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☆ NATO’s Pledges to Ukraine Fall Short for a Counteroffensive This Year
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Lara Jakes | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Despite billions of dollars in additional weapons and security assistance that NATO announced this week, allied officials said Ukraine would not be ready to launch a dramatic counteroffensive or retake large swaths of territory from Russia until next year. Donations of missiles, combat vehicles, ammunition and air defenses from the United States and European countries will take weeks, if not months, to reach the front lines. Some of the newly committed weapons have not yet been bought or built. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said long-anticipated F-16s fighter jets would be delivered to Ukraine this summer. “This is a huge disappointment for me personally, because Ukrainians are expecting that those goods will come, this military equipment will reach Ukraine, but it’s not happening.”

Persons: Antony J, Blinken, “, Gitanas Nauseda, ” Organizations: NATO Locations: Ukraine, Russia, United States, Washington, Lithuania

The NATO official said they had observed “an unprecedented escalation and spread of Russia’s hybrid warfare” over the past six months, which included “physical sabotage” on the supply line of NATO weapons intended for Ukraine. “It is everything from point of production and origin, to storage, to those who are making decisions, to the actual delivery,” the senior NATO official said. Recent high-profile arrests have revealed the ad-hoc, clumsy nature of how the Kremlin’s intelligence operations have evolved since the start of the war in Ukraine. Russia is big enough to have resources to fight a war against Ukraine and also maintain its security operations against European countries… against us. There are people who take part in the war against Ukraine, and then they are rotated to some other region or area.

Persons: Blunt, ”, Donald Tusk, Dariusz Borowicz, Agencja Wyborcza.pl, Maxim, Andrzej, Jaroslaw, “, Don’t, ” Andrzej, I’d, Wagner, Volodymyr Zelensky, Sean Gallup, Paris Charles de, Vladimir Putin’s, Harrys Organizations: CNN, NATO, Polish, Reuters, Ukraine, Getty, London’s Metropolitan Police Service, Kremlin, EU, Estonian Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Europe, “, Reuters Russia, Washington , DC, Moscow, Poland, Russian, Lublin, Medyka, Ukrainian, Biala Podlaska, Warsaw, Polish, surveilling Rzeszow Jasionka, Kyiv, Berlin, Germany, Russian Ukrainian, Paris Charles, Paris Charles de Gaulle, East London, Estonia, Russia’s

☆ At the NATO Summit, Attention Is on Biden
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

NATO leaders gathered in Washington today for a summit organized to celebrate the alliance’s 75th anniversary and emphasize the members’ long-term commitment. Western leaders believe that their efforts in Ukraine are working. President Biden, who is perhaps NATO’s most vocal advocate in Washington, has faced intense scrutiny about his age, acuity and ability to campaign after his disastrous debate performance last month. Biden encouraged voters to watch him closely and judge his ability to lead on the world stage for themselves. On Thursday, at the end of the summit, the president is scheduled to hold a news conference — his first full, solo face-off with reporters in the U.S. since November 2022.

Persons: Biden Organizations: NATO Locations: Washington, Russia, Ukraine, U.S

☆ Opinion: At NATO summit, Ukraine deserves the truth from Biden
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Opinion Daniel R. Depetris | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —A year ago, NATO heads of state gathered in Vilnius, Lithuania, for their annual summit. He called NATO’s unwillingness to establish a concrete timeframe for Ukraine’s membership “unprecedented and absurd,” causing consternation in the Biden administration and nearly derailing the summit. Several key NATO members, however, haven’t been especially eager to come to the defense of Ukraine. Why would Putin consider a ceasefire or diplomatic settlement with Kyiv if he knew that NATO membership for Ukraine was just around the corner? Biden should tell Zelensky point-blank that NATO membership is a fool’s errand — and while he’s at it, he ought to apologize to all Ukrainians, for waiting so long to state the obvious.

