Tense protests continued in Hungary’s capital till the early hours of Thursday after the government announced “an energy emergency” and effectively raised taxes for hundreds of thousands of small entrepreneurs as the nation’s currency plunged to record lows while inflation reached the highest levels in decades.
The Biden administration sold roughly one million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to a Chinese state-controlled gas giant that continues to purchase Russian oil, a move the Energy Department said would “support American consumers” and combat “Putin’s price hike.”
Russia’s president suggested Friday that his nation’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to World War Three and challenged the West to fight his army.
Ukraine’s military has confirmed the withdrawal from the city of Lysychansk after Russia claimed complete control over the Luhansk area. Moscow said earlier that Russian and separatist forces took the last major stronghold in the Luhansk area.
Russian President Vladimir Putin woke up Wednesday with a nearly expanded NATO at Russia’s borders after Turkey lifted its objections for Finland and Sweden to join the defense bloc.
Russia says it wants to develop a new global reserve currency with China and “other BRICS nations,” in a significant challenge to the dominance of the U.S. dollar.
A retired Russian security officer who was once tasked with carrying President Vladimir Putin’s briefcase containing nuclear codes was found shot in his home on Monday, according to reports.
The EU and Israel are set to sign a natural gas export deal today that will help to decrease Europe’s reliance on Russia. The bloc is heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas exports, relying on Moscow for about 40 percent of its energy imports in 2021. According to Israel’s Energy Ministry, a deal with the EU will for the first time allow “significant” exports of Israeli gas to Europe.
French President Emmanuel Macron faced a setback Monday, with official results showing he may lose his outright majority in Parliament following a left-wing challenge in Sunday’s elections.
Russia’s United Nations ambassador angrily left a U.N. Security Council meeting as a European Union president blamed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for worldwide food shortages.
President Vladimir Putin warned the West that Russia would strike new targets if the United States started supplying Ukraine with longer-range missiles, the TASS news agency reported on Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Russia to “stop burning churches” and end attacks on his nation after a famed Orthodox Church was destroyed while explosions rocked the capital Kyiv, overshadowing Pentecost celebrations. Heavy street battles also raged in a strategic city in Ukraine’s east that Russian forces want to capture as part of an ongoing invasion.
The European Union canceled plans to impose sanctions against Russian Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Kirill after Hungary threatened to veto the bloc’s latest round of measures against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
The secretary-general of the NATO military alliance has warned Western nations to prepare for a long war in Ukraine, adding to global concerns about worldwide food shortages linked to the conflict. Jens Stoltenberg spoke as the Russian invasion of the country entered its 100th day.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has discussed Ankara’s planned military operation in northern Syria and the war in Ukraine with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Erdogan’s office said Monday.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has had a devastating effect on millions in the war-torn nation, but officials are sounding the alarm that there will be a “shattering” impact worldwide that could take a significantly deadlier toll.
Fighting ravaged eastern Ukraine on the 25th anniversary of an agreement between the NATO military alliance and Russia that helped ease East-West tensions after the Cold War.
Fighting in Ukraine’s troubled eastern Donbas area escalated Friday killing several people, but Germany’s leader said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine won’t be successful.
The German chancellor has defended Germany’s historic decision to supply weapons to a war zone, saying Russian leader Vladimir Putin should not win the war in Ukraine.
There are growing concerns over the impact the conflict in Ukraine could have on food supplies. Ukraine is a significant grain exporter, but clashes continue.