By Nik Martin* BERLIN | 19 May 2024 (IDN) — Governments face increased borrowing, taxes and public sector cuts to finance their soaring military budgets. European NATO members are set to spend a record $380 billion on defence this year—a tough sell to voters. If you want a reminder of the security threats faced by […]
China Turns Focus to Europe in a Diplomatic Game
By Nickolay Kapitonenko* KYIV | 14 May 2024 (IDN) — The ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war has gradually changed the international political landscape, which is being closely monitored even by states far removed from its realities. The war is unleashing complex mechanisms of international interaction, testing the strength of alliances and changing power relations. In addition to […]
Kazakhstan: A Peacemaker in the Ukraine War?
By Alexandra Sitenko* BERLIN | 27 April 2024 (IDN) — The war in Ukraine has presented countries that have close political, economic and historical ties with Russia with a difficult task: On the one hand, they cannot sever their relations with Moscow; on the other, they do not want to fall out of favour internationally. […]
U.S. Begins Construction on Temporary Pier to Deliver Humanitarian Aid to Gaza
By Joseph Clark This article appeared as the US Department of Defense (DOD) News. WASHINGTON | 25 April 2024 (IDN) — U.S. military personnel have begun construction of a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza to deliver critical humanitarian assistance, senior defense and Biden administration officials said today. Construction of the pier is expected […]
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant: The “Sum of All Fears”
By Leonam dos Santos Guimarães* RIO DE JANEIRO | 12 April 2024 (IDN) — Drone attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, whether carried out by Ukraine or Russia, introduce a new and dangerous dimension to the conflict between the two largest former Soviet Socialist Republics, with possible far-reaching ramifications, not just for the region […]
Ukraine War: European Union May Risk Its Political Future
By Michael von der Schulenburg, Hans-Joachim Funke* BERLIN | 19 March 2024 (IDN) — The deteriorating military situation in Ukraine and the United States’ increasing withdrawal from this war created a situation in which the EU is now pushed to the forefront in dealing with this problem. Probably for the first time since the end […]
Are We Stumbling into World War III in Ukraine?
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 13 March 2024 (IDN) — President Biden began his State of the Union speech with an impassioned warning that failing to pass his 61 billion dollar weapons package for Ukraine “will put Ukraine at risk, Europe at risk, the free world at risk.” But […]
Russia Must Withdraw Unconditionally from Ukraine
By Stavros Lambrinidis The author is Head of the European Union‘s Delegation to the United Nations, at the UN Security Council. Following are extensive excerpts from his Statement to the UN Security Council on 8 March 2024. NEW YORK | 10 March 2024 (IDN) — When the UN Secretary-General visited Kyiv in 2022, Russian missiles […]
UN Concerned About Spike in Russian Attacks on Odesa, Other Ukrainian Cities
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK | 10 March 2024 (IDN) — The Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa has become a frequent target of missile and drone attacks in recent days and weeks, with deadly consequences, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as delegates condemned Moscow’s intensified attacks against Ukrainian […]
Peace Negotiations Alone Can Save Ukraine
By Michael von der Schulenburg* The Ukrainian war must not go into a third year. BERLIN | 28 February 2024 (IDN) — Recently, the majority of members of the German Bundestag (federal parliament) declared their unrestricted support to Ukraine’s war aims: “Regaining full territorial integrity within the borders recognized in 1991“. With it, the Bundestag […]