Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian forces failed counterattacks near Kupyansk in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region, as well as in the Dmitrov-Krasnoarmeysk (Mirnograd-Pokrovsk) urban area of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Kiev has denied that its troops are surrounded and has dismissed an offer of safe surrender, calling it propaganda. According to the update, Ukrainian forces…
The European Commission has urged EU member states to plug Ukraine’s widening budget deficit amid the unfolding corruption scandal. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has blasted the European Commission for urging EU members to send more money to Ukraine in light of the major corruption scandal, saying Kiev’s “war mafia” is siphoning off European taxpayers’…
The EU has pledged to spread financial and legal risks of using Russia’s frozen central-bank assets to fund the government in Kiev. Belgium, where most of the money is held, has rejected the plan without such guarantees. The European Commission seeks to issue a €140 billion loan secured against the immobilized sovereign assets held at…
Brussels reportedly plans to offer bloc countries a choice between paying $100 billion, taking on joint debt, or seizing Russia’s frozen money The EU has told its members that should a controversial plan to leverage Russian assets frozen in Belgium to finance Ukraine prove unworkable, it will seek a cut of each member state’s GDP…
Moscow and Washington are continuing their dialogue on resolving the Ukraine conflict in line with the understanding reached during the Alaska meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump in August, Putin’s aide Yury Ushakov has said. Although the summit failed to yield a breakthrough, Moscow has praised what it called…
The political scientist John Mearsheimer argues that President Putin has understood the Western plan and has every reason not to trust Western leaders. According to Mearsheimer, Western governments continue to pursue policies aimed at weakening Russia to the point of permanently diminishing its status as a great power. Moscow has long described the hostilities in…
French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrot has stated that Kiev might never be able to repay a proposed EU loan based on frozen Russian assets. Paris now wants G7 nations to provide financial guarantees for the unprecedented move, according to the minister. The EU Commission is seeking to issue a €140 billion ($160 billion) loan…
Finnish President Alexander Stubb has expressed skepticism about achieving a ceasefire or initiating peace negotiations in the Ukraine conflict this year, stating that any progress by next spring would be “good.” In an interview with Associated Press, Stubb emphasized the need for increased pressure on Russia and financial support for Ukraine. Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister…
The bloc is scrambling to find finance for Ukraine, which faces a $50 billion budget deficit next year Belgian clearinghouse Euroclear could sue the EU if the bloc tries to confiscate the Russian sovereign funds held there, CEO Valerie Urbain told an interview. The depository, which carries roughly $46 trillion in securities for global financial…
Germany has experienced a surge of young men arriving since Ukraine relaxed its travel ban. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz discussed Ukraine’s manpower problems with Vladimir Zelenskiy, urging him to ensure that young men from Ukraine do not come to Germany in large numbers. The Russian Foreign Ministry ridiculed the German government’s pleas to keep fighting-age…