{{dayPoint.date | date : 'd MMMM yyyy'}}

{{newsPoint.title}}

{{newsPoint.title+ ' '}}

{{newsPoint.subtitle}}

Fico "not very optimistic" about EU agreeing on duties with United States

The agreement is to be signed by July 9

BRATISLAVA, July 2. /TASS/. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico "is not very optimistic" about the possibility of the European Union reaching an optimal agreement on duties with the United States, he said.

"I'm not very optimistic. [The US duties] can have a huge [negative] impact on the automotive products [in the EU countries] and related production in Slovakia," the prime minister told reporters.

The agreement is to be signed by July 9.

Fico said that on July 4 a special meeting of the government of the republic will be held to discuss the consequences for the national automotive industry from the introduction of the US duties.

Media reported that Slovakia is one of Europe’s the largest automakers, hosting factories of the world's leading automotive companies. A significant part of the cars produced in the country are intended for the American market. The contribution of the automotive industry to Slovakia's GDP is about 10%.

Tags

United States Slovakia

Rosneft slams EU sanctions against Indian Nayara Energy as ungrounded

It also said that it considers these sanctions as part of the European Union’s destructive policy geared to destabilize global energy markets

Ukraine invites Russia to hold next round of talks next week — Zelensky

According to Vladimir Zelensky, the proposal was made by Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council and head of Kiev’s delegation to the Istanbul talks

Russia’s Army-2025 event rescheduled for a later time — organizers

The event was initially slated for August 11-14, 2025

Israel attacks positions of Arab militias in southern Syria — TV

According to the Sham TV channel, the Israeli planes hit ground targets near a checkpoint a humanitarian corridor on Bosra al-Kharir

EU’s fresh sanctions target 22 Russian banks, including T-Bank, Bank Saint Petersburg

Any transactions between European financial institutions and the affected banks are prohibited

Umerov appointed to Security Council post to continue talks with Russia — lawmaker

Umerov, who headed the Defense Ministry since September 2023, lost his post when the entire government resigned

Russia not ruling out countermeasures against new EU sanctions — Foreign Ministry

"We will take measures supporting our interests in case of necessity," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko stressed

Air defense system downs 13 drones targeting Moscow in span of less than two hours

"Emergency services are working where the debris fell," Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said

Western arms makers likely to support Kiev’s idea to test weapons versus Russia — expert

According to the expert, it is rather difficult to mock up actual battlefield conditions and weapons that were tested and entered into service in peacetime may turn out to be not that effective on the battlefield as expected

Russia says Ukraine lost up to 175 troops from battlegroup East operations over past day

According to the spokesman, a Bogdana self-propelled artillery unit and two towed howitzers were destroyed in a counter-battery battle

Trump, Xi may meet ahead or during APEC summit in South Korea — media

According to the sources, APEC summit in South Korea "is probably the best opportunity for Xi Jinping and Donald Trump to meet in person this year"

Death toll in violence in Syria’s Swaida reaches 940 — TV

Earlier reports put the death toll at 718

Russia’s Medvedev proposes fourth 'D' for Ukraine as deparasitization

Exactly 80 years ago, on July 17, 1945, the Potsdam Conference began, bringing together the heads of government from the Soviet Union, the United States, and Great Britain. The meeting laid the foundation for the post-war world order.

Source confirms Ukraine’s invitation for Russia to hold talks next week

А source told TASS that no date had been agreed yet

Polling stations open as Japan prepares to elect members of parliament’s upper chamber

According to surveys, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito may lose its majority in the upper chamber, as it did in the lower chamber last fall

Trump says BRICS `fading out fast’ in wake of his 10% tariff threat for group

"BRICS wanted to try and take over the dollar, the dominance of the dollar, and the standard of the dollar," US President said

Rosneft slams EU sanctions against Indian Nayara Energy as ungrounded

It also said that it considers these sanctions as part of the European Union’s destructive policy geared to destabilize global energy markets

Chisinau spoiled relations with Moscow under West’s pressure — ambassador

Relations between the two states began to deteriorate in 2021, when pro-European forces assumed power in Moldova

NATO seeks to weaken Russia wherever conflicts remain unresolved, expert says

According to Ralph Bosshard, a retired Swiss lieutenant colonel and former military adviser to the OSCE secretary general, NATO members will primarily focus on the regions where "conflicts remain unresolved," including Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Crimea

Trump sketched erotic drawing for Epstein’s birthday, WSJ claims

According to the newspaper, the drawing, depicting an outline of a woman’s breasts and a "Donald" signature was accompanied by the line: "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret"