Persons: Daniel R, CNN —, Vladimir Putin, DePetris, Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden, —, Jens Stoltenberg, haven’t, George W, Bush, Barack Obama, Zelensky, Russia Michael McFaul, Putin, it’s Organizations: Defense, Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, Politico, Street, Guardian, CNN, NATO, Ukraine Locations: The, Vilnius, Lithuania, Bucharest, Ukraine, Washington, Kyiv, United States, Europe, North America, Poland, Georgia, Soviet, France, Germany, Crimea, ”, Russia, Moscow

Diplomats and officials who spoke with CNN said Rutte is seen as a staunch trans-Atlanticist and a consensus builder. “He is really a seasoned political official, and this is essential to keep the cohesion of the alliance,” a European official said. “It was just a very polite, slightly humorous way of dealing Trump, and Trump appreciated it,” Hoekstra recalled to CNN. “We are not there yet, but it is better than when Trump left,” the official told CNN. Biden likes Rutte personally, they get along well, and the US president sees them as sharing the same values, the official told CNN.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Mark Rutte, Jens Stoltenberg, Rutte, ”, “ Trump, Pete Hoekstra, ” Hoekstra, ‘ Touche, ’ ”, “, ” Rutte, Stoltenberg, Joe Biden, Biden, “ Rutte, Putin Organizations: CNN, NATO, Dutch, Diplomats, Trump, Kyiv – Locations: Washington, NATO, Russia, Netherlands, European, Europe, Ukraine, China, US, ”

Mark Rutte rode off into the sunset on his bicycle last week, making a carefully choreographed exit from Dutch politics, which he has dominated as prime minister for nearly 14 years. Mr. Rutte, known as a flexible pragmatist, will bring his experience at conciliation to the 32-nation military alliance when he takes over as secretary general from Jens Stoltenberg on Oct. 1. Beyond that challenge, NATO faces a Russian government forging stronger ties with China and Iran, even as Beijing tries to dominate Asia and Tehran expands its nuclear program. Leading member states like France and Germany are dealing with the empowerment of far-right parties with clear sympathies for Moscow. And there are new demands to spend more money on the military.

Persons: Mark Rutte, Rutte, Jens Stoltenberg Organizations: NATO, Soviet Union, Ukraine, Russia’s Locations: Europe, Washington, China, Iran, Beijing, Asia, Tehran, France, Germany, Moscow, Hungary, Turkey

☆ Before Biden can save Ukraine, he must use the NATO summit to save himself
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —The NATO summit was long planned to celebrate the alliance’s 75th anniversary, to lock in longterm military support for Ukraine and even to future-proof the West against a possible second term for Donald Trump. But his achievements, including Sweden and Finland’s entry into the group, will be eclipsed at the summit by his battle to save his political future. She added: “At this critical time for our country, President Biden must seriously consider the best way to preserve his incredible legacy and secure it for the future.”Biden will also have an important audience overseas. “Is it going to be President Biden? On the eve of the summit, Biden’s campaign distributed a memo lauding his leadership in keeping Kyiv standing more than two years after the Russian invasion.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, George H.W, Biden, Sen, Patty Murray, ” Biden, Trump, Vladimir Putin, Kurt Volker, ” Volker, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Volker, ”, Joe Biden, John Kirby, “, They’ve, Adam Smith, “ We’ve, CNN’s Jake Tapper, Joe ”, Putin, “ Donald Trump, Republican nominee’s, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Justin Trudeau, Giorgia Meloni, Trudeau, Keir Starmer, CNN’s Alex Marquardt Organizations: CNN, NATO, Trump, Biden, United, Kyiv, Democratic, Senate, House Armed Services Committee, MSNBC, ABC News, Nordic, Republican, NATO Alliance, Canadian, Liberal Party, British Locations: Ukraine, Washington, George H.W . Bush, Sweden, Atlanta, Moscow, United States, Europe, Asia, European, Kyiv, Russian, Soviet Union, NATO, Toronto

CNN —Ukraine’s path to joining NATO was described as “irreversible” in a draft text of the alliance’s joint communique, three sources familiar told CNN Monday. While many Europeans have emphasized the need for strong language around Ukraine’s eventual future in the alliance, US and German officials had proposed describing a “bridge” to NATO membership for Ukraine. Ruslan Stefanchuk, the chair of Ukraine’s parliament, said at an event Monday that it’s not just about language, but it’s about actually bringing Ukraine closer to NATO. “There is rightly considerable focus on what Allies will say about Ukraine’s membership path in the summit declaration. “I’ll let the Ukrainians speak for themselves, but I think they understand the value of what NATO will be doing for that,” they said.

