War in Ukraine

June 29 (UPI) — A Ukrainian F-16 pilot died overnight Sunday during one of Russia’s largest attacks since the invasion in 2022 that included several hundred drones and missiles, Ukraine‘s Air Force said.

Lt. Colonel Maksym Ustymenko, 31, died after his fighter jet was damaged trying to intercept Russian missiles and drones, Ukraine’s Air Force said. Ustymenko, who destroyed seven enemy air targets and managed to steer his jet away from populated areas but didn’t eject in time.

“Ustymenko did everything possible, but his jet was damaged and started losing altitude. He died like a hero!” Ukrainian military officials said.

Ustymenko became Ukraine’s third F-16 pilot to die in combat since the nation added U.S.-made planes last year.

Russia attacked Ukraine with 537 missiles and drones, including 477 Shad-type attack drones and decoys launched into Russian-occupied Crimea, the Kiev Post reported from the military. Of those, 475 were shot down, including Shahed drones and 225 drones suppressed by electronic warfare.

Russia’s missile attack lasted nearly three hours and the drone siege went on for almost 10 hours.

A Ukrainian drone strike on Russia’s Kirovske airfield in Crimea destroyed several helicopters and an air defense system, the Security Service of Ukraine said.

“The SBU is systematically working to reduce the Russian Federation’s capabilities to carry out air and bombing strikes on the territory of Ukraine,” the military said. “The occupiers must realize that their expensive military equipment and ammunition are not protected anywhere: neither on the front line, nor in temporarily occupied territories, nor in the enemy’s deep rear.”

The agency said Mi-8, Mi-26 and Mi-28 helicopters were destroyed.

A dozen Ukrainians were injured in attacks against infrastructure, residential buildings and storage buildings in Lviv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Kyiv.

Several explosions were reported in Kremenchuk and Lviv. And an industrial facility in the Poltava region caught fire as a result, officials said.

A production site in Zaporizhzhia also was damaged.

Russia, under Russian President Vladimir Putin, has increased its attacks on Ukraine’s cities during a summer offensive, Politico Europe reported.

“Just this week alone, there have been more than 114 missiles, over 1,270 drones, and nearly 1,100 glide bombs,” Zelensky said on Telegram. “Putin long ago decided he would keep waging war, despite the world’s calls for peace.”

Neighboring Poland, a member of NATO, scrambled jets and activated its ground-based air defense system, its military said.

Zelensky urged more protection from its allies, including ballistic missiles, and efforts to end the war.

“Ukraine must strengthen its air defense — the thing that best protects lives,” Zelensky said. “These are American systems, which we are ready to buy. We count on leadership, political will, and the support of the United States, Europe, and all our partners. I thank everyone who is helping.”

Last week during the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. might be able to provide anti-ballistic missiles.

“We’re going to see if we can make some available,” Trump said. “They’re very hard to get. We need them too. We were supplying them to Israel, and they’re very effective. A hundred percent effective — hard to believe how effective.”

The F-16 is a single-engine, single-seat supersonic jets have been produced by Lockheed Martin since 1976.

June 28 (UPI) — Saturday’s Budapest Pride march is expected to have drawn record attendance and participation in opposition to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s anti-LGBTQ policies.

The parade is being held in the Hungarian capital amid threats of legal consequences by Orban and the Hungarian government, including a ban on gatherings that promote homosexuality, the BBC reported.

Hungary’s child protection law restricts such gatherings, but Pride march organizers are being joined by Hungarians and politicians from other European nations to support those who identify as LGBTQ.

“This weekend, all eyes are on Budapest,” European equality commissioner Hadja Lahbib told media in Budapest on Friday.

“This is bigger than one Pride celebration, one Pride march,” Lahbib said. “It is about the right to be who you are, to love who you want, whether it is in Budapest, in Brussels or anywhere else.”

March organizers expected between 35,000 to 40,000 people to participate in the march, but the BBC reported said organizers estimated as many as 200,000 people showed up.

Orban and Hungary’s Fidesz party earlier this year enacted the nation’s child protection law and have said it applies to the Pride march and similar events.

The law also bans the display of LGBTQ promotional materials, which might include the rainbow flag.

Orban has said there won’t be a violent police crackdown on the event, but organizers and participants might be subject to legal prosecution afterward. Facial recognition technology could identify participants, each of whom could be fined up to $500.

“The police could break up such events because they have the authority to do so,” Orban told state-run radio on Friday.

“Hungary is a civilized society [and] a civic society,” Orban continued. “There will be legal consequences, but it cannot reach the level of physical abuse.”

Event participants waved Pride flags and signs mocking Orban, including at least one depicting the prime minister in drag.

June 25 (UPI) — Following a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in The Hague Wednesday, the alliance announced its member nations have agreed to each invest 5% of their Gross Domestic Product toward defense.

“This is a significant commitment in response to significant threats to our security,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in a press conference.

Rutte said the 5% breaks down to 3.5% of each country’s GDP invested in “core defense requirements” such as tanks, drones, ammunition and troops, among other items. The 1.5% remainder is to go into investments that will strengthen defense.

“All to ensure we can effectively deter aggression and defend ourselves, and each other, should anyone make the mistake of attacking,” Rutte added.

The previous financial benchmark for NATO was 2%, which has either been met or is expected to be met this year by all members.

“It means that no matter the challenges we face — whether from Russia or terrorism, cyberattacks, sabotage or strategic competition — this Alliance is and will remain ready, willing and able to defend every inch of Allied territory, said Rutte. “And ensure that our one billion people can continue to live in freedom and security.”

Rutte’s statements followed the meeting Wednesday, during which U.S. President Donald Trump reassured NATO allies Wednesday that the United States was fully committed to the defense alliance’s so-called Article 5 under which members pledge to come to the military defense of any NATO country that is attacked.

“We’re with them all the way,” Trump told a joint briefing with Secretary General Mark Rutte at a NATO summit in The Hague, responding to a question on his commitment to NATO and the mutual defense pact at its heart.

Trump added that he was happy to commit because other members of the 32-country alliance had heeded his long-standing call to ramp up their defense budgets and would now meet his demand that they spend 5% of GDP on defense.

“If you look at the numbers, I’ve been asking them to go up to 5% for a number of years and they’re going up to 5%. That’s a big jump from 2% and a lot of people didn’t even pay the 2%, so I think it’s going to be very big news. NATO is going to become very strong with us and I appreciate doing it,” he said.