At least 1 person injured in Ukrainian strike on Donetsk

According to a TASS correspondent, the projectile fell near a five-story apartment building, damaging its facade, windows and balconies

Putin receives visiting senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader — Kremlin spokesman

"On behalf of the Iranian leadership, the senior Iranian official shared the assessments of the current escalation in the Middle East and the situation around the Iranian nuclear program," Dmitry Peskov noted

Russia’s automotive sector avoids collapse, expands production — Putin

According to the Russian president, labor productivity diagrams at Avtovaz, Russia’s flagship car manufacturer, speak for themselves

Conversation between Putin, Trump pragmatic yet ready for understanding — Kremlin

Both politicians have their own stance but they are ready to listen to each other, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said

Google owes almost 27.3 billion rubles in accordance with Russian court verdicts

The court enforcement actions against Google were launched in 2021-2025

Germany ready to help restore Gaza Strip — minister

At the same time, Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Reem Alabali Radovan stressed that this will be possible as soon as the situation on the ground allows this

IDF reports eliminating Hamas commander

According to it, he "was responsible for research and development activities within Hamas’ weapons manufacturing apparatus, which operates to restore and increase the weapons stockpile of the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip"

INTERVIEW: Russia minimized its military presence in Transnistria, Russian ambassador says

According to the diplomat, Russia has not taken a single step that would call into question the decisions that were taken at the talks on the settlement of the Transnistrian issue

India cautions EU against double standards in energy trade — Foreign Ministry

Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stressed that Government of India considers the provision of energy security a responsibility of paramount importance to meet the basic needs of its citizens

Israeli army announces expansion of military operation in Gaza City

Over the past day, IDF troops operating in northern and central Gaza, "revealed enemy infrastructure and dismantled several terror infrastructure sites in the area of Beit Hanoun," the army noted

Mercenaries from Colombia, Brazil take part in fighting in Sumy Region

"Earlier, the same information came from Ukrainian captives," a Russian security official said

Russian FM says migrants' behavior in Europe provokes Islamophobia

The foreign minister says migrants lost their moral and spiritual values

West seeking to demonize Russia — Kremlin spokesman

Under the pretext of an alleged threat from Russia and Belarus, the European Union adopted a plan for Europe’s militarization in March

Trump says any new nuclear facilities Iran may build will be obliterated

"All three nuclear sites in Iran were completely destroyed and/or obliterated," the US president wrote

Russia to give decisive response if attacked by Taurus — MFA

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also noted that Germany’s assistance in the production of long-range systems in Ukraine could mask plans to localize the assembly of Taurus missiles at Ukrainian defense industry facilities

EU imposes sanctions on prominent Russian film director Shakhnazarov — gazette

The European Union imposed sanctions on nine other Russian individuals, the Official Journal of the European Union reported

EU’s rejection of Russian gas leading to adverse consequences — Putin

Huge restrictions have already been introduced for EU countries

Ukrainian officer says Zelensky's demobilization comments spell doom for scores of troops

When Vladimir Zelensky says 'only after victory' it’s effectively a death sentence for hundreds of thousands of people, Denis Yaroslavsky said

Boat capsizes in northern Vietnam, killing 34 people

According to official reports, the vessel was carrying 53 people

US may have approved Kiev’s talks proposal with Russia — Der Spiegel

According to it, a recent visit by US Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg to Ukraine points to this development of events

Times says Trump may meet with Putin, Xi in China

According to the report, a series of trade deals between the United States and China forced Trump to reconsider his hostile course towards Beijing

Serbian president says Russia warns of preparations for Western-backed coup

"Those who dream of achieving something by force will fail," Aleksandar Vucic said

Ukraine receives Abrams tanks from Australia, defense chief says

The rest of the tanks will be delivered "in the coming months," Denis Shmygal added

Russia’s plans take into account European militarization euphoria — Kremlin

"And we observe this and take this into account while shaping our further plans," Dmitry Peskov said

Defense chief inspects military, social facilities in northern Russia

Andrey Belousov went to see a multidisciplinary medical center that was reconstructed in 2024 to provide medical services to military personnel and their families

Russia’s Battlegroup West wipes out 31 Ukrainian drones, 53 drone command centers

Leonid Sharov said that units from Battlegroup West continue to implement the special military operation’s combat tasks

Syrian president announces immediate ceasefire in Druze conflict

Ahmed al-Sharaa called on all sides to respect the truce, halt all hostilities in all areas, make sure civilians are safe and humanitarian aid deliveries are unimpeded

