Morning opening: Russia continues strikes on Ukraine
Jakub Krupa
After a tense day of intense attacks on Wednesday, Russia has continued its strikes on Ukraine overnight, with at least one dead and 40 injured in the capital, Kyiv, after reported hits on civilian infrastructure.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the strikes, saying:
“These are definitely not the actions of those who believe the war is coming to an end. It is important that partners do not remain silent about this strike.”
He said that over the last 30 hours, Russia deployed more than 1,500 drones against Ukraine.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 18 apartments were destroyed as a direct result of the attack, with water supply problems reported in left bank Kyiv. He added that 40 people were injured, with 31 requiring hospitalisation.
Elsewhere, I will be jealous of parts of Europe that are off on bank holiday today looking at the Charlemagne ceremony in Germany, the meeting of Finnish and Lithuanian presidents to discuss regional security, and media reports about potential US troops movement out of Poland (although denied by the Polish government).
Oh, and it’s the second Eurovision semi-final tonight!
It’s Thursday, 14 May 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
Russian ambassador summoned by Hungary’s foreign minister over ‘unacceptable’ attacks on Ukraine’s border region
As reported earlier, the Russian ambassador to Hungary has been summoned to the country’s foreign ministry over yesterday’s attacks on the Zakarpattia region of Ukraine, neigbhouring with Hungary and home to many ethic Hungarians.
These summons are now almost routine elsewhere but still somewhat unprecedented in Hungary, which had maintained close ties with Putin’s Russia until last week’s change of government.
In a video on Facebook, Hungary’s new foreign minister, Anita Orbán, said she told the ambassador the attacks were “unacceptable” and that Hungary “deeply condemns” these strikes.
Latvia’s prime minister resigns after ‘stray’ drones incident
Jon Henley
Europe correspondent
Latvia’s centre-right prime minister has resigned over her government’s handling of Ukrainian drones that strayed into Latvian territory from Russia, bringing down her coalition government months before elections, due in October.
Evika Siliņa announced her resignation on Thursday, a day after the Progressives party, her left-leaning coalition partner, withdrew its support over her decision to fire the defence minister, Andris Sprūds, a Progressives member.
The Progressives’ move left Siliņa, who leads the centre-right New Unity party, without a ruling majority. Latvia’s president, Edgars Rinkēvičs, is due to meet all party representatives on Friday for talks on a new government.
Sprūds was forced to resign on Sunday after Siliņa said he had lost her trust, and that of the public, over the handling of incidents involving stray drones, suspected to be from Ukraine, that had crossed into Latvia.
In the most recent, on 7 May, two drones exploded at an oil storage facility. That “clearly demonstrates that the political leadership of the defence sector has failed to fulfil its promise of safe skies over our country”, Siliņa said on Sunday.
The head of the army said it had not detected the drones, flying in from Russia, for which Siliņa blamed Sprūds for not having overseen development of anti-drone systems fast enough.
Numerous Ukrainian drones have strayed from Russia into Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia since March. Government critics in Latvia say this reveals weaknesses in the country’s response to potential threats.
Jakub Krupa
If you’re only joining us now, let’s bring you a handy summary of what’s the situation in Latvia, from our Europe correspondent, Jon Henley.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was “expecting [its] own separate contacts with Xi Jinping” when asked by the Russian Tass news agency whether Beijing and Moscow will discuss the outcome of Donald’s Trump’s visit to China.
He announced earlier today that Vladimir Putin will also make a trip to China soon.
Meanwhile, Trump and Xi are enjoying a lavish state banquet in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where the US president – in an apparent attempt to show how close US-China relations have become – told a room full of government officials, business leaders and such that Chinese people love wearing blue jeans and watching basketball.
You can follow our live coverage of Trump’s trip to China here:
Also today, we are seeing conflicting reports about the US apparently cancelling a planned deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland.
Poland’s defence minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, denied the reports, first published by the Wall Street Journal and the US military media, claiming that talks are under way to actually increase American presence in the country.
France-based Euronews has now reported that a senior Nato military official confirmed the reports are true, and that it is connected to the Pentagon’s decision earlier this month to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany after a public spat between US president Donald Trump and German chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The US has yet to comment on the reports.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it has been informed of “a major increase in drone activity” near Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
The UN nuclear watchdog recorded more than 160 drones “flying in the vicinity” of the South Ukraine, Chornobyl and Rivne nuclear power plants since yesterday.
In a statement on social media, the IAEA said:
While the IAEA’s teams report no direct impact on nuclear safety at these sites, IAEA director general Rafael Grossi expresses deep concern about such military activities near NPPs [nuclear power plants] and reiterates need to fully respect the 7 indispensable pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during the conflict. Grossi also calls again for maximum restraint to avoid the risk of a nuclear accident.