Earlier, Trump sparked consternation after comments made mid-Atlantic aboard Air Force One on Tuesday that his commitment to Article 5 “depends on your definition.”

The situation in the Middle East dominated most of the rest of the briefing, setting the tone for a gathering that alternated between shows of NATO unity and discussion of the U.S. strikes on Iran and how the situation would play out, despite not being on the agenda.

That left little room for the issue of Ukraine, which was relegated well down the agenda.

In his opening remarks to the leaders’ session Rutte did set out the challenges facing NATO, from Russia’s war on Ukraine and China’s “massive” military build-up to conflict in the Middle East, but hailed what he said were the historic, transformative decisions that would be made at the meeting to “make our people safer through a stronger, fairer and more lethal NATO.”

He said the additional funds from the 5% spending commitment would go toward bolstering “core” hard defense expenditure, as well as defense and security-related investments, and ensure every country contributed their fair share to the security umbrella NATO provided.

“For too long, one Ally, the United States, carried too much of the burden of that commitment. And that changes today,” Rutte said.

“President Trump, dear Donald, you made this change possible. Your leadership on this has already produced $1 trillion in extra spending from European Allies since 2016. And the decisions today will produce trillions more for our common defenses, to make us stronger and fairer by equalising spending between America and America’s allies.”

Shortly after the meeting ended, the NATO heads of state and government issued a joint communique reaffirming their commitment to NATO, the transatlantic bond and “ironclad commitment to collective defense as enshrined in Article 5” of the 1947 Washington Treaty.

“An attack on one is an attack on all.”

It said the leaders were united in the face of “profound security threats and challenges”, in particular the long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism allies had therefore committed to invest 5% of GDP in defense annually by 2035.

“Our investments will ensure we have the forces, capabilities, resources, infrastructure, warfighting readiness, and resilience needed to deter and defend in line with our three core tasks of deterrence and defence, crisis prevention and management, and cooperative security,” the declaration stated.

Members also reaffirmed a joint pledge to accelerate efforts to ramp up transatlantic defense-industrial cooperation, harness new technology and embrace out-of-the-box thinking on defense, as well as working to remove defense trade barriers between allies.

June 25 (UPI) — At least 20 people were killed and up to 300 injured in a massive Russian airborne assault on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro in the country’s industrial heartland, authorities said Wednesday.

Dnipropetrovsk Gov. Serhii Lysak said in a social media update that the strikes during the daytime on Tuesday killed 18 people in Dnipro and two in a separate attack on Samar, 10 miles away to the northeast, with nearly 300 people injured across the province.

“The entire Dnipropetrovsk region is in mourning. This is a pain that resonates in every heart. That never goes away,” Lysak wrote.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in The Hague meeting with European heads of government at an annual gathering of NATO, said many of the injured were passengers on a train.

“This strike hit numerous civilian infrastructure: homes, schools, and even a regular passenger train. There were more than 500 passengers on board. Five train cars were destroyed. There were no fatalities. All the injured have received medical assistance. It was another Russian strike on life,” he said in a post on X.

State-run Ukrainian Railways confirmed a missile struck near one of its trains en route from Odessa to Zaporizhzhia as it was passing through Dnipro and that dozens of passengers had been injured by flying glass.

The company said emergency workers moved passengers who were unhurt to the nearest subway station, from where they were able to make their way into Dnipro to catch a replacement train service to continue their journey to Zaporizhzhia, if they so wished.

Dnipropetrovsk is Zelensky’s home province.

The attacks mirrored a deadly wave of airstrikes on Kyiv last week that coincided with a meeting of the G7 group of countries in Canada. The group was formally the G8 — until Russia was ejected in 2014 over its invasion and annexation of Crimea.

Elsewhere, one person was killed and 10 injured in Kharkiv city and Kupiansk and surrounding areas after residences and other civilian infrastructure were targeted by Russian attack drones and warplanes launching air-to-surface rockets and glide bombs.

In the neighboring part-Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia province, which lies to the south of Dnipro, five people were injured after Russian forces carried out missile, drone and airstrikes on more than a dozen towns and opened fire with artillery.

Three people were killed near the frontline in Donetsk, according to Gov. Vadym Filashkin, less than 100 miles east of Dnipro, where Ukrainian forces are battling to hold off a Russian advance poised to break through to the west into Ukraine‘s industrial heartland.

Earlier this month, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Russian troops and units of its 90th Guards Tank Division had penetrated into Dnipropetrovsk without resistance and were pushing forward.

Ukraine rejected the claim outright as fake news, but Emil Kastehelmi, an analyst at the Finland-based Black Bird Group, told the Kyiv Independent that geolocation data indicated an incursion by Russian troops had occurred.

Kastehelmi said that while he thought Russian forces would push on “at least somewhat” further west over the summer, he didn’t expect it to have much impact on the net state of play across the frontline.

Other military experts agreed.

They said the southeastern region of Ukraine would ultimately be penetrated by Russian forces, but only to a degree, as Moscow’s overarching goal was to capture the remaining areas of Donetsk it does not already control, and therefore neither side was likely to divert significant forces to the theater.

June 23 (UPI) — Oil futures declined and U.S. stock indexes rose despite fears Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for transporting oil around the world.

Oil prices climbed on Sunday in response to the U.S. joining Israel’s campaign against Iran but investors hope Iran will avoid escalating the situation.

The price of U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate Crude oil for August was $68.47, a $5.27 drop from Friday, before American B-2 bombers struck three Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday.

WTI climbed to $80 per barrel earlier this year but was under $60 per barrel in May. When Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, prices reached $120 per barrel.

“I think people realize that things in the Middle East will eventually de-escalate and will be in place of a much safer, a much more stable Middle East and world as a whole,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC in crediting President Donald Trump‘s foreign policy.

The Dow Jones Industrials, Standard & Poor’s and Nasdaq Composite were all up less than 1%. Of the 11 CNBC sectors, only energy and health declined with Utilities rising the most at 1%.

U.S. gasoline prices have risen, with the national average at $3.22 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association. That’s up from $3.14 a week ago and $3.20 one month ago.

For every $10 rise in oil prices, inflation goes up roughly 0.4 percentage points and cuts economic growth by roughly 0.1 percentage point, Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital, estimated.

