Russia remains ‘unrelenting’ in attacks on Ukraine, shows ‘not interested in peace,’ EU’s foreign policy chief warns
Kallas also addressed the Russian attack on Ukraine overnight, calling it “one of the most devastating airstrikes on Kyiv in the war.”
She said:
“Russia remains unrelenting in its attacks, targeting civilians and prolonging its war. This is yet another sign Russia is just not interested in peace. So we must keep up the pressure.”
She also expressed her support for lowering Russian oil price cap.
Kallas also rejected the idea of Russia acting as a mediator in any other conflict, saying “while we see actions like this and he’s not mediator that can really be considered.”
Key events
Closing her opening statement, Aagesen says the report offers a solid base of evidence to understand the outage and reflect on it.
But she pointedly defends the need to continue with energy transition to cleaner, more renewable sources of energy, as she says “this is not an ideological issue, and one of the main drivers of growth” and Spain’s attractiveness.
And we go into Q&A, with the first question focusing on Spain’s domestic politics and the political crisis surrounding the government.
Aagesen says that “there was a lack of voltage control capacities,” either because of scheduled maintenance work, below standard performance, or a mix of both.
She then sets out a complex response from the grid operator’s side.
The minister also praises the restoration effort as “a success,” but again says the committee identified some issues that resulted in “different speeds” and “could be improved in the future.”
The report, she says, includes measures to help make any future recovery, if needed, “as swift as possible.”
The proposals include a push for stronger supervision and compliance requirements on operators and more focus on the infrastructure, including for renewables, that can be used to increase the overall capacity across the country.
She also repeats the need to act on cybersecurity and identified vulnerabilities.
She says that a draft law advancing some of these measures will be put forward at the next government meeting.
Aagesen then explains in detail how the system’s response could not keep up with the swings to adequately regulate the voltage in the system, contributing to the blackout.
Disconnections then followed in many places, including Sevilla, Badajoz and Segovia. Another large disconnection the followed in Huelva, Sevilla, Cáceres and Badajoz.
Some were automatically triggered shutdowns, but some happened “in an improper manner,” she says.
She explains the wave of disconnections followed and through a chain reaction, Spain supply disconnected from that of the rest of Europe.
“The escalation of overvoltage was such that at that point we can say there was nothing we could do,” she said.
She said the blackout had “a multifactorial origin, a combination of factors came together” to cause the outage, as the system did not have sufficient capacity to react to, or to contain, the sudden tension.
Continuing the briefing Aagesen goes through the technical reasons behind the outage, talking about system tension, reactive power, a dispersed network, and voltage control measures happening in the system every day to ensure the grid’s stability.
She explains the concept of sharp swings in power, or oscillations, that are well known and occur within the European system regularly, but zooms in on an “atypical” oscillation identified within the system within the Iberian peninsula, going beyond what the system could deal with.
No evidence of cyber-attack behind Iberian blackout, but security shortcomings found, minister says
Presenting the findings of the report, environment minister Sara Aagesen praised the resilience of the Spanish society and said the focus was on understanding what caused the blackout and ensuring it would not happen again.
The report was divided into two parts focusing on cybersecurity and digital systems, and on the operation of the electricity grid. It looked at more than 133 gigabytes of data from 14 companies, including system operators.
Aagesen said the committee had to navigate some incomplete or contradictory data, which restricted its ability to conduct full analysis. Some data in the final report are also not fully published in the public version of the report or anonymised “to protect the integrity of the procedures.”
In the first conclusion of the report, she said there was no evidence that a cyber incident or a cyber-attack caused the crisis.
But she confirmed they found a number of “vulnerabilities, deficiencies or poor configurations” identified as potentially exposing the system to risks in the future and requiring urgent attention.
Jakub Krupa
The Spanish government’s press conference (12:13) is starting now.
I will bring you the key lines here.