Strikes on Ukraine show Russia ‘is running out of solutions,’ Macron says
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has joined a chorus of voices condemning the new wave of Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, saying it proves Moscow has no path to victory.
In a post on X, he said:
“By launching a new massive strike of drones and missiles against Ukrainian cities and civilians – the largest in the past four years- Russia is further compounding the outrage of its aggression.
It lays bare all the hypocrisy with which it negotiated the fragile truce of the past few days.
By bombing civilians, Russia demonstrates less its strength than its weakness: it is running out of solutions on the military front and does not know how to end its war of aggression.
France stands alongside Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and will continue to mobilise to secure a cessation of hostilities and bring about a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, one that guarantees its security and that of Europe.”
Russian attacks on Ukraine ‘speak different language’ to peace declarations, Merz says, as he rejects calls to involve Schröder in peace talks
German chancellor Friedrich Merz has strongly condemned the Russian attacks on Ukraine overnight, and rejected Vladimir Putin’s suggestion that one of his predecessors could play a role negotiating a peace settlement.
In a speech in Aachen, Merz said that while Ukraine and Europe “want to help end this terrible war as quickly as possible,” the Russian attacks “speak a different language” to that of Putin’s suggestions the war could be nearing an end.
“Willingness to talk requires willingness to talk on both sides,” he said.
In what sounded like a very pointed rejection of Vladimir Putin’s suggestion that a former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder could act as a mediator between Russia and Europe, Merz said:
“Last but not least, we Europeans decide for ourselves who speaks for us. No one else.”
The chancellor’s wide-ranging speech on the EU and its role in a changing world also appeared to feature an assertive statement on Europe’s trade and economic policy towards other global partners, including the US under Donald Trump, as he argued that “Europe certainly has instruments of power.”
“Europe has the opportunity to help shape the new world order, to ensure that it is governed by norms and rules instead of arbitrariness and the law of the strongest.”
“Others are also dependent on us; not only us on them. If we show that we are ready to use this economic power if necessary, then we can achieve a great deal,” he said, advocating for Europe to become “a power that defied the storm of these new times.”
“The potential of a single European market is larger than that of the US, so we [should] finally complete the single market as originally envisioned,” he argued.
Merz spoke in Aachen at a ceremony awarding the former Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi, the prestigious Charlemagne prize for people “who had made a significant contribution to peace, unity and cooperation in Europe.”
He lauded Draghi, a former ECB chief at the time of the eurozone crisis, as a key person advocating for further reforms of the EU over the last few decades, calling for a “Draghi-proofed” EU budget for the next seven years.
He argued for “slimmed-down structures, investments in competitiveness and defence and focus on European funds for European policy.”
Appearing alongside the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he joked that “a Greek and a German bow before an Italian; this type of interaction across borders is the best basic condition for success in Europe.”
Five dead, 10 missing, 70 injured after Russian strikes overnight, Zelenskyy says
Meanwhile, we also got an update from Ukraine, with the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirming that at least five people died in overnight attacks on Kyiv, with more than 70 injured across the country.
10 people are also reported missing.
He said:
“Around 40 people have been injured in the capital, and another 7 in the [wider] Kyiv region. There are already 28 injured in Kharkiv. And two people have been injured in the Odesa region. In total, 180 sites have been damaged across the country, including more than 50 ordinary residential buildings.”
Zelenskyy claimed that earlier today a UN vehicle has been targeted by Russian drones, with “the head of the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs and eight other staff inside.”
“There must be a just response to all these strikes. And pressure on Moscow must be such that they feel the consequences of their terror there. It is important that global sanctions against Russia remain in place. Russia’s accountability for this war, and our sanctions pressure, must work at full strength. And it is also very important that the world does not stay silent about this terror and stands with Ukraine.”
What led to Latvia’s prime minister’s resignation?
Let’s just remind you of the background to this resignation (although we obviously covered that on Europe Live when it happened).
AP has a handy note on the events that led to this crisis:
“On 7 May, two suspected Ukrainian drones entered Latvia, one of them crashing at a fuel storage facility.
Latvia’s defence minister at the time, Andris Sprūds, said they were likely Ukrainian drones targeting Russia, which ended up in Latvia by mistake.
Multiple Ukrainian drones headed for Russia had hit the territories of the three countries in the Baltic region since March. Critics say the incidents have shown weaknesses in Latvia‘s ability to respond to military threats.
The Latvian governing tripartite coalition, which also included an agrarian party, had been under strain for months over multiple issues.”
On Sunday, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said the incidents in Latvia were “the result of Russian electronic warfare deliberately diverting Ukrainian drones from their targets in Russia.” He offered Ukraine’s help to the Baltic states and Finland to prevent such incidents in the future.
What’s next for Latvia after prime minister’s resignation?