“As it stands, it is arguably not in Iran’s best interests to close the Strait,” David Oxley, chief climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics, told USA Today.

The Iranian parliament moved Sunday to approve a measure to close the Strait in response to the American strikes on Iran over the weekend. The strait serves as a critical route for oil being shipped from Persian Gulf countries, but ultimately it will come down to whether Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei decides to move forward with such a plan.

Close to 30% of the world’s seaborne oil shipments are moved through the strait, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. China took nearly 90% of Iran’s crude oil, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Producers in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Qatar and the United Arab Emirites ship crude oil through the strait.

Alternative routes include the Red Sea, but there’s only limited pipeline capacity available, Oxley said.

“Given that most oil flows originating from Iraq, Kuwait, and Iran, itself, can’t be diverted, we estimate that no more than 30% of existing oil flows could be redirected,” Oxley said. “Meanwhile, LNG flows from the region cannot be diverted. The lack of an alternative for rerouting LNG flows has contributed to the sharp rise in natural gas prices since the start of the conflict.”

The United States doesn’t import oil from Iran.

More than half of U.S. crude oil comes from the United States and coastal waters, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. For imports, the United States mainly relies on Canada and Mexico to refine oil with less than 10% from Persian Gulf countries.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Monday that closing the strait and striking airbases would be a “catastrophic mistake.”

“It would be a huge, catastrophic mistake to fire at U.S. bases in the region at this time. We have forces in the region at this time,” said Lammy in an interview with BBC Breakfast.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also commented Sunday against Iranian interference with movement through the strait. He spoke with Fox News and called on China to prevent Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz.

“I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil,” said Rubio, as China is a key oil customer of Iran.

“The Persian Gulf and nearby waters are important route for international trade in goods and energy. Keeping the region safe and stable serves the common interests of the international community,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in a news conference Monday.

“China calls on the international community to step up effort to promote de-escalation of the conflict and prevent the regional turmoil from having a greater impact on global economic growth.”

June 23 (UPI) — At least 13 people were killed and 57 injured in Ukraine, half of them in Kyiv, after Russian forces attacked the capital and other targets in the eastern half of the country with hundreds of drones and ballistic and cruise missiles, officials said Monday.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a social media update that six people were killed when a missile struck and badly damaged a building in the central Shevchenkivskyi district, but that the rescue operation was still underway and there might be more casualties buried under the rubble.

“A terrible picture in the Shevchenko district. Extensive damage to a five-story building. Rescuers, medics, and municipal services are working at the scene. The blast wave also damaged the apartments of the 25-story residential building opposite. Ten people were rescued from it. Among them, a child and a pregnant woman,” said Klitschko.

Another 22 people were injured, 12 of them hospitalized, in attacks on residential and non-residential buildings in five other districts of the capital, he added.

The governor of the region, Mykola Kalashnyk, said one person was killed in Bilotserkivka district, southwest of Kyiv, and four were injured, two of whom were admitted to the hospital. Residential targets were hit in Boryspil and Bila Tserkva, where a medical facility and a hotel were also destroyed.

The town of Bucha, just northwest of Kyiv, one of the first Ukrainian settlements overrun by Russian forces and scene of the U.N.-documented execution of at least 73 civilians and other suspected war crimes after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, also came under attack, damaging several houses and vehicles.

In neighboring Chernihiv province to the northeast, which borders both Russia and Belarus, at least three people were killed and 11 injured, including four teenagers, in missile and drone strikes on Chernihiv, the regional capital, and four other districts, according to Chernihiv Gov. Viacheslav Chaus.

In Donetsk, one of four Ukrainian provinces partly or fully controlled by Russian forces, Gov. Vadym Filashkin reported on Telegram that two people had been killed in Siversk, 18 miles east of the city of Slovyansk, and in Myrne, east of Pokrovsk, with five more injured.

In part-Russian-occupied Kherson, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin reported via social media that one person had been killed and six injured in Russian drone, artillery and airstrikes on Kherson city and several other communities, damaging seven apartment buildings, 14 houses, a gas pipeline and other civilian targets.

The Ukrainian Air Force said on its official account on Telegram that of 368 incoming attack drones, ballistic and cruise missiles, mostly targeting Kyiv, air defenses managed to down all but 14.

SEOUL, June 19 (UPI) — North Korea fired around 10 rounds from multiple-launcher rocket systems, Seoul’s military said Thursday, one day after South Korea held joint air drills with the United States and Japan.

The rockets were launched around 10 a.m. from the Sunan area near Pyongyang, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message sent to reporters.

“The detailed specifications are being closely analyzed by South Korean-U.S. intelligence authorities,” the JCS said. “In the current security situation, our military is closely monitoring various trends in North Korea under a strong South Korea-U.S. military posture.”

Further details were not immediately provided.

News agency Yonhap reported that the weapons appeared to be fired from 240mm multiple rocket launchers in the direction of the Yellow Sea.

Last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing of an updated 240mm system with new guidance and maneuverability capabilities — a demonstration that South Korean officials speculated was made in anticipation of sales to Russia.

North Korea has deployed troops, artillery and weapons to Russia to aid in Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Pyongyang is believed to be receiving much-needed financial support and advanced military technology for its own weapons programs in return.

On Tuesday, Moscow’s top security official said that North Korea would send 6,000 military workers and combat engineers to help rebuild Russia’s war-torn Kursk region.

Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu made the announcement while meeting Kim in Pyongyang for the second time this month. His visit came ahead of the one-year anniversary of the signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership by Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The North’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper celebrated the June 19 anniversary in an article touting the “absolute solidity” of its alliance with Russia.

“The traditional DPRK-Russia friendship has been upgraded to a true alliance and solid strategic partnership,” the article said, using the official acronym for North Korea.

Thursday’s weapons test came one day after South Korea, the United States and Japan conducted a combined military air exercise. The drills, which involved South Korean F-15K, U.S. F-16 and Japanese F-2 fighter jets, marked the first trilateral exercise under the administration of new South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.

Lee met with his Japanese counterpart, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, on the sidelines of the Group of Seven meeting in Canada on Tuesday. The two leaders vowed to strengthen three-way cooperation with the United States to respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, Lee’s office said.

June 18 (UPI) — Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink wants to unseat incumbent Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., during the 2026 mid-term election.

