Latest news with #Nordic-Baltic
DW
a day ago
- Politics
- DW
EU, NATO chiefs back Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin summit – DW – 08/10/2025
European foreign ministers will hold a video call on Monday to discuss how to best support Ukraine ahead of a summit between the US and Russia. European leaders continued on Sunday to push to have Ukraine involved in the negotiations between the United States and Russia, ahead of talks between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Putin and Trump are to meet in the US state of Alaska on August 15 to try to bring an end to the three-year war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated a peace deal without his country's input would not be possible. Europe has insisted that Kyiv and European powers should be part of any deal to end the conflict, with EU foreign ministers set to discuss the next steps for the bloc in a meeting by video link on Monday, together with their Ukrainian counterpart. "The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," the leaders from Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Britain and Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement. The statement was followed by the heads of eight Nordic-Baltic nations, who also jointly reaffirmed their support for Ukraine. The leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden said they "Reaffirm the principle that international borders must not be changed by force." Expressing their belief that peace could only come through consistent pressure being put on the Russian Federation to halt its "unlawful" war, the Nordic-Baltic countries added that they would continue to uphold and impose restrictive measures against Russia. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told local broadcaster ARD on Sunday he assumed Zelenskyy will attend the summit between Trump and Putin. "We hope and assume that the government of Ukraine, that President Zelenskyy will be involved in this meeting," Merz said in an interview with ARD. "We cannot accept in any case that territorial questions are discussed or even decided between Russia and America over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians. I assume that the American government sees it the same way." Meanwhile, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas expressed her belief that the US should use its power to "force" Russia to bring an end to the war. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "President Trump is right that Russia has to end its war against Ukraine. The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine's and the whole of Europe's security," Kallas said. Adding to the calls for Trump to exert his diplomatic powers, NATO head Mark Rutte told ABC's broadcast that "Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end." However, unlike many European leaders, Rutte said it was a reality that "Russia is controlling some of Ukrainian territory" and suggested a future deal could acknowledge this. Separately, US Vice President JD Vance used a recorded interview with US conservative broadcaster Fox News to repeat that Washington plans to withdraw financially from supporting Ukraine. "I think the president, and I certainly think that America, we're done with the funding of the Ukraine war business. We want to bring about a peaceful settlement to this thing," Vance said in the interview that was recorded several days ago. "But if the Europeans want to step up and actually buy the weapons from American producers, we're OK with that, but we're not going to fund it ourselves anymore," Vance said.
DW
2 days ago
- Politics
- DW
EU, NATO chief back Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin summit – DW – 08/10/2025
European foreign ministers will hold a video call on Monday to discuss how to best support Ukraine ahead of a summit betwen the US and Russia. European leaders continue to push to have Ukraine involved in the negotiations between the United States and Russia, ahead of talks between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Putin and Trump are to meet in the US state of Alaska on August 15 to try to bring an end to the three-year war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated a peace deal without his country's input would not be possible. Europe has insisted that Kyiv and European powers should be part of any deal to end the conflict, with EU foreign ministers set to discuss the next steps for the bloc in a meeting by video link on Monday together with their Ukrainian counterpart. "The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," leaders from Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Britain and Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement. The statement was followed by the heads of eight Nordic-Baltic nations jointly reaffirming their support for Ukraine too. The leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden said they "Reaffirm the principle that international borders must not be changed by force." Expressing their belief that peace could only come through consistent pressure being put on the Russian Federation to halt its "unlawful" war, the Nordic-Baltic countries added that they would continue to uphold and impose restrictive measures against Russia. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told local broadcaster ARD on Sunday he assumed Zelenskyy will attend the summit between Trump and Putin. "We hope and assume that the government of Ukraine, that President Zelenskyy will be involved in this meeting," Merz said in an interview with ARD. "We cannot accept in any case that territorial questions are discussed or even decided between Russia and America over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians. I assume that the American government sees it the same way." Meanwhile, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas expressed her belief that US should use its power to "force" Russia to bring an end to the war. