Sweden rules out sending troops to Ukraine after Nato membership agreed

Ulf Kristersson distances himself from Macron, saying ‘France’s tradition is not the Swedish tradition’

Sweden’s prime minister has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine for now – saying the subject is “not relevant at all” – putting down a clear marker between himself and Emmanuel Macron as he prepares for his historically neutral country to imminently join Nato.

Ulf Kristersson, who on Monday hailed a “historic day” as Sweden’s Nato membership was finally approved by Hungary, clearing the Nordic country’s path to join the western military alliance, said that while he respected “France’s will to help Ukraine”, Sweden would be following its own path.

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Sweden international Kristoffer Olsson in hospital after collapsing at home

  • Midtjylland midfielder on ventilator at hospital in Aarhus
  • Olsson affected by ‘an acute disease related to the brain’

Sweden midfielder Kristoffer Olsson is on a ventilator in hospital after collapsing at home due to a brain condition, his club Midtjylland have announced.

The 28-year-old, who had a spell at Arsenal as a teenager, has not appeared for the Danish club since December and there had been mounting speculation over his absence.

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Sweden will complete its ‘long farewell to neutrality’ with Nato accession

For Swedes it means a dramatic change of national identity, while the alliance gets greater control of the Baltic Sea

Just a few short months ago, Sweden’s Nato membership seemed a very long way from being a done deal. Having submitted its application to join in May 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it seemed at times as though Stockholm might be left hanging interminably. While Finland, which had applied to join the alliance at the same time as its neighbour, became a member at record speed last April, Sweden got stuck in a diplomatic quagmire.

Last summer a series of Qur’an burnings in Sweden inflamed ties with Turkey, making a “yes” from Ankara look unlikely and at times inconceivable. And as recently as September, Viktor Orbán’s government was embroiled in a public war of words with Sweden over criticism of Hungary’s democracy and teaching in Swedish schools. Late last month, after Turkey’s parliament had given Sweden the green light, the Hungarian prime minister was still pushing for negotiations in a public letter to his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson.

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Poland’s rightwing opposition criticises Tusk’s education shake-up

Coalition government to slim down school curriculum after cramming of subjects under previous nationalist administration

Poland’s new government is seeking to slim down the material taught in schools by about 20%, saying a cramming of the curriculum under the previous rightwing populist administration has left teachers and students exhausted.

Speaking during a school visit in the Silesian town of Mysłowice over the weekend, the education minister, Barbara Nowacka, said she was consulting experts on how to narrow down the curriculum, which will come into force in secondary schools after the summer break, from 1 September.

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‘I don’t want to tell him scary things’: a mother’s tale after fleeing Kyiv

On 25 February 2022, Viktoria, 35, gave birth to her son in a bunker beneath the Ukrainian capital just as the Russian bombing started. Two years on, she speaks about her family’s experience of being displaced and seeking safety abroad

The day after I gave birth to Fedir, the shelling started very hard around Kyiv. We lived near Irpin and Bucha. After I saw a falling shell from my apartment window, we decided to leave. My husband and I packed up without knowing where we were going. We had spent so long getting the place ready for the baby, but Fedir only got to sleep in his bed for four nights.

The drive to Lviv took 17 hours. My first experience of motherhood, as we couldn’t stop, was learning to feed and change Fedir in the back seat of the car. On the journey, we saw military checkpoints, tanks. It felt unreal. Arriving in Lviv, it was hard to find an apartment to rent. The city was full of displaced people. As my husband was born in the Russian federation, the landlord we eventually did find demanded a double deposit. We paid it – it was better than going back.

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Russia could attack Nato states if west fails to support Ukraine, Macron says

French president tells Paris conference Moscow ‘must not and cannot’ win the war and that Europe’s security is at stake

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has called for western countries to step up their support for Ukraine, warning that Moscow’s actions in recent weeks signal that Russia could attack Nato states in the next few years.

Speaking at the opening of a hastily convened conference of 20 mainly European leaders in Paris designed to speed up the supply of weapons and financial aid to Ukraine, Macron said Russia “must not and cannot win this war” and that Europe’s own security was at stake.

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Senate aide investigated over supplying Ukraine forces with sniper gear – report

Actions of Kyle Parker might have crossed legal bounds that could make him an unregistered foreign agent, New York Times reports

A senior staffer who advises the US Senate on Russia policy is under investigation for making trips to Ukraine in military uniform and supplying the country’s armed forces with privately donated sniper equipment, it was reported on Monday.

The actions of Kyle Parker, chief of staff to the Helsinki commission that informs senators on issues of European security, might have crossed legal and ethical grounds that could make him an unregistered foreign agent, according to the New York Times, which reviewed a confidential report by the commission’s director and general counsel.

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Zelenskiy says 31,000 soldiers killed, giving figure for first time

Ukraine’s president also concedes western weaponry is in short supply at a crucial time in the war with Russia

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has given a figure for the number of Ukrainian battlefield deaths in the war with Russia for the first time, acknowledging that 31,000 soldiers have been killed and saying 2024 will be decisive for the outcome of the conflict.

Speaking in Kyiv a day after the two-year anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, the Ukrainian president said he believed his country would win despite recent military setbacks. He conceded western weapons were in short supply and were crucial at a time when his troops were spectacularly outgunned.

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Woman loses £650,000 injury claim after being seen tossing Christmas tree

Irish court throws out Kamila Grabska’s case for car crash injuries after she was pictured winning charity competition

A woman’s £650,000 claim for injuries allegedly suffered during a car crash has been thrown out of court in Ireland after she was pictured winning a Christmas tree-throwing competition.