Persons: Ruslan Stefanchuk, it’s, ” Michael Carpenter, “, “ I’ll, ” Organizations: CNN, NATO, White House, Ukraine, Russia, Ukraine ”, National Security Council Locations: Ukraine, Washington, Kyiv, Moscow, European, Europe, Wiesbaden

☆ Belarus and China conduct joint military exercises right next to NATO and EU’s border
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-08 | by ( Isaac Yee | Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —China and Belarus announced they were holding joint military training exercises just miles from the border of Poland – a NATO and European Union member. Belarus’ Ministry of Defense said troops from China’s People’s Liberation Army arrived in Belarus over the weekend. The exercises are taking place near the Belarus city of Brest on the Belarus-Poland border which is around 130 miles from the Polish capital of Warsaw and some 40 miles from Minsk’s border with Ukraine. Moscow partly used Belarus as a launching pad for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 after amassing troops on the Ukrainian border during what it said were joint military exercises. The Chinese troops arrived in Belarus just days after that country joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Thursday.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: CNN, NATO, European Union, Belarus ’ Ministry of Defense, China’s People’s Liberation Army, EU, Washington , D.C, China’s Ministry of Defense, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO Locations: China, Belarus, Poland, China’s, weaponizing, Washington ,, Brest, Warsaw, Minsk’s, Ukraine, Moscow, Ukrainian, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Beijing, Central Asia, United States

☆ Opinion | NATO Has to Change. Here’s How.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-07 | by ( Farah Stockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, NATO’s first supreme allied commander Europe, felt strongly that his mission was to get Europeans “back on their military feet” — not for American troops to become the permanent bodyguard for Brussels and Berlin. Of the $206 billion in military and nonmilitary aid allocated to Ukraine by countries around the world, $79 billion has come from the United States, according to the Ukraine Support Tracker database. Since about 1960, the United States’ share of allied G.D.P. has averaged roughly 36 percent, while its share of allied military spending has been more than 61 percent, according to a Cato Institute report. The supreme allied commander Europe has never been a European.

Persons: Ike, Dwight Eisenhower, NATO’s, —, ”, “ Organizations: NATO, Cato Institute Locations: Europe, Brussels, Berlin, United States, Washington, Germany, Italy, Britain, Ukraine

The concern is compounded because many believe Trump poses a threat to the future of NATO. Questions about Biden and his political future inject further uncertainty into a summit where key allies are also dealing with major political changes. However, as one former senior US diplomat said, there will “certainly be a spotlight” on Biden at the NATO summit. Adding to the pressure is the increased significance of this year’s NATO summit. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has sought to focus attention on the content of the summit and away from Biden’s debate performance.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Trump, ”, Biden, — Keir Starmer —, Emmanuel Macron’s, —, he’s, Antony Blinken, spry, “, Lloyd Austin, Karine Jean, Pierre Organizations: CNN, NATO, Labour Party, Biden, Brookings Institute, North Atlantic Council, White Locations: Washington ,, Russia, United, US, Austin, European, Italy, Ukraine, United States, NATO

☆ Opinion | Don’t Doubt NATO. It Saved My People.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Albin Kurti | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many European partners worry that after the U.S. presidential election in November, the American commitment to the alliance will wane. Who among my people could forget the sight of NATO soldiers being cheered as they arrived? Over the past 25 years, as NATO helped liberate Kosovo and maintained the peace, we in return built democracy to foster this peace from within. We declared our independence in 2008, an idea that will resonate with Americans who have just celebrated their Independence Day. There was little doubt to us, given the fresh memories of genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia, that the situation in Kosovo would have deteriorated rapidly without NATO.

Persons: Slobodan Milosevic Organizations: NATO, U.S, Kosovar Locations: United States, Washington, Europe, Kosovo, Serbian, Kosova, Rwanda, Bosnia

☆ A NATO sub hunter captured these shots of a Russian submarine in waters newly surrounded by the alliance
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Ella Sherman | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

These images of a Russian submarine were taken last week by 🇵🇹 P3 Maritime Patrol Aircraft while under #NATO in the #BalticSea. While it's unclear what Russian sub was documented in these photos, Russia recently conducted a submarine exercise in the Baltic Sea. The Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, part of the Russian naval detachment visiting Cuba, arrives at Havana's harbor. Russian submarines are active far beyond the Baltic Sea and remain an important element of the Russian navy. For instance, the submarine Kazan was spotted in Cuba recently during a Russian navy flotilla visit and prior to exercises in the Caribbean.

