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Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris shakes hands with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, as they meet in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, on Sept. 26, 2024.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Hard Numbers: US sends billions to Ukraine, Poland’s PM takes aim at beavers, NYC adopts new tool to battle rats, Japan finds longtime death row inmate innocent

8 billion: US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky Thursday and announced more than $8 billion innew military aid for the war-torn country. The aid includes new medium-range missiles, air defense, and other security assistance, such as the expansion of training for Ukrainian F-16 pilots. What’s not included in the latest round of aid? The long-range missiles Zelensky has long wanted.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi emplanes for two-nation state visit to Poland and Ukraine, in New Delhi on Wednesday.

ANI via Reuters Connect

India’s Modi makes first-ever visit to Kyiv

On Friday, Narendra Modi will become the first Indian prime minister to visit Ukraine. Modi says the purpose of his stop in Kyiv, coming after a trip to Poland, is to “share perspectives” on ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Back in July, Modi visited Vladimir Putin in Moscow on a trip that rankled New Delhi’s friends in Washington, even if Modi did deftly rebuke Putin for killing Ukrainian children.
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Servicemen of the 24th King Daniel of Galicia Separate Mechanized Brigade are firing a mortar at the positions of Russian troops near Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on August 14, 2024.

OLEKSANDR KLYMENKO via Reuters Connect

A buffer for Ukraine, new tensions with Belarus?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that Ukraine’s military operation in Russia’s Kursk regionaims to establish a buffer zone to prevent further attacks by Moscow. Since Aug. 6, Ukrainian forces havedestroyed two key bridges and disrupted Russian supply lines. Further south, there has also been“intense military activity” near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, with the UN’s nuclear watchdog warning of deteriorating safety conditions.

For its part, Russia dismissed reports that Ukraine’s shock attack on Kurskderailed discussions on halting strikes near energy facilities. The Washington Post had claimed that delegations were set to meet in Qatar to negotiate a partial cease-fire, but Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova denied the existence of any talks.

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Election 2024: Are American allies worried about the US presidential election?
Election 2024: Are American allies worried about the US presidential election? | GZERO World

Election 2024: Are American allies worried about the US presidential election?

What do NATO allies think of conversations among US voters about President Biden’s age and ability to serve a second term? Are they worried a second Trump presidency will negatively impact the war in Ukraine? On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sat with Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski on the sidelines of NATO’s 75th-anniversary summit in DC for his take on a potential second Biden or Trump administration. Sikorksi says Poland will have a partner and ally in whoever ends up in the Oval Office.

“Once you start interfering in the internal party, political affairs of other countries, you’re on a very slippery slope,” Sikorski warns, “Poland wants to have the best possible relations with the US, whoever is your president goes without saying.”

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Ukraine can still win this war, says Poland's FM
Ukraine can still win this war, says Poland's FM | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Ukraine can still win this war, says Poland's FM

Do NATO allies have the strength, patience, and unity to support Ukraine for as long as it takes to win the war and defeat Russia? According to Poland’s Foreign Minister, Radek Sikorski, the answer is a resounding yes. On GZERO World, Sikorski sat down with Ian Bremmer on the sidelines of NATO’s 75th-anniversary summit in Washington, DC, to talk about NATO’s strength, Putin’s missteps, and why continuing to send crucial military and economic assistance to Kyiv is a top priority for western allies and the future of NATO.

“Ukraine is heroically defending us before this evil man at a cost to us of less than 1% of our GDP,” Sikorski explains, “We can afford this."

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is undermining Western unity at the NATO Summit

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is undermining Western unity at the NATO Summit | GZERO World

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is undermining Western unity at the NATO Summit

Is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán undermining Europe and Western unity following this year’s critical NATO summit? Just days after Hungary’s nationalist leader met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, Orbán left the NATO 75th anniversary summit in Washington, DC to visit former president Donald Trump, a well-known critic of the alliance, at his Mar-A-Lago estate.

On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sat down with Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski on the sidelines of the summit to ask how NATO members deal with a renegade ally like Hungary and the challenges posed by Orbán’s coziness with authoritarian rulers. Orbán’s rogue trips are a sharp contrast with NATO’s unified stance, on full display at the summit, but Sikorski insists Orbán doesn’t represent the EU or NATO.

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Polish soldiers and a local dog walk along the border fence on the Polish-Belarusian border in Usnarz Gorny, Poland.

REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki

Poland boosts defenses, Lithuania secures leadership win

The Eastern front isn’t taking any chances. Faced with cyberattacks, arson attempts, and a migrant crisis manufactured by Minsk, Poland said Monday that it will spend US$2.5 billion on the Shield-East system to beef up its 700-kilometer eastern border with Russia and Belarus. Construction is to be completed by 2028. Shield-East will include anti-drone towers, anti-tank barriers, bunkers, and space for potential minefields, designed to deter possible aggression by Russia.

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Donald Tusk, the chairman of the Civic Platform (PO) opposition party, surrounded by party members, speaks during a press conference in Krakow.

EU drops democracy dispute with Poland

After six years of acrimonious disputes with Warsaw over allegations that the Polish government was rolling back democracy and eroding the rule of law, Brussels is now dropping the issue.

The spat began under the previous Polish government, which was controlled by the right-wing nationalist Law and Justice Party. It introduced judicial reforms that the top EU court ruled had curbed judicial independence. The EU imposed fines, partly blocked access to European budget funds, and initiated sanctions that could have jeopardized Poland’s EU voting rights.

The standoff was complicated by the fact that even as Warsaw squabbled with Brussels over domestic issues, Poland took a lead in supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia, a major EU foreign policy priority.

Burying the hatchet. The European Commission said Monday that in light of changes made by the centrist Polish government of Donald Tusk, which was elected last year after a season of deeply polarizing campaigns, it would drop the claims, confident that “today marks the opening of a new chapter for Poland.”

That leaves Hungary, governed by the proudly “illiberal” Viktor Orbán, as the only EU country still facing sanctions over rule-of-law violations.

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