War in Ukraine

Nov. 5 (UPI) — European lawmakers have agreed to a fifth disbursement of $2 billion for Ukraine, supporting its financial stability and government as its defense against a Russian invasion nears its fourth year.

The European Council, the collegiate body of the 27-member bloc, adopted a decision Monday to disburse the funds under its Ukraine Facility, the EU’s main framework for sustaining Ukraine’s economy, governance and reconstruction.

The disbursement comes after Kyiv’s successful completion of nine steps required for the money to be released and one outstanding step from the fourth disbursement of $3.6 billion in August.

“The funding aims primarily to bolster Ukraine’s macro-financial stability and support the continued operation of its public administration,” the council said in a statement.

The Ukraine Facility was adopted in February 2024 and came into force the next month to provide Ukraine with up to $57.4 billion in stable financing in the form of grants and loans through 2027.

Up to $36.7 billion of the funds are earmarked for reforms and investments established in the Ukraine Plan, which will also accelerate Kyiv’s EU accession.

Under the Ukraine Facility, the EU has disbursed about $6.8 billion in bridge financing, $2.1 billion in pre-financing and now five installments of $4.8 billion, $4.1 billion, $4 billion, $3.6 billion and $2 billion on Tuesday.

The disbursement came as the European Commission, the executive branch of the bloc, published a report assessing that Ukraine has made progress in its accession process.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said in a statement that the report “is the best assessment to date — proof that even as we defend against Russia’s full-scale aggression, Ukraine continues to reform and transform according to European standards.”

“Ukraine’s progress on the path to the EU is achieved by efforts of millions of our people,” he said.

“We are committed to working together to strengthen Europe and our shared values.”

Oct. 30 (UPI) — The centrist liberal Democrats 66 surged in Wednesday’s Dutch elections, finishing in a virtual tie with the far-right Party for Freedom for most seats in parliament, according to reports.

The PVV and D66 were poised to win 26 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, The NL Times and Dutch News reported.

D66 had received several thousand votes more than PVV, though vote counting was ongoing. About 98% of the votes had been counted. Turnout was 78.4%.

The vote is being viewed as a refutation of the PVV and its leader, Geert Wilders, as they lost 11 seats. The party had 37 seats from the 2023 general election.

D66 picked up 17, from the nine seats it held following the last election.

With no party winning a majority, a coalition government will need to be formed, the leader of which is currently uncertain, though D66’s leader, Rob Jetten, appears a likely candidate.

If Jetten is named prime minister, he would not only he the country’s youngest prime minister in modern history at 38 years of age but the first to be openly gay.

“The positive forces have won!” Jetten said on X.

“I want to get to work for all Dutch people, because this is the land of us all!”

Wilders took to social media to declare: “The voter has spoken.”

“We had hoped for a different outcome but we kept our backs straight,” he said.

“We are more determined to fight than ever and still the second and perhaps even largest party of the Netherlands.”

The D66 ran on a platform of “freedom for everyone, but nobody left behind” that emphasized housing and education, climate and energy issues and healthcare with an emphasis on strengthening democracy.

“We are social liberals,” an English-language party report states. “This means that for us, freedom is only real when everyone has the opportunity to truly be free.”

On the other side of the political aisle, the anti-Islam PVV took a hardline stance on most issues, including immigration, such as tightening asylum rules and strengthening border policies.

“Islam, without exception, is the greatest existential threat to our freedom,” the PVV said in a report on its policies. “Worldwide, Islam is the breeding ground for extremism, oppression and terror.”

The party is ultranationalist and stands against funding asylum, developing nations, Ukraine‘s defense, the European Union and the fight against climate change.

“A shopping cart full of groceries at a normal price, being able to turn on the heater without fainting at the energy bill, a roof over your head, affordable healthcare where visiting a doctor or dentist isn’t punished financially, a decent old-age pension — that is the Netherlands of the PVV,” it said.

The right-leaning People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy was poised to pick up the third-most seats in the election with 22 seats followed by the Christian Democratic Appeal party with 18.

SEOUL, Oct. 24 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed that his country’s alliance with Russia would “advance non-stop” and had reached a “historic peak,” as Pyongyang marked the first anniversary of its troops’ deployment to the Ukraine war, state-run media reported Friday.

Kim made the remarks Thursday at a groundbreaking ceremony in Pyongyang for a new memorial museum honoring North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Russian forces, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

“Just one year ago from today the last group of the combatants of our expeditionary forces left for Russia,” Kim said, according to KCNA. “The sacred journey marked the beginning of a new history of militant solidarity between the DPRK and Russia.”

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.

According to Seoul’s National Intelligence Service, North Korea has sent weapons and some 15,000 troops to Russia since 2024, primarily to help recapture lost territory in Kursk Province from Ukrainian forces. The agency said in September that around 2,000 of the dispatched soldiers have been killed.

Kim hailed the combatants as “defenders of justice” who have elevated the North Korea-Russia relationship to a “historic peak.”

