Hungary’s Parliament elected Fidesz Vice President and Family and Youth Affairs Minister Katalin Novak as the country’s next President on Thursday, succeeding President Janos Ader, according to Hungary Today. She was elected with 137 out of 188 votes. The united opposition’s candidate Peter Ronai received 51 votes.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling Russian forces bombing on Wednesday of a 600-bed children’s and maternity hospital in the port city of Mariupol “genocide”. Ukrainian authorities say the facility has been “completely destroyed” – 17 people were wounded, writes the Guardian. “Hospitals and schools are destroyed. Churches and
The Guardian reports that on Wednesday morning US time Vice President Kamala Harris was travelling to Poland, where she’ll meet Poland’s President and Prime Minister, on a trip to “further support to our allies and is also an extremely important opportunity to collaborate with them on next steps
Russian state media outlets are reporting that Moscow has announced another humanitarian ceasefire to allow civilians to flee. Civilians continued to evacuate Ukrainian cities such as Mariupol, Sumy and Kyiv on Tuesday, but authorities said shelling continued in some areas and it was unsure whether humanitarian aid shipments would reach
Hungary will now allow NATO troops to deploy into the west of the country, reversing an earlier stance of not allowing additional troops from the defence alliance other than its own to be stationed within its territory. Prime Minister Viktor Orban signed a decree to admit the NATO Response Force
Calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “a tectonic shift in European history”, the European Union is working out how to wean itself off of imports of Russian oil, gas and coal and diversify its sources of energy while speeding up the development of renewables. Half of the gas and coal
Russia has issued a veiled threat to Poland and Romania not to get involved in its operation against Ukraine, writes Romania Insider, quoting a Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov who told Reuters that any country allowing Ukraine to access airports or airfields would be considered participants in the war.
Representatives from Ukraine and Russia are scheduled to meet on Monday for another round of peace negotiations. Despite their earlier agreement to open up humanitarian corridors, Ukrainian civilians were not able to leave from Mariupol over the weekend; both sides blamed the other for the ceasefire failure. As Russian forces
NATO cannot fulfil Kyiv’s wish for enforcement of a “no-fly zone” over Ukraine’s territory, according to the defence alliance’s Jens Stoltenberg. After the Secretary General’s meeting with NATO defence ministers on Friday, they agreed that neither NATO troops nor planes should be in or above Ukrainian
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin by telephone for one-and-a-half hours on Thursday. He told his Russian counterpart that he was making a “major mistake” by continuing his Ukraine offensive and that Moscow would remain isolated and under sanctions for a long time. Speaking to
In an emergency General Assembly meeting on Wednesday, the United Nations condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine and called for complete withdrawal, with 141 out of 193 members supporting the resolution. Those opposed included Belarus, Syria and North Korea. Addressing the press, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “The message of
Though united in their commitment to European and NATO positions on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries differ on their potential exposure to Russian gas supplies – a CET analysis. At time of writing, the Russian army is intruding into the heart of Kyiv and residents
As a massive Russian military convoy continued its approach toward the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Tuesday, the city of Kharkiv suffered Russian missile attacks, one of which hit the centre of Ukraine’s second-largest city, including residential areas and the regional administration building – 18 civilians were killed. “Such attacks are
Singapore is sometimes compared to Switzerland, for its tradition of taking neutral positions on international conflicts. However the Asian nation’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan issued a statement from Singapore yesterday, in response to the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Central European Times publishes Balakrishnan’s comment in
As a kilometres-long convoy of Russian forces approached the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, the country’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, gave a powerful video address to members of the European Parliament on Tuesday. Pleading for Brussels to show which side it was on, he said, “Do prove that you are with us.
As Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, was heavily bombarded by Russian forces on Monday, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced that EU defence ministers would discuss how the bloc would deliver EUR 500 million worth of defensive weapons to Ukraine. He said, that while Kyiv was resisting
On the evening of Sunday, 27 February, as Russian President Vladimir Putin had put his nuclear forces on high alert, Ukraine’s government agreed to talks in Belarus with Russian officials. Al Jazeera reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv would send a delegation of officials to Ukraine’s border
The war in Ukraine is a further nail in the coffin of the Pax Americana. Donald Trump began the dismantling of the US-dominated world order and post-WWII security apparatus, and now the job is being completed by Joe Biden. After last year’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Western response – or
On early Friday, Al Jazeera reported that Russian forces had sent missiles into Kyiv and other locations in Ukraine. Stating that Putin “must and will fail”, the European Union has agreed severe sanctions on Russia. Namely, this means the EU will freeze Russian assets within the Union. Also, Russian banks’
Following Russia’s attack on Ukraine on Thursday morning, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all invoked the NATO alliance’s Article 4, which obliges all 30 NATO members to hold a consultation when “the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened”. Explaining the rationale
Global news organisations are reporting that Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the early morning hours of Thursday, 24 February, bombing targets across the country and sending in troops. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declared martial law in his country. Promising that the world will hold Russia accountable,
United Nations Security Council members condemned Russia’s order to deploy troops to Donetsk and Luhansk after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared them independent, on Monday. Speaking on state television, Putin said “I deem it necessary to make a decision that should have been made a long time ago – to
As the stand-off between Russia and Ukraine continues, for countries within Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) it has spurred a flurry of activity, including troop movements among members of the NATO alliance to bolster their defenses. The Baltic News Network writes that Lithuania’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that a
Slovakia’s failure to approve judicial reforms and a “court map” could curtail its access to EU recovery plan funds, writes Euractiv. Out of the four proposals considered by the country’s lawmakers, only one, having to do with district courts’ headquarters, made it to a second reading in the
US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the prospect of Russian forces invading Ukraine remains a real threat, a “very high” one in the coming days. “Every indication we have is they’re prepared to go into Ukraine,” said Biden, who warned that Russia could employ a “false flag”