Russia on Monday launched one of its largest barrages of missile strikes in Ukraine in its first major coordinated attack on Ukrainian energy and communication infrastructure across the country, marking a significant escalation of the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the missile strikes targeted the “energy, military command and communications facilities of Ukraine.” The missile barrage came after the truck bombing of the Kerch Bridge, which connects the Russian mainland to Crimea. A day earlier, Putin called the Kerch Bridge bombing a Ukrainian “terror act” and Ukrainian...
Polish Government Requests American Nuclear Missiles to Be Stationed In-Country
Polish President Andrzej Duda said in an interview published Wednesday that Poland is open to hosting US nuclear weapons and has approached Washington about the idea. Currently, NATO members Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey host US nuclear weapons under NATO’s nuclear sharing program. The US and NATO have previously said that they wouldn’t place nuclear weapons in countries that joined the alliance after the Cold War, but Duda said discussions on the issue are happening. “There is always a potential opportunity to participate in the nuclear sharing program,” Duda told the...
Zelensky: Peace Talks Are an ‘Impossibility’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday signed a decree that ruled out any talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, declaring they would be an “impossibility.” The decree was first put forward by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, the decree states “the impossibility of holding negotiations with the president of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.” The move formalized comments that Zelensky made on Friday following Putin’s approval of annexing four Ukrainian territorites. “He does not know what dignity...
Explosions Cause Major Damage to Both Nord Stream Pipelines
European officials on Tuesday said massive leaks in the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines that were caused by explosions were likely the result of sabotage, raising questions on who the culprit might be.
Russia Readying to Absorb Ukrainian Territory After Referendums Conclude
Russian-backed authorities in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine have reported that a huge majority of voters favor joining Russia as referendums concluded on Tuesday.
Congress Set to Approve $12 Billion in Additional Aid to Ukraine
Congressional negotiators agreed to include nearly $12 billion in new spending on the war in Ukraine in a stopgap spending bill that will likely be voted on this week, Reuters reported on Monday. Sources told Reuters that the $12 billion will include $4.5 billion in funding for arms being sent to Ukraine and $2.7 billion for other military and intelligence support for Ukraine. The funding also includes $4.5 billion in direct budgetary aid for the Ukrainian government. A source told The Associated Press that the stopgap bill is meant to fund the federal government through mid-December and...
Vladimir Putin Makes His Nuclear Threat
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered a partial mobilization that will call up 300,000 reservists and warned Western countries that Moscow would use nuclear weapons to defend its territory. The move marks Putin’s biggest escalation of his war in Ukraine since launching the invasion on February 24, although he is still framing the war as a “special military operation.” “If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will without doubt use all available means to protect Russia and our people—this is not a bluff,” Putin said in a televised address. “The citizens...
Liz Truss and the Future of British Imperialism
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will replace Boris Johnson as the British prime minister after the UK’s Conservative Party voted to make her the leader of the government. She beat out former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and is expected to be formally named prime minister by the Queen on Tuesday. As the British foreign secretary, Truss has delivered some of the most hawkish rhetoric against Russia in NATO’s response to the invasion of Ukraine. When the war first broke out, Truss said that she supported individuals from the UK who wanted to fight in Ukraine. While campaigning to become the...