Ukraine-Russia war latest: Russia to develop 'military response' to US move; warnings over Trump's NATO plans (2024)

Hungary does not want NATO to become an "anti-China" bloc, and will not support it doing so, the country's foreign minister has said.

Peter Szijjarto also warned Ukraine's admission to the military alliance would weaken it.

"NATO is a defence alliance... we can't organise it into an anti-China bloc," he told Hungarian state TV.

"Ukraine's admission wouldn't strengthen but weaken the unity's alliance, as there are completely different viewpoints on their membership,

"Ukraine's NATO membership would not strengthen the alliance's defence character as well because, in practice, it would create a risk of open conflict between Russia and NATO."

His comments come after NATO leaders labelled China as a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war against Ukraine and called its deepening ties with Moscow a cause for "deep concern".

This prompted an angry response from China, with its foreign ministry spokesperson calling NATO's accusations "biased, slanderous, and provocative" while dismissing the alliance as "a relic of the Cold War".

For context: China is an important trade and investment partner for Hungary, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visiting Beijing earlier this week on what he branded a "peace mission".

But, several other members of the European Union have sought to become less dependent on the country.

China, which has close ties to Moscow, also opted not to attend the first international peace summit hosted by Ukraine in June.

Thousands of Ukrainians living in Poland have already registered to participate in a new volunteer military unit, the Polish foreign minister has said.

Radoslaw Sikorski confirmed that Poland will train and equip the Ukrainian Legion unit, which will be sent to Ukraine and given the right to return to Poland after completing a rotation.

"We have up to a million Ukrainians of both sexes, and several thousand of them have already registered to participate," he said.

"And what is interesting is many of them really want to serve and rotate our compatriots, but they say 'we don't want to be sent into battle without being properly trained and equipped'."

The Ukrainian Legion was announced as part of a security agreement signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk earlier this week.

Norway will give 1 billion crowns (£72.2m) to boost Ukraine's air defences, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store has said.

It comes after Norway vowed to provide Ukraine with six F-16 fighter jets yesterday.

Mr Stoere made the announcement at a NATO summit in Washington, where alliance members have promised more aid to Kyiv as it continues to fight Russia.

"The Ukrainians need more air defence to protect their population from Russian bombs and missiles," Stoere said in a statement.

"The brutal attacks we have seen this past week show why it is so vital for the Ukrainians to have greater protection from Russian air attacks," he added.

Ukraine and Romania have signed a 10-year security agreement.

The deal will see Kyiv continue receiving support from Bucharest "with the same dynamic" as it has since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

A key feature of the deal will see the two countries cooperate more on "fostering Black Sea region security" and promoting a wider NATO presence in the area.

Separate sections of the document cover intelligence and counter-intelligence, cybersecurity, information security, humanitarian demining, sanctions, and the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine.

The agreement also includes a 24-hour emergency response mechanism in case of "renewed Russian aggression against Ukraine or significant escalation".

The deal brings the total number of bilateral security agreements signed by Kyiv to 23.

A Russian plot to kill the CEO of a German arms manufacturer has reportedly been foiled by the US and Germany.

According to a report from CNN, which cites five US and Western officials familiar with the incident, Russia was planning to kill Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger.

The plot was "one of a series" of Russian plans to assassinate defence industry executives across Europe who were supporting Ukraine's war effort, the sources said.

German security services were able to protect Mr Papperger and stop the plan after a warning from the US, the report added.

A high-level German government source confirmed that Berlin was warned about the plot by the US, according to CNN.

Rheinmetall is the largest and most successful Germanmanufacturer of 155mm artillery shells.

The shells have become a vital weapon in Ukraine's defence against Russia.

Ukraine has signed an agreement with a large US weapons manufacturer to produce ammunition.

The country's state-owned defence company Ukroboronprom and Northrop Grumman have agreed to create medium-calibre NATO-standard ammunition for Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the deal in Washington at a meeting with the management of top US defence companies.

The parties also discussed the prospects of joint defence production, primarily ammunition, air defence systems, guns, armoured vehicles and drones, and the repair and maintenance of military equipment, according to a statement from the Ukraine presidency.

"We are extremely grateful to you for your cooperation and assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war," Mr Zelenskyy said at the meeting.

"You helped us a lot to protect freedom, democracy, our people, our families, and children."

Five of the world's six largest defence companies were at the meeting, with Mr Zelenskyy inviting them to work on the Ukrainian market and cooperate with domestic enterprises.

For context: Ukraine has been trying to build up its domestic armaments sector since the war erupted in 2022.

It has urged its allies to agree to joint ventures, invest in Ukrainian businesses, and place orders for Ukrainian weapons.

