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Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas speaks during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (not pictured) at the Tapa Military Base, in Tallinn, Estonia March 1, 2022.

Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS

Kyiv gets a strong ally in Brussels

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallasresigned on Monday and is set to become the EU’s top diplomat.

Kallas, 47, has been one of the Kremlin’s fiercest critics in Europe since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Her appointment as the EU’s foreign policy chief helps ensure strong support for Kyiv in Brussels moving forward — and comes amid palpable anxiety in Europe over the implications the US presidential election could have over the future of Washington’s support for Ukraine.

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TITLE PLACEHOLDER | Europe In :60

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UK's new PM Starmer aims for closer EU ties

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden and co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, shares his perspective on European politics from the Adriatic Sea.

How will the new UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reset relations at home and abroad?

Well, I think overall there's going to be a lot of continuity in terms of foreign and security policies. They've already sent the defense secretary to Kyiv to say that if anything, it's going to be even stronger support. But in terms of Europe, it’s going to be a new nuance and new attempts. The new foreign secretary, David Lammy, has already been to Germany, he's been to Poland, he’s been to Sweden, and he's talked about a European pact, foreign and security issues, cooperating more closely. And he's been invited to a meeting with all of the foreign ministers. So that's where we are likely to see, some change in the months and perhaps years ahead.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy interacts with soldiers during his visit to a military training area to find out about the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the ?Patriot? anti-aircraft missile system, at an undisclosed location, in Germany, June 11, 2024.

REUTERS/ Jens Buttner

NATO to pledge $43 billion in Ukraine support

As world leaders descend on Washington today for this year’s NATO summit, one number is top of mind: $43 billion. That’s the amount NATO leaders are expected to pledge in Ukraine support at this week’s gathering.

The one-year, $43 billion pledge is less ambitious than NATO’s initial proposal of a multi-year, $100 billion support package, but it couldn’t come at a more critical time for Ukraine. The country has weathered a wave of Russian missile attacks against its cities in recent days – one hit its largest children’s hospital in Kyiv on Monday – killing 36 people and injuring 140 nationwide, adding to the mounting number of civilian casualties since Moscow renewed its air campaign in recent months.

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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses Ukrainian people with Orthodox Easter message, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at the Saint Sophia cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine April 23, 2022. Picture taken April 23, 2022.

Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

Hard Numbers: Ukraine’s bloody Easter Sunday, China on the dark side of the moon, Afghanistan loses last woman diplomat, Madonna’s massive show

3: On Sunday, Ukraine marked its third Orthodox Easter under Russian attack, as Moscow’s forces targeted villages in the East with a drone barrage that killed six people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (of Jewish descent) asked his compatriots to be “united in one common prayer” on the steps of Kyiv’s St. Sophia Cathedral.

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British Foreign Secretary David Cameron holds a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department in Washington, US, April 9, 2024.

REUTERS/Michael A. McCoy

Ukraine and Russia war over energy

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron visited Washington on Tuesday to lobby for greater material US support for Ukraine, and Congress is likely to provide a package that includes help for Ukraine by the end of the month, according to analysis from Eurasia Group, our parent company.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a concert to celebrate first anniversary of Crimea annexation on Red Square in Moscow after his landslide victory in the presidential election, March 18, 2024.

Yuri Gripas/Reuters

Ukraine warns of escalation after Putin’s talk of a ‘sanitary zone’

Fresh off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “victory” of a fifth term, the Kremlin on Monday said it would move to establish a buffer zone in Ukrainian territory for the sake of Russia’s security. Putin suggested creating a “'sanitary zone' in the territories today under the Kyiv regime.”