Ukraine Updates: New PM Svyrydenko seeks fresh IMF loan – DW – 07/22/2025
Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in an interview that she is likely to discuss a fresh loan program with the IMF next month.
Ukraine and Russia set to hold the third round of peace talks Istanbul on Wednesday.Ukraine's new Prime MinisterYulia Svyrydenko said she will likely seek fresh financing from the International Monetray Fund to cushion the country's fiscal needs in its defense of Russia's war, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report outlined that global donors have so far only earmarked half of the estimated $75 billion (€ 64.18 billion) budget that the war-strained country requires over the next two years.
With the IMF's roughly $16 billion (€13.69 illion) loan program set to expire in 2027, new discussions will likely be held at a lender's review planned for August, especially since the end to the war is not in sight, she told the media house.
Meanwhile Ukraine's Defense Minister took to messaging app Telegram, saying the country will need at least $120 billion (€102.68 billion) for defense spending next year and that negotiations were ongoing with NATO and the EU over $60 billion (€51.34 billion) in funding from partners.
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On Monday, the UK and Germany led a virtual meeting on how to help Ukraine acquire the weapons it needs to defend itself against the Russian aggression.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he will "contribute to providing" five Patriot missile defense systemsto Ukraine, DW's Teri Schultz reported from Brussels. This includes two systems Berlin had previously discussed, with an additional one expected to be financed by Norway.
It is not clear whether Germany would pay for remaining two defense systems itself, or if it will seek contributions from other NATO members.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's former prime minister and newly appointed Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal, who was also part of the meeting, said Kyiv needs more than $6 billion (€5.13 billion) worth of additional military spending to increase its own weapons production.
The UK imposed new sanctions on Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" which will target 135 oil tankers and two Russian companies involved in circumventing oil sanctions on Moscow.
Additionally, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine and Russia will hold another round of talks on Wednesday.
Two previous rounds held in Istanbul failed to yield any meaningful progress on a ceasefire.
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Welcome to DW's coverage of the latest developments in Russia's war in Ukraine.
Both Ukraine and Russia continue to exchange drones and missiles, aiming at each other's capital cities.
Overnight Monday, Russia unleashed one of its largest aerial assaults on Kyiv, just hours before the UK and Germany chaired a high-level meeting to discuss the US' plans for NATO allies to provide Ukraine with weapons it needs.
Stay tuned for the latest news and analysis from the ongoing war.
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Middle East updates: UK, Jordan working on Gaza airdrop plan – DW – 07/26/2025
The United Kingdom and Jordan are coordinating on a plan to airdrop aid into Gaza, according to British PM Keir Starmer. Meanwhile, dozens more Palestinians have reportedly been killed by Israeli fire. DW has United Kingdom is working with Middle Eastern allies including Jordan on plans to airdrop aid into the Gaza Strip and evacuate children in need of medical care, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said on Saturday. "The prime minister set out how the UK will be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance," read a statement after Starmer held a three-way phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. During the conversation, the three leaders agreed that the humanitarian situation in Gaza was "appalling" and that it would be "vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace," according to the Downing Street readout. "They discussed their intention to work closely together on a plan ... which would pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region," it continued. "They agreed that once this plan was worked up, they would seek to bring in other key partners, including in the region, to advance it." In Berlin, Chancellor Merz's office spoke of "large agreement" on the call – despite Germany so far refusing to criticize Israel to the extent that the UK and France have done, with the latter even set to officially recognize Palestinian statehood later this year. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "We will be coordinating very closely in the coming days to take the next steps," said Merz. The phone call came a day after United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres slammed the international community for turning a blind eye to widespread starvation in the Gaza Strip, calling it a "moral crisis that challenges the global conscience." For the first time in months, Israel said it is allowing airdrops, requested by neighboring Jordan. An official in Amman said the airdrops will mainly be food and milk formula. But the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, warned on social media that airdrops are "expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians" and won't reverse the increasing starvation or prevent aid diversion. "A man-made hunger can only be addressed by political will," he said, demanding: "Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Some 40 people died while trying to access humanitarian aid, including 16 who were shot by Israeli forces, in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to local Palestinian authorities and medics. Doctors at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said that 16 people were killed and another 300 injured near the northern Zikim border crossing waiting for trucks carrying aid. One witness told the AFP news agency that Israeli troops opened fire "while the people were waiting to approach the distribution point." The Israeli military told AFP that its troops fired "warning shots to distance the crowd" after identifying an unspecified "immediate threat." Elsewhere, Gaza's Hamas-run civil defense agency said nine people were killed in three separate Israeli air strikes in Gaza City, eleven in four separate strikes near the southern city of Khan Yunis and two in a drone strike in Nuseirat refugee camp. The Palestinian militant group Hamas expressed surprise on Saturday at suggestions from US President Donald Trump that the group "didn't really want" a ceasefire and hostage release deal for Gaza. Trump made the allegation on Friday after Israel and the United States walked out of indirect negotiations with Hamas in Qatar that had lasted nearly three weeks. "Trump's remarks are particularly surprising, especially as they come at a time when progress had been made on some of the negotiation files," said a spokesman for the Islamist group which launched the deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the current conflict. "So far, we have not been informed of any issues regarding the files under discussion in the indirect ceasefire negotiations", he added. Though not part of the Hamas negotiating team, Hamas politburo member Izzat al-Rishq insisted the group had shown "flexibility" in the talks, but Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of not "acting in good faith." Hello and welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Gaza, Israel and the wider Middle East on Saturday, July 26. In a three-way conversation with his French and German counterparts, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom was working with regional partners such as Jordan on a plan to airdrop aid into the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, medics and Hamas officials said that dozens more Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire, some while waiting for humanitarian aid.
