Russia's Lavrov scolds Merz over long-range fire comments
MOSCOW, May 27 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's remarks about long-range Ukrainian strikes into Russia with European weapons suggested that a decision allowing such attacks had been made long ago.
Merz said that there were no longer any range restrictions on the weapons supplied to Ukraine by Britain, France, Germany and the United States.
Lavrov said that the remarks indicated the calibre of people who had risen to power in leading European countries and suggested that a decision on allowing long-range strikes against Russia had been taken some time ago but kept secret.
Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks about Russia, Lavrov said that the president was showing emotion as he was seeing his efforts for peace in Ukraine sabotaged by European politicians.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
28 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: Musk attacks president's tax bill; Colorado suspect's family detained by Ice
Days after officially exiting the White House, Elon Musk has grown increasingly critical of President Donald Trump's signature tax bill, describing it as a 'disgusting abomination'. Musk's online outburst may embolden fiscally conservative Republican senators to defy Trump as they continue crucial negotiations on Capitol Hill over the so-called 'one big, beautiful bill'. Musk departed the White House last week after steering its so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) with the stated mission of slashing fraud and abuse within federal departments. He has argued the bill will undermine Doge's work and drive the US further into debt. Here are the key stories at a glance: Elon Musk, the billionaire tech entrepreneur, has opened a new rift with Donald Trump by denouncing the US president's tax and spending bill as a 'disgusting abomination'. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore,' Musk wrote on his X social media platform on Tuesday. 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' Read the full story Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene has drawn widespread criticism from Democratic colleagues for admitting that not only did she not read Donald Trump's tax and spending bill before voting for it, but she would have voted against it had she read thoroughly. Read the full story US immigration authorities have taken into custody the family of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the man who allegedly used a flamethrower to attack a Colorado rally for Israeli hostages, the Department of Homeland Security said. Read the full story Millions of legal immigrants may be left unable to work after the US Social Security Administration quietly instituted a rule change to stop automatically issuing them social security numbers. Read the full story Johnnie Moore, an evangelical leader and adviser to Donald Trump on interfaith issues, has been appointed the new head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as the controversial US and Israeli-backed initiative attempts to recover from top-level resignations during its deadly rollout last week. Read the full story The Trump administration rescinded Biden-era guidance clarifying that hospitals in states with abortion bans cannot turn away pregnant patients who are in the midst of medical emergencies – a move that comes amid multiple red-state court battles over the guidance. Read the full story A US judge on Tuesday ruled the US Bureau of Prisons must keep providing transgender inmates gender-affirming care, despite an executive order Donald Trump signed on his first day back in office to halt funding for such care. Read the full story Newark's mayor sued New Jersey's top federal prosecutor over his arrest on a trespassing charge – which was later dropped – at a federal immigration detention facility. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the US navy to remove Harvey Milk's name from a ship during Pride month, according to multiple reports. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has reportedly seen subscription sales fall by about $1.6m – or roughly 36% – after Trump appointed himself to lead it. The Trump administration reversed its decision to revoke the legal status of a four-year-old girl, receiving ongoing life-saving treatment in the US, and her family after a national outcry. Catching up? Here's what happened on 2 June 2025.
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
How Trump is fueling a new gun buying boom with a surprising demographic
A growing number of women are buying guns for the first time, with many crediting Donald Trump 's policies for emboldening them to exercise their Second Amendment rights as others noted their growing fear of the political climate in the U.S. Since the start of 2020, more than 20 million Americans have become first-time gun owners, with women - especially from minority backgrounds - making up a significant share of the spike.
Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
White Brits will be a minority in the UK within the next 40 years, report claims
White Brits will become a minority race in the UK population within the next 40 years, a new report has claimed. A study into birth rates and migration levels has predicted that white British people will make up only 33.7 per cent of the population by the end of the century. The research conducted by Professor Matt Goodwin of Buckingham University says the projected change will come in phases: first falling from the current level of 73 per cent to 57 per cent by 2050, then into the minority levels by 2063. Professor Goodwin's report also suggests significant changes for foreign-born citizens and second-generation immigrants, who currently make up less than 20 per cent of the population. These groups, the report says, will comprise 33.5 per cent of the UK's population in the next 25 years. It also predicts a near three-times increase in the number of Muslims living in the UK, suggesting that almost one in five people living in Britain will be followers of Islam by the end of the century. By the year 2100, the report expects 60 per cent of people living in the UK to have at least have one immigrant parent. Professor Goodwin said his research, which was based on Office for National Statistics and census data, will 'spark anxiety, concern and political opposition' among voters who wish to 'maintain the culture of the traditional majority'. He added: 'By the end of the current century, most of the people on these islands will not be able to trace their roots in this country back more than one or two generations. 'This raises enormous questions about the capacity of our country and leaders to unify people around a shared sense of identity, values, ways of life, and culture, and avoid the very real risk of us becoming what Sir Keir Starmer referred to in May as "an island of strangers".' In the report titled 'Demographic Change and the Future of the United Kingdom', Professor Goodwin also warned of the UK's ability to 'absorb and manage this scale of demographic change'. He said: 'What these projections show is that the UK is currently on course to experience enormous and historically unprecedented changes in the composition of its population.' Professor Goodwin's projections were based on non-white ethnic groups having a higher fertility rate until the end of the century. The UK- born fertility rate used was 1.39 for those born in the UK , 1.97 for foreign-born people, for Muslims it was 2.35, and for non-Muslims 1.54. The report comes just days after 1,200 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK in what was labelled 'a day of shame '. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer even faced criticism from one of his own ministers who said control of Britain's borders had been lost as a surge in dinghy crossings overwhelmed French and UK border patrol vessels. The latest Home Office figures show that 1,194 migrants arrived in 18 boats, bringing the provisional annual total so far to 14,811. This is 42 per cent higher than the 10,448 at the same point last year and 95 per cent up from the same point in 2023, 7,610. It is still lower than the highest daily total of 1,305 arrivals since data began in 2018, which was recorded on September 3, 2022. But the total of arrivals for the year, 14,811, is the highest ever recorded for the first five months of a year since data was first recorded on Channel crossings in 2018. It has also surpassed the highest total recorded for the first six months of the year, which was previously 13,489 on June 30 last year - and n 2024 the number of arrivals did not reach more than 14,000 until July 9, reaching 14,058. At Gravelines in northern France, more than half a dozen French police officers stood by and watched as migrants waded into the sea and scrambled on to an inflatable boat. French authorities said they rescued 184 people. One of Sir Keir's senior cabinet ministers admitted the scenes were 'pretty shocking' as he said the UK had 'lost control of its borders over the last five years'. Defence Secretary John Healey told Sky News that the latest crossings revealed a 'really big problem' - but insisted there was pressure being put on France for better co-operation and crackdowns ahead. Britain had agreed a deal in 2023 to pay France £480million over three years to stop the crossings, including £175million in the current financial year – more than £480,000 per day. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp branded the latest Channel scenes 'a disgrace but sadly entirely expected' and 'a day of shame for the Labour Government'. He added: 'It's a shameful failure by the French to discharge their duties to stop illegal migration. The French are failing to stop these crossings by illegal immigrants. 'Over a thousand illegal immigrants in a single day, boats flooding the Channel, Border Force stretched beyond breaking point, and even fishing vessels drafted in because our maritime rescue services are overwhelmed.' And Richard Tice MP, deputy leader of Reform UK, said: 'It looks like we pay hundreds of millions to give French police officers photography lessons because they are certainly not providing any security. Frankly, the Government should be suing the French for our money back.' At least 18 migrant boats were seen leaving the French coast on Sunday, June 1, carrying more than 1,000 people - exceeding the previous daily record for 2025 of 825, set earlier last month. Mr Healey added: 'Pretty shocking, those scenes [on Sunday]. The truth is, Britain's lost control of its borders over the last five years. 'The last government last year left an asylum system in chaos and record levels of immigration. 'But I think that [Sunday] tells us a really big problem which is that you've got French police unable to intervene to intervene and intercept the boats when they are in shallow water. 'We saw the smugglers launching elsewhere and coming round like a taxi to pick them up.' Mr Healey insisted there was 'new co-operation' with the French suggesting their officials would intervene in the water. When asked whether he was 'hacked off' with France for not doing so now, Mr Healey said: 'They are not doing it, but we've got the agreement that they will change the way they work. 'Our concentration now is to push them to get that into operation so they can intercept these smugglers and stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore.'