Persons: —, Lockheed Martin Organizations: Service, NATO, Business, NATO Maritime Command, Orion, Lockheed, 🇵🇹 P Locations: Russian, Baltic, Portuguese

☆ NATO Will Offer Ukraine a ‘Bridge’ to Membership, Hoping That’s Enough
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Steven Erlanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

NATO will offer Ukraine a new headquarters to manage its military assistance at its upcoming 75th anniversary summit in Washington, officials said, an assurance of the alliance’s long-term commitment to the country’s security that has been heralded as a “bridge” to Kyiv’s eventual membership. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine — along with some Central European nations — had fervently hoped his country would be offered membership negotiations by NATO at the summit, which runs from July 9 to 11. Instead, the alliance will announce that it has agreed to set up a mission in Germany to coordinate aid of all kinds to Ukraine over the longer term, American and NATO officials said. The move is intended to send a strong signal of allied commitment, both to Kyiv and to Moscow, which hopes the West will grow tired of supporting the war. Because the mission will be under NATO’s auspices, it is designed to function even if Donald J. Trump, a sharp critic of the alliance and of aid to Ukraine, wins the U.S. presidency in November.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, —, Donald J, Trump Organizations: NATO, Central, Kyiv Locations: Ukraine, Washington, Germany, Moscow

☆ Mark Rutte, next NATO secretary general, after Romania drops long-held objection
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Mark Rutte, the outgoing prime minister of the Netherlands, is now set to become the next NATO secretary general. Rutte will inherit a NATO that is racing to bolster its own security while also supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. Over time its position has evolved from not sending any tanks to allowing Ukraine to strike inside Russian territory with NATO weapons. Rutte must also oversee NATO’s radical upgrade in defense and security capabilities. NATO allies are aware that Trump has historically criticized NATO allies for not spending enough money on their own security and relying on America.

Persons: Mark Rutte, Klaus Iohannis, Iohannis, Jens Stoltenberg, Rutte, Donald Trump, Trump, Vladimir Putin Organizations: CNN, NATO, Kyiv Locations: Netherlands, Romania, Romanian, Moscow, Ukraine, Sochi, Crimea, United States, America, Sweden, Finland

☆ Analysis: What Putin got from his North Korea visit
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Clare Sebastian | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Vladmir Putin’s first visit to North Korea in nearly a quarter of a century has been intensely scrutinized around the world. If this is a collective defense pact, does Russia’s nuclear deterrent now extend to North Korea’s and vice versa? “But definitely I would say this clause is very alarming.”Russia's President Vladimir Putin was given a rapturous welcome in Pyongyang. “The West admits terrible concern around Putin’s visit to North Korea” read the headline in Moskovsky Komsomolets, a national daily newspaper Tuesday. Russia also needs weapons to keep up its strategy of exhausting and destroying Ukraine into surrender.

Persons: Vladmir, Putin, Kim Il, ”, “, ” Putin, Korea’s, Kim, Jo Bee, yun, Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Smirnov, North Korea ”, Vladimir Solovyov, Kim Jong Organizations: CNN, International Criminal Court, Kremlin, Korea Institute for Defense, UN, Kim Jong UN Locations: North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Pyongyang, China, United States, North, Moscow, Komsomolets

The eventual language issued by the alliance about Ukraine during July’s summit in Washington is critical. Vague commitment in 2008It was back in 2008 at a NATO summit in Budapest that Ukraine was first offered a vague commitment of an invitation to join in the future. “Of course we’d be for ‘irreversible,’” a third Eastern European official said. Generally, throughout the conflict, British officials, the closest US allies in NATO, have consistently hoped the White House would take a more aggressive stance. “When the text is on the table and the countries start to negotiate we can see the full picture,” the Eastern European official said.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, we’ll, Antony Blinken, Biden, Stoltenberg, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, “, ” Stoltenberg, ”, doesn’t, It’s “, Vladimir Putin, ” Putin, Putin, Jennifer Hansler Organizations: CNN, NATO, Central, “, US, Biden, European, ”, US State Department, NATO Alliance, Eastern, Eastern European Locations: United States, United Kingdom, Washington, Russia’s, Ukraine, July’s, Russia, Prague, Hungary, Central European, Kyiv, Lithuanian, Vilnius, Budapest, Russian, ”, Kharkiv, London

☆ Biden heralds close US-France ties as he’s treated to a state visit
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-08 | by ( Betsy Klein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Paris CNN —President Joe Biden heralded the close ties between the United States and France on Saturday, calling his current visit “the most remarkable trip” that he’s made to the country as French President Emmanuel Macron hosted his US counterpart for an official state visit in Paris. “When we stand as one, our countries are stronger and literally, the world is safer,” Biden said during a state dinner later Saturday. Macron is returning the favor to Biden, who hosted the French president for a state visit at the White House in December 2022, the administration’s first. France, Biden said, “was our first friend. “One of the things the president respects and admires about President Macron is he’s as honest and forthright as President Joe Biden is.

