Europe

Moscow says leaving the New START nuclear arms control treaty has given Russia new security options, blaming the United States for collapsing bilateral relations. In an interview with Russia 24 TV news channel, aired on Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stressed that through the suspension “we have gained …

The United States has formally announced $2.6 billion worth of military assistance for Ukraine, prompting Russia to warn that Washington only seeks to prolong the conflict. The aid features three air surveillance radars, anti-tank rockets, and fuel trucks, the US Department of Defense said on Tuesday, announcing the assistance package. …

Finland has officially joined the US-led NATO despite repeated warnings from Russia, which vows countermeasures and plans to bolster its military capacity in its western and northwestern regions, near the border with the Nordic country if the alliance deploys any additional troops or equipment to its new member. At the …

Russia says it will expand its military capacity in its western and northwestern regions, near the border with Finland, as the Nordic country joins NATO. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Russia’s state-owned news agency RIA on Monday the beefing up of the military capacity in those regions was in …

Finland is set to formally become a member of the NATO military alliance on Tuesday in a historic shift that will end the country’s years of “military non-alignment” and double the US-led alliance’s land border with Russia. The Nordic country’s blue and white flag will be raised outside NATO’s Brussels …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his doors are closed for US Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake following the diplomat’s meeting with Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the presidential candidate for the opposition alliance. “What is (US President Joe) Biden’s envoy doing? He goes and meets with Mr. Kemal. Shame on you, use …

Russia’s ambassador to Belarus says his country is bent on moving its tactical nuclear weapons close to the border with Belarus, placing them nearer than ever before to the threshold of US-led military alliance of NATO. Boris Gryzlov’s Sunday remarks came after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced in late March that …

Russia on Monday accused Ukraine of organising the murder of a prominent war blogger in a St Petersburg cafe and arrested a young Russian woman who was shown in a police video admitting planting the bomb that killed him and injured over 30 others. Ukraine, which did not take responsibility …

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Monday demanded the “immediate release” of US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia on suspicion of spying. “His arrest is of great concern. It is important to respect freedom of the press, the rights of journalists and the right to ask questions …

Sanna Marin’s party ended in third place despite gaining seats in parliament. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who gained international media prominence for taking office at a record-young age and spending some of her leisure time partying, has conceded defeat in Sunday’s general election. Marin’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) is …

Voters in Montenegro cast ballots Sunday in a runoff presidential election that is a contest between a long-serving pro-Western incumbent and a newcomer promising changes in the small NATO member nation located on Europe’s Balkan peninsula. Observers think President Milo Djukanovic, who is credited with leading Montenegro to independence from …

Climate activists in Italy turned a Baroque-style fountain at the foot of Rome’s Spanish Steps black on Saturday, in a protest they said evoked an “end of the world” scenario. Three activists from the anti-climate change organization Last Generation poured a vegetable-based carbon liquid into the landmark 17th-century fountain, known …

Von der Leyen’s speech was contradictory and misleading, said Beijing’s envoy to the EU European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s speech ahead of her visit to China was incoherent, contradictory, and misinterpreted Beijing’s policies and positions, the Chinese ambassador to the EU said on Friday. “I was a little …

Ukraine has ordered 100 Rosomak multi-purpose armored vehicles, which are made in Poland under a Finnish license, Poland’s prime minister said on Saturday. “I bring an order placed yesterday by (Ukrainian) Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal for 100 Rosomaks that will be fabricated here,” Mateusz Morawiecki said during a visit to …

Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko called today for a “truce” in Ukraine and talks “without preconditions” between Moscow and Kyiv. “We must stop now before an escalation begins. I’ll take the risk of suggesting an end of hostilities… a declaration of a truce,” Lukashenko said during a televised state of the …

Nearly all of France’s trade unions have agreed to meet with French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne next week, though the government has said it will not change its position on its contested pension reform. The changes have not been implemented, pending a decision by the Constitutional Council on 14 April. …

Beijing’s “friendship” with Moscow is a “risk” for the bloc, according to Ursula von Der Leyen. In a bid to be “bolder” on China, the EU plans to reassess and “de-risk” their ties, while considering Beijing’s position on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine a crucial part of their …

Turkey is the last country to ratify Finland’s membership application Turkey’s parliament has unanimously approved Finland’s bid to join NATO, clearing the last hurdle for the Nordic nation to officially become a fully-fledged member of the US-led military bloc. In a vote on Thursday, all 276 Turkish MPs present voted …

Russia’s Federal Security Services (FSB) has arrested an American journalist working for the Wall Street Journal on suspicion of espionage. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that the activities of Evan Gershkovich were “not related to journalism.” “What an employee of the American edition of The Wall …

Ukraine says Russian forces have achieved some success in the frontline city of Bakhmut, as months-long intense fighting drags on between the two sides over the mining city in the eastern industrial region of Donetsk. For the past several months, Bakhmut and its surrounding towns have been the focal point …