Iran Warns of Retaliation as Trump Threatens New Strikes, Oil Risks Intensify 
US Embassies Urge Americans to Leave Middle East as Iran Tensions Escalate 
Israel Strikes Gaza Near Hospital as Uncertainty Grows Over Hamas Disarmament Deal 
Peru Court Frees Former President Ollanta Humala After Conviction Overturned 
Israel Strikes Gaza as Trump Ceasefire Push Faces Fresh Challenges 
South Korea Reviews Border Drone Incident After Troops Mistake U.S. Aircraft for Potential Threat 
White House: No Weaponized Drones Seized at FIFA World Cup Venues Despite 700 Recoveries 
Spain Deploys Troops as Ceuta Faces Major Migrant Surge From Morocco 
US Signals More Joint Yen Intervention With Japan if Currency Volatility Continues 
Trump Says U.S. ICC Campaign Aims to Protect Netanyahu, Not Himself 
Brazil Supreme Court Approves Probe Into Lula’s Son Over Health Ministry Lobbying Claims 
Warner Bros. Discovery Shares Rise as Newsom Pushes Settlement in $110 Billion Merger Fight 
Trump Says Iran Talks to Begin as Strait of Hormuz Deal Nears, Oil Prices Fall 
Capital One Says AML Review Led to Closure of Trump Organization Accounts 
Russian Border Drone Strike Kills Child in Belgorod, Injures Two Others 
North Korea Warns U.S. Forces Japan Expansion Raises Korea Conflict Risk 
While Ukraine is not a NATO member country, the nations under the alliance have been assisting Ukraine in the war waged by Russia, The alliance’s secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg announced that NATO is prepared to support Kyiv for years in its war against Russia.
Reuters reports Stoltenberg announced Thursday that the NATO alliance is ready to support Ukraine in its war against Russia. The support includes helping Kyiv shift from Soviet-era weapons to a modern Western arsenal and systems. Stoltenberg’s announcement follows the Kremlin’s warning that Western countries sending supplies to Ukraine was a threat to the security of Europe while provoking instability in the region.
“We need to be prepared for the long term,” said Stoltenberg during a youth summit in Brussels. “There is absolutely a possibility that this war will drag on and last for months and years.”
“NATO allies are preparing to provide support over a long period of time and also help Ukraine to transit, move from old Soviet-era equipment to more modern NATO-standard weapons and systems that will also require more training,” said the NATO chief.
Stoltenberg also said that the West will continue to increase its pressure on Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to put an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine through sets of sanctions while sending economic and military aid to Kyiv. Moscow claims the invasion is a “special military operation.”
Most arms and military equipment countries that were sent to Ukraine are still Soviet-era arms in the inventories of eastern European NATO member countries, but the US and other Western allies have already supplied Kyiv with Western howitzers.
At the same time, the US Congress passed legislation that will make it easier to send more military equipment to Ukraine, which revives a World War II-era US weapons financing program. The US House of Representatives almost unanimously approved the legislation titled “Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022,” which will be sent to the desk of President Joe Biden for his signature. The bill was passed unanimously by the Senate.
The World War II-era weapons program allowed Washington to lend or lease military equipment to the UK and other allies for a small price. The new proposal will help Ukraine as it fights back against Russia, as well as help Poland and other countries in eastern Europe.
