Politics & Economics

Since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with about $2.1 billion in humanitarian aid. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this while speaking at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “My announcement today also comes on top of more than $2.1 billion in humanitarian assistance that we’ve provided to Ukraine and to the region to respond to Russia’s war of aggression, including life-saving aid for those affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam. Within hours of its breach, we mobilized support for evacuations, emergency deliveries of food, safe…

The German government will provide Ukraine with an extra €381 million in humanitarian aid in 2023. Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany Annalena Baerbock stated this in her opening address at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. She stressed that the German government is intensifying efforts to restore Ukraine. This recovery begins with humanitarian support. “Germany will provide Ukraine with an additional EUR 381 million for humanitarian assistance in 2023," Baerbock said. According to her, this aid will go to "everything" - "from generators to food, and tents." Germany will also continue assistance in…

At the request of his U.S. counterpart, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is expected in the coming days to speak to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov for the first since taking office more than five months ago. That's according to Axios, which cites two senior Israeli defense officials, Ukrinform reports. Gallant and Reznikov are expected to speak by phone early next week to discuss non-lethal assistance to Ukraine, the Israeli officials said. Plans for the call came after Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Thursday asked Gallant if he would speak to his Ukrainian counterpart and do more to help…

U.S. President Joe Biden has said that it is "totally irresponsible" for Russia to move nuclear weapons into another country. He told this to reporters on Saturday before leaving for Philadelphia, Ukrinform reports, citing Sky News. "I've commented on that many times -- it's totally irresponsible," Biden said. Read also: Russia wants to strengthen its military control over Belarus by moving nuclear weapons - ISW U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier said that the United States was closely monitoring the situation between Russia and Belarus after President Vladimir Putin claimed on June 16 that Moscow has deployed tactical nuclear…

U.S. President Joe Biden has said that he is against easing the requirements for Ukraine on its way to NATO membership. Joe Biden said this to reporters before leaving to Philadelphia, Ukrinform reports, citing CNN. Answering the question of whether he would ease the barriers for Ukraine's accession to NATO, the head of the White House said: "No. Because they gotta meet the same standards. So I’m not gonna make it easier." Joe Biden said this to reporters before leaving to Philadelphia, citting to CNN, Ukrinform reports. Answering the question of whether he would ease the barriers to Ukraine's accession…

The United Nations Development Program, together with its partners, is accumulating one billion dollars to rebuild Ukraine.  Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said this on Facebook, citing UNDP head Achim Steiner, Ukrinform reports. The relevant statement Steiner made during a visit to Kyiv. For his part, the Prime Minister thanked the United Nations Development Program for "this timely step." During the meeting, Shmyhal discussed with the UNDP head the needs of Ukraine for rapid reconstruction and humanitarian demining, as well as support for relocated enterprises and small and medium-sized entrepreneurs who lost their businesses during the war and want…

The European Union strongly condemns Russia's intentions to hold "elections" in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in September this year, stresses the illegality of such actions, and also reminds that all persons involved in this action, including the political leadership of Russia, will bear responsibility for such an attempt. This is said in a statement by the EU spokesperson, which was published on the website of the European External Action Service, Ukrinform reports. “This week, the Central Election Commission of Russia decided to hold ‘elections’ in September in the territories of Ukraine that Russia temporarily militarily occupies, in yet…

The conclusions and recommendations of the Venice Commission regarding the laws on de-oligarchization and national minorities and the draft law on the procedure for selecting Constitutional Court judges were not unexpected for Ukraine. The Ukrainian side is already working to develop a clear vision of their implementation for the following years, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna told Ukrinform in a comment. "We continue to work on the implementation of the seven recommendations of the European Commission necessary to switch to the next level of the process of joining the European Union – opening…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a phone call with the Prime Minister of Belize, Juan Antonio Briseño, inviting his country to join the coalition for the establishment of an international tribunal for Russia, and discussed the possibility of holding a Ukraine-Latin America summit. The president reported this on Telegram, Ukrinform saw. "I had a phone call with the Prime Minister of Belize, Juan Antonio Briseño...Support for the Ukrainian initiative to establish a special international tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine is important to us, so I invited Belize to join the coalition to create this tribunal," Zelensky wrote.…

The President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, believes that all Russians currently living in Western countries should be more closely monitored by security services than before the war. Pavel expressed the opinion in an interview with RFE/RL, reports Ukrinform. "I think that... while the war is going on, the security measures toward Russian citizens should be stricter than under normal conditions. All Russians living in Western countries should be more closely monitored than in the past. Because they are citizens of a country that is waging a war of aggression," Pavel said. He remarked that he felt sorry for…