Russia remains ‘unrelenting’ in attacks on Ukraine, shows ‘not interested in peace,’ EU’s foreign policy chief warns
Kallas also addressed the Russian attack on Ukraine overnight, calling it “one of the most devastating airstrikes on Kyiv in the war.”
She said:
“Russia remains unrelenting in its attacks, targeting civilians and prolonging its war. This is yet another sign Russia is just not interested in peace. So we must keep up the pressure.”
She also expressed her support for lowering Russian oil price cap.
Kallas also rejected the idea of Russia acting as a mediator in any other conflict, saying “while we see actions like this and he’s not mediator that can really be considered.”
EU’s foreign policy chief talks about ‘urgent need for deescalation’ in Middle East, but warns ‘we cannot be lenient’ on Iran
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is briefing the media now after an “informal video conference” of EU foreign ministers on the situation in the Middle East.
She said “ministers called on all sides to abide by international law, exercise restraint and avoid actions that could spiral out of control.”
She added:
“We all agreed the urgent need for deescalation.
Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, and diplomacy is the solution to prevent this, and EU will play its part.
I also took note of the support of the EU ministers on the European Union and my involvement in the deescalation, so I will spare no efforts in this respect.”
Kallas also added that “we cannot be lenient when Iran accelerates its nuclear programme.”
The ministers also discussed their civil protection mechanisms, including mutual help when “evacuating … citizens that wish to leave,” the said.
Spain to publish findings of probe into causes of ‘unprecedented’ blackout in April
Sam Jones
According to the Spanish government, we should soon get a decent idea of what caused the massive and unprecedented blackout that hit the Iberian peninsula at the end of April.
The findings of a special committee convened to investigate the episode are due to be made public at a press conference addressed by Spain’s environment minister, Sara Aagesen, at 1 pm Madrid time.
Despite fevered speculation, we still have no official explanation for what happened when the lights went out on 28 April.
Opponents of the socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, have suggested that his administration pushed ahead with plans to prioritise renewable energy over nuclear energy without thinking of the consequences.
But the government has denied those suggestions and has also dismissed media reports that the catastrophic power failure was down to an “experiment” to increase the proportion of renewable energy to the grid without ensuring there was sufficient back-up power.
Speaking two days after the blackout, Aagesen warned against attempts to blame the incident on increasing use of renewable energy, and defended the reliability of the national grid.
She said Spain’s electricity on 28 April was generated from a mix of different sources, with solar power accounting for almost 55% of the total, followed by 10% from wind power, 10% from nuclear power and almost 10% from hydro power.
“The system has worked to perfection with a similar demand situation and with a similar energetic mix [in the past], so pointing the finger at renewables when the system has functioned perfectly in the same context doesn’t seem very appropriate,” she said.
We will hopefully find out soon.
The report comes at a desperately difficult moment for Sánchez, who is fighting to hang on amid a series of corruption allegations that have enveloped his government and his Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE).
Last Thursday, the prime minister apologised to voters but ruled out a snap election after a senior PSOE member resigned hours after a supreme court judge found “firm evidence” of his possible involvement in taking kickbacks on public construction contracts.
Tensions are high and opposition parties are on the offensive and will pounce on any suggestion that the government or its policies were in any way responsible for the blackout.
Jakub Krupa
It looks like we may be getting some important updates from Spain later today.
Let me bring in our correspondent, Sam Jones, to explain.
Russia claims overnight ‘high-precision’ attack on Kyiv hit ‘military-industrial’ sites
Back to Ukraine, Russia’s army said it hit “military-industrial” sites near Kyiv, after Ukrainian officials said at least 14 people were killed in one of the largest drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital.
Russia “launched a group strike with high-precision air, ground and sea-based weapons, as well as strike drones on military-industrial facilities in the Kyiv region,” the defence ministry said in a statement, which was similar to those it puts out after most major attacks, AFP noted.
Here are some pictures we are getting from the newswires, showing the aftermath of this “high-precision” attack:
So, here are Trump’s comments in full, via Reuters:
On trade talks with the EU:
“We’re talking, but I don’t feel that they’re offering a fair deal yet,” Trump said.
