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☆ Lauri Markkanen: NBA star undertaking military service in Finland
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Utah Jazz All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen is undertaking military service in Finland following the conclusion of his NBA season. He added that he doesn’t know exactly how long he will spend on military service over the coming months, explaining that he has the option to complete it across two summers. “I definitely don’t want it to affect the basketball part, so we’ll figure out how to do a combination,” said Markkanen. Markkanen starts his military service at the Finnish Defence Forces Sports School in Helsinki. CNN has contacted the Jazz and Markkanen’s representative for further comment on his military service.

☆ With Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, NATO Readies for Combat on Its Borders
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Steven Erlanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the costliest conflict in Europe since World War II, has propelled the North Atlantic Treaty Organization into a full-throttled effort to make itself again into the capable, war-fighting alliance it had been during the Cold War. The shift is transformative for an alliance characterized for decades by hibernation and self-doubt. After the recent embrace of long-neutral Finland by the alliance, it also amounts to another significant unintended consequence for Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, of his war. NATO is rapidly moving from what the military calls deterrence by retaliation to deterrence by denial. They note that in the first days of the Ukrainian invasion, Russian troops took land larger than some Baltic nations.

☆ Russian Drones Hit Odessa as Ukraine Makes Fresh Diplomatic Push
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Ian Lovett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Kyiv, Ukraine—Russian drones struck the southern port city of Odessa overnight, while Finland was poised to officially join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Tuesday. Russian forces launched 17 Iranian-made Shahed drones from the east coast of the Sea of Azov into Ukrainian territory, according to Ukraine’s air force. Fourteen of the drones were shot down, Ukrainian officials said, but several state-owned enterprises in Odessa were hit.

☆ Ukraine’s NATO Future Sparks Debate as Finland Joins Alliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Daniel Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is expected to welcome Finland to the alliance. BRUSSELS—North Atlantic Treaty Organization foreign ministers meeting here Tuesday are looking beyond the battlefield in Ukraine to the country’s future relations with the alliance. The issue is taking priority because when President Biden and NATO’s other national leaders gather for their annual meeting in July, they will face intense pressure from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for progress on Kyiv’s membership bid.

☆ Finland Joins NATO in Historic Move Prompted by Russia, as Sweden Waits
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Sune Engel Rasmussen | Daniel Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS—Finland officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Tuesday, a historic security policy shift prompted by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine that more than doubles the alliance’s border with Russia and rearranges the security landscape in Northern Europe. The Nordic nation became the 31st member of the alliance nearly a year after it applied for membership, alongside Sweden, a process delayed by NATO members Turkey and Hungary, which have hesitated to ratify Stockholm’s bid.

☆ Finland Joins NATO in Historic Move, Sparking Russian Outcry
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Sune Engel Rasmussen | Daniel Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS—Finland officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Tuesday, a historic security-policy shift that was prompted by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and which has spurred a furious response from the Kremlin. With officials preparing to hoist Finland’s blue-and-white flag at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told a military conference in Moscow that the West was escalating its confrontation with Russia. He reminded participants that Belarus would soon have the ability to strike enemy targets with tactical nuclear weapons after Mr. Putin said last week that Moscow planned to base the Iskander-M missile system there.

☆ Putin’s Shakespearean Demons
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Robert D. Kaplan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The more important element is Shakespearean. Ukraine is a perfect example. Ukraine is engulfed by Russia on the north and east, its history and language entwined with its neighbor’s. But the greater part of the story concerns the personality of Vladimir Putin. The geopolitical argument that Mr. Putin invaded Ukraine because the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was expanding completely disregards the Russian leader’s Shakespearean demons.

☆ Sanna Marin Faces Tight Election as Finland Prepares to Join NATO
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Sune Engel Rasmussen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Finns are voting in an election Sunday that could determine whether Prime Minister Sanna Marin will lead the country as it enters NATO in a few days’ time, after a campaign dominated by the economic and security aftershocks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Though the outcome won’t affect Finland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which marks a new course for the country after decades of nonalignment, polls indicate a tight race that could unseat Ms. Marin, who has gained international fame for her feminist politics. Given that no party is large enough to command a majority without governing partners, Finland may be headed into lengthy negotiations to form a ruling coalition.

☆ Turkey’s Parliament Ratifies Finland’s NATO Membership Bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Jared Malsin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ISTANBUL—The Turkish parliament on Thursday ratified Finland’s entrance into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, removing the last obstacle to a historic expansion of the alliance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland’s inclusion would add more than 800 miles to NATO’s border with Russia and bring to the alliance one of Europe’s best-defended and best-armed countries. Finland ended its decades-old policy of managing its contentious relationship with Russia in reaction to the assault on Ukraine, which heightened the perceived risk of Russian threats to broader European security.

