US particular envoy Steve Witkoff meets Vladimir Putin within the Kremlin
We’re getting first footage from inside the Kremlin displaying Russia’s Putin welcoming Witkoff for his or her talks.
Earlier at present, Witkoff additionally went for a stroll by Zaryadye Park close to the Kremlin with Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president’s envoy for funding and financial cooperation, AP reported pointing to footage aired by Tass.
Russian president Vladimir Putin welcomes US president Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff throughout a gathering in Moscow, Russia. {Photograph}: Gavriil Grigorov/ReutersShare
Up to date at 05.33 EDT
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Putin-Witkoff assembly ends – experiences
After just below three hours, Russian information company Ria is reporting that the assembly between Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff has now concluded.
Let’s wait to see what, if something, we hear in briefing from each side of the dialog.
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We’re getting a bit extra element on the Russian strike on Ukrainian fuel services in a single day (11:59), through Reuters.
Ukraine’s vitality ministry mentioned in a press release that the attacked station was used as a part of a route connecting Greek liquefied pure fuel (LNG) terminals with Ukrainian fuel storage services through the Transbalkan fuel pipeline.
It famous that it had already been used to ship LNG from the US and check volumes of Azerbaijani fuel.
“That is a Russian strike purely in opposition to civilian infrastructure, intentionally focusing on the vitality sector and, on the identical time, relations with Azerbaijan, america and companions in Europe, in addition to the traditional lives of Ukrainians and all Europeans,” the ministry mentioned.
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Up to date at 07.36 EDT
Russia arrests man accussed of passing satellite tv for pc secrets and techniques to US
In different occasions that occurred simply earlier than the talks between Witkoff and Putin, a person accused of passing Russian satellite tv for pc secrets and techniques to america has been arrested for suspected treason and positioned in pre-trial detention, a courtroom within the Russian metropolis of Kaliningrad mentioned on Wednesday.
Reuters mentioned the suspect was solely recognized by a single letter, with the courtroom saying he was a former worker of an organization producing digital engines for area satellites.
It mentioned he was suspected of accumulating and storing details about the agency’s know-how on behalf of US intelligence companies between July 2021 and December 2023.
The company famous that the person might face a possible sentence of life imprisonment.
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Russia strikes Ukrainian fuel facility in a single day, hours earlier than talks
Hours earlier than the assembly, Russia has struck a fuel facility in Ukraine’s Odesa area, with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying it was an try to undermine Ukrainian preparations for winter, Reuters reported.
“This was a deliberate blow to our preparations for the heating season, completely cynical, like each Russian blow to the vitality sector,” Zelenskyy mentioned on Telegram.
Ukraine has confronted a critical fuel scarcity since a sequence of devastating Russian missile strikes this 12 months, which considerably diminished home fuel manufacturing.
The Russian defence ministry confirmed the assaults on fuel transportation services in Ukraine, the Tass state information company reported.
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Up to date at 07.34 EDT
US particular envoy Steve Witkoff meets Vladimir Putin within the Kremlin
We’re getting first footage from inside the Kremlin displaying Russia’s Putin welcoming Witkoff for his or her talks.
Earlier at present, Witkoff additionally went for a stroll by Zaryadye Park close to the Kremlin with Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president’s envoy for funding and financial cooperation, AP reported pointing to footage aired by Tass.
Russian president Vladimir Putin welcomes US president Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff throughout a gathering in Moscow, Russia. {Photograph}: Gavriil Grigorov/ReutersShare
Up to date at 05.33 EDT
US particular envoy Witkoff meets Russia’s Putin – experiences
Nawrocki will participate in plenty of ceremonial appointments all through the day. I’ll control this.
However let’s return to Russia and Ukraine, as Interfax is now reporting that – as anticipated (8:59) – Russian president Vladimir Putin is assembly US particular envoy Steve Witkoff for his or her crunch talks forward of this Friday’s Trump deadline to finish the warfare in Ukraine.
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Nawrocki additionally outlines extra areas the place he’s more likely to conflict with the federal government, as he requires a radical overhaul of the judiciary to “restore the rule of legislation”.
Poland’s new president, Karol Nawrocki, speaks to parliament members after being sworn in through the inauguration ceremony in Warsaw, Poland. {Photograph}: Czarek Sokołowski/AP
He says he shall be prepared to dam appointments of judges he doesn’t see match to carry out their roles, saying they’re “not gods, however meant to serve” the nation,
He says he’ll create a council devoted to repairing Poland’s constitutional order, and begin work on a refreshed structure to be adopted by 2030.
He ends his speech shouting:
Might God bless Poland, lengthy reside Poland.
And that’s it.
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Up to date at 05.17 EDT
‘No to unlawful migration, no to euro,’ Nawrocki outlines his presidency in punchy speech
Nawrocki’s punchy opening paragraphs give us a taster of what lies forward.
