With Donald Trump back in office, Europe faces a new era of uncertainty. The once-reliable comfort of American support — a cornerstone of European security — is now more in question than ever. For decades, Europe has assumed the U.S. would always be there to pick up the slack. But those
Before the U.S. presidential election, it seemed like no one but Donald Trump’s staunchest supporters believed he could win. After all, the man is a convicted felon, a putschist-provocateur, an agent of chaos, and a walking scandal who has been disowned by almost all his former advisors, some
President-elect Donald Trump has named Fox News host and veteran Pete Hegseth as the incoming U.S. Defense Secretary, Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Nov. 12. If confirmed by Congress, Hegseth will replace current Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin following Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025. "Pete
“The priority of next year's budget will also be security and defense. All taxes paid by people and businesses will go toward strengthening our defenders and military capabilities,” Prime Minister Denys Smyhal said on his Telegram channel.
Ukraine's Strategic Industries Minister Herman Smetanin met with India's Ambassador to Ukraine Ravi Shankar on Oct. 26 to discuss strengthening defense industry cooperation between Kyiv and New Delhi, the Strategic Industries Ministry announced.
The Kyiv Independent spoke with former U.K. Defense Attaché in Moscow, John Foreman CBE, about what this development might mean for the future of Russia's war and the global landscape.
"It (Black Sea Fleet) was forced to change, in fact, its registration because our large ships became large targets for the enemy's unmanned boats," Dmitry Rogozin, a Russian official heading the Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, said.
Biden was supposed to convene a leader-level meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany on Oct. 12, where President Volodymyr Zelensky was expected to present his victory plan. However, he put off his visit in order to oversee the emergency response to Hurricane Milton.
Editor’s Note: This is issue 150 of Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly, covering events from Sept. 29 – Oct. 5, 2024. The Kyiv Independent is reposting it with permission. Corporate governance of SOEs Cabinet completes the composition of UDI’s supervisory board. On Oct. 4, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed Timur
NATO has been advised to significantly bolster its defense capabilities, as outlined in a report by German media channel Welt.
Speaking at a panel discussion at the Warsaw Security Forum attended by the Kyiv Independent, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur explained that "everybody in the society will contribute a bit more."
Expenses for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the presidential administration will increase to 30.9 billion rubles ($332 million) in 2025. The bulk of the expenses — 21 billion rubles ($235 million) are earmarked for an increase in salaries for the president and his staff.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine's new military advancements, particularly the Palianytsia missile, are a critical way for the country to act amid delays in decision-making by some of its international partners.
Editor’s Note: This is issue 141 of Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly, covering events from July 14-20, 2024. The Kyiv Independent is reposting it with permission. Corporate governance of SOEs PrivatBank appoints a new CFO. On July 15, PrivatBank reported that Larysa Chernyshova will serve in this role starting Sept.
The agreed budget will see an increase in defense spending by 1.2 billion euros (nearly $1.4 billion), while German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius requested a 6.7 billion euros (nearly $7.3 billion) increase, according to Tagesspiegel.
The following is the July 16, 2024 edition of our Ukraine Business Roundup weekly newsletter. This version is condensed as the author was out of the office. To get the biggest news in business and tech from Ukraine directly in your inbox, subscribe here. With Ukraine desperately seeking cash to
"As threats to peace and security become increasingly complex, Canada and our government stand ready to step up," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
The following is the July 9, 2024 edition of our Ukraine Business Roundup weekly newsletter. This version is condensed as the author was out of the office. To get the biggest news in business and tech from Ukraine directly in your inbox, subscribe here. There’s an unpleasant fact about
"This is good for Europe and good for America, especially since much of this extra money is spent here in the United States," Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on June 17.
The following is the June 12, 2024 edition of our Ukraine Business Roundup weekly newsletter. To get the biggest news in business and tech from Ukraine directly in your inbox, subscribe here. Ukraine’s annual recovery conference happened this week in Berlin, but instead of talks of grand plans to
Ireland is not a member of NATO, and has one of the lowest rates of defense spending across the EU, at around .2% of its GDP.
"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is training his people for war and positioning them against the West. We must, therefore, become capable of defense as quickly as possible," Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a member of the co-ruling Free Democratic Party (FDP), said in a comment for the Funke media group published on June 1.
President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to address delegates at the event on June 1, according to the news agency's undisclosed sources.
The defense ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia met in the Lithuanian town of Palanga on May 22 and agreed on their key goals ahead of the upcoming NATO summit, including an allied commitment to invest at least 2.5% of GDP in defense.
It will take as long as two years for Sweden to reach the desired capacity to provide Ukraine with more ammunition and strengthen the Swedish Armed Forces, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said in an interview with Bloomberg published on May 21.
The next Ramstein-format summit of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) will occur on May 20.
Drones operated by Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) hit production facilities of the state-owned Russian weapons manufacturing company "Basalt" in the city of Tula overnight on May 16, a military intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent.
VOVCHANSK, KHARKIV OBLAST – The glide bombs arrive in groups of three. Their flight can be heard from far away, but only in the last second before impact is it clear where it will hit. The explosions, orders of magnitude more powerful than regular artillery shells, shake the ground where the
"By defending Israel, the free world demonstrated that unity (among allies) is not only possible but 100% effective," Zelensky said after a meeting with top military and security officials . "The allies' decisive actions prevented the success of terrorism and loss of infrastructure and forced the aggressor to cool down."
While Spain has increased its military spending since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it stood at 1.26% of its GDP as of the end of 2023, far below the 2% benchmark for NATO members.
In early March, Zelensky announced that Ukraine was building 2,000 kilometers of fortifications. According to the governor, the construction in Kyiv Oblast includes an extensive system of trenches, dugouts, anti-tank ditches, and other non-explosive barriers.
The European Commission allocated 500 million euros (around $544 million) to increase the EU's ammunition production capacity to 2 million shells per year by the end of 2025, the commission's press service announced on March 15.
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