The NATO military alliance will hold an emergency virtual summit Friday to coordinate its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while issuing new orders giving NATO commanders greater freedom to redeploy troops quickly to Eastern Europe. NATO Secre…
Author: David R. Sands
Turkey’s Erdogan calls Russian moves against Ukraine ‘unacceptable’
Turkey, whose control of access to the Black Sea could play a critical role in the crisis in Ukraine, rejects Russia’s recognition of two breakaway Ukrainian enclaves as “unacceptable,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Russian President Vlad…
Belarusian President Lukashenko to meet Putin Friday amid soaring Ukraine tensions
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose country is hosting some 30,000 Russian troops for joint training exercises close to the border with Ukraine, will travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the official Belarusian…
Russian troops in Belarus for exercises to stay until at least Feb. 20
Russian troops that have deployed to Belarus for joint military exercises near the Ukrainian border will be in the country at least through Feb. 20, the Russian Defense Ministry announced Wednesday. The deployment and exercises have only exacerbated U….
Blinken, Russia’s Lavrov talk on Ukraine crisis after bitter U.N. exchanges
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a direct phone conversation Tuesday, a day after U.S. and Russian diplomats traded broadsides at a charged U.N. Security Council meeting over who was responsi…
Trump plays kingmaker in Hungary with endorsement of Orban
Former President Donald Trump doesn’t just have his sights set on the U.S. midterm elections this fall. The former president on Monday offered a full-throated endorsement for longtime Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a polarizing figure in Europe…
Biden to talk with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to counter Russian intimidation
President Biden was back at work trying to prevent a new war in Europe Sunday, planning a phone call with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy Sunday just days after a tough hour-long talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The U.S. and Ukr…
Russia’s Putin RSVPs for Beijing Olympics in video chat with China’s Xi Jinping, snubs Biden boycott
It doesn’t rank as a big surprise, but Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Wednesday he won’t be honoring President Biden’s call for a “diplomatic boycott” of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. During a warm, hourlong video chat with Chin…
Oklahoma sues Biden administration over vaccine mandate for state National Guard
The state of Oklahoma has sued the Biden administration over a Defense Department mandate that its National Guard forces must get the COVID-19 vaccine, calling it an unconstitutional and dangerous overreach by the federal government. The lawsuit, filed…
Pentagon Global Posture Review blasted for lack of China action
A “whiff.” A “word salad.” “Sticking our heads in the sand.” The Pentagon’s much-touted Global Posture Review is racking up some pretty brutal reviews of its own. Critics across the spectrum say the strategic blueprint ordered up by President Biden and…