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Ukrainian soldiers pose with their national flag outside a Kharkiv village recently liberated from Russia.
What We’re Watching: Ukraine retakes Kharkiv, Sweden turns right
Ukraine makes big gains, Putin gets rare pushback
As the war reached its 200-day mark Sunday, the Ukrainian military made its most significant gains against Russia since the invasion began. President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 1,000 km of territory had been liberated and promised that the ultimate goal is “de-occupation.” The loss of Izyum and dozens of other Kharkiv towns and villages that had been under Russian occupation was met by Moscow with a flurry of air strikes to knock out power and water in the region. Russia notably admitted on Sunday that it had lost much of the northern Kharkiv region. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin came under fire from pro-war conservatives and allies like Chechnyan leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who publicly admitted that the “special military operation” was not going to plan. Also, local officials in Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg petitioned the Duma (parliament) to oust the president for committing alleged treason (they’ve been dealt with swiftly). Finally, there has been some relief at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine: after losing all power and the ability to cool its last functioning reactor, the facility was finally reconnected to a backup power line on Sunday.
Conservatives win Swedish election amid far-right surge
The ruling center-left Social Democrats won Sweden's parliamentary election on Sunday with over 30% of the vote, but they will likely be booted out of power — a very big deal for a party that’s dominated Swedish politics since the 1930s. With almost all ballots counted, the conservative bloc is projected to secure a razor-thin majority of 176 out of 349 seats in parliament. (The final result is out Wednesday.) The far-right, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats came in second with their best-ever result with more than 20% of the vote, thanks in no small part to a campaign focused on recent gang violence linked to migrants. Still, forming a new government will be anything but easy. Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson, a centrist who claims he can unite the right, wants to replace the popular PM Magdalena Andersson with the Sweden Democrats’ votes but without the party in his cabinet. Whatever happens, the far-right will wield significant influence over policy — and its first demand will surely be to change the law to bar almost all asylum-seekers.
EU battles delta variant with omicron next; Sweden government turmoil
Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden, shares his perspective from Europe:
How is Europe dealing with new omicron version of the pandemic?
Well, I mean the big issue isn't really that one, the big issue if you see the havoc that is created in several European countries at the moment is the delta. The delta is making impressive strides, particularly in countries that have a slightly lower vaccination rates. So that's the number one fight at the moment. And then we must of course prepare for the omicron as well.
What's the turmoil in Sweden about governance?
Hmm, that's a long story. It goes back to a very complicated parliamentary situation and the fact that the government, the coalition government, and the arrangement that kept in place collapsed. And then we had turmoil and turmoil. And we now have, we are first female prime minister, a very weak coalition government, the budget has been dictated by the opposition. It will survive until the September election. It can't get anything done, but it will survive. And then it's going to be the September election next year that decides the governors of Sweden in the years ahead.- Hard Numbers: Dorsey resigns from Twitter, Barbados ditches the ... ›
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What We're Watching: Egypt closes Gaza border, Swedish PM resigns, Tunisia's indefinite emergency
Egypt closes Gaza border: Egypt closed the Rafah border with the Gaza Strip this week, giving no indication when it'll reopen. Rafah, one of two economic gateways to Gaza and the only entrance not controlled by Israel, is the primary exit point for Palestinians in the Strip to travel overseas. So why did Egypt close it? Well, Cairo — which has been trying to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group that runs Gaza since an 11-day war broke out in May — is extremely peeved at the lack of progress, and blames Hamas for the impasse. Much of this is linked to a recent wave of violence, whereby Hamas launched a series of bomb balloons across the border with Israel, causing multiple fires across Israeli communities, and prompting Israel to launch several military strikes in response. Egypt has long been a negotiator between Israel and the Palestinians, and Egypt-Israel ties have warmed in recent years: last week, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel met with Israel's PM Naftali Bennett, and invited him to visit Egypt.
Sweden PM's shock resignation: After seven years in the top job, Stefan Löfven abruptly stepped down this week as Sweden's prime minister. Löfven, who has led the center-left Social Democrats since 2012, has overseen an extremely fractious time in Swedish politics in recent years, which culminated in June when a dispute over rent-control policy almost toppled his government. Whoever takes over now will have a very tough time: the government is pushing hard to pass a budget proposal as Sweden tries to navigate its way out of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the Sweden Democrats, a right-wing populist party with neo-Nazi affiliations, has been gaining popularity ahead of next year's general election. Many say that Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson is the leading candidate to replace Löfven, which means all five Nordic countries — Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway — could soon be led by women.
Tunisian emergency rule extended: Tunisia's President Kais Saied has extended indefinitely the suspension of parliament he ordered a month ago in response to mass protests over the economy and COVID. Saied — who also sacked the government under a very broad interpretation of his emergency powers under the constitution — said at the time that he was not staging a coup, but rather dismissing an inefficient and corrupt political class. He also promised to appoint a new PM and restore parliament within 30 days. Now he will explain why he has failed to meet this deadline in an address to the nation later this week. Indeed, the delay gives Saied's critics another reason to denounce his initial action as a power grab. What's more, since taking over the president has placed several current and former officials under house arrest, preventing politicians and businessmen from traveling abroad. This has raised further doubts about the political future of the only democracy that emerged from the Arab Spring.