Morning opening: Russia strikes Ukraine’s gas production facilities as Zelenskyy remains under pressure from protestsJakub KrupaRussia has attacked Ukraine’s Naftogaz’s gas production facilities in the northeastern Kharkiv region for three days in a row, the state-owned energy company said this morning, as reported by Reuters.Meanwhile, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains under pressure over his sacking of a popular defence minister, with calls to reinstate him into his position and fire the army chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi.Rare wartime protests against Zelenskyy’s decisions continued last night, with rumours swirling that he was close to agreeing to some of the demands.People demonstrate for the fifth day in a row in front of president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office demanding the reinstatement of former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov and the dismissal of the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photograph: Nastassia Kantorowicz Torres/SIPA/ShutterstockI will keep a close eye on this today for you.Elsewhere, I will be looking at the situation in Italy after a 42-year-old man died during a police arrest, sparking large protests in the city; but also at Greece and Spain, which face another heatwave with temperatures exceeding 40C.I will also keep an eye on France where lawmakers are expected to approve a bill banning social media access for children under 15 later today.Lots to cover.It’s Tuesday, 21st July 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.Good morning.ShareKey eventsRussia bans anchoring of ships in unprotected areas in key Azov Sea trade routeMeanwhile, Russia banned the anchoring of vessels in areas that are unprotected by air defences in two ports along a key trading route for grains in the Azov Sea, a government decree said, as reported by Reuters.Ukrainian UAVs’ hit, what the Ukranian military say, was a Russian tanker during a strike at a location given as Sea of Azov earlier this month. Photograph: Commander of Unmanned Aerial Systems Force/ReutersThe decree affects ships in the port of Azov in the Azov Sea and the port of Kavkaz in the Kerch Strait.Shipping in the Sea of Azov, the route for a quarter of Russia’s grains exports, has been restricted since last Friday amid Ukrainian attacks on tankers and other commercial vessels in the area.ShareRussian warship carries out rare live-fire exercise 45 miles off UK coastDan SabbaghDefence and security editorA Russian warship conducted a rare live-fire exercise in the Channel 45 miles south of Plymouth on Monday, the day Andy Burnham was appointed as prime minister.The Russian frigate Neustrashimy off Simonstown, South Africa. If arrived off the British coast earlier this month. Photograph: Gallo Images/Getty ImagesThe Neustrashimy suddenly announced it intended to fire its guns and requested that a British warship, which had been tracking it, retreat to a safe distance.The patrol vessel HMS Tyne repositioned, allowing the Russian frigate to conduct a 30-minute firing drill at around 9.30am in international waters to the south of the UK.Russian warships have been sailing around British waters for much of 2026. Last month another frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich, fired warning shots within a few hundred metres of a couple on a British pleasure yacht, south of the Isle of Wight.Conducting a live-fire exercise at short notice in international waters close to another country is a rare event and usually conducted with due notice. However, if proper safety warnings are given it is legal.ShareJakub KrupaWhat might also not help the UK-Russian relations get better anytime soon is that…ShareKremlin sees ‘no hope’ for improving relations with UK under new prime ministerMeanwhile, the Kremlin said it had “no hope” for better ties with the UK, a day after Britain’s new prime minister Andy Burnham took office, with Moscow criticising his support for Ukraine, AFP reported.“No.. we have no such hopes,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked by AFP if relations could improve. “One of his [Burnham’s] first actions was to issue statements expressing support for Ukraine and, consequently, his intention to do everything possible to continue the war,” the spokesman added.Burnham spoke with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday night, pledging his continued support for Ukraine.Prime minister Andy Burnham makes his first speech as British prime minister in Downing Street, London. Photograph: Tejas Sandhu/SOPA Images/ShutterstockShareUN reports major rise in civilian deaths, injuries during Russian invasion of UkraineBack to Ukraine, the United Nations said that civilian casualties in the war sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine rose 37 percent in the first half of this year, AFP reported.A firefighter works at the site of a residential building which was damaged during a Russian drone strike in Sumy, Ukraine. Photograph: State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Reuters“We documented 1,396 civilians killed [and] 7,978 injured… that amounts to a 37 percent increase from the same period in the previous year,” Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, told reporters in Geneva.ShareFrench parliament to vote on social media ban for under 15sFrench lawmakers will vote on Tuesday on a law that aims to ban social media access for children under the age of 15, joining countries around the world in considering a move unpopular with many teenagers but supported by some parents and teachers, Reuters reported.A folder of social media applications, including TikTok, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, YouTube, and Facebook, is displayed on a smartphone screen in Creteil, France. Photograph: Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto/ShutterstockIf it is adopted, France would follow Australia, where the world’s first ban for under-16s on platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube came into force in December, as concerns grow over the impact social media has on the health and safety of minors.President Emmanuel Macron, who in April urged young people to switch off their phones and read in order to become better citizens, wants the law in place in time for the start of the next academic year and sees it as a part of his legacy.The vote in parliament is due in the mid- to late afternoon, Reuters said, and I will keep an eye on this for you.ShareTwo people injured in Acropolis stabbing as Greece braces for extreme temperaturesHelena Smithin GreeceGreece is the latest country to face an extreme heatwave this summer, with temperatures exceeding 42C expected today, including up to 40C in Athens. The searing heat has prompted Red Cross to assign its volunteers to help tourists visiting the Acropolis.An estimated 16,000 people daily climb the craggy hill to behold the monument at the height of the summer season.Police officers secure the area near the entrance to the Acropolis archaeological site in Athens, Greece, after a man allegedly stabbed two people. Photograph: Aristidis Vafeiadakis/ZUMA Press Wire/ShutterstockAs Red Cross crews began to assemble at the base of the 5th century BC site, emergency medics were also rushed to the area to assist two Greek Americans who appear to have been stabbed as they lined up outside the Acropolis ticket office.The assailant, an as yet unidentified man, had been arraigned. Eyewitnesses described him as threatening other people also lining up at the Acropolis ticket office before the early morning attack.The incident is likely to raise security concerns – and calls to reinforce policing – at Greece’s most visited tourist site.ShareUpdated at 05.34 EDTThousands protest in Bologna, clash with police after man dies during arrest attemptItalian police clashed with demonstrators in the northern city of Bologna on Monday night, ANSA news agency reported, during a protest over a man’s death after officers tried to arrest him, Reuters reported.Abderrahim Fakir, a Moroccan-born entrepreneur who ran a small removals and cleaning business, died on Sunday after police were called to deal with a man behaving aggressively and damaging a vehicle, Italian media said.Thousands of people march through central Bologna to protest against the death of Abderrahim Fakir in Bologna, Italy. Photograph: Thomas Cavagna/JNA/ZUMA Press Wire/ShutterstockFootage of the incident filmed by a resident and widely shared online prompted hundreds of people to protest. According to ANSA, some threw a firecracker near police buildings in the city and police reacted using teargas and water cannons.The video showed Fakir lying face down on the ground while two officers restrained him. He could be heard repeatedly calling for help and struggling for breath before his movements gradually stopped.A protester holds a flare in front of a banner reading in Italian “Justice for Fakir” during a protest following the death of Abderrahim Fakir in Bologna, Italy. Photograph: Michele Lapini/ReutersProtesters kneel and raise their fists while facing a police line during a demonstration following the death of Abderrahim Fakir in Bologna, Italy. Photograph: Michele Lapini/ReutersA rally in memory of Fakir in Piazza Maggiore and Piazza del Nettuno in Bologna, Italy. Photograph: Guido Calamosca/LaPresse/Shutterstock“The chants of ’police murderers’ and ’the whole world hates you,’ shouted during a demonstration in Bologna … are disgraceful,” said Tommaso Foti, the European affairs minister in the government of prime minister Giorgia Meloni.Prosecutors have opened an investigation into the incident. Interior minister Matteo Piantedosi said he had “full confidence” the inquiry would establish the facts and clarify what happened.ShareFalconer named UK PM Burnham’s new lead on European relationsLisa O’CarrollHamish Falconer is taking over from Nick Thomas-Symonds, with responsibilities for intergovernmental relations and European relations in the new British prime minister Andy Burnham’s