Ukraine, Briefly

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• European Union agreed to reduce their gas use by 15 percent between August and March in case Russia cuts off supplies, although some nations will be excluded from the agreement to prevent rationing, the BBC reported.

• Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei visited Ukraine this week, becoming the first Latin American president to make the trip to the country since Russia invaded in February, Euronews wrote. Giammattei met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to express his solidarity with Ukraine’s plight. Many Latin American leaders have avoided taking a stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reflecting in some cases decades-old ties to Russia and in others a wariness of US foreign policy goals.

• The Ukrainian government is facing criticism over its nationwide recruitment campaign, with critics saying it violates the country’s own rules and that it sometimes drafts the unwilling while spurning the willing, according to the New York Times. A petition calling for a ban on summonses being issued at checkpoints, petrol stations, and other public locations has received more than 25,000 signatures from Ukrainians, the number required to force President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to respond. It requests he set up a transparent procedure for determining who can be called up to serve.