Persons: Joe Biden, he’s, Emmanuel Macron, ” Biden, Macron, Brigitte Macron, Biden, Jill Biden, Banner ”, “, Grace, ”, Macrons, Evan Vucci, Donald Trump, ’ ” Biden, –, Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir, Putin, Ukraine – it’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yahya Sinwar, John Kirby, Kirby, ” Kirby, CNN’s Kayla Tausche, Xiaofei Xu Organizations: Paris CNN, Macron, Champs, AP, French, White House, US, Independence, Ukraine –, Western, Ministry, Israeli, Saturday, Australia, “, National Security Locations: United States, France, Paris, “, Élysée, Ukraine, Israel, Triomphe, We’re, America, New York City, Europe, Gaza, ”, Washington

☆ Biden aims to deepen transatlantic ties with trip to France for D-Day, state visit amid Ukraine crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Kayla Tausche | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Paris CNN —US President Joe Biden touched down in Paris on Wednesday for a trip marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day and engaging in a state visit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. Biden “really believes we’re at an inflection point in history,” John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, said. The visit to France aims to bring Biden closer to one of his key allies on the world stage. Biden quietly gave Ukraine permission to use those weapons; Macron was less subtle in his support for the measure. By contrast, European Union member states together have sent Ukraine $53 billion in direct financial assistance and $35 billion in military aid.

Persons: Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Biden, Biden “, ” John Kirby, “ It’s, ” Kirby, ”, Andrew Bates, “, Republican –, Macron, ” Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky, Jake Sullivan, ” Marcon, Zelensky, ” CNN’s Jessie Gretener, Mariya Knight, Joseph Ataman Organizations: Paris CNN, French, National Security Council, Army Rangers, Biden, Wall, Air Force, Congressional, Republicans, Republican, White House, United, Union, Bank, European Union Locations: Paris, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, China, Normandy, Nazi Germany, Pointe, Omaha and Utah, France, Washington, Italy, Los Angeles, Moscow, Kharkiv, Meseberg, Brandenburg, Germany, United States

In a warehouse off Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway in an industrial area outside Dallas, the future of American military ammunition production is coming online. Here, in the Pentagon’s first new major arms plant built since Russia invaded Ukraine, Turkish workers in orange hard hats are busy unpacking wood crates stenciled with the name Repkon, a defense company based in Istanbul, and assembling computer-controlled robots and lathes. The factory will soon turn out about 30,000 steel shells every month for the 155-millimeter howitzers that have become crucial to Kyiv’s war effort. Ukraine fired between 4,000 and 7,000 such shells daily for several months in 2023, according to NATO’s secretary-general, before infighting among House Republicans held up further funding for Pentagon arms shipments. Large shipments of American artillery ammunition resumed in April after Congress passed an aid package that included $61 billion to Ukraine.

Organizations: Republicans, Pentagon Locations: Dallas, Russia, Ukraine, Istanbul

☆ Calls Mount to Let Ukraine Strike Russia With Western Weapons
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Calls are mounting among Western nations to allow attacks on Russian territory using weapons that they have sent the Ukrainian military, a measure that Ukraine says will enable it to better prevent Russian attacks. On Monday, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, made up of lawmakers from countries belonging to the military alliance, adopted a declaration urging NATO members to lift a ban on firing Western weapons into Russia. The calls to allow Ukraine to expand its use of the Western weapons are mostly directed at the United States, the largest supplier of arms to the Ukrainian government. Ukraine has complained in recent months that the ban allows Russian forces to launch attacks from inside Russian territory without risk and hampers its ability to repel them. That disadvantage became clear this month when Russia started a new offensive in northeastern Ukraine after amassing troops and equipment just across the border.

