News and Analysis
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After weeks of standoff, E.U. leaders brought Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary on board and agreed to create a 50-billion-euro fund for Ukraine, providing a critical lifeline to a country at risk of financial meltdown in the midst of war with Russia.
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Moscow is sending a chilly message to Russians abroad who oppose the war: A new law will allow their property back home to be seized, and other countries are being pressured to crack down on them.
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The fate of Ukraine’s top commander, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, appears to be hanging by a thread — not over his standing in the army, where he is well regarded, but over tensions with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Broadcasting Rage: Residents of the battered Ukrainian city of Kharkiv turn to a station called Radio Boiling Over to vent their anger at Russian attacks.
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Reined In: Ukraine’s oligarchs have lost billions from the shelling of their factories. Now the government hopes to break their political influence.
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Staying Put: The front line in Ukraine is largely populated by the elderly these days. Some can’t afford to get out, while others say they won’t leave their homes….
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Sweden NATO entry pushed by US Senator’s against Hungary…
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers are urging Hungary to immediately ratify Sweden’s application to join NATO, saying patience with the Central European country is “wearing thin” as it continues to delay its approval for the Nordic nation.
Hungary is the only country in the 31-nation military alliance that hasn’t yet backed Sweden’s membership bid, and frustration has mounted within NATO as Budapest has repeatedly pushed back a vote on ratification for more than a year.
In a joint statement released Thursday, U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, and Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, called on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to “advance Sweden’s accession protocols to NATO without further delay,” and said continuing to hold up the process would harm Budapest’s relations with its allies.
“Despite its numerous prior public commitments, Hungary is the last remaining NATO member to have not ratified Sweden’s bid and both time and patience are wearing thin. Hungary’s inaction risks irrevocably damaging its relationship with the United States and with NATO,” the senators wrote….