☆ One of Russia's longtime allies said it will arrest Putin if he goes there, leaving him a pariah in a region where he was once dominant
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Armenia, a longtime Russia ally, has been increasingly distancing itself from Vladimir Putin. Its ruling party said that if Putin visited Armenia, he would get arrested, Moscow Times reported. The party was referring to an international arrest warrant for Putin issued earlier this month. Armenia is among a growing group of countries that have said they would enforce an international warrant issued by the International Criminal Court earlier this month. Pashinyan has previously accused Russian peacekeepers of failing to take a more active role around the disputed separatist region of Nagorno-Karabak.

☆ America Shrugs, and the World Makes Plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Walter Russell Mead | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

War in Europe, tensions rising in the Indo-Pacific, Russia and China deepening ties with Iran: The international political situation continues to darken. In Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s commitment to Ukraine remains steadfast as Kyiv looks toward a spring offensive. American allies continue to rally in Asia. India and Australia committed to negotiating a comprehensive economic agreement even as Sydney, Washington and London agreed on the next steps in the Aukus defense partnership. As Mr. Akita sees it, America’s unquestioned supremacy after the Cold War established a global economic and security system that worked very well for key American allies like Germany and Japan.

☆ Russia fails at UN to get Nord Stream blast inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 (Reuters) - Russia failed on Monday to get the U.N. Security Council to ask for an independent inquiry into explosions in September on the Nord Stream gas pipelines connecting Russia and Germany that spewed gas into the Baltic Sea. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, the United States or Britain to pass. They said in a joint letter to the Security Council that the damage was caused by "powerful explosions due to sabotage." The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have also called the incident "an act of sabotage." Russia has complained that it has not been kept informed about the ongoing national investigations.

☆ Putin: Russia, China not creating military alliance -agencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, March 26 (Reuters) - Russia and China are not creating a military alliance and are hiding nothing in terms of their military cooperation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with state television broadcast on Sunday, news agencies reported. Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping professed friendship and pledged closer ties at a summit in Moscow early this week, as Russia struggles to make gains in what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine. "We are not creating any military alliance with China," Interfax quoted Putin as saying. Putin also said Western powers were trying to form more global alliances, accusing the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of starting to build a new "axis", bearing some resemblance to Germany, Italy and Japan's World War Two alliance. Reporting by Alexander Marrow Editing by Louise Heavens and Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Photos from Putin's big meeting with China's Xi show no absurdly long tables but feature unexpectedly giant flags
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

On Tuesday, he was photographed with China's President Xi next to weirdly tall flags. But for Chinese President Xi Jinping, Moscow broke out long red carpets and massive flags. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with China's President Xi Jinping at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21, 2023. Photo by PAVEL BYRKIN/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty ImagesRussian President Vladimir Putin meets with China's President Xi Jinping at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with leaders of the countries of the CTSO Monday at a new long table, but this one is round.

☆ Turkey’s President Approves Finland’s NATO Membership Bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Jared Malsin | Sune Engel Rasmussen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö, right, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Ankara on Friday. ANKARA, Turkey—Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that his country would allow Finland to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, paving the way for an important enlargement of the alliance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Erdogan announced his decision standing alongside Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö in Turkey’s capital Ankara, following nearly a year of diplomatic wrangling after the Turkish leader threatened to block both Finland and Sweden from entering the alliance over concerns about their ties to Kurdish militant groups.

☆ Thousands in Belgrade protest against Western-backed Serbia-Kosovo deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Ivana Sekularac | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Protesters shout slogans and hold signs during a demonstration against a Western-backed deal on normalizing ties between Kosovo and Serbia in Belgrade March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Djordje KojadinovicBELGRADE, March 17 (Reuters) - Several thousand people gathered in Belgrade to protest against a Western-backed deal to normalise ties between Kosovo and Serbia, which they view as recognition of Kosovo independence. Bilateral ties need to be mended for Serbia and Kosovo to achieve their strategic goal of joining the EU. Protesters held Serbian flags and banners reading "Kosovo is not for sale," "Serbia, not European Union," and "No to capitulation." "This is just the start of the protest," said Milos Jovanovic, leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia, which was one of the protest organisers.

☆ Why Won’t the West Let Ukraine Win Against Russia?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( John Bolton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

New intelligence suggesting that a “pro-Ukraine group” sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines in September triggered surprising political blowback in Europe. But even if Ukraine masterminded the raid, why would successfully disrupting Nord Stream imperil foreign assistance? Such a potentially harmful reaction exposes a larger problem, which has repeatedly manifested itself since Russia’s unprovoked aggression. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been spooked by Moscow’s threats to “escalate” the conflict if Ukraine isn’t kept on a tight leash. Although President Biden failed, indeed barely tried, to deter Russia’s war, Vladimir Putin has masterfully deterred NATO from responding robustly enough to end the conflict promptly and victoriously.