Brink, 55, announced her candidacy on Wednesday after serving as a career diplomat under Democrat and Republican presidents, the Detroit Free Press reported.

A video announcement of Brink’s candidacy largely focuses on the Ukraine War, but she also mentions “unaccountable, unelected billionaires trying to slash and burn our government and our democracy.”

Brink is a native Michigander who lives in the state’s capital and said Trump administration policies are raising the cost of living for U.S. taxpayers.

“Extremists in Washington [D.C.] are sticking up with reckless tariffs that are raising the cost of living for working families, cutting critical services, including funding for our schools, veterans’ care and healthcare and taking away our freedoms [by] restricting reproductive rights and women’s healthcare,” Brink says.

Brink began her career in the State Department in 1996 and was the U.S. ambassador to Slovakia from 2019 to 2022 and ambassador to Ukraine from 2022 until resigning earlier this year.

In an op-ed published in May by the Detroit Free Press, Brink said she resigned her ambassadorship due to President Donald Trump‘s policy toward Ukraine.

“The policy since the beginning of the Trump administration has been to put pressure on the victim, Ukraine, rather than the aggressor, Russia,” Brink said.

“As such, I could no longer in good faith carry out the administration’s policy and felt it was my duty to step down,” she wrote.

“I cannot stand by while a country is invaded, a democracy bombarded and children killed with impunity.”

She called the Trump administration’s policy “appeasement” that “leads to more war and suffering.”

Brink is the first Democrat to announce her candidacy for the House seat that formerly was held by current Democratic Party Senator Elise Slotnik.

Other potential Democratic Party candidates include former Michigan House Minority Leader Donna Lasinski and retired Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam, the Michigan Advance reported.

June 16 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday night cut short his participation at the G7 summit to leave Alberta, Canada, and returned to Washington, D.C., to focus on the conflict between Israel and Iran.

French President Emmanual Macron announced Trump had made a cease-fire offer between the two countries.

“There is an offer that has been made, especially to have a cease-fire and to initiate broader discussions,” Macron told reporters at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada on Monday.

“If the United States of America can achieve a cease-fire, it is a very good thing and France will support it and we wish for it,” Macron said, using a translator.

“It is absolutely essential that all strikes from both sides against energy, administrative and cultural infrastructures, and even more so against the civilian population, cease,” Macron added. “Nothing justifies this.”

The conflict became the top issue among the G7 leaders during the three-day summit after Iran and Israel began exchanging airstrikes Thursday night. Trade issues, which became a major issue following tariffs imposed by Trump, also are occupying their time.

Trump arrived in Canada on Monday and flew back to Washington, D.C., after a dinner with heads of state. Trump was previously scheduled to depart Canada on Tuesday after a news conference.

“Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt

During the dinner, he said to Canada’s host, Prime Minister Mark Carney: “I have to be back early for obvious reasons. They understand. This is big stuff.”

Trump met earlier with Carney, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

But before he left, Trump signed off on a joint statement about the Israel-Iran situation because language was added to seek a diplomatic resolution to the situation and uphold international law, CNN reported.

Trump hadn’t planned to sign the declaration because he had already made his stance clear.

“We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza,” the statement read.

“In this context, we affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel. We also affirm the importance of the protection of civilians. Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror. We have been consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”

Carney, Starmer, Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were seeking consensus among the leaders about the Middle East situation.

The other leaders are Japanese President Kishida Fumio and Italy’s President Giorgia Meloni. The European Union represents 27 members, including France, Germany and Italy.

No other nations have helped Israel fire missiles at Iran, including the United States. But the United States is concerned about protecting its airbases and embassies in the region.

The United States only possesses the bomb required to strike Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear site, Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. told Merit TV on Monday.

Trump said he believes Iran wishes to de-escalate the situation. They had been in talks for a nuclear deal, but Sunday’s negotiations in Oman were canceled because of the airstrikes.

Later Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social about stalled nuclear talks: “Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”

Trump also talked about the situation during a public meeting with Canada’s prime minister.

“They’d like to talk, but they should have done that before,” Trump said. “I had 60 days, and they had 60 days, and on the 61st day, I said, ‘We don’t have a deal.’ They have to make a deal, and it’s painful for both parties, but I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it’s too late.”

Carney cut off comments from Trump when he started to speak about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s plans to expand efforts to detain and deport illegal immigrants in America’s largest cities run by Democratic mayors in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

“If you don’t mind,” Carney said, “I’m going to exercise my role if you will as G7 chair, since we have a few more minutes with the president and his team, and then we actually have to start the meeting to address some of the big issues. So thank you.”

Trump was making his first appearance at the summit since attending a meeting in the south of France in 2019. The previous year’s gathering in Canada ended with him withdrawing support for the final communique.

Trade talk

Trump formalized tariff cuts on British goods, and said he anticipates reaching new trade deals in Canada.

“We just signed it, and it’s done,” Trump told reporters. “It’s a fair deal for both.”

Trump lowered tariffs on the British aerospace sector to zero at the end of the month. The deal also cuts tariffs on British auto imports to 10% on the first 100,000 vehicles, according to the White House. Previously, vehicles imported from Great Britain faced a 27.5% duty.

The agreement does not lower steel tariffs to none from 25% as the leaders agreed in May. Trump has imposed a 50% steel and aluminum in other countries that went into effect earlier this month.

Canada is among the countries hardest hit, with a 25% tariff on autos imported into the United and 50% on steel and aluminum. Canada also faces tariffs, along with Mexico on imports of goods not exempted by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

The EU, in particular, wants to get a deal done before the July 9 expiration of a 10% tariff implemented by Trump to allow time for negotiations.

Before going to the summit, Trump had said he expected to sign new trade agreements with other nations.

Russia

The nation hasn’t been invited to the summit in 10 years.

Like in the past, Trump called it wrong for Russia to have been removed from the G8 in 2014 for annexing Crimea.

“The G7 used to be the G8,” Trump said.” And I would say that that was a mistake, because I think you wouldn’t have a war right now if you had Russia in.”

“It was a mistake in that you spend so much time talking about Russia. And he’s no longer at the table, so it makes life more complicated.”

Trump also said he won’t impose more sanctions on Russia with more sanctions at the G7 summit, saying European nations should hit the target with more sanctions.

“Let’s see them do it first,” he told reporters in a joint news appearance with Starmer. “When I sanction a country, that costs the U.S. a lot of money — a tremendous amount of money.”