“The years of militant fraternity, in which a guarantee has been provided for the long-term development of the bilateral friendship at the cost of precious blood, will advance non-stop,” he said.

Kim shoveled the first spadeful of earth to mark the start of construction, KCNA said. Senior Korean People’s Army officials and Russian diplomats, including Ambassador to North Korea Alexandr Matsegora, attended the ceremony.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Byung-sam said Friday that the memorial and Kim’s remarks were aimed at maintaining public support for the deployment.

“Overall, I believe this is intended to promote regime stability and showcase the North Korea-Russia alliance by glorifying veterans and providing commensurate benefits,” Kim said.

Moscow and Pyongyang have grown closer since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The two signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in June of last year, which includes a defense clause that calls for mutual military assistance in the event either country is attacked. In return, North Korea is believed to be receiving financial aid and advanced military technology to bolster its illicit weapons programs.

On Wednesday, North Korea tested a “new cutting-edge weapons system” involving hypersonic missiles, KCNA reported. It was the country’s first launch in five months and came just days before U.S. President Donald Trump‘s visit to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju next week.

The show of solidarity with Moscow comes as attention shifts toward the possibility of renewed diplomacy with Washington. Speculation has swirled about a potential Trump-Kim meeting during the visit, with the DMZ truce village of Panmunjom touted as a possible site.

Trump, who held two summits and a third brief meeting at Panmunjom with Kim during his first term, has said repeatedly that he would meet with the North Korean leader again. In September, Kim said he has “fond memories” of Trump but warned that denuclearization would be off the table in any future talks.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has expressed support for a Trump-Kim summit, urging Trump to play “peacemaker” during his White House visit in August.

On Friday, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim said that the likelihood of a meeting next week appeared low but added that it would be “meaningful.”

“I expect both North Korea and the United States will consider this an important opportunity and carefully consider the timing,” he said.

Oct. 23 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are to meet and discuss trade and other matters during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Busan, South Korea.

Trump is scheduled to leave the United States on Friday, with stops planned in Malaysia and Japan ahead of the APEC conference that has a leaders meeting scheduled for Oct. 31 and Nov.1.

He and Xi agreed to meet on Oct. 30, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Thursday.

The planned meeting comes after Trump announced he would impose 100% tariffs on top of existing tariffs on all Chinese-made goods in retaliation for China’s earlier announcement of global restrictions on the use of rare earth minerals.

China dominates the world’s rare earth minerals market and intends to restrict their export and require companies to sign licensing agreements to use them, no matter where those firms might be headquartered.

“We’ll make a deal on everything,” Trump told media while at the Oval Office on Wednesday.

The in-person meeting would be the first between the two since 2019 and could include discussions regarding the war in Ukraine.

Trump said Xi would “like to see that war end,” Politico reported.

The president also anticipates discussing a variety of issues with the Chinese leader, including nuclear power, China’s reliance on Russian oil and trade.

The bilateral summit will be a “pretty long meeting” to enable the two world leaders to “work out a lot of our questions and our doubts,” Trump said, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

Trump will depart the United States late Friday night and arrive in Malaysia on Sunday morning, local time.

“President Trump will participate in a bilateral meeting with the prime minister of Malaysia in the afternoon, and then we will attend the [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] leaders’ working dinner that evening,” Leavitt said.

The president will depart Malaysia on Monday morning and arrive in Tokyo to meet with new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is the first woman to be elected to the position.

Following his meeting with Takaichi, Trump will continue to Busan, South Korea, to hold a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ahead of his meeting with Xi.

The president will return to the United States after meeting with the Chinese president, Leavitt said.

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (UPI) — North Korea fired a flurry of short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, Seoul’s military said, a week ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump‘s scheduled visit to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

“Our military detected several projectiles presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Junghwa area of North Hwanghae Province in a northeasterly direction around 8:10 a.m. today,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message to reporters.

The missiles flew approximately 217 miles, the JCS said, and may have landed inland rather than in the East Sea.

“Under a robust South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture, the military is closely monitoring North Korea’s various movements and maintaining the capability and readiness to overwhelmingly respond to any provocation,” the JCS said.

Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said at a press conference that the missiles did not reach Japan’s territorial waters or exclusive economic zone. She added that Tokyo was coordinating closely with Washington and Seoul, including sharing real-time missile warning information.

The launch was North Korea’s fifth of the year, and the first since South Korean President Lee Jae Myung took office in June. Lee has made efforts to rehabilitate relations between the two Koreas, with conciliatory gestures such as removing propaganda loudspeakers from border areas.

The missile test comes ahead of South Korea’s hosting of the APEC summit in Gyeongju on Oct. 30-Nov. 1. Trump is expected to visit Gyeongju before the official summit for bilateral meetings with leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korea’s Lee.

Analysts had speculated that the North may conduct a provocation ahead of the event as Pyongyang continues its push to be recognized as a nuclear-armed state.

The regime unveiled its latest intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-20, at a massive military parade earlier this month. The ICBM, which North Korean state media called the regime’s “most powerful nuclear strategic weapon,” is a solid-fuel missile believed capable of reaching the continental United States.

