At least three lawmakers were injured on Tuesday after chaos erupted in Serbia’s parliament, where smoke bombs and flares were thrown.

Lawmakers were scheduled to vote on a law that would increase funding for university education, but opposition parties insisted the session was illegal and should first confirm the resignation of prime minister Miloš Vučević and his government.

Local media RTS reported that “Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić said MP Jasmina Obradović, who was hit by a stun gun, suffered a stroke and is fighting for her life. MP Jasmina Karanac was also injured, as was Sonja Ilić, who is eight months pregnant.”

The details have not been independently verified by the Guardian. Other reports suggest at least one MP was hit by a bottle amid the chaotic scenes.

Reuters reports that after the ruling coalition led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) approved the agenda for the session, some opposition politicians ran out of their seats towards the parliamentary speaker and scuffled with security guards. Others tossed smoke grenades and teargas, with live TV showing black and pink smoke inside the building.

The ruling coalition in Serbia has accused western intelligence agencies of trying to destabilise the country and topple the government by backing protests which have been ongoing since a railway station roof collapse in November 2024.

Miranda Bryant

Miranda Bryant is the Guardian’s Nordic correspondent

Russia will redeploy resources if the war ends in Ukraine and shift its attention to Finland and other parts of Europe, Finnish security services have warned.

According to the 2025 annual report by Supo, the Finnish security and intelligence service, published on Tuesday, an end to the war in Ukraine would “improve the ability of Russia to engage in hostile activity elsewhere in Europe”. This would also “increase the threat to Finland,” it said.

The report also warned that multiple states, including Russia, have increased their use of proxies both in intelligence and broader influencing campaigns, including in an attempt to “undermine western support for Ukraine”.

In the report, Supo said:

Sabotage operations in Europe linked to the Russian military intelligence service GRU are one example of this. By using intermediaries, Russia seeks to cover its tracks. Russian sabotage operations aim to influence public opinion and the sense of public safety, and to overwhelm the authorities in target countries. The main goal at the moment is to undermine western support for Ukraine.

Finland is a target for “continuous and active espionage operations” from Russia and China, it said, as well as Iran.

Supo director, Juha Martelius, said:

The western intelligence community has a highly uniform view of the growing threat from Russia. As a country that borders Russia and as a state on the Baltic Sea, Finland must prepare for growth in Russian influencing.

Reuters is carrying further quotes from Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal, who said that his country was ready to sign a minerals deal with the US. The Donald Trump administration has been attempting to persuade Ukraine to provide it with minerals in exchange for military aid already rendered during Russia’s invasion.

Shmyhal said “Our military and the government have the capabilities, the tools, let’s say, to maintain the situation on the frontline. They are obviously not subject to disclosure. We will continue to work with the US through all available channels in a calm manner.”

Tusk: US decision to suspend military aid puts ‘Europe, Ukraine, Poland in a more difficult situation’

Jakub Krupa

“Please fasten your seatbelts, we’re entering a turbulence zone, one could say” Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said today while opening a meeting of the Polish cabinet in Warsaw.

In his opening remarks, Tusk warned of “unprecedented” risks facing Europe, including “the biggest in the last few decades when it comes to security”. He urged ministers in his coalition government to put party differences aside as he expected the need to make “extraordinary” decisions.

“As you know, a decision was announced to suspend the US aid for Ukraine, and perhaps start lifting sanctions on Russia. We don’t have any reason to think these are just words,” he said.

He added that the reports he was getting from the Polish-Ukrainian border and the Polish logistics hub in Rzeszów-Jasionka, used for supplies for Ukraine, confirmed that the US decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine had been implemented.

“This puts Europe, Ukraine, Poland in a more difficult situation that we now need to face,” he said.

He said Poland was determined to “intensify activities in Europe to increase our defence capabilities, while also taking care, despite of what’s happening, of the best possible transatlantic relations and cooperation with our closest ally, the US.”

Europe ‘ready to step up’ and increase defence spending, von der Leyen says

Jon Henley

Jon Henley is the Guardian’s Europe correspondent, based in Paris

A five-part plan to bolster Europe’s defence industry and increase its military capability could raise nearly €800bn and help provide urgent military support for Ukraine after the US suspended aid to Kyiv, the head of the European Commission has said.

Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday the 27-member bloc would propose giving member states more fiscal space for defence investments, as well as €150bn in loans for those investments, and would also aim to mobilise private capital.

Presenting the “ReArm Europe” package in Brussels, von der Leyen said: “This is a moment for Europe, and we are ready to step up.” The proposals “could mobilise close to €800bn of defence expenditures for a safe and resilient Europe”, she added.

“A new era is upon us,” the commission president wrote to EU leaders. “Europe faces a clear and present danger on a scale that none of us has seen in our adult lifetime … We are living in the most momentous and dangerous of times.”

The commission’s plan includes €150bn of new joint EU borrowing that would be lent to EU governments to fund pan-European capabilities in areas such as air and missile defence, artillery systems, missiles, ammunition, drones and other needs.

“It will help member states to pool demand and to buy together. This will reduce costs, reduce fragmentation, increase interoperability and strengthen our defence industrial base,” von der Leyen said.

“With this equipment, member states can massively step up their support to Ukraine. So, immediate military equipment for Ukraine,” she added.

Read Jon Henley’s full report here: EU plan to bolster Europe’s defences could raise €800bn for Ukraine

Kremlin welcomes US decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine, calls for lifting of sanctions

Pjotr Sauer

Pjotr Sauer is a Russian affairs reporter for the Guardian

The Kremlin on Tuesday welcomed the US pause in military aid to Ukraine, claiming it could push Kyiv to the negotiating table.

“If this is true, then it is a decision that could genuinely push the Kyiv regime towards a peace process,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists. “This would probably be the best contribution to the cause of peace,” he added.

Peskov said he expected European countries to try to “compensate” for the shortfall in US ammunition supplies. “But, of course, the main volume has still been coming from the US, through US channels,” he said.

Moscow also welcomed media reports that the US is considering a plan for possible sanctions relief for Russia.

“Our position on sanctions is well known – we consider them illegal,” Peskov said. “Of course, if we’re talking about normalising bilateral relations, they need to be freed from this negative burden of so-called sanctions.”

Reuters reported on Monday that the US was drawing up a plan to potentially ease sanctions on Russia as president Donald Trump seeks to restore ties with Moscow and end the war in Ukraine.

Poland’s foreign ministry has said that the decision by the Trump administration to suspend US military aid to Ukraine was taken without consultation with allies.

Reuters reports that in a statement spokesperson Paweł Wroński said “This is a very important decision, and the situation is very serious. This sentence may sound banal, but it has great political significance – it (the decision) was made without any information, or consultation, neither with Nato allies, nor with the Ramstein group, which is involved in supporting Ukraine in its fight.”

The Czech Republic’s prime minister Petr Fiala has called for a “fundamental shift” in European policy in reaction to Donald Trump’s decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine.

In a post to social media, he said:

President Trump’s decision highlights the urgent need for a fundamental shift in Europe’s current policy.

We must strengthen our economic and military capabilities and take full responsibility for our own security. This requires increased investment in defence. Ensuring our security also means intensifying our support for Ukraine. We cannot allow Russia’s aggressive policy, which threatens us all, to succeed.

The era of relying on others to address fundamental international challenges on our behalf is over. Now is the time for Europe to move decisively from words to action.