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Taiwan: Voters reject bid to recall opposition lawmakers – DW – 07/26/2025
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Bulgaria's arrest of liberal, pro-EU mayor sparks protests – DW – 07/26/2025
Thousands of Bulgarians have been protesting what they say is undue political influence on local justice. Many believe the EU is turning a blind eye to corruption in the Balkan country for political reasons. "My main motivation to be here in this square is my desire for justice," Berkay says. The young man was taking part in a protest held last week in Bulgaria's coastal city of Varna, against the arrest of the local mayor. "My conscience and my sense of civic duty wouldn't allow me just to stand here with my arms folded, in the face of the obvious trend towards authoritarianism in our country," he told DW. Along with other protesters, Berkay didn't want to give his full name. The protests started after the July 8 arrest of Varna's mayor Blagomir Kotsev, a member of the reformist We Continue the Change, or PP, political party. He was arrested during a raid by Bulgaria's Commission for Anti-Corruption. Kotsev was accused of running a criminal group that extorted companies that received public contracts. Two municipal council members from Kotsev's own party and a businessman from Varna were named as his accomplices in the alleged scheme. The mayor's arrest also sparked demonstrations in Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, as well as in other places, and has become a symbol for the general public's growing concern about how their current government is using the public prosecutor's office as a weapon. "Such measures represent a serious interference with democracy and undermine the credibility of the judiciary," another demonstrator, Konstantin, says when DW meets him outside Varna's city hall. "This is not an isolated incident, it's part of a larger problem in the Bulgarian justice system," he argues. The fact that Bulgaria has some serious problems with its justice system is well known. In the latest report on the state of law in the country the European Commission — the body responsible for the day-to-day running of the European Union — notes that there have been barely any improvements. In fact, the EU report was issued on the same day as Varna's mayor was arrested. "Bulgarian democracy is in danger and all those who care about it must abandon their political party affiliations and oppose attempts to impose autocracy and authoritarianism in the country," Bulgarian political scientist Daniel Smilov, also a specialist in comparative constitutional law, writes. "These terms may sound vague and exaggerated but unfortunately they accurately describe what is happening: Key institutions have been hijacked and power and violence have been used to advance the interests of particular political interests." For a long time, Varna's political scene was dominated by the conservative, right-wing party, GERB, short for Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria. 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Dimitrova is allegedly close to the GERB party and during Borissov's time in office, her company was awarded contracts worth millions. However the new leadership in Varna decided to work with another service provider, one which would do the job for less money. Dimitrova claims she was asked to hand over 15% of the value of the contract if she wished to keep it. Another witness in the case against Kotsev is the city's former deputy mayor, Dian Ivanov. At first Ivanov seemed to confirm Dimitrova's story but then later he withdrew his comments and said they had been "untruths" made "under pressure" from the anti-corruption commission. Despite this, Ivanov was not questioned again and his later-withdrawn statements led to the July 18 court decision to arrest Kotsev and the others. According to Kotsev's party, PP, and their political allies in Democratic Bulgaria, or DB, another pro-European party, the case against Kotsev is part of a wider campaign against opposition parties like his, that is being led by the country's prosecutor general Borislav Sarafov. He is not independent, they claim, and he serves to protect the conservative movements' political interests. At the end of last month, another PP member, the deputy mayor of Sofia Nikola Barbutov, was also arrested on very similar charges: corruption and membership of an organized crime group. Up until now, there's been very little reaction from the European Commission regarding what's happening in Bulgaria. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is a member of the conservative German party, the Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, and the CDU is a member of the same European parliament alliance as Bulgaria's GERB. Many of the demonstrators in Bulgaria argue that is why von der Leyen is staying quiet about what they see as GERB's wrongdoing. "Ursula, do you still support GERB?" is a slogan seen on many of the placards at the demonstrations in Bulgaria. "I hope the EU stops unreservedly giving money to these villains," says Philip, a protester in Sofia. "Boyko's regime is nothing without the money from Europe. Peevski's regime is nothing without the money from Europe." Back in Varna, local demonstrator Berkay predicts a long fight ahead. "I believe we must finally fight these evil models and those who embody them," he said. "One day, when we become parents, we don't want to be ashamed of the situation we're leaving to our children."
