Efforts to reduce dependency upon Russian sources of energy within countries in Central and Eastern Europe have taken on a new urgency following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over three weeks ago.
Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister Asen Vassilev says Bulgaria will not renew its contract with Gazprom when the
The US Defence Department says there is “clear evidence” that Russian forces are committing war crimes in Ukraine, according to reporting by the Guardian. In a news conference on Monday, the Pentagon alleged Russia’s military is attacking indiscriminately and that the Defence Department would contribute to an investigative process
NATO troops have begun arriving at the Sliac military base in Slovakia to deploy US-made “Patriot” anti-missile defence systems in various places to maximise Bratislava’s airspace defences, according to a report by Slovak Spectator.
The Patriots are primarily for beefing up Slovakia’s airspace protection, and will be there
A failure to negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia could lead to World War 3, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Fareed Zakaria on Sunday morning in their interview on CNN. The President said he was ready to have direct negotiations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. While offering that Ukraine
Chinese president Xi Jinping spoke to US President Joe Biden today for an hour and 50 minutes on Friday about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In their video call, Xi said “conflicts and confrontations” were in no one’s interest and that China and the US should work for world
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that Slovakia providing air defence systems to Ukraine is a no-go, according to an article on Euractiv. This week Bratislava said it was considering sending Soviet-era S-300 missile systems if it received Western replacements from its NATO allies. Any arms supply
Members of Germany’s Bundestag gave a standing ovation to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky following his 10-minute speech on Thursday, writes the BBC. In his address Zelensky reminded MPs that Kyiv had asked Berlin to limit its economic ties with Moscow before the war, but Germany instead helped Russia
Czechia’s Ministry of Defence says 100,000 Czechs have coughed up over EUR 27 million through a crowdfunding campaign which began last month to send weapons to Ukraine, writes Prague Morning. Funds from the campaign, intended for weapons and military supplies, are being sent directly to Ukraine’s embassy
A theatre sheltering 1,200 civilians in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was bombed on Wednesday night. An estimated 400,000 residents in the southern port city are still without running water, electricity and gas, and unable to leave. Hundreds of patients and staff are still being held captive in
The BBC reported that Russian troops were holding 400 doctors and patients captive in a hospital in the coastal city of Mariupol on Tuesday evening. In a separate development, the city’s local authorities said that around 2,000 cars were able to leave the besieged city, and the ICRC
Delegations from Russia and Ukraine held a fourth round of peace talks on Monday, aiming for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops, and security guarantees for Ukraine. Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of office for Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, told the BBC that Moscow’s approach was becoming “more
Russian forces launched a missile attack on the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security, in the west of Ukraine, Sunday morning, according to the BBC. Euronews reports that the Russian military claimed to have killed up to 180 “foreign mercenaries” and substantial weapons shipped in in strikes against the military
US troops will not fight in Ukraine, but would defend “every inch of NATO territory” US President Joe Biden said on Friday. “A direct confrontation between Nato and Russia is World War III,” wrote Biden on Twitter.
Russia attacked cities across Ukraine on Friday. Russian forces incessantly bombarded the northeastern
The European Commission said it planned to cut its reliance on fossil fuels from Russia by 2030, reducing dependence on Russian sources of energy by two-thirds by the end of the year. But it turned out there will be no ban on imports of Russian oil and gas imports to
Delegations from Ukraine and Russia were unable to broker a 24-hour ceasefire in their meeting on Thursday morning in Turkey. While Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dymetro Kuleba said such a ceasefire would be necessary for urgent humanitarian issues, his opposite number Sergei Lavrov commented after their meeting the West’s