BRUSSELS — NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg will propose a $100 billion, five-year fund for Ukraine when alliance foreign ministers meet on Wednesday, two diplomats told POLITICO. The financial package will be part of a broader initiative to incentivize allies to support Kyiv, as a $60 billion U.S. military aid package is stalled in Congress. One … Read more
Putin chose the moment to make his first public remarks on Navalny’s death, claiming in a victory press conference Sunday night that he’d agreed to swap the opposition leader in a prisoner exchange days before he died in an Arctic jail. “We can only consider that this election has been taken in the middle of … Read more
“Russia will remain the most significant and direct threat to the Alliance for the foreseeable future,” he wrote. Iohannis would be the first NATO chief from a country that was once in the Soviet bloc, but he faces an uphill struggle to edge out Rutte. The U.S., Britain, France and Germany — the four biggest … Read more
Third, we must improve interoperability and swiftly develop a strong defense-industrial base across the Alliance. This would serve the complementary goals of replenishing stockpiles, increasing our capabilities for deterrence and defense, as well as providing assistance to Ukraine. We will also encourage a stronger and more capable European defense industry that is complementary and interoperable … Read more
Teams mobilized from the interministerial digital affairs department DINUM and France’s cybersecurity agency ANSSI continue to fend off the attacks, added the prime minister’s office. It is still unclear who is behind the attacks. Pro-Russian hacker group Anonymous Sudan claimed responsibility for “a massive cyberattack” on the infrastructure of the French Interministerial Directorate of Digital … Read more
Prague is leading an initiative to purchase 500,000 155 mm and 300,000 122 mm caliber artillery shells for Kyiv. Overall, 18 countries have agreed to finance the purchases within the Czech-led initiative. While some governments — including from Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands — have announced actual financial commitments, others, such as France and Germany, haven’t provided exact figures. … Read more
He added, “We do not see any imminent threat of Russia using these weapons. But these statements are in themselves very dangerous, because they erode trust. Russia knows the consequences of taking such a step.” Geoană, who could step down later this year to run in the Romanian presidential election in September, also said NATO … Read more
The resolution noted that more than “220,000 Russian citizens” live inside the region. Moscow has recently made it easier for Moldovans to get Russian citizenship. Transnistria, which sits along Moldova’s border with Ukraine and is mostly populated by Russians, Ukrainians and Moldovans, has functioned as an unrecognized state since the fall of the Soviet Union, … Read more
According to the outlet’s sources, Spanish intelligence services did not know that Kuzminov was in Spain, as they were not informed of his arrival. Earlier this week, government spokesperson Pilar Alegría did not answer questions on whether Kuzminov was under Spanish police protection, saying the case was “under investigation.” Kuzminov defected from Russia in August 2023, flying … Read more
Macron’s comments come as European nations grapple with the looming consequences of Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House, with the NATO-skeptic ex-president on track to win the Republican nomination. In the U.S., further military aid for Ukraine is also stalled in Congress, with Republican lawmakers reluctant to continue funding Kyiv. Ukraine has been … Read more