Kamila Grabska, 36, sued an insurance company and said injuries to her back and neck meant she was unable to work for more than five years or play with her children. She claimed she was left with the “disabling” condition after a car she was travelling in was hit from behind in an accident in 2017.

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Deadly avalanche in Auvergne region of central France

Four ski mountaineers from a nearby club killed and three injured while off piste with a guide

Four people have been killed in an avalanche in the mountainous Auvergne region of central France, local authorities said.

The avalanche took place on Sunday at an altitude of 1,600 metres (5,250 feet) above the village of Mont-Dore in an area known as the Val d’Enfer, the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department said in a statement.

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Year three of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may be Zelenskiy’s toughest yet

Political pressure at home, splintering international support and prospect of Trump’s re-election make for existential threats

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has an unenviable task over the coming months. As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its third year, the Ukrainian president has a very difficult balancing act to manage.

Ukrainian society is exhausted by the war and international support is splintering, leading to a critical shortage of ammunition at the front. At the same time, most Ukrainians are not willing to countenance the idea of a peace deal, given that there would be few mechanisms to force Russia to abide by it, and would risk merely giving Moscow time to replenish its forces and strike Ukraine again.

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31,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed since Russia invaded, Zelenskiy says – as it happened

Ukraine president makes announcement during news conference in Kyiv

Ukraine expects to receive $11.8 billion in economic support this year from the United States, its prime minister said on Sunday.

Denys Shmyhal said during a televised conference in Kyiv that he was hopeful that US lawmakers would approve long-awaited economic and military aid.

In the Donetsk direction, units of the Southern grouping of troops improved the situation along the front line and defeated formations of the 22nd, 28th and 92nd mechanised brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the areas of the settlements of Klishchiivka, Dyleyevka and Kurdiumivka.

In the Avdiivka direction, units of the Centre group of forces occupied more advantageous lines and positions, and also defeated manpower and equipment of the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the 107th Air Defence Brigade.

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Israel should have a voice at Eurovision, says president amid row over lyrics

Isaac Herzog said ‘haters try to drive us off every stage’ as lyrics to October Rain scrutinised by organisers

Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, wants to ensure the country competes in the Eurovision song contest after the event’s organisers said they were examining whether the lyrics sung by the Israeli contestant were too political.

“I think it’s important for Israel to appear in Eurovision, and this is also a statement because there are haters who try to drive us off every stage,” Herzog said on Sunday, the Times of Israel reported. “Being smart is not just being right,” he added.

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‘Putin must lose everything’: defiant Zelenskiy hosts western leaders in Kyiv to mark two years of war

Ukraine’s president met the prime ministers of Italy, Canada and Belgium in a show of unity after recent battlefield defeats

Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed western leaders to Kyiv on Saturday on the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, declaring that Vladimir Putin “must lose absolutely everything”.

Ukraine’s president met the prime ministers of Italy, Canada and Belgium – Giorgia Meloni, Justin Trudeau and Alexander De Croo – as well as the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

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Macron opens Paris agricultural fair to protests from farmers

French president greeted by whistles from hundreds of demonstrators as some clash with police

Hundreds of protesting farmers clashed with police in Paris as Emmanuel Macron toured the annual agricultural fair on Saturday. The French president had opened the fair as angry farmers blew whistles and shouted insults.

Riot police initially kept the protesters at a safe distance as he toured the fair, tasting honey from Normandy and cheeses from the Alps, and shaking hands with exhibitors. But as he entered the fair’s livestock area, hundreds of demonstrators crashed the gates and clashed with police.

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Alexei Navalny’s body given to mother by Russian authorities

Remains handed to Lyudmila Navalnaya nine days after Putin critic’s death in Arctic prison, say supporters

The body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed over to his mother nine days after he died in an Arctic prison, his spokesperson announced on Saturday.

In a post on X, Kira Yarmysh thanked “all those who had demanded” the return of his body, but added that she did not know if the authorities would allow a public funeral to be held.

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‘More deaths are coming’: fears over fate of other Russian political prisoners after Navalny’s death

Critics of Ukraine war among dozens who may be at risk in penal system, say campaigners and journalists

Just days after the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a prison colony, human rights activists and journalists are warning that dozens of other political prisoners may be at risk of death from deliberate abuse of ill convicts in the Russian prison system.

Dmitry Muratov, the Nobel-prize winning editor of Novaya Gazeta, told the Observer that Navalny’s death had sent a clarion call for the world to save the Russian political prisoners who could die next.

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Navalny’s body released to his mother, says spokesperson

Spokesperson for the Russian opposition politician, who died in prison last week, said funeral arrangements are still to be determined

King Charles III praises the “determination and strength” of the Ukrainian people in a message marking the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion. The monarch said he was “greatly encouraged” by the UK’s efforts to support Ukraine and commended their “true valour”. He has said:

The determination and strength of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire, as the unprovoked attack on their land, their lives and livelihoods enters a third, tragic, year.

Despite the tremendous hardship and pain inflicted upon them, Ukrainians continue to show the heroism with which the world associates them so closely.

Right now, it looks as though Russia will not take part in a first round of the conference.

We’re in the process of starting off with a very broad alliance consisting of the BRICS countries, countries from the Arab world, as well as from the global south.

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Four women and girl, 13, killed in Vienna in two separate incidents

Three women found with fatal knife wounds in brothel, while bodies of another woman and daughter discovered in apartment

Austrian authorities are investigating the killings of four women and a 13-year-old girl in Vienna within a day, including three found stabbed to death in a brothel.

The bodies of three young women were found with fatal knife wounds in a brothel in the Austrian capital’s Brigittenau district on Friday night after a witness alerted police.

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