North Korea last fired a flurry of short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on May 8, in what South Korean officials characterized as a potential weapons test before export to Russia. Pyongyang has supplied missiles, artillery and soldiers to Russia for its war against Ukraine and is believed to be receiving much-needed financial support and advanced military technology in return.

Oct. 17 (UPI) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Donald Trump began discussing Ukraine‘s defense against Russia Friday afternoon at the White House.

The two presidents are meeting to discuss a possible allocation of long-range Tomahawk missiles and other weapons to help Ukraine in its defense against Russia, according to NBC News.

Trump also is expected to discuss his Thursday phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin while meeting with Zelensky.

The White House visit is Zelensky’s third since Trump became president in January and is the first to discuss the possible deployment of weaponry capable of striking deep inside Russia and targeting that nation’s energy infrastructure, The HIll reported.

Trump and Putin agreed to a tentative summit in Budapest, Hungary, sometime in the near future.

Zelensky said Moscow was “rushing” to resume negotiations after Trump suggested Monday that he was thinking of sending the ball into Russia’s court by threatening to send Ukraine the missiles unless the war was brought to a conclusion.

“We hope that the momentum of curbing terror and war, which worked in the Middle East, will help end the Russian war against Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote in a post on X.

“Putin is definitely not braver than Hamas or any other terrorist. The language of force and justice will definitely work against Russia as well. We already see that Moscow is rushing to resume dialogue, just hearing about ‘Tomahawks,'” he added.

However, Trump appeared to back away from the Tomahawk issue following a call with Putin on Thursday, saying he had concerns about running down U.S. stocks.

“We need them too … so I don’t know what we can do about that,” Trump said.

The lunchtime Oval Office meeting comes a day after Trump hailed “great progress” made during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Delegations from both sides were due to meet next week to prepare for a summit between the two leaders in Hungary.

The contact, the first direct communication with Putin since August, was initiated by Moscow, two days after Trump said he was considering supplying Kyiv with Tomahawk missiles.

The missiles have a 1,500-mile range, which would enable Ukraine to strike Moscow and St. Petersburg.

On Thursday, Zelensky met with representatives of U.S. defense and energy companies, including Raytheon, which makes the Tomahawks, and Lockheed Martin.

He said they discussed ramping up the supply of air defense systems, the Patriot missile system in particular, Raytheon’s production capacity, cooperation to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense and long-range capabilities, and the prospects for Ukrainian-American joint production.

Ukraine’s energy resilience was the main topic of discussion with the energy firms in the face of an increasing Russian tactical focus on hitting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as winter approaches.

“Now, as Russia is betting on terror against our energy sector and carrying out daily strikes, we are working to ensure Ukraine’s resilience,” Zelensky said.

Oct. 17 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Friday night said he commuted the sentence of George Santos, freeing the former Republican U.S. House member after just three months in federal prison.

Santos, who served in the House for less than one year, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Santos, 37, reported to a federal facility in Fairton, N.Y., on July 25.

Santos also gained prominence for lying about his employment history and education, and information about his family.

“George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!”

Trump left the White House on Friday to spend the weekend in Florida. He’s the keynote speaker Friday night at a fundraiser for the super PAC MAGA Inc.

A senior White House official told NBC News that Trump decided to help Santos this week and “many people wrote to him about it.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., had sought a pardon, which erases the legal consequences of a crime. A commutation only reduces the severity of the punishment.

Greene told NBC News this week that she had been in contact with the Department of Justice in recent weeks regarding the possibility, saying the sentence was overly harsh.

“George Santos never raped anybody, never murdered anybody, is not a child sex-trafficker. Why is he in solitary confinement?” she said. “That is an extreme treatment for someone for the crimes that he was convicted of.”

CNN didn’t receive comments from his lawyers.

Santos, before reporting to prison, told a Saudi outlet, Al Arabiya English, that he asked Trump for a pardon.

“I did not spend time in D.C. making friends,” Santos said. “I never made it to the president. I got stonewalled by the gatekeepers.”

From prison last week, Santos wrote a letter to Trump published in The South Shore Press: “Mr. President, I am not asking for sympathy. I am asking for fairness — for the chance to rebuild. I know I have made mistakes in my past. I have faced my share of consequences, and I take full responsibility for my actions. But no man, no matter his flaws, deserves to be lost in the system, forgotten and unseen, enduring punishment far beyond what justice requires.”

Trump took notice of Santos’ situation.

“George Santos was somewhat of a ‘rogue,’ but there are many rogues throughout our Country that aren’t forced to serve seven years in prison,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “I started to think about George when the subject of Democrat Senator Richard ‘Da Nang Dick’ Blumenthal came up again.”

Trump explained that Blumenthal, who has served as a U.S. senator serving Connecticut for 14 1/2 years, lied about his military involvement.

“He was ‘a Great Hero,’ he would leak to any and all who would listen — And then it happened! He was a COMPLETE AND TOTAL FRAUD. He never went to Vietnam, he never saw Vietnam, he never experienced the Battles there, or anywhere else. … This is far worse than what George Santos did, and at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!”

