An annual U.S.-led naval exercise in the Baltic region that starts this weekend could allow Finland and Sweden to demonstrate their maritime prowess, potentially underscoring the contributions they might make as NATO members. Both countries long have been participants in Baltic Operations, or BALTOPS, but this year Sweden hosts opening …

Four medium-range rocket systems will be included in the latest $700 million U.S. military aid package after continued calls by Ukrainian officials for the weapons, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said Wednesday. The High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, can strike targets roughly 50 miles away and …

Europe lurched closer to an energy crisis on Tuesday after the Kremlin cut off gas supplies to major buyers including Shell. A Telegraph report said: Russia’s state-owned gas supplier, Gazprom, said supplies to Shell in Germany as well as to Ørsted in Denmark will be cut off on Wednesday after …

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the importance of Israelis and Palestinians “working to maintain calm and de-escalate tensions,” during a phone call on Tuesday evening with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to a readout from the State Department. Blinken also “underscored the importance” of the Palestinian Authority …

Small but tech-mighty Estonia was one of Europe’s leading destinations for cryptocurrency companies. But the Baltic nation is now getting tough on how it regulates its digital assets and will bring in new rules this month, which some say could deter Estonia’s thriving start-up scene. The country’s new rules come …

Inflation in the eurozone hit a new record of 8.1 per cent in May, up from 7.4 per cent in April, amid soaring energy and food prices fuelled in part by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The preliminary estimate published on Tuesday by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, is the …

A rocket struck a residential area in a northern Syrian town controlled by Turkey-backed opposition fighters on Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding others, opposition activist said. Some activists said that the rocket was fired on Tel Abyad by the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, a claim that …

Ukraine Russian forces made gains in east and captured last pocket of resistance in Mariupol in south, as Ukrainian forces advanced in north; hostilities could intensify, escalate or spread in coming weeks. Russian forces 23 May began advancing on Severodonetsk and Lysychansk cities from three directions to encircle Ukrainian troops …

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pledged to send Ukraine high-tech anti-aircraft systems as Germany looks to quell criticism from opposition members that it hasn’t provided enough military aid in the fight against Russia’s unprovoked invasion. Speaking to lawmakers in Berlin on June 1, Scholz said the government had approved a …

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization continues to change even as it defends the 30 nations of the alliance, Ambassador Julianne Smith, U.S. permanent representative to NATO, told the Defense Writers Group today. Smith spoke about the challenges from Russia due to that country’s unprovoked war on Ukraine and the upcoming …