Last year, Kyiv agreed with two US firms to jointly manufacture vital 155mm artillery shells in Ukraine, but production was not expected to start for at least two years.

Last month, Ukroboronprom launched a partnership with German defence conglomerate Rheinmetall that saw a workshop established in Ukraine for the repair and production of armoured vehicles.

A senior French MEP has called on Europe to "rein in" the Hungarian president's running of the European Council.

Valerie Hayer, the president of the liberal Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, said Viktor Orban has been "undermining positions" set out by the EU on the war in Ukraine.

Mr Orban currently holds control of the European Council as part of the authority's six-month rotating presidency system.

He has angered EU leaders by meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping before this week's NATO summit in Washington.

He held the talks without consulting the EU beforehand.

Ms Hayer said the meetings were a "security threat".

"The Hungarian prime minister is undermining positions adopted by the European Union and acting contrary to our interests and it has to stop," she said.

"It is time to rein in Viktor Orban's rogue presidency of the council. His pretend peace mission is a security threat. His isolated communication is only a smoke screen for his own interests and fails miserably.

"Russia's recent attacks, including on a children's hospital in Kyiv, 48 hours after a supposed peace mission, are simply sickening."

Renew Europe also called on the European Council to "state clearly" that Mr Orban doesn't speak on behalf of the EU.

It said the Hungarian government must stop using the logo of the presidency in non-sanctioned communications that harm the union.

A Russian court has sentenced a student to five years in jail for sharing troop locations with Ukrainian forces.

The court found the man guilty of treason, handing him a reduced sentence in a penal colony after he pleaded guilty and cooperated with the investigation, Russia's security service said.

The unnamed person collected information "using the internet" and passed it on to Ukraine's security service in exchange for payment, it added.

The student was found in the far eastern Russian city of Birobidzhan - 3,700 miles (5,954km) from Ukraine.

A foreign cargo ship has been seized and its captain has been detained for alleging illegally exporting Ukrainian grain from occupied Crimea, Ukraine has claimed.

The country's prosecutor general's office said the ship, which was flying under the flag of Cameroon, exported agricultural products from the Crimean port of Sevastopol - a key military hub for Russia in the Black Sea.

It also claimed the grain being exported had been produced in southern Ukraine.

It is illegal to enter internationally recognised Ukrainian territory through a border point not controlled by Ukrainian authorities.

According to the report, the ship initially illegally docked at Sevastopol in November 2023 and was loaded with more than 3,000 tons of products "intended for a Turkish company".

To conceal the illegal activity, the ship's automatic identification system was turned off before entering the port, which Ukraine said was "a gross violation of maritime safety requirements".

Prosecutors said the ship returned in May and was seized at the Ukrainian port of Reni where officials found documents issued by Sevastopol port authorities.

For context: Thefull-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 saw Russia quickly capture of swathes of agricultural land.

Kyiv has accused Moscow of illegally harvesting and shipping grain produced on occupied territory to third countries.

In May, the EU imposed tariffs of up to 50% on grain imports from Russia in a bid to cut off revenues to Moscow for its war effort.

As of November 2023, Russia had exported about $1bn (£774m) worth of looted goods, according to Kyiv.

Moscow denies stealing Ukrainian grain.

There have been multiple NATO summits since Russia launched its invasion, but at none of them have the words of the US president come under so much scrutiny.

So why will everyone be keeping a close eye on Joe Biden's speech tonight?

On the home front, Mr Biden has been facing calls from critics and fellow Democrats to stand down in the US presidential race after a series of poor performances so far in his campaign, including in the CNN leaders debate.

Any major slip-ups later may also have Ukraine wincing.

Mistakes by Mr Biden could increase the likelihood of a Trump victory in the US, which would ultimately make the future of NATO and its support for Kyiv more precarious.

The 81-year-old will speak solo, making it the first time he has faced the press alone since November, and he will be asked an unspecified number of questions from reporters.

The White House has been busy preparing the president by trying to game out the questions reporters would ask, a knowledgeable source told Reuters.

"If it's a little mistake, slurring a word or something, I think people would just let it pass," said Larry Sabato, head of the University of Virginia's Centre for Politics.

"But if there is anything approaching what we saw at the debate, the Democratic Party would be thrown into turmoil."

Mr Biden led a well-orchestrated, forceful summit speech on Tuesday to the relief of White House staff, and has participated in a wide array of public events without a mistake, including campaign stops in North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Virginia.

But there's still a long way to go before the election, and looming ahead: Another debate against Trump.

We'll be bringing you live coverage of Mr Biden's speech this evening...