Prague is leading an initiative to purchase 500,000 artillery shells of 155 mm caliber and 300,000 artillery shells of 122 mm caliber for Kiev. A total of 18 countries have agreed to finance the purchases under the Czech Republic-led initiative. While some governments – including Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands – have announced actual financial … Read more
Ukraine’s allies have raised almost all the funding needed for a Czech-led initiative to purchase hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, according to a government official familiar with the arrangements. The commitments mean the grenades could be delivered to Ukraine within weeks, according to separate people, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The precise timing … Read more
An apartment in Russia’s second-largest city was reportedly hit by a drone, following overnight Russian strikes that killed four people – including a baby – in Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENT Russian authorities said Saturday morning that an “emergency” damaged an apartment building in St. Petersburg. However, local news and social media claimed that a Ukrainian drone had … Read more
KYIV (AP) — Russia is massing large forces around Khasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine as it tries to make a breakthrough in the Donetsk region, a Ukrainian official said Friday. Illia Yevlash, spokesperson for the operational group overseeing the eastern frontline, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that Russian forces were concentrating their efforts to launch … Read more
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said “everything” is on the table to help Ukraine defeat Putin, days after French President Emmanuel Macron caused a firestorm by hinting that sending ground troops to help Kiev was a possibility. Macron’s words sparked a backlash from other allied governments, whose leaders rushed to point out that no troops … Read more
Dutch drug lord Ridouan Taghi was given a life sentence on Tuesday for a series of murders committed by his gang that shocked the Netherlands. Prosecutors called the alleged killing campaign a “well-oiled killing machine.” Taghi, 46, is the alleged mastermind of the Amsterdam-based group called the ‘Mocro Mafia’, which is thought to be one … Read more
A senior Eastern European diplomat said there was no intention to stand in Rutte’s way, saying: “There should at least be someone asking, ‘Okay, Mark, how do you deal with Russia?’ They also cite Rutte’s repeated failure to bring Dutch defense spending to the 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) level that all allies … Read more