Eurotopics.net

After Russia issued a warning to foreign diplomats, telling them to leave the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha has urged the Western partners not to yield to "Russian threats". Late on Saturday night Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on the greater Kyiv area. Commentators, however, see the strikes as a sign of the Kremlin's weakness.

Cuba faces a "humanitarian catastrophe", its Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla told the UN Security Council on Tuesday. The Communist Caribbean state has been struggling under a US oil blockade for months. President Trump has threatened to "take" Cuba and charges have also been brought in the US against the 94-year-old former president, Raúl Castro. The media discuss how this crisis could unfold.

The birth rate in the EU has dropped to a record low. The statistical average number of children per woman is now 1.34, compared to 2.62 in 1964. This downwards trend is making it increasingly difficult for governments to maintain stable tax revenues and sustain pension and healthcare systems. Commentators look into how to make Europe more family-friendly.

In Sweden, the price of monthly travel passes for public transport is due to be halved in the second half of 2026. The decision by the right-wing government is expected to cost 6.5 billion kronor (around 605 million euros). Ebba Busch, Minister for Energy, Business and Industry, justified the move citing "the worst energy crisis the world has ever seen".

Hot on the heels of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin has now travelled to visit Xi Jinping in China. The leaders will spend two days discussing global politics and strengthening economic ties between their countries. The media discusses both what Putin has called the "unprecedentedly high level" of relations between the two countries, as well as China's elevated role on the global stage.