In Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the EU’s 21st sanctions package against Russia, the latest attempt to tighten the economic vice over Moscow’s war machine. Though details of the new measures were still emerging, the sheer number of sanctions rounds — 21 and counting — underscores both the EU’s resolve and the grinding, attritional nature of this economic war.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky found himself sparring with an unexpected adversary: Britain’s Reform UK party. In an interview with The Guardian during a London visit, Zelensky criticized Reform-controlled councils — 24 out of over 350 in the UK — for removing Ukrainian flags from public buildings. Such actions, he warned, could “break a big friendship.” Zelensky had met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during his trip, reinforcing diplomatic ties even as symbolic gestures at the local level threaten to fray them.
Adding to the pressure on European governments, Turkey ratcheted up provocations in the eastern Mediterranean. According to Greek media, the illegal control tower at Tymbou airport in occupied northern Cyprus repeatedly jammed communications between VIP aircraft — carrying Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias to an informal EU defense ministers’ summit — and Cypriot air traffic control. The incident followed a week of airspace violations and a tense dogfight over the Aegean.