cabinet.Parliamentary portrait of Hamish Falconer. Photograph: UK Parliament/PAThe 40-year-old former diplomat, who worked in the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development previously, was elected an MP in 2024 and was immediately marked out as a rising star and appointed under secretary of state for the Middle East and north Africa.Falconer, the MP for Lincoln, is a son of Labour grandee and peer Charlie Falconer, who served under Tony Blair’s government.He worked for the Foreign Office for 10 years, focusing on national security, terrorism and hostage recovery, particularly in Afghanistan.He also had a stint at the UK’s National Crime Agency in Pakistan and south Sudan working on human trafficking investigations.Thomas Byrne, Europe minister in Ireland which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said he looked forward to working with him “working closely” with Falconer.The departure of Thomas-Symonds will be a blow to EU counterparts who saw him as a reliable and stable partner able to heal the wounds of the Brexit past.Byrne said he was responsible for a “genuinely positive step-change in the EU-UK relationship, to the benefit of both UK and EU citizens” restoring cross-channel confidence.However, some EU diplomats worried that Keir Starmer’s reset talks had lost momentum amid a disagreement over whether EU citizens in a negotiated youth mobility scheme would pay cheaper tuition fees in the UK.ShareJakub KrupaLet’s take a quick look at other news from around Europe, including an update on who will be leading the UK’s “reset” talks with the European Union…ShareUkraine-bound gas tanker hit in Black Sea, with three people injured, Romania’s president saysA strike on a ship in the Black Sea carrying propane to the Ukrainian port of Reni wounded three seafarers and forced the crew’s evacuation, Romania’s president Nicușor Dan said.“Last night, the LPG tanker Gas Lisbon, flying the Liberian flag, was struck outside Romanian territorial waters, approximately 20 nautical miles off the Romanian coast,” Dan said on X.Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy talks to Romania’s president Nicușor Dan during the opening plenary session at the Vilnius Summit of B9 (Bucharest Nine) and Nordic countries in Vilnius, Lithuania last year. Photograph: Valda Kalniņa/EPAWhile the authorities were still working to establish who had hit the tanker, Dan claimed the incident was “most likely part of the Russian Federation’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine,” AFP reported.The strike on the ship, which was carrying more than 3,790 tonnes of propane from the port of Alexandria in Egypt, caused a major fire on board the vessel.After the strike, two Romanian rescue vessels evacuated the ship’s 17 crew members, including three who “required emergency medical care”, the emergency services said.AFP noted that the Black Sea has been a regular theatre of confrontation between Ukraine and Russia since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.ShareUpdated at 04.17 EDTWarren MurrayRussian has launched more ballistic missiles against Ukraine in July so far than it is thought to produce each month, the Institute for the Study of War thinktank said.
“Russia appears to be dipping into its stockpiles to continue increasing the number of ballistic missiles it launches against Ukraine, as these missiles have a higher success rate than drones and cruise missiles.”
ShareMorning opening: Russia strikes Ukraine’s gas production facilities as Zelenskyy remains under pressure from protestsJakub KrupaRussia has attacked Ukraine’s Naftogaz’s gas production facilities in the northeastern Kharkiv region for three days in a row, the state-owned energy company said this morning, as reported by Reuters.Meanwhile, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains under pressure over his sacking of a popular defence minister, with calls to reinstate him into his position and fire the army chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi.Rare wartime protests against Zelenskyy’s decisions continued last night, with rumours swirling that he was close to agreeing to some of the demands.People demonstrate for the fifth day in a row in front of president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office demanding the reinstatement of former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov and the dismissal of the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photograph: Nastassia Kantorowicz Torres/SIPA/ShutterstockI will keep a close eye on this today for you.Elsewhere, I will be looking at the situation in Italy after a 42-year-old man died during a police arrest, sparking large protests in the city; but also at Greece and Spain, which face another heatwave with temperatures exceeding 40C.I will also keep an eye on France where lawmakers are expected to approve a bill banning social media access for children under 15 later today.Lots to cover.It’s Tuesday, 21st July 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.Good morning.Share