At the dawn of a third year of war, Ukraine needs help from Europe and the United States more than ever. In the United States, the question is being debated again. Last night, Donald Trump’s allies in the House of Representatives vetoed the issue. In the midst of the presidential campaign, the equation has transformed into a long-distance standoff between President Joe Biden, who is urgently demanding these new funds, and Donald Trump, who claims that if he were re-elected in November, he would settle the war between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours” – without really explaining how.
Information to remember
⇒ In the United States, a new veto on aid to Ukraine
⇒ Scholz calls for large-scale arms production in Europe
⇒ Donald Trump brushes off criticism after his controversial comments on NATO
Trump allies veto aid to Ukraine again
Trump’s allies in the US House of Representatives dealt another setback to supporters of aid to Ukraine, announcing in advance their refusal to consider legislation that the US Senate could pass on Tuesday in view of a new envelope for Kiev. Democrats and Republicans have been torn apart for months in the American Congress over the question of aid to Ukraine, an ally of the United States, at war with Russia for almost two years. The Democrats are, in the vast majority, in favor. The Republicans are divided between interventionist hawks, pro-Ukraine, and lieutenants of Donald Trump, who are much more isolationist.
In the midst of the presidential campaign, the equation has transformed into a long-distance standoff between President Joe Biden, who is urgently demanding these new funds, and Donald Trump, who claims that if he were re-elected in November, he would settle the war between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours”, without really explaining how.
Armament: Scholz calls for large-scale production in Europe
In a Europe struggling to supply Ukraine with munitions, the German manufacturer Rheinmetall is investing in the long term with a new shell factory and the ambition to increase its production tenfold. According to the Chancellor, this is a “signal” to Europeans called to strengthen the continent’s defense industrial base, by favoring grouped and long-term orders. “We must […] turn to large-scale arms production,” insisted Olaf Scholz.
Despite the billions of euros of weapons delivered by EU countries to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, they are still far from having reached sufficient capacity to sustainably support the country and reconstitute their own stocks. However, it is an “urgent necessity. Because as harsh as this reality is, we do not live in times of peace”, underlined the chancellor for whom the “imperial ambitions” of Russian President Vladimir Putin represent “a threat major”.
Donald Trump brushes off criticism after his controversial comments on NATO
Despite numerous criticisms, Donald Trump accepts his comments and the threats made against NATO when he declared on Saturday that he would “encourage” Russia to attack the member countries of the Atlantic Alliance if they did not pay not their share.
“I made NATO strong, and even the radical left Democrats and fake Republicans admit that,” the very likely Republican candidate for the US presidential election in November declared on Monday on his network, Truth Social . “When I told the twenty countries that were not paying their fair share that they had to pay or they would not benefit from American protection, the money flowed in,” he said. “But now that I’m no longer here to say ‘you have to pay,’ they’re starting again,” the former president continued.