Santos fabricated parts of his biography, including falsely, saying that he was a “star” player on a championship volleyball team.

Santos was raised Catholic but claimed his mother had a Jewish background and that his maternal grandparents were Jewish refugees from Ukraine who survived the Holocaust. His grandparents were born in Brazil.

He also said his mother died in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, though she wasn’t in the United States at the time.

Santos took office on Jan. 3, 2023, serving in New York’s 3rd Congressional District.

On Nov. 16, 2023, Santos announced he would not seek re-election for the seat that serves parts of Long Island and Queens.

That day, the House Ethics Committee found that he “violated federal criminal laws.” The funds were used for personal purposes and he filed false campaign reports, the report said.

Despite a slim Republican majority and relying on his vote, the House expelled Santos the next month on Dec. 1, 2023. The 311-114 vote surpassed the required two-thirds majority.

He was the sixth lawmaker to be forced out of the chamber.

On March 7, 2024, he announced he would run as a Republican in the 1st Congressional District and 15 days later, Santos said he would seek the office as an independent. A month later, on April 23, he withdrew his candidacy.

He pleaded guilty on Aug. 19, 2024, in federal court in Central Islip, N.Y., and was sentenced on April 25.

“I deeply regret my conduct,” Santos said in court during his conviction and sentence. “I accept full responsibility for my actions.”

Oct. 13 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he may supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for its fight against Russia.

Trump, on Air Force One, told reporters that he might issue an ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I might say ‘Look: if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks.’ The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, very offensive weapon. And honestly, Russia does not need that,” NBC reported he said.

Trump was flying to the Middle East Monday, to Israel and Egypt for talks on the Gaza peace deal.

Supplying Ukraine with Tomahawks would allow the country to hit targets more than 1,000 miles away, striking deeper into Russian territory.

A Russian lawmaker last week said if Ukraine fires Tomahawks, Russia will shoot them down, bomb their sites and retaliate against the United States, The Hill reported.

Ukraine President Volodymir Zelensky said on X that Russia “continues its aerial terror against our cities and communities, intensifying strikes on our energy infrastructure. The immorality of these crimes is such that every day Russians kill our people. Yesterday in Kostiantynivka, a child was killed in a church by an aerial bomb. In total, just this week alone, more than 3,100 drones, 92 missiles, and around 1,360 glide bombs have been used against Ukraine.”

Zelensky and Trump spoke on Sunday for 40 minutes, discussing Ukraine’s weapons, supply status and the energy sector ahead of Ukraine’s harsh winter, Axios reported. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top officials were on the call.

“We agreed on a set of topics to discuss today, and we covered all the aspects of the situation: defense of life in our country, strengthening our capabilities — in air defense, resilience, and long-range capabilities. We also discussed many details related to the energy sector. President Trump is well informed about everything that is happening,” Zelensky wrote on X.

Trump said he had “sort of made a decision” to sell Tomahawks to NATO countries, which would then be sent to Ukraine, Axios reported.

Putin said on Sunday that sending Tomahawks to Ukraine would be a “completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation,” Axios reported.

Tomahawk missiles are subsonic cruise missiles that can precisely hit targets 1,000 miles away, even in heavily defended airspace, according to manufacturer Raytheon. They can be fired from land or ships and can have conventional or nuclear warheads. They cost an average of $1.3 million each.

The latest version, called the Block IV Tactical Tomahawk or TACTOM, has a data link that allows it to switch targets while in flight. It can loiter for hours and change course instantly on command, Raytheon said.

Oct. 8 (UPI) — Federal authorities in Germany were granted permission to shoot down drones following a series of recent sightings of unknown drones spotted near Munich.

The German government’s cabinet on Wednesday signed-off on the new reform package that now awaits approval of the Bundestag, the country’s parliament.

The move came after drones were seen at Munich Airport last week, which led to air traffic control suspensions and thousands of flights impacted directly.

“Drone incidents threaten our safety,” said Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Germany now joins Britain, France, Romania and Lithuania in extending police powers to down the flying objects.

“We will not allow that,” Merz, leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union party, said Wednesday on social media.

“We are strengthening the powers of the federal police so that drones can be detected and intercepted more quickly in future,” he added.

In addition, other rogue drones have been detected in Denmark, Lithuania, Finland, Estonia, Poland and Romania that have interrupted air traffic on the continent in recent weeks.

Officials in Denmark purport it to be a “professional” act by an unknown actor but other European Union leaders, including Merz, have pointed to Russia as the culprit.

Moscow, however, has denied the allegations.

It followed a similar pattern of unexplained drone flights earlier this year in the United States.

Meanwhile, authorities announced Wednesday that Russian drones attacked and seriously damaged a Ukrainian thermal power plant overnight in Russia’s escalating war in Ukraine and eastern Europe.

