EU Seeks Stronger Canada Trade Ties Amid Uncertainty Over U.S. Tariff Policy 
Oil Tanker Attacks in Gulf Escalate U.S.–Iran Conflict, Driving Energy Prices Higher 
U.S. Submarine Sinks Iranian Warship as Australia Confirms Personnel Presence 
Federal Judge Orders Refund of Trump’s Emergency Tariffs, Potentially Returning Up to $182 Billion 
Michael Whatley Wins North Carolina GOP Senate Primary, Setting Up High-Stakes Battle With Roy Cooper 
Israel Orders Evacuation of Beirut’s Southern Suburbs as Tensions With Hezbollah Escalate 
Trump Signals Support for John Cornyn in Texas GOP Senate Primary as Party Seeks to Avoid Runoff 
Ukraine to Assist U.S. in Countering Iranian Shahed Drones in the Middle East 
U.S. Considers New Rules Tying AI Chip Exports to Investment and Security Guarantees 
Shell Signs Oil and Gas Agreements With Venezuela to Advance Dragon Gas Project 
Trump Praises Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela Oil Exports Resume 
Brazil Senate Approves Mercosur–EU Trade Agreement After Decades of Negotiations 
Chinese Air Force Activity Near Taiwan Drops Sharply Amid Possible Strategic Shift 
Trump Replaces DHS Secretary Kristi Noem With Sen. Markwayne Mullin After Senate Criticism 
Big Tech Signs White House Pledge to Fund Power for AI Data Centers 
Trump Seeks Role in Iran Leadership as U.S.-Israel Strikes Escalate Middle East Conflict 
Spain Denies Deal With U.S. Military After Trump Threatens Trade Cutoff 
The European Union announced that it would be setting up a military assistance mission for Ukraine’s armed forces. This follows Kyiv’s request for such support, with 15,000 Ukrainian troops set to receive training.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters Tuesday that the bloc’s military assistance mission for Ukraine’s military was in response to Russia’s invasion. Borrell said that around 15,000 Ukrainian troops would be trained in different EU countries “as part of the mission.”
“It is going to be a big effort to renew, increase, improve the capacities of the Ukrainian army,” said Borrell, adding that the mission would be in effect in the next three months.
The bloc’s military assistance mission would be led by French Vice Admiral Herve Blejean. The EU defense ministers also agreed to provide funding of $16.5 million under the European Peace Facility for a span of 24 months. The EPF is the bloc’s instrument to maintain peace.
The announcement by the EU was welcomed by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, telling reporters in Brussels that the mission would complement what the NATO alliance is already doing. Stoltenberg stressed the importance of providing more training.
This comes as France and Germany have often been criticized by Kyiv for not sending enough weapons, and this is seen as a way for the two countries to make up for the criticism. Before the EU defense ministers meeting, German defense minister Christine Lambrecht said that around 5,000 Ukrainian troops would be trained in Germany until June 2023, and a repair center would be established in Slovakia.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the G20 countries issued a declaration that strongly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The final communique was approved Wednesday following the two-day summit in Indonesia, with the majority of the members condemning the war, noting that there are other views.
The communique said that international law must be upheld while also condemning the threat of nuclear weapons, welcoming the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The communique added that the war affected the global economy and that the G20 countries’ central banks will continue to calibrate the pace of the tightening of monetary policy.
