Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Polish President Andrzej Duda stated Monday that NATO should urgently increase its defense costs to guarantee it does not end up being the next target of a Russian attack.

Speaking to CNBC, Duda mentioned undefined German research study which recommends that Russian President Vladimir Putin is doubling down on his shift towards a war economy with a view to assaulting NATO in 2026 or2027

“The alarm bells are ringing,” he informed Steve Sedgwick, according to a translation.

Duda stated it was for that reason more vital than ever to increase the alliance’s military costs to 3%, explaining his increased target as “common sense.”

— Karen Gilchrist

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday will attempt and encourage European allies that President Joe Biden’s administration is still devoted to supporting Ukraine, even as Washington has actually basically lacked cash to continue equipping Kyiv and couple of indications that Congress will relocate to renew funds.

Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson has actually up until now declined to call a vote on a costs that would supply $60 billion more for Ukraine and the White House has actually been rushing to discover methods to send out help to Kyiv, which has actually been fighting Russian forces for more than 2 years.

Austin will be leading the regular monthly conference referred to as the Ukraine defense contact group (UDCG), held at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, of about 50 allies that have actually been militarily supportingUkraine

The Pentagon stated Austin, who is making his very first abroad journey considering that a prostate cancer treatment, will restate that Washington is devoted toUkraine But authorities state the absence of financing readily available is currently having an effect on the ground in Ukraine and Ukrainian forces are needing to handle limited resources.

Last week the Biden administration stated it would send out $300 million in military help to Ukraine, however included that it was an amazing relocation after unforeseen cost savings from military agreements the Pentagon had actually made.

Officials have actually not dismissed that they might discover extra cost savings, however they state that quantity would not suffice to offset the absence of Congressional action. Experts state that Austin will deal with a hesitant audience in Europe.

–Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin briefly participated in an al fresco rally in Moscow on Monday night at which he informed the crowd that the addition of Crimea and other areas in Ukraine had actually been challenging however beneficial.

The rally and performance in Red Square marked the 10 th anniversary of Russia’s addition of Crimea fromUkraine The addition was a precursor to a simmering dispute in between pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine’s militaries in eastern Ukraine considering that 2014, and Russia’s wholesale intrusion of Ukraine in 2022.

Since then, Russia has likewise unlawfully annexed 4 other partly inhabited areas in Ukraine, trying to “Russify” the areas and holding ballot there ahead of the three-day Russian governmental election last weekend that Putin won. Ukraine condemned the tallies hung on its area, explaining them as unlawful.

Putin informed a big, flag-waving crowd that the “return” of those other areas to Russia had actually ended up being “much more grave and tragic” than Crimea’s, however stated that it had actually been achieved, Reuters kept in mind.

Putin likewise informed the crowd that rail links had actually been brought back from Rostov in southern Russia to the Russian- inhabited cities in eastern and southern Ukraine, and would quickly likewise link straight with Sevastopol in Crimea.

“Just this morning, I was informed that the railway from Rostov to Donetsk to Mariupol and Berdyansk has been restored. We will continue this work. Soon trains will pass directly to Sevastopol. And this will be another alternative road to the Crimean bridge,” he stated, in remarks equated by Reuters.

— Holly Ellyatt

Debate around military help to Ukraine is deepening the fractures in Germany’s administration — however in spite of “extremely unusual” public rifts, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is anticipated to dominate.

The concern at the heart of a months-long disagreement is whether Germany will send out Ukraine long-range Taurus rockets, which can individually find and damage a target after being launched by a provider.

Scholz has actually strongly turned down Kyiv’s ask for these rockets– however he looks significantly separated in this position.

One essential issue is that Ukraine might require on-the-ground aid from German soldiers to work the Taurus rockets– a red line for Scholz.

According to dripped conversations by senior army chiefs reported by German media, there are extremely couple of copies of the intricate information required to program Taurus rockets. It suggests that Germany itself would likely lose access to the product if it handed those over to Ukraine, making it a possibly dangerous relocation.

Read more on the story here: Germany’s rejection to send out ‘Taurus’ rockets to Ukraine is extremely controversial– however will not break the federal government

— Sophie Kiderlin

Pictures reveal the consequences of shelling in several Ukrainian towns that have actually been assaulted by Russia in current days.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was positive after winning a 5th term in power in Russia’s governmental election over the weekend.

He selected his triumph speech to advocates and the Russian press to make his very first public remarks on the death of his political bane, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, discussing his name for the very first time in years.

When asked by NBC’s Keir Simmons about the death, Putin reacted by calling his death a “sad event” and declaring he had actually been prepared to include Navalny in a detainee swap with the West.

Click here to learn more on this story: Putin discusses his bane Navalny’s death for the very first time as he indulges in election win

— Holly Ellyatt

The European Union pronounced that Russian governmental elections occurred in an “ever-shrinking political space” that broke civil and political rights, after Vladimir Putin protected another six-year term.

“Russian authorities have continued to increase the systematic internal repression by cracking down on opposition politicians, civil society organisations, independent media and other critical voices with the use of repressive legislation and politically motivated prison sentences,” the EU stated in a declaration outMonday

The scenarios in which the elections were held “deprived Russian voters of a real choice and heavily limited their access to accurate information,” the bloc included, while likewise condemning governmental votes performed by Russia in occupied areas ofUkraine

— Ruxandra Iordache

Vladimir Putin’s sweeping win in Russia’s governmental vote over the weekend was a “unique” result, Kremlin representative Dmitry Peskov stated, protecting the electoral procedure from Western allegations.

In Google- equated remarks reported by Russian state news firm Tass, Peskov stated that foreign declarations questioning the authenticity of the election were “absurd,” keeping in mind that he anticipated global congratulations for Putin’s triumph to continue gathering for more than one day.

The European Union has actually slammed the scenarios under which Putin protected over 87% of the popular vote, worrying a limiting political environment and an absence of authentic opposition in the electoral race. It likewise declined to acknowledge the surveys kept in Ukrainian areas inhabited by Russia.

— Ruxandra Iordache