Ukraine has retaken half of the territory Russia seized at the beginning of the war – and one day it will be a NATO member, the alliance’s top soldier said. Adm. Rob Bauer, NATO’s most senior military officer, and Gen. Christopher Cavoli, supreme allied commander Europe, said allies are moving quickly to arm Ukraine to … Read more
U.S. defense spending and military aid costs are adding up. President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion U.S. military aid package in April allocating funding to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region. On top of that, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 authorized military spending of a record $886 billion. A big chunk … Read more
China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin attend the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 18, 2023. Pedro Pardo | Afp | Getty Images Russia’s close relationship with superpower China is under close scrutiny as Russian … Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin walks past an honour guard as he attends a meeting with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2024. Maxim Shemetov | Reuters A government reshuffle was always in the cards after Russian President Vladimir Putin was sworn in last week as Russia’s leader for a fifth term. But … Read more
Thousands more civilians have fled Russia’s renewed ground offensive in Ukraine’s northeast that has targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar fire, officials said Sunday. The intense battles have forced at least one Ukrainian unit to withdraw in the Kharkiv region, capitulating more land to Russian forces across less defended settlements … Read more
Moscow’s forces have captured five villages as part of a renewed ground assault in Ukraine’s northeast, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday. Ukrainian journalists reported Friday that Russian troops took the villages of Borysivka, Ohirtseve, Pylna and Strilecha, all of which lie in a militarily contested “gray zone” on the border of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region … Read more
The big U.S. aid package for Ukraine and other allies that President Joe Biden signed Wednesday also allows the administration to seize Russian state assets located in the U.S. and use them for the benefit of Kyiv. That could mean another $5 billion in assistance for Ukraine, coming from Russian Central Bank holdings that have … Read more
Canada will contribute $76 million to a German-led initiative to raise funds for air defence systems that will be sent to Ukraine, the Canadian and German defence ministers announced Friday. Defence Minister Bill Blair and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius signed a letter of intent for the contribution to Germany’s Immediate Action on Air Defence … Read more
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the head of the state guards on Thursday, two days after two of its members were accused of plotting to assassinate the president. Zelenskyy issued a decree dismissing Serhiy Rud. No successor was identified. The state security service (SBU) said this week it had caught two men, colonels in the … Read more
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron is urging the U.K.’s allies, including Canada, to spend more on their militaries, warning the West needs a “harder edge for a tougher world.” The current NATO target for defence spending is two per cent of GDP. Cameron wants it raised to 2.5 per cent. Canada routinely misses the current … Read more
