials in attendance, led by the US small business administrator, Kelly Loeffler, who Nawrocki’s aides said presented Nawrocki with a personal gift from Trump.
(Also, worth noting, that Nawrocki is wearing his trademark Trump-inspired red tie.)
Updated
Karol Nawrocki sworn in as Poland's president
Nawrocki has just made his oath of office.
“Assuming, by the will of the nation, the office of president of the Republic of Poland, I do solemnly swear to be faithful to the provisions of the constitution; I pledge that I shall steadfastly safeguard the dignity of the nation, the independence and security of the state, and also that the good of the homeland and the prosperity of its citizens shall forever remain my supreme obligation.”
He ends with the optional religious reference: “And so help me God.”
He is now formally the president of Poland.
Updated
The swearing in ceremony of the next Polish president, Karol Nawrocki, is about to get under way.
I will follow Nawrocki’s inaugural speech to bring you the key lines, before we pivot back to Ukraine.
Updated
The last two months since the presidential election in Poland were dominated by repeated allegations of irregularities in counting the votes, raised by some supporters of the defeated liberal candidate Rafał Trzaskowski.
Responding to thousands of electoral protests from Trzaskowski’s supporters, orchestrated by some of his political allies but not openly supported by the candidate, the state prosecutor launched an investigation that discovered minor counting errors, but confirmed they did not materially alter the outcome of the election.
But with the emotions running high, today’s inauguration will be a difficult political moment for the ruling pro-European coalition government, led by former European Council president Donald Tusk.
In a punchy video posted on his social media channels this morning, Tusk addressed “all Poles for whom today is a sad and disappointing day”, saying he knows “very well how you feel”.
“We all believed that honesty, goodness, and love would triumph. And what has happened puts that belief to a serious test. You hoped that 10 years of embarrassment, sadness, and fear for our homeland would come to a definitive end today. Instead, to the old fears, new ones have been added.”
But he urged his supporters to “persist,” “not lose faith” and regroup ahead of the 2027 parliamentary election.
“Let’s do everything we can to make sure that in two years there are even more of us. And let today only strengthen our resolve. Because our white-and-red hearts are truly unconquerable.”
Updated
In his farewell TV address last night, outgoing president Duda trumpeted his successes as the country’s president, saying he fought against the impossibilism of political rivals and at the end of his 10 years in office leaves Poland as “a completely different country: stronger, safer, taken more seriously abroad, and serving its citizens better.”
But he also leaves behind a deeply divisive legacy.
Boasting some achievements in foreign and defence policy by strengthening Poland’s role within Nato, maintaining a strong alliance with the US under Trump, and playing a critical role in helping Ukraine since the full-scale invasion in 2022, he repeatedly sparked major controversy at home by closely aligning himself with his party, the populist-right Law and Justice, including on the much-criticised reforms of the judiciary that sparked a rule of law crisis in relations with the EU.
Despite that, Duda came top in last month’s trust ratings by CBOS, ahead of his successor Karol Nawrocki, with a separate poll showing that 54% viewed his presidency positively and 40% negatively. He is only the second Polish president after 1989 to complete two terms in office.
At just 53, Duda is still believed to be harbouring political ambitions, with speculations about his future further fuelled by his declaration that he has no intention to retire from frontline politics.
He is seen as a potential candidate to be the country’s next prime minister leading a hypothetical coalition of the populist-right PiS and libertarian far-right Konfederacja after the 2027 parliamentary election.
In his book, published today to coincide with the last day in the office, he repeatedly criticised Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk and pointedly praised Konfederacja’s leader Sławomir Mentzen as “a patriot and a statesman – and that is impressive,” which will only fuel rumours about his future intentions.
Karol Nawrocki set to become Poland's next president
Over in Poland, the inauguration ceremony of the country’s new president, Karol Nawrocki, will start in just under an hour at 10am local time (9am London).
42-year-old Nawrocki narrowly won the presidential election in June, defying the polls and beating the Oxford-educated liberal Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski who was widely regarded as the clear favourite to replace the conservative incumbent Andrzej Duda stepping down after two terms.
A historian with a controversial past, he has little experience in frontline politics after serving as the head of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, a state research institute with public prosecution powers investigating historical crimes against Poland.
Backed by the populist-right opposition Law and Justice party which ruled Poland between 2015 and 2023, Nawrocki ran a campaign under Trumpesque slogan “Poland first, Poles first.” He also secured Donald Trump’s endorsement after an unexpected White House visit just weeks before the decisive vote.
Marek Magierowski, former aide to the outgoing president Duda and Poland’s former US ambassador, said in a blog post that Nawrocki’s links with the US could “help keep both countries aligned in the contest against Russia”.
Domestically, however, Nawrocki’s presidency is likely to pose a major challenge for Poland’s pro-European coalition government run by former European Council president Donald Tusk.
While the role of the Polish president is largely ceremonial, it carries some influence over foreign and defence policy and a critical power to veto new legislation. This can only be overturned with a majority of three-fifths in parliament, which the current government does not have.
Nawrocki is expected to play an active role in domestic politics to directly challenge growingly unpopular Tusk, with the incoming president’s aides saying he will put forward his first legislative proposals already later this week.
Aleks Szczerbiak, an expert on east and central European politics at the University of Sussex, said in his blog that Nawrocki’s win “represents a huge blow to the Tusk government’s plans to re-set its reform agenda.”
“The government can now expect continued resistance from a hostile President for the remainder of its term until the next parliamentary election, scheduled for autumn 2027, making it very hard for it to push forward with its policy agenda,” he wrote in a recent analysis.
Nawrocki’s presidency could also mark a shift in Poland’s position on Ukraine, as he previously repeatedly spoke about the difficult history between the two nations and declared his opposition to Ukrainian membership in Nato.
He will deliver his inaugural address as part of the swearing in ceremony, and I will bring you all the key lines.
Updated
Morning opening: Showdown
US special envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived to Moscow for talks with Russia, possibly with the country’s president Vladimir Putin, ahead of this Friday’s deadline set by Donald Trump for ending the war in Ukraine.
After landing, Witkoff was met by presidential special representative Kirill Dmitriev, but the Kremlin previously had said that a direct meeting between the US envoy and Putin was “possible.”
Trump said last night that the outcome of the talks would inform his next steps and whether he moves ahead with the proposed sanctions and secondary tariffs against Russia and its trading partners, including India.
“We’re going to see what happens,” he told reporters. “We’ll make that determination at that time.”
Elsewhere, nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki will be inaugurated as the next president of Poland, marking the beginning of a new, likely turbulent, chapter for the country’s pro-European government led by former European Council president Donald Tusk.
I will bring you all the key updates here.
It’s Wednesday, 6 August 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
