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SummaryRussian drone kills nine civilians in Ukraine Zelenskiy calls for more sanctions on Russia Drone attack comes hours after peace talks in Istanbul Kremlin says 'agreements' needed before Putin, Zelenskiy meet Macron accuses Putin of 'cynicism' KYIV, May 17 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Saturday for stronger sanctions on Moscow after a Russian drone killed nine bus passengers in northeastern Ukraine just hours after the two countries held their first peace talks in three years of war.The meeting of Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey on Friday failed to broker a temporary ceasefire. It was the first...

European leaders stepped up pressure on Russia to accept an unconditional cease-fire in Ukraine, threatening to immediately impose a new round of punishing sanctions if the Kremlin did not change its stance by the end of Monday. “The clock is ticking — we still have 12 hours until the end of this day,” the German government spokesman, Stefan Kornelius, told a news conference. On Monday, the Kremlin spokesman brushed off the threat. “The language of ultimatums is unacceptable — you cannot talk to Russia like this,” the spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told Russian news agencies.

The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland headed to Kyiv on Saturday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a show of unity a day after Russia's Vladimir Putin hosted his allies in a Victory Day parade on Red Square. The summit will discuss a U.S. and European proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the Russian war in Ukraine that if refused by Moscow would see them jointly impose new sanctions, a French diplomatic source said, adding that the step had not yet been finalised. The visit by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German...

BREAKING: Ukraine considers shift from dollar to euro amid geopolitical realignments — Reuters

The European Commission has published a "roadmap" outlining its plans to end Europe's reliance on Russian energy in the coming years. Under the plans, imports of all Russian gas and liquefied natural gas to European Union member states will be banned by the end of 2027. "No more will we permit Russia to weaponise energy against us... No more will we indirectly help fill up the [Kremlin's] war chests," European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jorgensen said in a news conference in Strasbourg on Tuesday. In response to the plans, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday...

European countries will accompany this American sanctions initiative with a 17th package of sanctions, Jean-Noel Barrot saidPARIS, May 1. /TASS/. European countries are planning to introduce another package of anti-Russian sanctions should Moscow refuse to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, and hope to secure the support of the United States in this matter, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview with AFP. "We Europeans will accompany this American [sanctions] initiative with a 17th package of sanctions and I committed yesterday to [US Senator] Lindsey Graham that we would try to coordinate both the substance and the timing...

The European Commission has issued a warning to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic that his expected visit to Russia for the May 9 Victory Day celebrations could seriously complicate Serbia’s accession process to the European Union. European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos conveyed this message during her recent visit to Belgrade, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media. According to European Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier, the warning was communicated directly to the Serbian president. “We warned Serbia that a visit to Moscow could complicate the process of negotiations and preparations for joining the EU. We expect Serbia to confirm its strategic priorities,” Mercier...

Europe’s Next War Won’t Be in Ukraine—It’ll Be in the Streets The European Union is pouring weapons, money, and political capital into Ukraine at an astonishing rate. If you listen to Brussels, it’s all about protecting democracy and stopping aggression at the borders of Europe. But what they won’t tell you—what they can’t afford to admit—is that many are quietly dreading the day the war ends. Because when the war ends, the real trouble begins. The Guns Are Already Here Let’s start with the obvious: Not all the weapons being sent to Ukraine are staying on the battlefield. Despite all...

Spain and Portugal achieved net zero on Monday, but not the way anyone would want to achieve net zero: By going back to the cavepeople times with no electricity. According to the New York Times:A major power outage hit Spain and Portugal on Monday afternoon, abruptly shutting down daily activities, halting trains and subways, cutting off traffic lights, closing stores and canceling or delaying some flights.Hours after the power shut off around 12:30 p.m. Central European time, stranding tens of millions of people across the Iberian Peninsula, officials remained at a loss as to the cause, though several denied any...

