Germany abandoned Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition in the country’s snap election on Sunday handing overall victory to Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, and giving the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) its strongest showing ever, coming in second place.
French President Emmanuel Macron said last week that the European Union finds itself in a dangerous predicament with an emboldened Russia and new leadership in Washington that can no longer be looked at as a security guarantor.
French and U.K. officials believe they can help enforce a ceasefire in Ukraine by unleashing what they see as a superior air force that would dissuade Russia from violating any truce.
Denmark aims to increase its military spending by $7 billion over two years to strengthen its forces amid what its leadership sees as threats from Russia and inconsistent messaging from the Trump administration.
The U.S. took issue with the first draft of a Group of Seven nation’s statement that was circulated last week and reportedly removed all instances where Russia could be perceived as the aggressor—which was seen as a significant break from the previous administration.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday dashed what the Trump administration saw as momentum to strike a deal that would provide the U.S. with $500 billion in its mineral wealth to pay back its support for the war and ensure some level of partnership going forward.
U.S. President Donald Trump stopped being delicate and ripped into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on several occasions last week and made it clear that he will not allow the status quo to continue in Ukraine and will not allow the “moderately successful comedian” to stop the progress for peace.
On 21 December 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received a standing ovation before he addressed a joint meeting of Congress where he assured lawmakers that Ukraine would emerge victorious against Russia.