Oct. 5 (UPI) — Russia launched some 50 missiles and 500 drones in an overnight attack in Ukraine, leaving five people dead, the President Volodymyr Zelensky, said.

The assault was aimed at the country’s infrastructure, leaving thousands without power, the BBC reported.

The strikes on Liviv left four members of a family dead, and the attack in Zaporizhzhia killed one person.

The head of that region, Maksym Kozytskyi, said the area has not seen such a blitz since the Russian invasion began in 2022.

Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa and Kirovohrad were also targeted.

“Today, the Russians once again targeted our infrastructure — everything that ensures normal life for our people. We need more protection and faster implementation of all defense agreements, especially on air defense, to deprive this aerial terror of any meaning,” Zelensky said in a statement, per the New York Times.

Sept. 29 (UPI) — Denmark will ban all civilian drones beginning Monday over safety concerns as Copenhagen prepares to host an EU summit on European defense.

Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen announced the airspace closure Sunday after a slew of incidents involving unidentified drones in recent weeks. The closure will be in effect from Monday to Friday.

He said the drones have created disruption and uncertainty in the country, particularly among the military and police. He said the closure of airspace to civilian drone use will allow law enforcement to focus on security for EU meetings Thursday and Friday.

The European Council is meeting informally Thursday to address general defense in Europe as well as the body’s support for Ukraine amid its war with Russia. A more formal summit of the European political community is expected to take place Friday.

Last week, Denmark’s defense minister, Troels Lund Poulson, said the recent drone sightings in Danish airspace likely weren’t by Russia though there has been a rise in Russian violations of allied airspace. He instead described them as “hybrid attacks,” meaning they were the result of different types of drones. Authorities believed they were launched from somewhere local.

The drone incidents have caused Denmark to at times shut down airports and the airspace around its largest military base.

During his speech Wednesday before the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned the international community that Russia’s advanced weaponry and defense technology is putting the entirety of Europe under threat. He cited Moscow’s use of drones and artificial intelligence.

“We are living through the most destructive arms race in human history,” Zelensky said.

European leaders, including Poulson, met on the sidelines of the U.N. general debate last week to discuss the establishment of a “drone wall” to prevent drone attacks — from Russia or otherwise. The system to detect and disable drones would create a virtual wall along eastern EU countries, including Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

There have been other unidentified drone sightings in Lithuania, Poland and Romania.

Sept. 29 (UPI) — Moldova’s pro-Europe party of President Maia Sandu has claimed victory in Parliamentary elections that are being framed as a repudiation of Russia and its alleged actions to undermine the small nation’s democracy.

The Sunday contest is also being seen as a win for Moldova’s bid to join the European Union, which it has sought since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, fearing it could be the Kremlin’s next target.

“A landslide victory for #Moldova’s European path,” Moldova’s Minister of Foreign Affairs said in an English-language statement on X. “The ruling Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) retains the absolute majority in Parliament. This is the merit of Moldovans at home & abroad who defied expectations.

“Kremlin lost. Democracy won,” he added.

According to unofficial results from Moldova’s Central Electoral Commission, PAS secured 50.16% of the vote share, with 99.9% of the 1.6 million votes counted.

The pro-Russia Patriotic Electoral Bloc of Igor Dodon finished a distant second with a little more than 24% of the vote.

Dodon has called for protests on Monday outside of Parliament, stating it was in defense against the “threat to democracy” and “the dictatorship of PAS.”

“We will come out without party symbols, carrying only the national flag, to defend democracy and the voice of the people,” he said.

Moldova police issued a statement early Monday saying it is aware that people have been promised money to attend the protest. It had earlier said it was also aware of voters being illegally transported from Russia

Ahead of voting, Sandu took to X to describe the election as the nation’s “most consequential.”

“Its outcome will decide whether we consolidate our democracy and join the EU, or whether Russia drags us back into a grey zone, making us a regional risk,” she said.

“Moldova’s future must be decided by Moldovans, not Moscow.”

Igor Grosu, head of PAS, said efforts by Russia to interfere in the election included illegal transportation of voters, vote theft and bomb threats. The foreign ministry confirmed in a statement that bomb threats were made against polling stations in Brussels, Belgium; Rome and Genoa, Italy, Bucharest, Romania, North Carolina’s Asheville, United States; and Alicante, Spain.

The ministry later confirmed that all bomb threats were false.

“Russia’s attempts to hijack the electoral process have been huge,” Grosu said in a statement amid voting, stating it was unclear what effect it would have.

“We pray for patience and calm.”

Moldova applied for EU membership a week after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February of 2022. The former Soviet Union nation has been fighting Russian interference for years and is home to the pro-Kremlin breakaway Transnistria region that borders Ukraine.

Sept. 27 (UPI) — Denmark on Saturday reported more suspicious drones flying above its largest military base, the second time its airspace was violated this week after another group of drones grounded commercial flights days ago.

Finland, Germany and Lithuania on Saturday also reported sighting drones in their airspace, which follows reports from other NATO nations, including Estonia, Poland and Romania, that reported airspace violations.