“They’re either going to make a good deal or they’ll just pay whatever we say they have to pay.“
On pharmaceutical tariffs:
“We’re going to be doing pharmaceuticals very soon. That’s going to bring all the companies back into America … It’s going to bring most of them back into, at least partially back in.“
Trump repeats threat of pharmaceutical tariffs, criticises EU for not offering fair deal
US president Donald Trump has repeated his threat to impose pharmaceutical tariffs saying they were “coming very soon” and criticised the EU for not offering a fair deal on trade.
His comments, reported by Reuters, come from his brief chat with reporters on board Air Force One, on the way back from the G7 summit in Canada.
I will bring you full quotes as soon as we have them.
European leaders at G7 trying to bring Iran back to negotiating table
On the G7 summit in Canada, my colleagues Patrick Wintour and Peter Walker reported that European leaders at the G7 summit in Canada are trying to engineer an Iranian return to the negotiating table using Gulf leaders as intermediaries.
But Iran is demanding a joint ceasefire with Israel, while Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is resisting the move, and Donald Trump praised the Israeli campaign, suggesting he did not yet believe it was time to relieve the pressure on Iran.
The US is considered by Iran to be critical to putting pressure on Israel, but the US president wants indications that Iran will back down on wanting to maintain the right to enrich uranium. He is willing to continue to use the Israeli assault as a bargaining chip if necessary.
In a joint call with Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, the French, German and British foreign ministers urged Iran not to escalate by attacking US or other regional players.
They also urged Iran not to go ahead with a threat to leave the nuclear non proliferation treaty or to reduce cooperation with the UN nuclear inspectorate, the IAEA, still further. The three ministers warned escalation would only cut off the remaining path to a return to diplomacy.
But some European officials admit they have no guarantees Trump will press Netanyahu to stop. Iran has said it will reopen talks with the US on its nuclear programme only once Washington orders Israel to stop bombing Iran.
Here is their report:
The number of people injured in the overnight Russian strikes on Ukraine has gone up to 116, according to the latest update from Associated Press.
Russian attacks on Ukraine overnight – video
Trump blasts ‘publicity seeking’ Macron for being ‘always wrong’
US president Donald Trump blasted his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron for “publicity seeking” behaviour after he had claimed that Trump was considering the prospect of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran before leaving the G7 summit early.
Posting on Truth Social, Trump added that Macron has “no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a ceasefire,” adding the issue was “much bigger than that”.
“Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong,” he added.
Here is his comment in full:
Publicity seeking President Emmanuel Macron, of France, mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a “cease fire” between Israel and Iran. Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that. Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong. Stay Tuned!
Morning opening: ‘Horrific’ attacks on Kyiv
Jakub Krupa
At least 15 people were killed in Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight with nearly 100 wounded in what was named as “one of the most horrific attacks” on the capital.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that “such attacks are pure terrorism.”
Posting just hours before he is scheduled to take part in a G7 summit in Canada, he said: “The whole world, the United States, and Europe must finally respond as a civilized society responds to terrorists.”
“Putin does this solely because he can afford to continue the war,” accusing the Russian president for wanting “the war to go on.”
“It is wrong when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it. We are in contact with all partners at every possible level to ensure an appropriate response. It is the terrorists who must feel the pain, not innocent peaceful people,” he said.
But US president Donald Trump will no longer be there at the summit when Zelenskyy joins the leaders, as he left the summit early to attend to other issues.
Separately, later today, the EU is set to present detailed plans on how to phase out Russian fossil fuels by 2027, but is expected to face opposition from Hungary and Slovakia.
Elsewhere, EU foreign ministers will also have a call on the worsening situation in the Middle East, with the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas expected to debrief the media early lunchtime.
Lots to cover. I will bring you all the key updates here.
It’s Tuesday, 17 June 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Source link
