It’s Hard for Moscow to Win While Mistreating Its Soldiers
Six days before the invasion of Ukraine, a small group of Russian soldiers huddled together in their tents in Belarus. One of them had covertly acquired a smartphone—barred by the military—and together, the group logged on to Western news sites. There, they read a story that shocked them: according to Western intelligence reports, Russia was about to invade its neighbor.
Some 300,000 metric tons of Ukrainian wheat that had been scheduled for delivery to Egypt in February and March has not yet been shipped, Reuters first reported. One of the cargo shipments remains stuck in Ukraine’s Chornomorsk Port on the north-western shore of the Black Sea, and four have not yet been loaded.
The US military will participate in a major Israeli drill later this month simulating an airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Israel’s Channel 13 reported on Tuesday. The drill, part of an exercise dubbed “Chariots of Fire,” will include the air-to-air refueling of Israeli fighter jets by US Air Force tanker planes as they simulate entering Iranian territory and carrying out repeated strikes.
Românii plătesc, în gospodăriile lor, cel mai scump curent electric din Uniunea Europeană raportat la puterea de cumpărare, adică după metodologia PPS – purchasing power standard.
США сохраняют уверенность в том, что НАТО достигнет консенсуса в вопросе вступления Финляндии и Швеции в блок, несмотря на возражения Турции, заявили в Белом доме. Когда это произойдет, пока планировать сложно, подчеркивают политологи. Как и последствия присоединения Хельсинки и Стокгольма к Североатлантическому альянсу. Обозреватель “Ъ” Максим Юсин считает, что их членство в организации станет неизбежной реальностью.
The European Union’s executive arm moved Wednesday to jump-start plans for the 27-nation bloc to abandon Russian energy amid the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, proposing a nearly 300 billion-euro ($315 billion) package that includes more efficient use of fuels and faster rollout of renewable power.
NATO envoys failed to reach a consensus Wednesday on whether to start membership talks with Finland and Sweden, diplomats said, as Turkey renewed its objections to the two Nordic countries joining.
The envoys met at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels after Finland and Sweden’s ambassadors submitted written applications to join the military organization, in a move that marks one of the biggest geopolitical ramifications of Russia’s war on Ukraine — and which could rewrite Europe’s security map.
Nearly 1,000 last-ditch Ukrainian fighters who had held out inside Mariupol’s pulverized steel plant have surrendered, Russia said Wednesday, as the battle that turned the city into a worldwide symbol of defiance and suffering drew toward a close.
Extensive meetings were held in the past days between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls Idlib, and the Levant Front, one of the most prominent and strongest groups of the Syrian National Army, in a bid to reach a compromise between the two sides.
If Ankara can be tactful about Stockholm and Helsinki’s possible membership in NATO, it has a chance to see its concerns addressed.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine turned the spotlight on Turkey’s status as a regional power. Sweden and Finland’s expected bid to join NATO could further boost Turkish influence if the concerns raised by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who noted his objection to possible Swedish and Finnish membership in the US-led alliance, could be addressed.