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
Ukraine is preparing to begin the first cluster of accession talks with the EU in early 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky told Ukrainian lawmakers on Nov. 19.
"Strengthening Europe’s defense capabilities must go hand in hand with maintaining the United States’ commitment to enhancing our security," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said.
"In 2022, Russia thought its full-scale invasion would end in days. 1,000 days later, Ukraine bravely resists. On the battlefield. And against criminal attacks on civilian targets," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
"I would like to understand the reasons why Hungary does not want to help Ukraine, which is fighting for freedom, and wants to assist the aggressor in this conflict," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters on Nov. 18.
Amid rising fears of U.S. aid being cut off under a second Donald Trump presidency, Ukrainians are left wondering whether Europe can rise to the challenge and fill the gap. Trump has promised to swiftly end Russia's war against Ukraine, speaking highly of Russian President Vladimir Putin and making
The implications of Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House on Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine are being minutely dissected. Will he deliver on his boast that he can end the war within 24 hours? How will he do that — if he can? At what cost to
"We have had reports from intelligence sources on the existence of a factory inside China producing drones which are shipped to Russia," a senior EU official told Politico on Nov. 15.
EU member nations hope to approve the package by the end of the year, in time to adopt the sanctions on Feb. 24, 2025 — the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Some EU officials are urging the U.S. to provide more weapons and artillery to Ukraine, as well as permissions to carry out long-range strikes on Russia, sources told Bloomberg.
Russian President Vladimir Putin clearly hopes to exploit any effort by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to enforce a de facto capitulation of Ukraine. How might this plan unfold, and what should EU countries do now? This is how an ideal scenario might look for Russia: Step 1: Trump wants
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
Editor’s note: This is issue 81 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly “Ukrainian Economy in Brief” newsletter, covering events from Nov. 4-10, 2024. The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial programs. The Kyiv Independent is republishing with permission. Benchmarks
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, on Nov. 7, looked confident. Budapest was hosting the European Political Community gathering, with Orban hugging it out with the continent's leaders whose standing at home leaves them little leeway to challenge the Russian-friendly prime minister. Orban's standing at home, practically unchallenged since 2010, has
Throughout 2024, the European Union has delivered 980,000 artillery shells to Ukraine out of the one million initially promised, the European Union's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, announced on Nov. 11.
"We have to strengthen anti-sanctions circumvention measures because Russia cannot produce (weaponry) without imported parts, chips and other components," the EU's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, said at a news conference in Kyiv. "We should use sanctions to isolate Russia's industrial capabilities from imports from other countries."
An ammunition shortage has long been a cause for concern in Ukraine but has escalated this year.
In a social media post on X, Borrell vowed that the EU's support has always been his "personal priority" and it should remain on top of the bloc's agenda.
"We still get a whole lot of LNG via Russia, from Russia," she said in a phone call with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. "And why not replace it with American LNG, which is cheaper, and brings down our energy prices?"
European officials met in Budapest on Nov. 7 to discuss whether the European Union would be willing to continue funding support for Ukraine if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump halts U.S. assistance, Bloomberg reported Nov. 8, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
Ahead of Election Day, there were signs of optimism for the United States' allies in Europe. Polls had indicated a tight race since support for Kamala Harris leveled off in August, but expectations to outperform the polls and blind faith in humanity kept the Harris campaign and its millions of
The fifth meeting of the European Political Community will focus on Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing escalation in the Middle East, among other things.
"We will discuss security challenges in Europe, as well as new opportunities for all partners," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Editor’s note: This is issue 80 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly “Ukrainian Economy in Brief” newsletter, covering events from Oct. 28- Nov. 3, 2024. The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial programs. The Kyiv Independent is republishing with
The European Union’s anti-fraud agency opened an investigation into the possible exporting of rebranded Russian oil via Turkey into the EU, Politico reported on Nov. 5, citing two undisclosed sources.
"Changes in geopolitical realities," such as "the obvious degradation of multilateral cooperation structures in Europe," led to the renaming, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told Russian pro-state news agency RBK.
"Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is an existential threat. The Republic of Korea is best positioned to understand it," Josep Borrell said on X after meeting South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun.
In a victory for pro-EU factions in Moldova and beyond, incumbent President Maia Sandu defeated her challenger, Alexandr Stoianoglo, in the country's Nov. 3 presidential runoff. Sandu won on Nov. 3 by a margin of about 55.4% to 44.6%, with 99.9% of votes counted. "We proved that
With nearly 99% of votes counted, pro-EU incumbent President Maia Sandu held a 9-point lead over Alexandr Stoianoglo, according to Moldova's election commission.
"We regularly discuss the topic with our partners, but the information about the upcoming conclusion of a gas supply contract with the participation of SPP is not true," Slovakian state-run gas importer SPP said.
In Georgia’s 2012 election, then-President Mikheil Saakashvili’s pro-Western party was defeated by Georgian Dream, a party led by the Russian-backed oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili. Though widely hailed at the time as a democratic triumph, astute observers warned against celebrating. One such observer was Georgia’s former economy minister, the
The European Commission singled out the recent legislative amendments to the election process, frequent compromises on vote secrecy, procedural inconsistencies, intimidation, and pressure on voters that negatively impacted public trust in the process.
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