“The free alternative of a free nation has introduced me earlier than you at present – regardless of the marketing campaign of propaganda, lies, political theater, and the contempt I encountered on the highway to the workplace of president.
And I forgave … as a Christian … I forgive all that contempt.”
He then swiftly turns in opposition to Tusk’s authorities – though not naming him – saying:
“These elections … despatched a robust message – a message from the sovereign individuals to your complete political class … that issues can’t proceed to be ruled on this means. That Poland shouldn’t look the best way it does at present.”
He outlines his manifesto saying his presidency will say “no to unlawful migration, sure to Polish złoty, no to becoming a member of the euro,” and that he’ll block any try to boost the retirement age.
However he declares he shall be “the voice of the nation”, and can search to function “throughout” current political divides.
He says he desires Poland that’s “a part of the EU, however not turns into the EU” and desires Poland to remain sovereign. He stresses he won’t comply with any additional switch of competences to the EU.
He additionally makes a pointed reference to Poland’s most necessary alliances, together with with the US.
There’s a White Home delegation of US officers in attendance, led by the US small enterprise administrator, Kelly Loeffler, who Nawrocki’s aides mentioned offered Nawrocki with a private present from Trump.
(Additionally, price noting, that Nawrocki is carrying his trademark Trump-inspired pink tie.)
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Up to date at 05.18 EDT
Karol Nawrocki sworn in as Poland’s president
Nawrocki has simply made his oath of workplace.
“Assuming, by the desire of the nation, the workplace of president of the Republic of Poland, I do solemnly swear to be devoted to the provisions of the structure; I pledge that I shall steadfastly safeguard the dignity of the nation, the independence and safety of the state, and in addition that the great of the homeland and the prosperity of its residents shall perpetually stay my supreme obligation.”
He ends with the elective non secular reference: “And so assist me God.”
He’s now formally the president of Poland.
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Up to date at 04.22 EDT
Jakub Krupa
The swearing in ceremony of the following Polish president, Karol Nawrocki, is about to get beneath means.
I’ll comply with Nawrocki’s inaugural speech to deliver you the important thing strains, earlier than we pivot again to Ukraine.
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Up to date at 04.13 EDT
Jakub Krupa
The final two months because the presidential election in Poland had been dominated by repeated allegations of irregularities in counting the votes, raised by some supporters of the defeated liberal candidate Rafał Trzaskowski.
Responding to hundreds of electoral protests from Trzaskowski’s supporters, orchestrated by a few of his political allies however not overtly supported by the candidate, the state prosecutor launched an investigation that found minor counting errors, however confirmed they didn’t materially alter the result of the election.
However with the feelings working excessive, at present’s inauguration shall be a tough political second for the ruling pro-European coalition authorities, led by former European Council president Donald Tusk.
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk attends a cupboard ministers assembly in Warsaw. {Photograph}: Adam Burakowski/East Information/Shutterstock
In a punchy video posted on his social media channels this morning, Tusk addressed “all Poles for whom at present is a tragic and disappointing day”, saying he is aware of “very nicely how you’re feeling”.
“All of us believed that honesty, goodness, and love would triumph. And what has occurred places that perception to a critical check. You hoped that 10 years of embarrassment, disappointment, and worry for our homeland would come to a definitive finish at present. As an alternative, to the previous fears, new ones have been added.”
However he urged his supporters to “persist,” “not lose religion” and regroup forward of the 2027 parliamentary election.
“Let’s do every little thing we will to ensure that in two years there are much more of us. And let at present solely strengthen our resolve. As a result of our white-and-red hearts are actually unconquerable.”
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Up to date at 04.07 EDT
Jakub Krupa
In his farewell TV deal with final evening, outgoing president Duda trumpeted his successes because the nation’s president, saying he fought in opposition to the impossibilism of political rivals and on the finish of his 10 years in workplace leaves Poland as “a totally completely different nation: stronger, safer, taken extra severely overseas, and serving its residents higher.”
Poland’s outgoing president Andrzej Duda meets with president-elect Karol Nawrocki on the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland. {Photograph}: Kacper Pempel/Reuters
However he additionally leaves behind a deeply divisive legacy.
Boasting some achievements in international and defence coverage by strengthening Poland’s function inside Nato, sustaining a robust alliance with the US beneath Trump, and taking part in a important function in serving to Ukraine because the full-scale invasion in 2022, he repeatedly sparked main controversy at dwelling by intently aligning himself together with his occasion, the populist-right Legislation and Justice, together with on the much-criticised reforms of the judiciary that sparked a rule of legislation disaster in relations with the EU.
Regardless of that, Duda got here high in final month’s belief rankings by CBOS, forward of his successor Karol Nawrocki, with a separate ballot displaying that 54% considered his presidency positively and 40% negatively. He’s solely the second Polish president after 1989 to finish two phrases in workplace.