JUST IN - German Defense Minister Pistorius says Trump's proposals for territorial cessions from Ukraine to Russia are "going too far" and has assured Ukraine of more weapons from Germany.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it was Ukraine's sovereign right to decide whether it wanted to join the European Union and that Moscow did not intend to dictate to Kyiv how it should approach the question.Asked if Ukraine could one day join the European Union, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "This is the sovereign right of any country.""We are talking about integration and economic integration processes. And here, of course, no one can dictate anything to any country, and we are not going to do that," Peskov said.Peskov added, though, that Russia's position was different when...

"If Europe genuinely wants to contribute to the resolution of the conflict, the solution is straightforward: cease all military and other forms of support for the Kiev regime," Alexander Grushko statedMOSCOW, February 18. /TASS/. The role of the European Union in resolving the conflict in Ukraine is ruled out. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Alexander Grushko, stated that Europe must halt its arms supplies to Kiev, if it wishes to be included in future negotiations. "The EU countries continue to demand a place at the negotiating table where the Ukrainian conflict is to be discussed. This is astonishing, considering they have...

There is no longer any doubt that Europe and America are parting ways. The death of the transatlantic relationship was foretold many times, but at the Munich Security Conference this weekend, it finally ended. The great American-European divorce has played out in three areas — Ukraine, free speech, and trade. Last week, Donald Trump blindsided the Europeans with his announcement of peace talks with Vladimir Putin. (He said he would do this during his election campaign, but Europe’s leaders were clearly not paying attention.) Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, told the Europeans on Saturday that they will not...

VIDEOMy favorite part of J.D. Vance's COMMON SENSE (which was attacked as "controversial") Munich Security Conference speech was when he pointed out the ABSURDITY of recently overturning the Romanian presidential election result due to supposed interference from Russia via online ads. If this sounds familiar it is because in the wake of the 2016 U.S. election the media here went into panic mode over Russia having spent (GASP!) $100,000 worth of Facebook ads supposedly to influence the election. The Democrats and the media went full FAKE NEWS hysteria about RUSSIA! RUSSIA! RUSSIA! despite the fact that $100,000 in Facebook ads...

Pressure is growing on the Royal Society to expel Elon Musk from its fellowship after more than a thousand scientists signed an open letter expressing dismay at its lack of action on the matter. Musk, who owns the social media platform X, leads the US “department of government efficiency” (Doge). He was elected a fellow of the UK’s national academy of sciences in 2018 as a result of his work and impact in the space and electric vehicle industries. However, the Royal Society is under mounting pressure to revoke the honour. In August, the Guardian revealed a number of fellows...

President Zelensky: "I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never."

-snip- “Putin's aims are extraordinarily ambitious, way beyond the capacity of his country, which he is ruining,” he added. Sikorski called the full-scale invasion a “civilizational struggle.” “We [Europe] represent the world of rules, of peace, of prosperity. And Putin has gone back to the world of Genghis Khan.”

European countries will not create one unified army in response to threats from Russia, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in an interview with state TV broadcast late on Saturday. -snip- "If you understand by it the unification of national armies, it will not happen," he said. "But I have been an advocate for Europe, for the European Union, to develop its own defence capabilities." -snip- He reiterated that having Polish troops on the ground in Ukraine was "not a consideration, because Poland's duty to NATO is to protect the eastern flank, i.e. its own territory".

The United States’ negotiating tactics for bringing an end to the war in Ukraine, which were shared with allies at the Munich Security Conference by US envoy Keith Kellogg, are unorthodox but give hope, Poland’s foreign minister said on Sunday. “General Kellogg has presented to me personally and to the circle of European allies the United States’ negotiating tactics,” Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters. “I will not reveal them here. They raise some hopes. They are unorthodox, but we wish them luck.”

Sir Keir Starmer is poised to join European Union leaders at an emergency summit on Monday, after the United States urged them to come up with “ideas” or be frozen out of talks over peace plans for Ukraine.