The president held a roughly 60-minute call with Putin on Saturday in which much of the focus was on the Israel-Iran fighting, and less on Russia’s war with Ukraine. Trump was scheduled to have a one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the summit.

June 16 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump participated in a meeting of the G7 in Canada on Monday that had a wide range of pressing issues including the Israel-Iran conflict and trade

He and counterparts from Europe and Japan, as well as six countries not in the group that were invited to attend, will meet for three days.

Ahead of the summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Trump held a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, their second in less than six weeks after the U.S. president hosted Carney in the White House after his unexpected general election victory April 28, attributed in large part due to “the Trump effect.”

Trump had said he expected to ink new trade agreements at the meetings, which are also being attended by the European Union, Ukraine, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, India and Australia, but ABC News said Israel’s strikes on Iran had “scrambled” the agenda.

The network said there were differences between the U.S. administration and its international allies, with Trump telling ABC he was open to an offer from Russian President Vladimir Putin to mediate between the parties.

French President Emmanuel rejected the idea, saying Putin lacked the necessary credibility due to his country’s military intervention in Ukraine.

The president held a roughly 60-minute call with Putin in recent days in which much of the focus was on the Israel-Iran fighting, and less on Ukraine. However, Trump was scheduled to hold a one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the summit.

Uncertainty generated by Trump’s positions on the big geopolitical issues was likely seen as forcing allies to seek reassurance on where he stands, from supporting Ukraine over the longer term to what to do about Iran, as well as looming fears of a global trade war.

Trump is expected to hold a series of bilateral meetings with the key trading partners at the summit, many of them slapped by the United States with hefty goods tariffs and separate tariffs on autos and steel and aluminum. Some have responded in kind.

Canada is among the countries hardest hit, with a 25% tariff on autos imported into the United and 50% on steel and aluminum. Canada also faces tariffs, along with Mexico on imports of goods not exempted by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Trump told reporters as he departed for Canada that deals with the United States’ trading partners were just a matter of formally notifying them “what you’re going to have to pay,” but the summit comes amid Trump’s 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs announced May 12.

The EU, in particular, wants to get a deal done before the July 9 expiration of a 10% tariff reduction implemented by Trump to allow time for negotiations.

So far, the only country with which a deal has been reached, but not implemented, is Britain. That deal announced in May allows Britain to export 100,000 cars annually to the United States at its standard 10% baseline tariff rate.

The deal also allows for British steel and aluminum quotas that will effectively reduce the tariffs to zero, although it currently remains at 25%, but still far below the 50% imposed on all other countries.

Trump is making his first appearance at the summit since attending a meeting in the south of France in 2019. The previous year’s gathering in Canada ended with him withdrawing support for the final communique.

June 15 (UPI) — President Donald Trump departed the White House on Sunday en route to Western Canada for the annual G7 summit, promising to secure trade deals weeks ahead of a tariff hike deadline.

Speaking to reporters ahead of his departure, Trump appeared confident he’ll “have a few new trade deals” during the three-day summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Newsweek reported.

“Look, we have our trade deals,” he said, according to CNN. “All we have to do is send the letters: ‘This is what you are gonna have to pay.'”

The annual Group of 7 brings together some of the world’s largest economies, including Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the European Union. Several other countries also were invited.

Trump was expected to arrive at the G7 venue in the Canadian Rockies on Sunday evening. He was scheduled to meet privately with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday morning.

Last month, Trump agreed to delay imposing a 50% tariff on goods from dozens of European countries, allowing them more time for trade negotiations with the United States. He offered no details Sunday about which countries he expects to secure deals with during the summit.

In April, the Trump administration announced plans to have trade deals with 90 countries within 90 days. So far, the United States has secured deals with China and Britain.

Trade isn’t the only topic expected to be on the docket at this year’s G7 summit. The countries are expected express support for Ukraine in its war against Russia; address the Israel-Gaza war; and discuss immigration, security, energy, technology, the environment and job creation.

Israel’s airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities Friday and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks are also likely to be addressed.

June 14 (UPI) — Russia and Ukraine exchanged an unreported number of prisoners of war on Saturday during the fourth such exchange during the week.

Ukraine also received the bodies of 1,200 dead civilians and military personnel from Russia.

The bodies are in addition to 2,412 that were sent to Ukraine on Wednesday and Friday and are being released per agreements reached during recent negotiations in Istanbul, the Kyiv Independent reported.

“The remains will now undergo forensic examination and identification procedures conducted by law enforcement investigators in cooperation with expert institutions under the [Ukrainian] Interior Ministry,” officials for the Coordination Headquarters Prisoners of War said in a prepared statement.

Identifying the bodies enables respective Ukrainian families to recover them for burial.

Ukrainian and Russian officials agreed to exchange the bodies of 6,000 soldiers and civilians for each side for a total exchange of 12,000 bodies.

Although the two nations agreed to exchange bodies, Russian officials said Ukraine did not return 1,200 bodies during Saturday’s exchange.

Russia and Ukraine are also exchanging prisoners of war who need medical care.

Ukraine has transferred wounded Russian soldiers who have been captured, including many who were transferred directly from the frontlines.

As cease-fire negotiations continue to end the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has continued to strike Ukraine with drone attacks.

Russia is on pace to strike Ukraine with nearly 7,000 drones, which would exceed the record number of 4,198 drones launched against Ukrainian military and civilian targets in March.

“This is terrorism against the civilian population aimed to create a series of doom, war-weariness and to put pressure on the [Ukrainian] authorities,” Liveuamap co-founder Rodion Rozhkovskiy told the Kyiv Independent.

While the war in Ukraine and related negotiations continue in Istanbul, Russian President Vladimir Putin called President Donald Trump on Saturday to wish him a happy birthday and discuss matters in Iran during the one-hour call.

“We talked at length,” Trump said in a White House statement issued after the phone call ended.

“Much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week,” Trump said.

He said Putin knows Iran “very well” and agreed the war between Israel and Iran should end.

Trump said he told Putin, “his war should also end” in Ukraine.

The president did not offer more details on his conversation with Putin.

Russian forces on Friday captured the Ukrainian village of Yablunivka, which is located in northeastern Ukraine and about 5 miles from the border between the two nations, Russian officials announced on Saturday.

