Benjamin Looijen

Ukraine and Slovakia agreed to step up cooperation in the nuclear industry, diversification of oil and natural gas transportation, and synchronization of market conditions and products to increase liquidity in the gas and electricity markets.

According to a survey conducted among French youth, one in two would be ready to join the French army and fight in Ukraine if it was necessary to defend France.

In the last 24 hours, Russian forces have attacked multiple Ukrainian border regions with drones and types of weaponry. Targets included locations in Kharkiv, Donetsk and the Sumy regions, with multiple wounded and fatal casualties as a result.

Seeing no substantial obstacles, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine seeks to start negotiations on joining the EU no later than June this year.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said "active negotiations" were underway with allies to obtain two batteries of the Patriot air defense system and one of the SAMP/T system.

While in office, Donald Trump made it clear that he believed that Ukraine should be part of Russia, as stated by his former advisor Fiona Hill: ''He could not get his head around the idea that Ukraine was an independent state''.

During a phone conversation with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that the Netherlands has allocated another billion euros for military aid to Ukraine and 400 million euros for reconstruction.

Belgian intelligence services have uncovered evidence of Russian influence groups meddling in European elections to bolster pro-Russian narratives and candidates, Prime Minister Alexander de Croo announced today.

As Emmanuel Macron first expressed his idea on the possibility of Western partners stationing their military in Ukraine, German chancellor Olaf Scholz was allegedly enraged at the idea, demanding that the conversation be halted.

Russia’s Wagner private military company has started a large-scale recruitment of Ukrainians in the temporarily occupied territories. The goal is to provide recruits for Russian influence operations in Africa.

Ukraine is increasing its integration into the European Union through the expansion of Ukrainian routes in the overall European transport network.

According to the Norwegian Foreign Minister, the West is in agreement on helping Ukraine towards victory. Nevertheless, ''there's a lot of good words, but not sufficient actual support.''

Ukraine's partners are not providing enough air defense to protect against Russian missile attacks even though they have more than 100 Patriot systems in their own arsenals, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Wednesday.

According to The Guardian, Ukraine's military intelligence is planning a third attack on the Kerch bridge during the first half of 2024.