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "President Trump is right that Russia has to end its war against Ukraine. The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine's and the whole of Europe's security," Kallas said. Adding to the calls for Trump to exert his diplomatic powers, NATO head Mark Rutte told ABC's This Week broadcast that "Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end." However, unlike many European leaders, Rutte said it was a reality that "Russia is controlling some of Ukrainian territory" and suggested a future deal could acknowledge this. Seperately, US Vice President JD Vance used a recorded interview with US conservative broadcaster Fox News to repeat that the North American country's plans to withdraw financially from supporting Ukraine. "I think the president, and I certainly think that America, we're done with the funding of the Ukraine war business. We want to bring about a peaceful settlement to this thing," Vance said in the interview that was recorded several days ago. "But if the Europeans want to step up and actually buy the weapons from American producers. We're okay with that, but we're not going to fund it ourselves anymore," Vance asserted.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Nordic-Baltic leaders reaffirm support for Ukraine, say Russia must end 'unlawful' war
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Rescuers and police officers work at the site of the Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine August 10, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer The leaders of eight Nordic-Baltic nations on Sunday jointly reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and said that peace could only come through consistent pressure being put on the Russian federation to halt its "unlawful" war. The leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden said in a statement that they: "reaffirm the principle that international borders must not be changed by force". They added that they would continue to uphold and impose restrictive measures against the Russian Federation. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska to negotiate an end to the war. A White House official has said Trump is open to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attending but preparations are underway only for a bilateral meeting. REUTERS
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Norway pledges around $940 million to train and equip Ukrainian brigade
Norway will allocate 10 billion Norwegian kroner (approximately $937 million) in 2025 to help equip and train a Ukrainian military brigade, Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik announced on April 11 during a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, according to the Norwegian government. The initiative is part of a broader Nordic-Baltic effort to support Ukraine's land forces. Norway will take the lead role in the training component, working in close coordination with Ukrainian authorities and allied nations. 'Norway stands united with Europe for stronger support for Ukraine, politically, economically, and militarily,' Sandvik said. 'Our contribution is both material from our own defense and acquisitions of ammunition and materiel from Ukrainian and international industry. Not least, we will contribute with training.' Instead of establishing an entirely new brigade, the initiative will concentrate on developing modular units — smaller components designed to integrate into and strengthen Ukraine's existing brigades. These brigades typically comprise 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers and possess a variety of combat capabilities that enable them to operate independently. 'Under Norwegian leadership, the Nordic and Baltic countries work closely with Ukrainian authorities to ensure that the training and equipment meet Ukrainian needs as well as possible,' Sandvik explained. The previous initiatives to have Ukraine's Western backers train and equip new brigades were highly controversial. The 155th Brigade was intended to be a flagship project for Ukrainian brigades trained and armed with the assistance of foreign partners. French President Emmanuel Macron announced in June that France would provide training and military supplies as part of this initiative. Despite Paris fulfilling its commitments for training and arms provision, an investigation led by Yurii Butusov, editor-in-chief of Ukrainian media outlet pointed to problems in the brigade's creation and management, allegedly leading to 1,700 cases of soldiers going AWOL from the unit before firing a shot. During the Brussels summit, Sandvik also held a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. According to Bloomberg, Norway also joined the U.K. in pledging a joint $585 million military aid package to Ukraine. The U.K. will contribute £350 million ($455 million), while Norway will provide £100 million ($130 million) through the U.K.-led International Fund for package includes support for the repair of previously delivered equipment, radar systems, anti-tank mines, and hundreds of thousands of drones. Earlier this week, Oslo also committed $454 million to procure artillery shells for Ukraine. Read also: Inside Ukraine's desperate race to train more soldiers We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Zelenskyy: Leaders of 13 countries expected in Kyiv on 24 February
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that leaders from 13 countries are expected to arrive in Kyiv on Monday, 24 February. Source: Zelenskyy at a press conference, as reported by European Pravda Details: Zelenskyy said that a summit will take place in Kyiv on Monday which will be attended by these leaders. Quote from Zelenskyy: "We will have 13 leaders present in person and 24 leaders will join online. The leadership of the European Union will be here in Kyiv, as well as the European Parliament leadership, and many delegations... Our Ukraine – Nordic-Baltic platform – leaders from Northern Europe – will also be here." Details: Zelenskyy said the discussions will focus on Ukraine's strategy and security guarantee formats. Background: It was also announced that besides the EU leaders, the European Commissioners will be in Kyiv next week. Leaders of several European Union countries are reported to be preparing to visit Ukraine on 24 February to mark the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, or will participate in an EU meeting virtually. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