Russian forces also reportedly captured the villages of Koptevo and Komar in the eastern Donetsk region in Ukraine and six in total over the past week.

June 11 (UPI) — The proposed Department of Defense budget puts “America first” while addressing Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.

Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine fielded questions during a more than 2-hour hearing regarding the proposed $961.6 billion DOD budget for the 2026 fiscal year.

The Defense Department is improving pay, housing, healthcare and other services to improve the quality of life for military members and their families, Hegseth told committee members.

“This budget puts America first and gives our warriors what they need,” he said during his opening statement.

The proposed budget request also would “end four years of chronic underinvestment in our military by the Biden administration,” Hegseth added.

Russia and the Ukraine war

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., opened the hearing with questions about the Ukraine War, including who is the aggressor and preferred outcomes.

Hegseth said Russia is the aggressor and China would prefer to keep the conflict going as long as possible to distract from its moves in the Indo-Pacific region.

Europe needs to do more to defend its territory against Russian aggression, Hegseth said, and the United States must remain strategic in its handling of the war while addressing matters in the Indo-Pacific region.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., cited ongoing Russian aggression against civilian targets in Ukraine as evidence that Russia has no intention of ending the war there.

The 2026 budget request eliminates aid to Ukraine, while senators are working to impose more sanctions on Russia, Coons said.

“What message do you think it sends” when Russia “attacks civilian centers in Ukraine and the United States does not send additional air defense and interceptors to Ukraine?” Coons asked.

Hegseth said arms are still flowing to Ukraine, but other NATO allies are not doing enough to end the war.

“You’re not a real coalition, you’re not a real defense alliance, unless you have real defense capability and real armies that can bring those to bear,” Hegseth said.

“That’s a reality that Europe is waking up to quickly,” he added, “and we’re glad.”

Coons said the United States should not negotiate a cease-fire in Ukraine “at any cost” and instead should continue supporting Ukraine to achieve an enduring peace.

“Putin will only stop when we stop him,” Coons said. “The best way to stop him is through a stronger NATO.”

Chinese military threats and Hegseth’s DOD leadership

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said China has more than 400 warships and is rapidly expanding its fleet versus 293 ships for the United States.

She asked why the Defense Department only seeks funding to build two submarines and an ocean surveillance ship, plus some destroyers.

Hegseth said the 2026 budget request reflects a 13% increase for investing in national defense over the current fiscal year.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., then questioned Hegseth’s leadership.

“I am repeatedly hearing that your policy and personnel changes at the Pentagon are only undermining [and] not strengthening our military’s preparedness to protect our country,” Murray said.

She accused Hegseth of using the military to police areas in the United States, including sending the National Guard and Marines to California to use against “peaceful protesters.”

Murray then asked Hegseth if the Defense Department would continue to fire shipbuilders, which he denied it has done.

“We are investing historically in our shipbuilding defense industrial base and workforce and ships in this budget,” Hegseth said.

Murray said the Navy is firing shipbuilder staff in the state of Washington and accused it of asking welders if they ever donated to the Democratic Party.

Hegseth said no welders are subject to litmus tests to work on naval projects and denied that political questions are asked.

Iranian, Russian, Chinese and North Korean coalition

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked Hegseth and Caine if the world is underestimating Iran’s intent to “kill all the Jews,” including using a nuclear weapon against Israel if Iran had one.

Caine said Iran would use one to pressure Israel but doesn’t know if Iran would use it to “wipe out Israel.”

Hegseth said a radical cleric in Iran would use one to wipe out Israel.

“They’re going to use a nuclear weapon if they get it,” Graham said.

He also asked if China intends to “take Taiwan by force if necessary.”

Hegseth said the DOD doesn’t know that China has made the decision to do so.

Caine suggested China might use military force against Taiwan, and the United States needs to prepare for it.

Coons said China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are aligned and pose the greatest threat to world peace since the Cold War.

He cited Ukraine as an example of the future of warfare, but said the Department of Defense is “internally divided” and operating on a continuing resolution for the first time.

The current state within the Defense Department “cannot continue,” Coons added.

Next-generation fighter and collaborative drones are planned

The Defense Department also wants to spend $4 billion during the 2026 fiscal year to develop the F-47 fighter and “collaborative combat” drone aircraft, according to DefenseScoop.

The $4 billion request is just part of the 2026 budget request, but the amount of the entire proposed budget has not been released.

The Air Force wants to spend $3.5 billion on the F-47 fighter project, which would give it a fighter capable of exceeding Mach 2 with a range of more than 1,000 nautical miles.

The current F-22 and F-35A fighter jets have top speeds of greater than Mach 2 and Mach 1.6 and ranges of 590 and 670 nautical miles, respectively.

The Air Force wants to buy up to 185 F-47 fighters during the program’s duration.

The Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program would promote the development of next-generation drone aircraft that are capable of flying with the manned F-47 and other next-generation fighters.

June 11 (UPI) — Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will mark his first-ever official visit to Ukraine on Wednesday since he took the presidency nearly eights years ago to take part in a European summit.

Vucic will pay a one-day visit to Serbia’s war-torn northern neighbor, where he will participate in the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Odesa, the Serbian presidential office announced.

Few official details were shared.

Meanwhile, it’s expected to gather representatives from a dozen southeastern European nations, including newly-elected Romanian President Nicusor Dan, who is also on his first visit to Ukraine since his own election win last month.

European political experts say Vucic’s presence signals an EU-realignment for Serbia, which has largely remained neutral, with respect to Russia’s full-scale invasion and war in Ukraine.

In recent months, Russia and Serbia’s long-existing diplomatic ties have been strained.

Vucic took sharp criticism from EU officials regarding Serbia’s bid to enter the 27-member European Union after his recent trip to Moscow on May 9 for President Vladimir Putin’s military parade as one of few European leaders to attend.

It arrived as three people were killed and 68 others injured overnight after Russian forces hit civilian targets across the frontline regions of Kharkiv and Kherson.

June 10 (UPI) — Officials in Ukraine confirmed Tuesday that Russia attacked in four different places overnight with drones and missiles, leaving several dead and injured.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted to X Tuesday that the cities of Kyiv and Odessa were struck by missiles and drones, as were places in the Dnipro and Chernihiv regions.

