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Hopes of Irish language revival in public life as Catherine Connolly takes office
Rory Carroll
In another big ceremony today, Catherine Connolly is set to be inaugurated as Ireland’s 10th president in Dublin.
A man walks past a mural of Ireland’s President-elect Catherine Connolly ahead of her upcoming inauguration, in Dublin, Ireland. Photograph: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters
As our Ireland correspondent Rory Carroll explains:
When the independent leftwing politician is inaugurated as Ireland’s president on Tuesday, she will carry hopes of a transformational Gaelic revival.
The former barrister from Galway made Gaelic a central part of her election campaign and has indicated she wishes to make it the working language of the presidency. “I will do my best to bring Irish in from the margins and use it,” Connolly told the Irish language station Raidió na Gaeltachta.
The 68-year-old shocked the centre-right political establishment last month when she won a landslide in the election to succeed Michael D Higgins as Ireland’s 10th president. Her candidacy united opposition leftwing parties, energised young voters and won 64% of the vote.
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Watch French Armistice Day commemorations in Paris
Jakub Krupa
You can follow the French commemorations here (and at the top of the page):
Macron attends WWI Armistice ceremony in Paris – watch liveShare
French Armistice Day commemorations get under way – in pictures
Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, 11 November 2025, during the commemorations marking the 107th anniversary of the 11 November 1918, Armistice, ending the first world war. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/ReutersFrench President Emmanuel Macron attends ceremonies marking the 107th anniversary of the 11 November 1918 Armistice that ended the first world war. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/ReutersFrench President Emmanuel Macron attends ceremonies marking the 107th anniversary of the 11 November 1918 Armistice that ended the first world war. Photograph: Christophe Ena/APShare
Ukraine’s military says there are 300 Russian troops in Pokrovsk
Ukraine’s military said about 300 Russian soldiers were inside the embattled town of Pokrovsk, and that Moscow had intensified efforts to get more troops in over the past few days, using dense fog for cover, Reuters reported.
“Their goal remains unchanged – to reach the northern borders of Pokrovsk and then attempt to encircle the agglomeration,” Ukraine’s 7th paratrooper corps said on Facebook.
Fierce battles around Pokrovsk, once a key Ukrainian road and rail hub but now a ruined town, have been raging for months as Moscow grinds forward slowly in eastern Ukraine.
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Ukraine hits Russia’s oil refinery, warehouse overnight
Separately, Ukraine’s military said it struck Russia’s Saratov oil refinery overnight, causing explosions and a large fire in the area around the site, Reuters reported.
It also hit a “Sea Oil Terminal” in Russian-occupied Crimea and a warehouse in occupied Donetsk, according to a post from Ukraine’s General Staff on the Telegram messaging app.
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Russia says it foiled Ukrainian-British plot to steal armed MiG-31 jet
Speaking of Ukraine, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed it had foiled a plot by Ukrainian and British spies to tempt Russian pilots to steal a MiG-31 jet armed with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile for $3m, state media reported on Tuesday.
Reuters reported that the RIA news agency cited the FSB as claiming that the hijacked jet was to be flown toward a Nato airbase in the Romanian city of Constanța, where it could have been shot down by air defences, the agency reported.
State TV showed pictures of messages and recordings of a man who they said was working for Ukrainian and British intelligence and had offered $3 million to a Russian pilot to fly a MiG to Europe and that the pilot had also been offered citizenship.
The Guardian and Reuters could not independently verify the Russian claims.
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Morning opening: Marking Armistice Day
Jakub Krupa
A number of European countries – including Belgium, France and Poland – are celebrating Armistice Day today, which in Poland’s case also marks the anniversary of the country regaining its independence in 1918.
We will keep an eye on commemorative events, including the ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris hosted by France’s Emmanuel Macron, and a major march in the Polish capital of Warsaw. I will bring you the latest from these events.
But we will also look at the latest on Ukraine, with another night of Russian attacks on the country and Romania reporting a Russian drone incursion overnight, five kilometres from the border with Ukraine. But Romanian president Nicușor Dan insisted it was an accident and played down the significance of the event.
It’s Tuesday, 11 November 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
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Updated at 04.41 EST