Persons: NATO’s, Jens Stoltenberg, Biden Organizations: Ukrainian, NATO Parliamentary Assembly, NATO, Washington, U.S Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden, United States

☆ Russia-Ukraine war: Putin signals he’s open to peace talks, but Ukraine is right to be wary
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-25 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Eastern Ukraine CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin’s signaling this week that he is open to peace talks should be viewed with vast, overshadowing caveats, and the weight of Ukraine’s - and the West’s - past experience of Russian diplomacy. Putin questioned the legitimacy of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who Moscow has repeatedly assailed, after Kyiv had to delay elections because of the very war Putin started. Zelensky has said he hopes China - Russia’s most potent ally but only partial supporter in the Ukraine war - will attend. Putin may be talking peace now to suggest to Beijing to not be involved in diplomacy about Russia without Russia present. Valentyn Ogirenko/ReutersUkraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said Friday that Putin’s hints at peace talks were directly aimed at sabotaging the summit.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Moscow’s, Alexander Lukashenko, Volodymyr Zelensky, Viktor Yanukovich, Russian Yanukovich, Lukashenko, Tatyana Makeyeva, –, Zelensky, Valentyn Ogirenko, Dmytro Kuleba, “ Putin, Ukraine ”, MAGA, Dmitri Peskov, Donald Trump, ferociously Organizations: Eastern, Eastern Ukraine CNN —, Reuters, Belarus ’, Kremlin, Kyiv, European Union, NATO, Kharkiv, Reuters Ukraine’s Foreign, Ukraine, American, MAGA Republicans, Congress Locations: Eastern Ukraine, Moscow, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Russia, Istanbul, Kyiv, Donetsk, Belarus, Russian, Syria, Debaltseve, Switzerland, China, Beijing, Valentyn, West, Europe, United States, France, Baltic

☆ Opinion: Putin’s lightning assault jolts Europe awake
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

View more opinion on CNNCNN —It was a carefully choreographed show of force in Beijing Thursday as Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived for yet another meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Frida Ghitis CNNOn Wednesday, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times and gravely wounded in an assassination attempt. Russia’s lightning assault, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who cancelled all his foreign travel, aims to force Ukraine to stretch its defenses. Security officers move Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in a car after the assassination attempt in Handlova, Slovakia, on Wednesday May 15. Every day, the stark reality that what began in Ukraine will change Europe for years to come becomes more inescapable.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Robert Fico, Fico, Putin, —, Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, David Cameron, “, Fico —, Radovan Stoklasa, Sergei Shoigu, Andrey Belousov, laughably, Rishi Sunak, Mark Rutte, Russia's, Alexander Ryumin, Emmanuel Macron, ”, Mikko Heiskanen, Xi Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, CNN CNN, Frida Ghitis CNN, Wednesday, Slovakian, Kyiv, British, Putin, Kremlin, Moscow, European Union, Reuters, Europe, Russia, Republicans, Russian, West, NATO, Institute for, ” Locations: Beijing, Europe, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Russia, Georgia, Soviet Republic, Moscow, Moldova, Slovak, Slovakia, “, Handlova, Iran, North Korea, China, Norway, London, British, Netherlands, ”, Germany, Berlin, Finland

Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg and other European leaders are condemning the attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: "Shocked and appalled by the shooting of Prime Minister Robert Fico. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family,” she said on X.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: "The attack on Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is appalling. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni: "I learned with deep shock the news of the cowardly attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez: “Horrified and outraged at the attack on the Slovak Prime Minister.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Zuzana Caputova, Sergey Dolzhenko, NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg, Robert Fico, Jens Stoltenberg, Ursula von der, “, Fico, ”, state's, Zelensky, Viktor Orban, ” Orban, Giorgia, Pedro Sanchez, ” Sanchez Organizations: Slovak, NATO, European, Slovakia’s, Spanish, Slovak Prime Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungarian, Spain

☆ In Europe, Xi looks to counter claims it’s aiding Russia in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | Xiaofei Xu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“China is neither the creator of the crisis, nor a party to it or a participant. The trip will also see Xi visit Serbia and Hungary, with the leader’s visit to Belgrade coinciding with the 25th anniversary of NATO’s bombing of the Chinese embassy in the city that killed three. Beijing has defended its trade with Russia as part of normal bilateral ties; it also says it does not provide weapons to parties in conflict. It has not been accused of sending lethal weapons to Russia, but rather goods with military use. Beijing supports efforts recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, with “equal and just discussions of all possible peace plans at the conference,” he said.

Persons: Xi Jinping, ” Xi, Emmanuel Macron, Ursula von der, “, ramped, Macron, Xi “, he’s, ”, ” Macron, presser, Xi, Vladimir Putin, von der Leyen, Putin Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, French, European, NATO, Biden, Kyiv Locations: Hong Kong, Ukraine, China, Europe, Moscow, “ China, Paris, Washington, Beijing, Russian, Serbia, Hungary, Belgrade, Serbian, Balkans, Russia, France, “, Israel, Switzerland

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