☆ Canada's top general concerned military lacks capacity to lead Haiti mission
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

OTTAWA, March 9 (Reuters) - Canada's top general said he was concerned that his country's armed forces, already stretched thin by support for Ukraine and NATO, do not have the capacity to lead a possible security mission to Haiti. Canada over the past year has spent more than C$1 billion ($724 million) in military assistance to Ukraine. The armed forces are struggling with recruiting and donations to Ukraine have cut into some military stocks, Eyre said. Canada's military is "actively planning" expanding to brigade strength in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's defense mission in Latvia, called Operation Reassurance, which it leads, Eyre said. Canada Defence Minister Anita Anand on Thursday announced plans to purchase portable anti-tank missile systems, counter uncrewed aircraft systems, and air defence systems for the Latvian mission.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko , Moscow’s closest ally, sought to cement the partnership between their two nations as Minsk seeks more help for its sanctions-hit economy while endorsing Beijing’s efforts to cast itself as a peacemaker in the Ukraine war. Both Belarus and China have called for an end to the fighting in Ukraine, but neither has pressed Russia to withdraw. A Chinese position paper on Ukraine last week urged peace talks, but criticized the use of unilateral sanctions and reliance on military blocs, an apparent reference to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s support for Kyiv.

☆ Switzerland Becomes Stumbling Block for Western Military Aid to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Bojan Pancevski | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The West’s efforts to keep Ukraine supplied with enough ammunition to push back Russian forces has hit a major roadblock: Switzerland’s centuries-old tradition of neutrality. The wealthy Alpine nation is home to a mature weapons industry, but is steeped in the principle that it keeps out of foreign wars. Switzerland’s adherence to a ban on the export and re-export of weapons and ammunition to conflict zones is blocking North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries in Europe from giving Ukraine their stocks of Swiss-made ammunition and arms, none of which are easily substituted.

☆ Eight Ways the Russia-Ukraine War Changed the World
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Wsj Staff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a year ago today, set off a cascade of global repercussions for energy, economics, geopolitics and the role of American leadership. The war also united the West, recast global energy trade and exposed the limits of U.S. military manufacturing. Most member nations had ignored their commitments to boost spending and rebuild militaries, even after Russia’s seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. NATO members have pledged, and begun following through, with billions of dollars worth of military spending. Western Europe’s two biggest nonaligned countries, Finland and Sweden, have applied for membership, uniting most of Europe’s wealthiest countries in opposition to Moscow.

☆ NATO’s Biggest European Members Float Defense Pact With Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Bojan Pancevski | Laurence Norman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN—Germany, France and Britain see stronger ties between NATO and Ukraine as a way to encourage Kyiv to start peace talks with Russia even if Moscow continues to occupy Ukrainian territory, officials from the three governments said. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week laid out a blueprint for an agreement to give Ukraine much broader access to advanced military equipment, weapons and ammunition to defend itself once the war ends. He said the plan should be on the agenda for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s annual meeting in July.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Munich Security Conference. The Biden administration is considering releasing intelligence it believes shows that China is weighing whether to supply weapons to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, U.S. officials said. The discussions on public disclosure come ahead of Friday’s United Nations Security Council meeting marking one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. It follows a number of closed-door appeals to China—coordinated among North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies—that culminated in a formal warning delivered over the weekend in Munich to Wang Yi , China’s senior foreign-policy official, by a number of western officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly .

☆ Russia wants UN Security Council to ask for NordStream blast inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Russia wants the United Nations Security Council to ask for an independent inquiry into September attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, connecting Russia and Germany, that spewed gas into the Baltic Sea. Russia gave the 15-member council a draft resolution on Friday, seen by Reuters, which would ask U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to establish an international investigation into the "sabotage" and identify who was to blame. A council resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, Britain, France, China or Russia to pass. This means a vote could coincide with meetings of the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council to mark the first anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have called the incident "an act of sabotage."

☆ NATO Pledges Earthquake Aid to Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Sune Engel Rasmussen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ADANA, Turkey—NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg pledged the alliance’s support in housing hundreds of thousands of people displaced by last week’s earthquakes, as the death toll from the disaster rose to more than 42,000 across Turkey and Syria. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, of which Turkey is a member, is airlifting tens of thousands of tents to Turkey in the coming days and weeks, Mr. Stoltenberg said in a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

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