Europe

Late arrival

How much of a difference will Ukraine’s new F-16s make?

Too few to beat Russia’s air force, but a strong symbolic start

The grubby price of freedom

Some Germans think the hostage exchange with Russia was a dirty deal

But preserving good relations with America was more important

Rescue mission

The deal that freed Evan Gershkovich was more than a prisoner swap

It freed Russian prisoners of conscience as well as Westerners taken hostage by Vladimir Putin

Allez les bleus

The Olympics are teaching the French to cheer again

France’s politics is a mess, but the games are glorious

Westward ho!

Humiliated by Azerbaijan, Armenia tacks towards the West

Courting the EU and America without alienating Russia is a difficult trick

Paradise cost

Vienna’s social housing, lauded by progressives, pushes out the poor

The city’s most hard-up rely on the private sector

Devil and the deep blue sea

Will a new “pact” of ten laws help Europe ease its migrant woes?

It will require an extraordinary number of institutions to work together

The water’s mostly demined

Amid the bombs, Ukrainians rediscover the beach

Odessa gives itself permission to tan again

Blown signals

Who was behind the arson attacks on railways before the Olympics?

With thousands stranded, suspicion falls on Russia or Iran

Bumpy landing

Italian right-wingers have renamed Milan’s airport after Silvio Berlusconi

A finger in the eye of those who detested the late populist leader

Fixing the roof

European countries are banding together on missile defence

The Ukraine war shows how dangerously few interceptors they have

The bricklayer

Peter Magyar is reinvigorating Hungary’s struggling opposition

Attacking Viktor Orban’s corruption wins votes for a political newcomer