Jakub Krupa
Latvian public broadcaster LSM has a helpful explainer as to what’s the process after Evika Siliņa resigned as prime minister this morning. Her resignation letter has now reached the country’s president, Edgars Rinkēvičs, it said.
But the government will continue in its role as a caretaker until a new administration can be agreed, with political consultations set to begin on Friday.
Rinkēvičs is expected to look for a new prime minister who could command a majority in the parliament until the elections in October. In his Facebook post last night, he said the international situation was too “fragile” to not have a proper government in place.
But if the talks drag on, the current government could continue in its technical role for a bit longer.
Slovakia condemns Russian attacks near its border with Ukraine
Slovakia has joined Hungary in condemning the Russian air attacks on the neighbouring region.
Slovak foreign minister Juraj Blanár said in a post on Facebook that the strikes undermine prospects for ending the Russian aggression on Ukraine and “limit the space for peace dialogue.”
Similarly to the Hungarian authorities, the Slovak stresses that the Zakarpattia region is home to many ethnic Slovaks.
The political criticism comes a day after the intensity of the attacks prompted the Slovak authorities to temporarily close its border crossings with Ukraine (Europe live yesterday).
Hungary summons Russian ambassador over strikes near its border with Ukraine
Meanwhile, the new Hungarian government has summoned the Russian ambassador to the country over a massive drone attack in the Zakarpattia region near Hungary’s border with Ukraine.
The region is of special symbolic importance for Hungary as it remains home to many ethic Hungarians.
“The Hungarian government strongly condemns the Russian attack on Zakarpattia,” the prime minister, Péter Magyar, said during a press conference in Ópusztaszer in southern Hungary when he announced the summons.
Hungary’s new foreign minister, Anita Orbán (no relation with Viktor), will receive the Russian ambassador, Evgeny Stanislavov, and “tell him the same and ask for information on when Russia and Vladimir Putin plan to finally end this bloody war that began more than four years ago,” Magyar said.
‘Difficult, but honest decision,’ Latvia’s prime minister Siliņa says as she resigns from post
Latvia’s Siliņa has now posted a bit more about her resignation to her social media channels, saying it was “a difficult, but honest” decision.
“At the moment, political jealousy and narrow party interests have taken precedence over responsibility,” she said of the (former, I guess) coalition partners from the Progressives, blaming them for “choosing a crisis instead of a solution.”
Latvia’s prime minister resigns in aftermath of drone incursion
Jakub Krupa
Latvian prime minister Evika Siliņa has announced her intention to resign from the post after her coalition partners, the Progressives, refused to support her dismissal of the country’s defence minister, Andris Sprūds, over a recent drone incident (Europe Live last week).
Siliņa was frustrated with the response to the incident. The Progressives declined to back the replacement minister, Raivis Melnis, and said they effectively no longer supported the prime minister, leaving her with no majority in the parliament.
In a hastily arranged media statement this morning, the prime minister said that while resigning to protest at what she called petty party squabbles, Siliņa emphasised she is “stepping down, but not giving up.”
Her comments will perhaps be read as a hint at her intentions ahead the upcoming parliamentary elections, already scheduled for October.
In the meantime, further talks on getting out of this political crisis are expected shortly, with a potential interim government formed to lead the country until the election.
The country’s president Edgars Rinkēvičs is planning meetings with leaders of parliamentary parties on Friday. “Latvia cannot afford political uncertainty and instability,” he said on Facebook last night, as the crisis deepened.
Latvian prime minister reportedly about to resign from office after drone incursion
Things are heating up in Latvian politics today.
A major government crisis has been brewing in the last few days over how a recent drone incursion incident was handled, and early reports suggest prime minister Evika Siliņa might actually step down.
Latvia’s public broadcaster LSM is reporting that she plans to resign from the position.
I will keep an eye on this for you and bring you the latest lines here.
Morning opening: Russia continues strikes on Ukraine
Jakub Krupa
After a tense day of intense attacks on Wednesday, Russia has continued its strikes on Ukraine overnight, with at least one dead and 40 injured in the capital, Kyiv, after reported hits on civilian infrastructure.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the strikes, saying:
“These are definitely not the actions of those who believe the war is coming to an end. It is important that partners do not remain silent about this strike.”
He said that over the last 30 hours, Russia deployed more than 1,500 drones against Ukraine.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 18 apartments were destroyed as a direct result of the attack, with water supply problems reported in left bank Kyiv. He added that 40 people were injured, with 31 requiring hospitalisation.
Elsewhere, I will be jealous of parts of Europe that are off on bank holiday today looking at the Charlemagne ceremony in Germany, the meeting of Finnish and Lithuanian presidents to discuss regional security, and media reports about potential US troops movement out of Poland (although denied by the Polish government).
Oh, and it’s the second Eurovision semi-final tonight!
It’s Thursday, 14 May 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
About the Author