At simply 53, Duda continues to be believed to be harbouring political ambitions, with speculations about his future additional fuelled by his declaration that he has no intention to retire from frontline politics.
He’s seen as a possible candidate to be the nation’s subsequent prime minister main a hypothetical coalition of the populist-right PiS and libertarian far-right Konfederacja after the 2027 parliamentary election.
In his e-book, printed at present to coincide with the final day within the workplace, he repeatedly criticised Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk and pointedly praised Konfederacja’s chief Sławomir Mentzen as “a patriot and a statesman – and that’s spectacular,” which is able to solely gas rumours about his future intentions.
Polish President Andrzej Duda provides a press release to media final 12 months. {Photograph}: Kuba Stężycki/ReutersShare
Karol Nawrocki set to turn into Poland’s subsequent president
Jakub Krupa
Over in Poland, the inauguration ceremony of the nation’s new president, Karol Nawrocki, will begin in just below an hour at 10am native time (9am London).
The plenary corridor earlier than the swearing-in ceremony of the brand new Polish president in Warsaw, Poland. {Photograph}: Paweł Supernak/EPA
42-year-old Nawrocki narrowly gained the presidential election in June, defying the polls and beating the Oxford-educated liberal Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski who was extensively thought to be the clear favorite to switch the conservative incumbent Andrzej Duda stepping down after two phrases.
A historian with a controversial previous, he has little expertise in frontline politics after serving as the pinnacle of the Polish Institute of Nationwide Remembrance, a state analysis institute with public prosecution powers investigating historic crimes in opposition to Poland.
Backed by the populist-right opposition Legislation and Justice occasion which dominated Poland between 2015 and 2023, Nawrocki ran a marketing campaign beneath Trumpesque slogan “Poland first, Poles first.” He additionally secured Donald Trump’s endorsement after an surprising White Home go to simply weeks earlier than the decisive vote.
Marek Magierowski, former aide to the outgoing president Duda and Poland’s former US ambassador, mentioned in a weblog publish that Nawrocki’s hyperlinks with the US might “assist maintain each international locations aligned within the contest in opposition to Russia”.
Karol Nawrocki of Poland and Donald Trump at The White Home. {Photograph}: The Whitehouse/X
Domestically, nonetheless, Nawrocki’s presidency is more likely to pose a significant problem for Poland’s pro-European coalition authorities run by former European Council president Donald Tusk.
Whereas the function of the Polish president is largely ceremonial, it carries some affect over international and defence coverage and a important energy to veto new laws. This will solely be overturned with a majority of three-fifths in parliament, which the present authorities doesn’t have.
Nawrocki is predicted to play an energetic function in home politics to instantly problem growingly unpopular Tusk, with the incoming president’s aides saying he’ll put ahead his first legislative proposals already later this week.
Aleks Szczerbiak, an skilled on east and central European politics on the College of Sussex, mentioned in his weblog that Nawrocki’s win “represents an enormous blow to the Tusk authorities’s plans to re-set its reform agenda.”
“The federal government can now anticipate continued resistance from a hostile President for the rest of its time period till the following parliamentary election, scheduled for autumn 2027, making it very laborious for it to push ahead with its coverage agenda,” he wrote in a current evaluation.
Nawrocki’s presidency might additionally mark a shift in Poland’s place on Ukraine, as he beforehand repeatedly spoke in regards to the tough historical past between the 2 nations and declared his opposition to Ukrainian membership in Nato.
He’ll ship his inaugural deal with as a part of the swearing in ceremony, and I’ll deliver you all the important thing strains.
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Up to date at 03.19 EDT
Morning opening: Showdown
US particular envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived to Moscow for talks with Russia, probably with the nation’s president Vladimir Putin, forward of this Friday’s deadline set by Donald Trump for ending the warfare in Ukraine.
A motorcade, reportedly transporting US president Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, leaves Vnukovo Airport in Moscow, Russia. {Photograph}: Yulia Morozova/Reuters
After touchdown, Witkoff was met by presidential particular consultant Kirill Dmitriev, however the Kremlin beforehand had mentioned that a direct assembly between the US envoy and Putin was “doable.”
Trump mentioned final evening that the result of the talks would inform his subsequent steps and whether or not he strikes forward with the proposed sanctions and secondary tariffs in opposition to Russia and its buying and selling companions, together with India.
“We’re going to see what occurs,” he instructed reporters. “We’ll make that willpower at the moment.”
Elsewhere, nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki shall be inaugurated as the following president of Poland, marking the start of a brand new, possible turbulent, chapter for the nation’s pro-European authorities led by former European Council president Donald Tusk.
I’ll deliver you all the important thing updates right here.
It’s Wednesday, 6 August 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa right here, and that is Europe Dwell.
Good morning.
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