Iran, Russia to begin naval drill in Caspian Sea on July 21 — agency

According to Tasnim, the three-day exercises will involve the two countries’ naval forces, as well as the IRGC, Iran’s elite military unit

Trade with EU could drop to zero — Russian Foreign Ministry

Alexander Grushko also noted that the EU has adopted its 18th package of anti-Russian sanctions and intends to fully abandon Russian energy resources, including oil and gas

US has couple more major trade deals in pipeline — Trump

"We have a couple of big ones to announce pretty soon," the president said

UK to lower price cap for Russian oil, following EU — Chancellor

Rachel Reeves said that the UK and its EU allies are turning the screw on

No date yet for next round of Russia-Ukraine talks — source

Vladimir Zelensky said that Ukraine had invited Russia to hold the third round of talks next week

Ukrainian troops facing threat of being surrounded in Konstantinovka — newspaper

According to the New York Times, Russian forces have created a 16-kilometer pocket around Konstantinovka, partly surrounding it from the east, south and west

Syria’s president accuses Israel of making things worse with its bombing raids

Syrian Interim Ahmed al-Sharaa reaffirmed that the province of Sweida remains an integral part of Syria and the Druze are a "fundamental part of the Syrian national structure

'No illusions' any more regarding relations with West, Russia’s Medvedev says

The Russian security council deputy chairman was commenting on the idea that decisions from the Potsdam Conference were almost immediately breached by the Soviet Union’s former allies in the anti-Hitlerite coalition

Baku, Yerevan ‘very close’ to signing peace agreement, says Azerbaijani president

"A peace agreement may be signed once two issues are resolved: Armenia’s constitution is amended and the OSCE Minsk Group is dissolved," Ilham Aliyev added

Saudi prince passes away after 20 years in coma

The Saudi royal, known as the "sleeping prince," sustained serious injuries in a traffic accident while he was studying at a military college in the UK

Putin reaffirms commitment to peace deal on Ukraine in call with Erdogan

On June 2, the second round of Russia-Ukraine talks took place in Istanbul

Sollers forecasts Russian car market to plunge by 30% in 2025

The current situation in the market is extremely challenging, Deputy CEO of the Russian automaker Zoya Kaika stressed

Trump calls Biden cruel, incompetent

US leader said that the previous American administration "tried to crush the industry" of cryptocurrencies

Ukraine doesn’t have resources to carry out offensive — Strana

Analysts note that recently all Ukrainian attempts to attack have ended with heavy losses and little or no result

West’s push for rare-earth metals access borders on robbery — Russian MFA

"Rare-earth metals are the prize in the trade wars underway between the key suppliers of AI solutions to the market," Maria Zakharova pointed out

Iran, Eurotroika agree to resume talks on nuclear program — Tasnim

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany struck a nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 to address the crisis over its nuclear program

Fifth earthquake in a row rocks Kamchatka

This has been a fifth earthquake in a row in this region, the Telegram channel of the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences has said

Russia says Ukraine lost more than 1,195 soldiers in special operation area over past day

Units of the battlegroup Deipro struck formations of Ukrainian mechanized and mountain assault brigades and two territorial defense brigades in the areas of the towns of Malaya Tokmachka and Novoandreyevka in the Zaporozhye Region and Antonovka and Ponyatovka in the Kherson Region

Medvedev calls Western actions against Russia a full-out war

"To Western elites, an independent and strong Russia has always seemed a historical anomaly and a very effective rebuff to the idea of their `civilizational superiority’", the politician maintained

Russian MFA spokeswoman talks about weapons smuggling from Ukraine, raps German officials

TASS has put together the highlights from the news conference

At least 136 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza — Al Jazeera

The Israeli army opened fire at two GHF sites in the southern Gaza cities of Khan Younis and Rafah

Nomination, registration of candidates in parliamentary election begins in Moldova

The period will last until August 20

Russian forces capture foreign mercenaries in DPR, scout says

According to the scout with the callsign Husky, the foreigners were stationed in a building that Russian forces seized in about five minutes

Four more bodies found after Vietnamese boat capsized, death toll at 38

By midnight GMT, the crisis response center said five people are still listed as missing

Former European commissioner says anti-Russian sanctions backfired

Verheugen said that despite European Union’s reluctance to admit it, figures show that "the policy of sanctions harmed its authors in the first place, first of all Germany"

Press review: Trump’s Ukraine stance raises doubts as EU states opt out of US arms funding