In the latest incident, the BBC reported drones were observed above Karup airbase, forcing the nation’s military base to close airspace to commercial traffic. Drones were spotted flying over the country on Thursday near Skrydstrup air base, causing the closure of Aalborg Airport, as others were detected over the southern cities of Esbjerg and Sonderborg.

Additionally, on Saturday, Lithuania report that three drones were noticed near Vilnius, which delayed several commercial flights, Lithuanian broadcaster LRT reported, while Yle reported that a drone flew over the Valajasosky power plant in Rovaniemi, Finland.

Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen has said that there is no evidence directly linking the aircraft to Russia, though there has been a significant rise in Russian violations of allied airspace, according to European leaders.

“There can be no doubt that everything points to this being the work of a professional actor when we are talking about such a systematic operation in so many locations at virtually the same time. This is what I would define as a hybrid attack using different types of drones,” Poulsen said Thursday after drones were spotted over the country.

In a separate incident, Danish authorities said a Russian warship was spotted near their waters with the tracking system off, the Danish outlet Ekstra Bladet reported.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the allegations “unfounded.”

The Danish Defense Ministry confirmed that drones appeared near multiple military installations but did not specify which ones, according to the BBC. Denmark’s Defense Command, which did not disclose the number of drones it detected, told the Danish news outlet DR News that it deployed resources in response to the drone incursions.

Karup airbase is home to all of the Danish Armed Forces’ helicopters, airspace surveillance and parts of the Danish Defence Command.

Earlier in the week, on Monday, Denmark’s Copenhagen Airport also halted operations because of drone sightings, as did authorities Norway’s Oslo Airport.

Overnight Wednesday, the airspace above Aalborg Airport in northern Jutland was closed — several flights were cancelled and two inbound flights were diverted for about 1 hour — after police reported a drone, Danish broadcaster TV2 said.

German media also reported drone sightings on Friday night in Schleswig-Holstein, which is near the Danish border.

The incursions over NATO members’ borders have increased in the last few weeks after Poland shot down Russian drones violating its airspace on Sept. 10, which came at the same time as a massive strike on Ukraine at the same time. This was the first time NATO had engaged Russian assets over its territory since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Romania reported a similar violation on Sept. 13 and scrambled F-16s after detecting a Russian drone.

Three Russian MiG-31 jets later entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland on Sept. 19, which spurred Estonian leaders to invoke Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which allows any member of the alliance to call for consultations if it feels its “territorial integrity, political independence or security” is under threat.

Sept. 26 (UPI) — Russia will train and equip Chinese paratroopers to invade Taiwan, according to leaked documents.

The 800-page cache of documents said that China will buy dozens of military vehicles and parachute systems for its paratroopers, and Russia will provide training to troops on how to operate them.

The documents’ details were verified by the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank. They appear to show a strengthening alliance between the two countries. They said the deal would give China “expanded air maneuver capability” and “offensive options against Taiwan, the Philippines and other island states in the region.”

“Chinese President Xi Jinping has directed the People’s Liberation Army to be ready to militarily seize Taiwan by 2027,” RUSI said. “A large-scale amphibious operation is highly risky, with the sites suitable for landing craft to deliver troops and equipment ashore constrained by the gradient and load bearing capacity of the beaches. Seizing airfields could allow troops to flow in by air, but as Russia discovered during its invasion of Ukraine, runways can be quickly denied. The PLA is therefore eager to identify ways of diversifying both the methods and locations at which it can move units onto Taiwan.”

“It is a very good example of how the Russians have become an enabler for the Chinese,” making the two countries’ militaries almost impossible to separate, said Jack Watling, senior research fellow for Land Warfare at RUSI, who also wrote the analysis, along with Oleksandr V. Danylyuk.

Russia’s oil and gas, along with its large defense industry, could become a “strategic backup for China,” Watling added.

Taiwan is a self-governing island that China claims as its own. Taiwan also is a U.S. ally.

The leaked documents were found by a hacktivist group, Black Moon. They show Russia agreeing in October 2024 to sell 37 BMD-4M light amphibious vehicles, 11 Sprut-SDM1 self-propelled anti-tank guns, 11 BTR-MDM airborne armored personnel carriers to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.

The main equipment provision contract had a value of $584 million before it was finalized, The Washington Post reported. It also included several command and observation vehicles and parachute systems designed to airdrop heavy loads from high altitudes.

Other documents in the cache show several rounds of negotiations. There was a meeting in Beijing in April 2024 where the Chinese requested Moscow speed up the delivery timeline for certain vehicles. They also asked Russia to include complete technical documentation and adapt the weaponry to make it compatible with Chinese software, electronic, radio and navigation systems. Russia will also set up a repair-and-maintenance hub in China.

“Military cooperation between China and Russia goes far beyond what has been publicly acknowledged,” a Taiwanese security official commenting on the Russia-China deals told the Washington Post.

Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have attended each other’s military parades in the past year. Their two militaries held 14 joint exercises in 2024, which is nearly double what they did 10 years ago, The Post reported.