Zelensky said that 315 drones were used, as were seven missiles, two of which he claimed were North Korean-made ballistic weapons. Homes and areas of infrastructure were damaged, and in Odessa a hospital was allegedly targeted. Thirteen people were injured, and there were fatalities, Zelensky said.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram Tuesday that the two people were killed and four injured in Odessa “as a result of a night attack on the city.” He further stated that a hospital was targeted there in a series of posts that described several drone strikes. Tuesday evening Klitschko described the drones as they attacked, which left residential buildings damaged and burnt by fires ignited during the strikes.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine also reported Wednesday that a woman was found dead under the rubble from a damaged domicile.

The Ukrainian Air Force posted to Telegram Tuesday that Russia used 322 types of weaponry during their air assault, including 315 Shahed drones, five Iskander cruise missiles and two KN-23 ballistic missiles.

Despite all the reports of destruction, the air force said in the same post that much of the attack was repelled with the use of anti-aircraft missiles, aviation, its electronic warfare units, drones and mobile fire groups from the Defense Forces of Ukraine.

The Air Force data, which was confirmed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, noted that 284 item launched by Russia were eliminated, with 220 shot down and 64 that failed to reach their targets.

Ukrainian Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi posted to Facebook Tuesday that a vital landmark in Kyiv, the Sofia Cathedral, was damaged by an “explosive wave” that he claims, “caused the destruction of the cornice on the main apse of the monument of national importance.”

“This temple of the [eleventh] century is the soul of all Ukraine,” Tochytskyi added.

He also said the Odessa Film Studio, “the place where Ukrainian cinema was made,” was struck, leaving several portions of the studio damaged.

Tochytskyi further said that the attack “completely destroyed decorations to the movie Dovzhenko a national project about the most famous Ukrainian director.”

“Russia is not only at war with our cities, it is waging a war against our culture, memory, future,” Tochytskyi concluded.

June 9 (UPI) — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was expected to call for member nations and allies to increase defense spending in London on Monday.

Rutte is set to deliver remarks at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, a British think tank also known as Chatham House, in London and meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the visit to London.

“The fact is, we need a quantum leap in our collective defense,” he is expected to say according to remarks shared with reporters.

It is anticipated that Rutte will ask NATO allies to increase their defense spending by 400%. He’s likely to lay out an outline for why it’s necessary for each to agree to up their military spending to 5% of GDP when they meet at a summit in The Hague later this month.

“The work ahead of us for the [NATO summit] in The Hague is clear,” Rutte posted to X Thursday. “We need a new defense investment plan that will ensure we have the resources we need to be able to deter and defend in this more dangerous world.”

Each will be asked to invest millions more on tanks and artillery shells as Rutte will focus on the possibility of an aggressive Russia in the future.

“The fact is, danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends,” Rutte is expected to say while adding that, that Russia won’t back down on its military even if and after when its war on Ukraine ends.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov already reportedly responded Monday to what Rutte is expected to discuss and said that NATO “is demonstrating itself as an instrument of aggression and confrontation.”

NATo already announced Friday that Rutte will ask for its allies to spend 3.5% of that 5% on core defense, with the other 1.5% to go to defense and security-related investments.

Rutte is also slated to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer while in London Monday.

June 7 (UPI) — China has agreed to fast-track approvals for the shipment of rare earth minerals to the United States and some European Union nations.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke Thursday about easing trade tensions.

On Saturday, China’s Minister Seceary Wang Wentao said his nation is “willing to establish a green channel for qualified applications to speed up approval.” Details weren’t given, including the speed of the process and which EU nations are included.

China controls 90% of the global processing of rare earth minerals. Major deposits also are found in the United States, Australia and Russia. Smaller amounts are in Canada, India, South Africa and Southeast Asia.

Rare earth minerals are in the Earth’s crust, making them difficult to extract. They include lanthanide, scandium and yttrium, all on the Periodic Table of Elements. Some major minerals that contain rare earth elements are bastnasite, monazite, loparite and laterite clays.

The first rare-earth mineral was discovered in 1787 — gadolinite, a black mineral composed of cerium, yttrium, iron, silicon and other elements.

U.S. needs rare earth minerals

The minerals are critical to American industries and defense, including use in cars and fighter jets. Batteries contain the minerals

Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday “there should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of rare Earth products.”

On April 29, the United States and Ukraine created a Reconstruction Investment Fund that includes rare earth mineral rights in the European nation. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were originally set to sign the minerals deal on Feb. 28, but the plan was scrapped after a tense exchange between them in the Oval Office in which Trump accused him of “gambling with World War III.”

The United States wants access to more than 20 raw materials in Ukraine, including some non-minerals, such as oil and natural gas, as well as titanium, lithium, graphite and manganese.

The Chinese commerce ministry confirmed some applications have been approved without specifying industries covered.

Some Chinese suppliers have recently received six-month export licenses, the American Chamber of Commerce in China said Friday, but it noted that there is a backlog of license applications.

In a survey of member companies conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China late week, 75% say their stock would run out within three months, CNN reported.

Jens Eskelund, the chamber president, said member companies were “still struggling” with the situation.

“I hadn’t realized just how important this rare earth card was before. Now the U.S. side is clearly anxious and eager to resolve this issue,” he said a video on Thursday. “But of course, we’ll link this issue to others — the U.S. is restricting China on chips and jet engines, then China certainly has every reason to make use of this card.

“As for whether China will change its rare earth export control policy, that probably still needs to be negotiated in more detail,” Jin added.

Trump said Xi and himself “straightened out” some points related to rare earth magnets, calling it “very complex stuff.”

The U.S. federal government said China had reneged on its promise made in Geneva on May 12.

Delegations from Beijing and Washington plan to meet in Great Britain on Monday for trade negotiations.

At the height of tariff war, China had imposed export restrictions on some minerals on April 4. Trump two days planned a 120% “reciprocal” tax on top of 25% levy on Chinese goods.

But one week later it paused the bigger tariffs, including on other countries for 90 days.

European nations’ needs

China’s commerce ministry pledged to address the EU’s concerns and establish a “green channel” for eligible applications to expedite approvals. He went to Brussels, Belgium, earlier this week and met with European Union’s trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic.

It’s a problem for China and the EU.

Sefcovic said the pause was slowing deliveries for manufacturers of a wide range of items from cars to washing machines.

Wang urged the EU to “take effective measures to facilitate, safeguard and promote compliant trade of high-tech products to China.”

