Ukraine mourns dead from major Russian strike, vows response with underground weapons production

Funeral services were held Saturday for victims of one of the deadliest Russian airstrikes since the war in Ukraine began.

Beloved whale suspected of spying for Russia was shot to death, activists say

OneWhale, a nonprofit specifically founded to protect Hvaldimir, and NOAH, a Norwegian animal rights group, said this week that they had filed a police report with local law enforcement and the state authorities charged with investigating environmental crimes. 

Europe warned about Russian gas being secretly mixed into supply

Several eastern European states continue to receive Russian gas through a pipeline that crosses Ukraine. That agreement ends this year. One alternative that’s been discussed is for European companies to buy fuel from Azerbaijan.

In Ukraine, a city grieves for a family killed in a deadly Russia missile attack

Thousands of mourners gathered Friday for funeral services in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv for victims of a Russian missile attack that killed seven people, including a mother and her three daughters.

EU envoy urges Kosovo and Serbia to resume efforts to normalize ties through talks

Kosovo-Serbia ties remain tense and the 13-year-long normalization talks facilitated by the European Union have failed to make progress.

Zelenskyy asks US-led coalition at Ramstein for green light to attack further into Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s pleas for long-range weapons meant to strike deeper into Russia were met with a cool response from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday at a gathering of more than 50 nations involved in planning military aid to war-torn Ukraine.

The Dutch government is ‘future-proofing’ its military in an increasingly volatile world

The Netherlands’ defense ministry has announced a major plan to “future-proof” the country’s military, including buying more F-35 fighter jets and the return of a Dutch tank battalion as it gears up to face a world of expanding threats. 

Macron names EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as France’s new prime minister

The appointment of the 73-year-old Barnier follows weeks of intense efforts by Macron and his aides to find a candidate who might be able to build loose groupings of backers in parliament and survive promised attempts by Macron’s opponents to quickly topple the new government.