Last week, Chinese military representatives attended Russia and Belarus’s Zapad-2025 war games where Russia demonstrated the high-altitude airdrops of heavy equipment that China wants to use, according to the documents.

Sept. 25 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss a potential arms deal, lifting sanctions against Turkey and Middle East peace while meeting on Thursday.

Trump and Erdogan are meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, which will include discussions regarding Erdogan’s desire to purchase F-16 and F-35 fighter aircraft and Patriot surface-to-air missile systems, they told media before their closed-door meeting.

“We do a lot of trade with Turkey, and we’re going to do some more,” Trump told media.

He said a deal for F-16s is likely and a deal for F-35s and the Patriot missiles could be made.

“I think he’ll be successful,” Trump said of Erdogan’s effort to secure a deal for F-35 fighters.

Turkey also wants to buy 200 commercial aircraft, the BBC reported.

The presidents said they are friends and highly respectful of one another, which should make it easier to reach agreements on the many issues that they will discuss.

They also will discuss matters in Gaza and the Middle East, potential assistance for the Greek Orthodox Church and ending the war in Ukraine.

Trump said he wants Turkey to stop buying Russian oil and is prepared to lift existing sanctions against Turkey for that nation’s past purchase of Russian arms.

The president also said they will discuss tariffs and securing the release of remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Trump said about 20 hostages likely are living and estimated about 38 likely are dead, many of them young boys.

Following his meeting with Erdogan, the president also is scheduled to meet with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday.

U.S. and Pakistani officials in July secured a trade agreement to lower tariffs between the two nations.

The U.S. also agreed to help Pakistan develop its oil reserves.

Sept. 23 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump has said he plans to address “the good and the bad” across the globe as one of the first speakers when the U.N. General Assembly’s annual general debate opens Tuesday in New York City.

Specifically, he’s expected to speak about his own accomplishments handling conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said ahead of his appearance.

Trump touted his role in negotiating peace across the globe Friday while making remarks on an executive order on H-1B visas.

“Nobody’s done a better job than I’ve done on world peace. Nobody’s settled so many wars as I have,” he said, claiming to have “settled” seven conflicts.

Trump spoke about the two ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine as well as his upcoming U.N. appearance to reporters Sunday.

“The hatred between [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky is very substantial,” Trump said, according to CBS News. “There’s a lot of bad blood.

“And, course, Gaza is a basic disaster. We’ve got to get that taken care of. But the big thing will be that I’m going to be speaking at the United Nations, and I hope to do a good job.”

Trump is likely to touch on some of the bigger news coming out of meetings on the sidelines of the general debate — the recognition by several countries of an independent Palestinian state.

At an international peace summit hosted by France and Saudi Arabia on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron formally recognized Palestine. His announcement was joined by the countries of Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta and San Marino, and Australia, Britain and Canada made their own declarations Sunday.

“The time has come for Israel to live in peace and security,” Macron said, sharing his support for a two-state solution to the conflict. “The time has come to give justice to the Palestinian people and to recognize the state of Palestine.”

Sept. 22 (UPI) — The United Nations Security Council is to convene Monday to address Russia’s breach last week of Estonia airspace, according to the European union and NATO member.

Kremlin MiG-31 fighter jets flew through Estonian airspace for 12 minutes on Friday, the latest transgression of a foreign national’s airspace in recent weeks during Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Estonia announced the U.N. Security Council meeting on Sunday, describing its mission as to address Russia’s breach of Tallinn’s “territorial integrity” and its violation of a prohibition on the threat or use of force.

“This incursion into Estonian airspace is yet another dangerous act aimed at escalating regional and global tensions, as Russia — a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council — continues its war of aggression against Ukraine,” Tallinn’s foreign ministry said in a statement on X.

“Russia’s reckless and aggressive actions, and its repeated violations of international law and the principles of the U.N. Charter, require a strong and united international response.”

The Friday breach saw three MiG-31s travel within 12 1/2 miles of downtown Tallinn, where there are government buildings of NATO allies and EU member states, according to Jonatan Vseviov, secretary general of Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He called the breach a “pattern of unacceptable behavior” observed in recent weeks with repeated air and drone incidents in the region.

Last week, Romania summoned the Russian ambassador to Bucharest after Moscow’s drone incursion into its airspace on Sept. 13. It flew within Romanian airspace for 50 minutes.

Before that, Poland shot down at least three of 19 Russian drones that had breached its airspace overnight Sept. 9.

Vseviov chastised Russia over the Friday incursion, saying “it brought aircraft dangerously close to our capital.”

Estonian Defense Forces said NATO F-35s were scrambled in response.

It was Russia’s fourth violation of Estonia’s airspace this year, it said.

“By openly violating Estonian airspace, Russia undermines principles vital to the security of all U.N. member states. When such actions are committed by a permanent member of the Security Council, they must be addressed by that very body” Estonia Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in a statement.

“Tomorrow’s U.N. Security Council meeting is essential.”

Sept. 19 (UPI) — Russian fighter jets on Friday flew into Estonian airspace for 12 minutes, a move the country called a “brazen intrusion.”

Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna confirmed the “violation of Estonia’s airspace,” in a statement on X.

“Three Russian MiG-31s entered our airspace over the Gulf of Finland for 12 minutes. This is an unprecedented and brazen intrusion – clear proof of Russia’s growing aggression,” Tsahkna said in the post.

“Such actions cannot be tolerated and must be met with swift political and economic pressure.”

Tsahkna said Estonia would be summoning Russia’s top diplomat to demand an explanation.

The incursion by the Russian supersonic interceptor aircraft marks the fourth such violation of Estonian airspace so far this year.

“Russia has already violated Estonia’s airspace four times this year, which in itself is unacceptable. But today’s incursion, involving three fighter aircraft entering our airspace is unprecedentedly brazen,” Tsahkna said in a statement.

“Russia’s increasingly extensive testing of boundaries and growing aggressiveness must be met with a swift increase in political and economic pressure.”

The Russian military had not commented publicly on the report as of noon Friday.

International lawmakers quickly pledged support for Estonia.

“Russia is showing the full extent of its contempt for diplomacy and international law,”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X.

“Europe stands with Estonia in the face of Russia’s latest violation of our airspace. We will respond to every provocation with determination while investing in a stronger Eastern flank. As threats escalate, so too will our pressure. I call on EU leaders to swiftly approve our 19th sanctions package.”

The news comes as Russia overnight launched some 90 drones in a major attack on Ukraine.

Sept. 19 (UPI) — Britain’s outgoing spy chief, Richard Moore, warned Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no intention of negotiating peace with Ukraine because he doesn’t view the former Soviet republic as having its own sovereignty.

Moore made the remarks at the British consulate in Istanbul as he prepares to step down from his role as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service. He has led the organization, also known as MI6, for five years.

“I have seen absolutely no evidence that President Putin has any interest in a negotiated peace short of Ukraine capitulation,” Moore said as he address efforts by Britain and the United States to broker a deal to resolve the conflict.

Putin “is stringing us along,” Moore added. “Because the issue … has always been sovereignty: Putin denies Ukraine’s sovereignty and its very existence as a country and nation.”

Moore said Putin has attempted to portray that Russian victory over Ukraine is “inevitable,” but accused the president of lying to his people and the world.

“He seeks to impose his imperial will by all means at his disposal,” Moore said, adding that Putin doesn’t have the ability to take Ukraine by force.

“Bluntly, Putin has bitten off more than he can chew. He thought he was going to win an easy victory. But he — and many others — underestimated the Ukrainians,” Moore said.

“Indeed, Putin’s actions have strengthened Ukrainian national identity and accelerated the country’s westward trajectory, as well as persuaded Sweden and Finland into joining NATO.”

Moore chose Istanbul for his farewell speech because he said Turkey is of “pivotal importance” to the international community.

“On almost all of the issues that I have grappled with as chief of MI6, Turkey has been a key player,” he said.

Moore spent eight years living there, including four as British ambassador from 2014 to 2017. He also studied in the country as a student and his daughter was born there.

Upon Moore’s departure later this month, MI6’s current technology lead, Blaise Metreweli, will take over as head of the organization. She will be the MI6’s first female chief since its founding in 1909.

Sept. 19 (UPI) — Russia launched nearly 90 drones at Ukraine overnight, most of which were “neutralized,” President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said Friday morning, after having claimed an “important success” in its counteroffensive in southeastern Donetsk.

The Kremlin targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure and other targets in the regions of Donetsk, Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, wounding at least two people in Dnipro, while recovery efforts were underway in Kyiv where public transport infrastructure was damaged.

“Once again, the Russians strike civilians at a time when the entire world — and above all the United States — is calling for peace,” he said on X. “We hear President [Donald] Trump’s position on ending the killings, and we have agreed to all the proposals to unblock diplomacy. But it seems his position is not being heard in Russia.”

The attack comes as Trump, who campaigned on ending the Ukraine war within 24 hours of returning to the White House, has been pushing for a cease-fire.

During a press conference in Britain on Thursday, Trump acknowledged to reporters that he thought ending the Ukraine war would be the “easiest” of the ongoing conflicts due to his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“He’s let me down. He’s really let me down,” he said, while vowing that he will end the war.

Zelensky has been saying that Putin is not interested in a cease-fire, despite what the Russian leader says, citing the nightly drone attacks on his country.

He said in lieu of Russian seriousness about an end to the war, Ukraine must implement “everything that strengthens us,” including the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List initiative, a mechanism launched this year to support Kyiv’s military needs.

“Decisive action is needed so that Russia ultimately agrees to diplomacy as well,” he said.

On Wednesday night, Zelensky claimed “an important success” in the Donetsk theater, where Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive.

He announced that since the start of the offensive, the date for which isn’t clear, Ukraine has captured 160 square kilometers while clearing 170 square kilometers of Russian troops.

“Any group of occupiers attempting to enter this area is being destroyed by our guys,” he said in his nightly address.