On Friday, the European Chamber, a Beijing lobby group, warned progress had “not been sufficient” to prevent severe supply chain disruptions for many companies.

June 5 (UPI) — NATO defense ministers are proposing a 5% annual investment in defense spending by member nations to enhance defensive capabilities during a meeting in Brussels on Thursday.

The proposed defense investment plan would require member nations to invest 5% of their respective gross domestic products in defense, NATO officials announced.

The change would make NATO a “stronger, fairer, more lethal alliance and ensure warfighting readiness for years to come,” according to NATO.

The ministers’ plan describes “exactly what capabilities allies need to invest over their coming years … to keep our deterrence and defense strong and our one billion people safe,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.

U.S. supports increased NATO member spending

Many NATO members currently spend about 2% of their respective GDPs, which President Donald Trump has said is insufficient.

The 5% defense investment by NATO member states is virtually assured, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told media upon arriving for Thursday’s meeting.

“We’re here to continue the work that President Trump started, which is a commitment to 5% defense spending across this alliance, which we think will happen,” Hegseth said.

“There are a few countries that are not quite there yet,” Hegseth added. “I won’t name any names, [but] we will get them there.”

If approved during the upcoming NATO Summit, defense investments would require respective member nations to spend equal to 3.5% of GDP on core defense spending, plus 1.5% in annual defense and security investments, including infrastructure.

The two-day NATO Summit is scheduled to start on June 24 at The Hague.

Ukraine support and nuclear deterrence

An ad hoc NATO-Ukraine Council also met and reaffirmed NATO’s support of Ukraine and agreed that nuclear deterrence is its primary goal.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and European Union Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Minister Kaja Kallas joined the council to discuss support for Ukraine.

Rutte said NATO allies have pledged nearly $23 billion in security assistance for Ukraine in 2025 and are focused on preventing the use of nuclear weapons by Russia and other nations.

The final meeting of NATO ministers during the summit also affirmed the alliance’s focus on nuclear deterrence.

“Nuclear deterrence remains the cornerstone of alliance security,” Rutte said.

“We will ensure that NATO’s nuclear capability remains strong and effective in order to preserve peace, prevent coercion and deter aggression.”

Trump nominates U.S. general for NATO commander

Trump also nominated U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich to lead combined U.S. and NATO forces in Europe.

If approved during the NATO Summit, Grynkewich would become NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe and commander of the U.S. European Command.

Trump is scheduled to attend the NATO Summit.

If approved by NATO member states, Grynkewich would replace current Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Chris Cavoli.

Grynkewich is an experienced fighter pilot, and his nomination affirms that the United States would continue to emphasize defensive security for Europe.

A U.S. officer has been NATO’s supreme allied commander since Gen. Dwight Eisenhower first held the post in 1951.

SEOUL, June 6 (UPI) — North Korea righted a capsized 5,000-ton warship and moored it at a pier in the Chongjin Shipyard on the country’s east coast, state-run media reported, two weeks after a failed launch that leader Kim Jong Un condemned as a “criminal act.”

“After restoring the balance of the destroyer early in June, the [restoration] team moored it at the pier by safely conducting its end launching on Thursday afternoon,” the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

“The team will start the next-stage restoration after the reexamination of a group of experts into the overall hull of the destroyer,” KCNA said

The article corresponds with commercial satellite imagery analyzed by North Korea-focused website 38 North, which reported Thursday that the North had managed to launch the ship after returning it to an upright position earlier this week. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff also confirmed the ship had been righted in a press briefing Thursday.

The next phase of the repair will take place at Rajin Dockyard over the next seven to ten days, the KCNA report said.

Jo Chun Ryong, a senior official from the ruling Workers’ Party, was quoted as saying that the “perfect restoration of the destroyer will be completed without fail” before a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party central committee in late June.

Kim Jong Un demanded that the warship be restored by the start of the party congress and warned of serious consequences for those found responsible for the launch mishap.

Kim was in attendance at the destroyer’s botched launch on May 21, and called it a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism which is out of the bounds of possibility and could not be tolerated.”

At least four officials have been arrested so far, including vice department director of the Munitions Industry Department Ri Hyong Son, according to state media.

South Korea’s military assessed that the North had attempted to “side-launch” the vessel by sliding it into the water sideways rather than launching it from a drydock, a technique analysts believe Pyongyang had never used before.

The destroyer was the second warship introduced by North Korea in recent weeks, following the launch of its 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer at the Nampo Shipyard on April 25. That vessel is armed with a wide range of weapons, including supersonic cruise missiles and strategic cruise missiles, according to North Korean reports.

Photos released by the North showed that the Choe Hyon’s missile and radar systems resemble those found on Russian vessels, prompting speculation that Pyongyang received technical assistance from Moscow in its development.

North Korea has deployed troops, artillery and weapons to Russia to aid in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, and is believed to be receiving much-needed financial support and advanced military technology for its own weapons programs.

On Thursday, Kim Jong Un told Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu that Pyongyang would continue to “unconditionally support” Moscow, according to KCNA.

June 5 (UPI) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is in Washington on Thursday to meet with President Donald Trump in person for the first time.

Before their meeting, Merz had said that he was looking forward to his first face-to-face meeting with Trump after the two have previously spoken over the phone

“Our alliance with America was, is, and remains of paramount importance for the security, freedom, and prosperity of Europe. The United States is an indispensable friend and partner of Germany,” Merz posted to X Wednesday.

The topics of discussion are expected to range from tariffs and trade to Russia’s war on Ukraine and the state of the Middle East.

Trump and Merz reportedly speak with each other on a first-name basis, however, in a speech given Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul described the current tone of German-U.S. relations as being “as rough as it has not been in a long time.”

Trump has also levied tariffs on all member nations of the European Union, Germany included, that will impose a 50% duty on all European goods starting July 9, a deadline that was extended from June 1 to allow more time for trade negotiations. The Trump administration has also upped tariffs on all aluminum and steel imports from 25% to 50%, with only Britain excluded.

Germany announced last week it will provide a nearly $5.7 billion military aid package to Ukraine that will finance long-range weapons to be produced by Ukraine, which Merz announced can be deployed by the Ukrainian military for use inside the borders of Russia. Trump, however, had ordered a pause on military aid to Ukraine in March shortly after his combative February meeting with Zelensky.

It is unclear if Trump has any issue with Germany’s aid for or relationship with Ukraine.