Mark Rutte took office as the NATO Secretary General, today (1 October 2024). He was welcomed to NATO Headquarters in Brussels by the outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, whose term ends after ten years. Read about the new Secretary General’s top priorities.
Politics is the art of the possible. But the line between the possible and the impossible is never fixed – it shifts in both directions. Here are ten key items on the EU’s to-do list for supporting Ukraine.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi examined a cooling tower at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) this week to assess the damage it suffered in a major fire last month, the latest incident underlining persistent nuclear safety and security dangers at the site during the military conflict.
Defendants are alleged to have committed cyber attacks in advance of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and also targeted 26 NATO countries. The U.S. Department of State’s “Rewards for Justice” program is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on any of the defendants’ locations or their malicious cyberactivity.
With relentless attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the Commission is boosting its humanitarian funding to vulnerable Ukrainians with an additional €40 million ahead of the approaching winter. Sweden has approved an additional SEK 500 million in support for heating and electricity supply in Ukraine.
As the situation in Ukraine is not expected to change in the foreseeable future, the Swiss Federal Council decided at its meeting on 4 September not to lift the protection status S for Ukrainian refugees before 4 March 2026 and to extend the support measures for this group of people (Programme S) until then.
Věra Jourová, EU Commission VP for Values and Transparency, travels to Vilnius to participate in a conference organised by the Lithuanian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, titled ‘Towards Accountability for International Crimes Committed in Ukraine’.
The European Union remains committed to stepping up the delivery of military support, including air defence systems and ammunition. These deliveries strengthen Ukrainian self-defence, save innocent lives, and reduce the level of the destruction in Ukraine.
The Swedish Government has approved SEK 2 million in support to the inhabitants of Gammalsvenskby in Ukraine. The village, which was founded by Swedes in 1782, has been under immense pressure since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“Russian disinformation and threats and false accusations will not deter the UK or our allies from our steadfast support for Ukraine, including providing it with the capabilities it needs to defend its people” – UK statement at the United Nations.
Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Ukraine has threatened the energy security of Hungary and Slovakia by making Russian Lukoil’s crude oil transit impossible. Refineries in Slovakia and Hungary face significant credit risk following Ukraine’s decision to sanction Russian oil producer Lukoil, according to Fitch Ratings.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will travel to Ukraine, next week, to hold high-level talks and assess developments at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), where nuclear safety and security remains precarious.
“We are supporting Ukraine; we are not in a war with Russia. We are supporting Ukraine but there are different means of supporting Ukraine, and one of the most important means is by training their soldiers and providing fighter jets – that is what we are doing. EUMAM Ukraine is the most successful training mission that we have done in our history” – EU HR Borrell.
The NATO-Ukraine Council met on Wednesday (28 August 2024) following recent heavy Russian airstrikes against Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure. Allies strongly condemned Russia’s indiscriminate strikes and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen Ukraine’s defences.
“At the beginning of this decade, many illusions have been shattered in Europe. The illusion that peace was achieved once and for all. The illusion that prosperity might matter more to Putin than his delusional dreams of empire. The illusion that Europe was doing enough on security – be it economically or militarily. Today, we cannot afford any more illusions. The second half of this decade will be high-risk” –
“The weaponry that we are providing to Ukraine has to have full use, and the restrictions have to be lifted in order for the Ukrainians to be able to target the places from where Russia is bombing them. Otherwise, the weaponry is useless” – EU High Representative Borrell.
On 24 August, the EU marked the 33rd anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union—a day dedicated to celebrating Ukraine’s unique history, culture, and identity. This day also serves as a reminder to Russia that Ukraine, as a sovereign, free, and independent state, has the inherent right to determine its own foreign policy and security arrangements, in full accordance with international law and the Helsinki Final Act.
“Supporting Ukraine is the Government’s top foreign policy priority. By appointing a special envoy, the Government is stepping up Sweden’s engagement and prospects of further contributing to Ukraine’s reconstruction,” says Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine has issued a request for international assistance via NATO’s emergency response mechanism, the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre. The request is for heavy equipment to support civilian emergency responders dealing with the consequences of Russia’s daily attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
The EU has reached its target of filling gas storage facilities to 90% of capacity well over 2 months ahead of the 1 November deadline, according to the latest figures released today by Gas Infrastructure Europe.
The nuclear safety situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is deteriorating following a drone strike that hit the road around the plant site perimeter today (17/8), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
We and use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your experience on our website. We may store and/or access information on a device and process personal data, such as your IP address and browsing data, for personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development. Additionally, we may utilize precise geolocation data and identification through device scanning.
Please note that your consent will be valid across all our subdomains. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the “Consent Preferences” button at the bottom of your screen. We respect your choices and are committed to providing you with a transparent and secure browsing experience.
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| __stripe_mid | This cookie is set by Stripe payment gateway. This cookie is used to enable payment on the website without storing any patment information on a server. | |
| __stripe_sid | This cookie is set by Stripe payment gateway. This cookie is used to enable payment on the website without storing any patment information on a server. | |
| _abck | This cookie is used to detect and defend when a client attempt to replay a cookie.This cookie manages the interaction with online bots and takes the appropriate actions. | |
| _wpfuuid | This cookie is used by the WPForms WordPress plugin. The cookie is used to allows the paid version of the plugin to connect entries by the same user and is used for some additional features like the Form Abandonment addon. | |
| ASP.NET_SessionId | Issued by Microsoft's ASP.NET Application, this cookie stores session data during a user's website visit. | |
| AWSALBCORS | This cookie is managed by Amazon Web Services and is used for load balancing. | |
| bm_sz | This cookie is set by the provider Akamai Bot Manager. This cookie is used to manage the interaction with the online bots. It also helps in fraud preventions | |
| cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". | |
| cookielawinfo-checbox-functional | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". | |
| cookielawinfo-checbox-others | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. | |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". | |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". | |
| elementor | This cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time. | |
| JSESSIONID | Used by sites written in JSP. General purpose platform session cookies that are used to maintain users' state across page requests. | |
| viewed_cookie_policy | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. | |
| _ga_4L7PKQPHHV | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. | |
| _ga_T50H0MNN9J | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. | |
| _gat_gtag_UA_12289088_5 | Set by Google to distinguish users. | |
| _gcl_au | Provided by Google Tag Manager to experiment advertisement efficiency of websites using their services. | |
| _gid | Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. |
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| test_cookie | The test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies. |
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| _mcid | No description available. | |
| _swa_u | This cookie is set by the provider Sitewit.com. This cookie is used for statistical report and analysis. | |
| ak_bmsc | No description available. | |
| AWSALB | AWSALB is a cookie generated by the Application load balancer in the Amazon Web Services. It works slightly different from AWSELB. | |
| ec_store_chameleon_font | No description available. | |
| FCCDCF | No description available. | |
| issuem_lp | No description available. | |
| lp_us_his | No description | |
| m | No description available. |