Euroskeptic leads Romania polls after previous vote annulled
Though the country is small, its presidential poll has garnered global attention: The results of a prior vote were annulled after a relative unknown, Călin Georgescu, won following what officials said was Russian interference.
Georgescu is barred from running this time, but frontrunner George Simion has promised to appoint him to a top position. The stakes extend beyond Bucharest's borders: Romania is set to host NATO's biggest military base in Europe by 2030 on the Black Sea coast, but analysts say a Simion win could put the country's commitment to the military alliance in doubt.
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Washington Post
19 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Trump and Putin will meet at an Alaska military base long used to counter Russia
WASHINGTON — In an ironic twist, President Donald Trump is set to discuss the war in Ukraine with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at a military base in Alaska that was crucial to countering the Soviet Union during the height of Cold War and still plays a role today. The meeting is scheduled to take place Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning. The base created by merging Elmendorf Air Force Base and Army Fort Richardson in 2010 has played a key strategic role in monitoring and deterring the Soviet Union during much of the Cold War. Throughout its long history, the base hosted large numbers of aircraft and oversaw operations of a variety of early warning radar sites that were aimed at detecting Soviet military activity and any possible nuclear launches. It earned the motto 'Top Cover for North America' at this time, according to the base website. While much of the military hardware has since been deactivated, the base still hosts key aircraft squadrons, including the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet. Planes from the base also still intercept Russian aircraft that regularly fly into U.S. airspace. The irony of Putin visiting an American military base that long has — and still does — aimed to counter Russian threats comes as Trump works to reach a ceasefire deal in a war that he promised during the 2024 campaign to end quickly. Officials from Ukraine and Europe fear that the one-on-one meeting they will not take part in could lead to an outcome that favors Russian goals. French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump was 'very clear' that the United States wants to achieve a ceasefire at the summit. Macron spoke after a virtual meeting between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders. Trump has said any major agreement could involve land swaps and that Zelenskyy and Putin could meet next or he could meet with both leaders. 'There's a very good chance that we're going to have a second meeting, which will be more productive than the first, because the first is I'm going to find out where we are and what we're doing,' Trump told reporters Wednesday. 'It's going to be a very important meeting, but it's setting the table for the second meeting.'
San Francisco Chronicle
20 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Germany and allies to send major military aid package to Ukraine using new NATO supply line
BERLIN (AP) — Germany announced on Wednesday that it will work with a group of Ukraine's Western backers to supply a package of military aid to the war-ravaged country worth up to $500 million using a new NATO supply line. Earlier this month, NATO started coordinating regular deliveries of large weapons packages to Ukraine after the Netherlands said that it would provide air defense equipment, ammunition and other military aid worth 500 million euros ($582 million). Sweden announced the following day that it would contribute $275 million to a joint effort along with its Nordic neighbors Denmark and Norway to provide $500 million worth of air defenses, anti-tank weapons, ammunition and spare parts. Germany's foreign and defense ministries said the support is focused on equipment like 'critical air defense capabilities. These are urgently needed to defend against Russia's ongoing air strikes, which are killing more and more civilians throughout Ukraine.' The United Nations has said that Russia's relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians. Two deliveries of equipment, most of it bought in the United States, were scheduled for this month, although the Nordic package was more likely to arrive in September. Germany did not name the group of countries it would be working with.
San Francisco Chronicle
20 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump and Putin will meet at an Alaska military base long used to counter Russia
WASHINGTON (AP) — In an ironic twist, President Donald Trump is set to discuss the war in Ukraine with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at a military base in Alaska that was crucial to countering the Soviet Union during the height of Cold War and still plays a role today. The meeting is scheduled to take place Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning. The base created by merging Elmendorf Air Force Base and Army Fort Richardson in 2010 has played a key strategic role in monitoring and deterring the Soviet Union during much of the Cold War. Throughout its long history, the base hosted large numbers of aircraft and oversaw operations of a variety of early warning radar sites that were aimed at detecting Soviet military activity and any possible nuclear launches. It earned the motto 'Top Cover for North America' at this time, according to the base website. While much of the military hardware has since been deactivated, the base still hosts key aircraft squadrons, including the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet. Planes from the base also still intercept Russian aircraft that regularly fly into U.S. airspace. The irony of Putin visiting an American military base that long has — and still does — aimed to counter Russian threats comes as Trump works to reach a ceasefire deal in a war that he promised during the 2024 campaign to end quickly. Officials from Ukraine and Europe fear that the one-on-one meeting they will not take part in could lead to an outcome that favors Russian goals. French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump was 'very clear' that the United States wants to achieve a ceasefire at the summit. Macron spoke after a virtual meeting between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders. Trump has said any major agreement could involve land swaps and that Zelenskyy and Putin could meet next or he could meet with both leaders. 'There's a very good chance that we're going to have a second meeting, which will be more productive than the first, because the first is I'm going to find out where we are and what we're doing," Trump told reporters Wednesday. 'It's going to be a very important meeting, but it's setting the table for the second meeting.'