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, July 17th

Armed clashes in Syria’s Sweida over — interior ministry

"At present, no members of illegal armed groups are present in Sweida. Clashes have stopped in the entire city," Nour Eddin Al-Baba said

Moldova’s election authority bans opposition bloc from parliamentary election

CEC Deputy Chairman Pavel Postica read out a report claiming that the bloc had links to Russia

Russian lawmaker reminds US general of nuclear doctrine

"An attack on the Kaliningrad Region will mean an attack on Russia, with all due retaliatory measures, stipulated, among other things, by its nuclear doctrine," Leonid Slutsky said

Istanbul to remain Russia-Ukraine talks venue — TASS source

"Yes, Istanbul is an acceptable venue," the source said, replying to a question on the matter

INTERVIEW: Russian ambassador says NATO arms Moldova despite its neutral status

According to the diplomat, it is in Moldova's national interests to preserve its neutral status and sovereignty

Russia’s Kolesnikov wins silver in men's 200m freestyle at World University Games

Jacob Mitchell of the United States came first, and another US swimmer, Baylor Nelson, was third

Kremlin says is unaware of plan for Putin, Trump, Xi to meet in China in September

The British newspaper reported that Xi wants the US and Russian leaders to meet for war commemorations in September

Russia, US discuss plans for deorbiting International Space Station — Roscosmos

The commission’s experts discussed among other issues, measures to reduce risks stemming from air leaks from the transfer module

NATO expects Kiev to lose control of coastal areas, plans to arm Moldova instead — expert

Earlier, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said that the country could abandon neutrality enshrined in its constitution and join NATO

Israeli military intercept missile launched from Yemen

Earlier in the day, sirens sounded in many parts of Israel, including in Tel Aviv

UN General Assembly adopts Russia-initiated draft resolution to modernize organization

The document sets out plans to strengthen the impact of the United Nations in the face of mounting global challenges and an increasingly complicated financial situation

Meeting between Putin, Trump necessary, needs preparations — Kremlin

"It is possible and with time it will definitely take place," Dmitry Peskov said

Trump demands Germany transfer Patriot from its stocks to Kiev — Bild

According to the newspaper, the president does not intend to share the systems that the American army has

Zelensky wants to sack Zaluzhny because of his secret talks with West — Hersh

Commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, says journalist, talks about the possibility of a ceasefire and peace process

None of BRICS members seeks to replace dollar — Russian diplomat

According to Ryabkov, Russia already makes more than 90% of all payments with its BRICS partners in national currencies

Russia nixes defense cooperation agreement with Germany

The agreement was signed in 1996

Yemen’s Houthis report delivering missile strike on international airport in Israel

According to the rebels’ spokesperson Yahya Saree, the operation "successfully achieved its objective"

US begins to comprehend complexity of Ukraine settlement — Kremlin

Russia is ready to swiftly move toward a settlement in the Ukraine crisis but the pace of this process does not depend solely on Moscow, Dmitry Peskov added

Russia must respond to West’s treachery and even act preemptively — Medvedev

According to the Russian official, "the Potsdam Conference taught us that relations with the West should not be based on illusions"

Merz played role in Trump’s decision to continue aid to Kiev — top German diplomat

"We can only be glad that the chancellor has established a pragmatic relationship with the US president, and that the voice of Germany is heard in Washington again," Wadephul said

Russia starts series production of acoustic intelligence system

Series production has also been launched for the Malik acoustic drone detector updated to the second version in portable and mobile variants, the design bureau said

Western experts convinced that Trump irreversibly changed world order — Politico

The paper quotes former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as admitting that "we’re probably not going back to exactly that system"

Trump believes Ukraine should go on offensive — media

The US president also asked "if Ukraine could bomb Moscow or St. Petersburg"

Russia’s Battlegroup East eliminates 28 Ukrainian drone command centers in 24 hours

Alexander Gordeyev said that during the last 24 hours, the adversary lost <…> an ammunition distributing point and 28 unmanned aviation command centers

PM says Ukraine agrees in principle to sell UAVs to US

Yulia Sviridenko said Defense Minister Denis Shmygal will develop this proposal with the American side

Ovechkin takes walk along Moscow street decorated in his honor

The street was earlier decorated in honor of Ovechkin’s record for most goals in the history of the National Hockey League

Hungary will not accept EU budget aimed at financing Ukraine, PM says

"I will never accept an EU budget that will make Hungary vulnerable to blackmail," Viktor Orban wrote

Press review: US and EU delay weapons to Ukraine as Syria fighting alarms Turkey

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, July 18th