Through a major step to bolster its future security, Ukraine has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire up to 100 Rafale fighter warplanes, unmanned aerial vehicles, air defence systems and other essential equipment from the French Republic. The agreement was signed by Ukrainian president Zelenskyy and France's leader Emmanuel Macron during a joint press briefing at the Elysée residence. Zelenskyy described the pact as “an unprecedented agreement.”
A number of families of Ukrainian children who were forcibly deported to the Russian Federation have raised concerns about their fate, stating that all contact has been severed. During a rare press event in the French capital, a legal guardian, who is responsible for two minors taken after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in recent years, stated that officials in Russia are disregarding all requests to help with the minors' repatriation.
An unmanned aerial vehicle hit a Turkish-flagged tanker and caused a fire in the southern part of Ukraine's Odesa area, authorities said. This event occurred just one day after Zelenskyy approved a deal to import American liquefied natural gas via the region. The MT Orinda was hit while offloading LPG at Izmail harbor, according to Turkey's Directorate for Maritime Affairs. All 16 crew aboard were safely removed and no one was hurt.
Romanian authorities said they had evacuated two villages near the Ukrainian frontier after the drone attack on the MT Orinda. Since invading the country in 2022, Russian forces has consistently targeted Ukrainian harbors in the Danube River area, causing alerts in neighbouring Romania.
US president Donald Trump is willing to approve legislation to impose sanctions on Russia, provided that he retains ultimate decision-making power over any such measures, a senior White House official said. The U.S. president informed reporters recently that it was “OK with me” that GOP members were drafting a bill to apply sanctions on nations engaging commercially with Moscow over its inability to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine.
The Polish prime minister, Tusk, has described an explosion along a part of rail track used for shipments to the country as an “unprecedented instance of sabotage” that might have resulted in catastrophe. This statement coincided with a announcement from legal authorities saying that an investigation had opened “concerning actions of sabotage of a terrorist kind […] carried out on orders of a external intelligence service against the nation of Poland.”
The Chinese government is ready to deepen cooperation with Russia in energy, agriculture and additional investments, Leader Li stated during a meeting with Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin in the Russian capital. Li informed his counterpart that the country is open to more farm and food goods from the nation, according to a state-run news agency. China also hopes that Moscow will facilitate for companies from China to put money and do business in Russia, the source mentioned. The Russian leader assured Li that the partnership between the both nations has repeatedly proven its strength to outside pressures.
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