Through a major move to strengthen its future defense, Ukraine has finalized a preliminary agreement to acquire up to 100 Rafale warplanes, drones, air defence systems and additional key gear from France. This deal was formalized by Ukrainian president Zelenskyy and France's leader Macron during a joint press briefing at the Elysée presidential palace. The Ukrainian leader described the arrangement as “an unprecedented agreement.”
A number of relatives of Ukrainian children who were forcibly deported to Russia have sounded the alarm about their fate, reporting that all contact has been cut off. At a rare news conference in the French capital, a legal guardian, who cares for two minors removed after Russia's widespread military action of Ukraine in recent years, stated that Russian authorities are disregarding every appeal to facilitate the minors' return.
An unmanned aerial vehicle hit a Turkish-flagged tanker and caused a fire in southern Ukraine's Odesa area, authorities said. This event took place just one day after Zelenskyy signed a agreement to bring in American liquefied natural gas through the region. The vessel was struck while offloading liquefied petroleum gas at Izmail port, according to Turkish maritime authority. All 16 crew members on board were safely removed and not a single person was injured.
Romania's officials announced they had relocated two communities close to the Ukrainian frontier following the drone attack on the tanker. Since entering Ukraine in 2022, Russian forces has repeatedly attacked Ukraine's ports in the Danube region, causing alerts in adjacent Romania.
The American leader Trump is willing to approve legislation to enact sanctions on the Russian Federation, provided that he retains ultimate decision-making power over any such measures, an high-ranking U.S. administration official stated. The U.S. president informed journalists recently that it was “OK with me” that Republicans were working on a bill to apply sanctions on nations doing business with Russia over its inability to reach a peace deal with Ukraine.
Poland's prime minister, Tusk, has labeled an explosion along a section of rail track employed in deliveries to Ukraine as an “unprecedented instance of sabotage” that could have resulted in disaster. This statement came as a statement from legal authorities saying that an investigation had opened “concerning acts of sabotage of a terror-related nature […] carried out on orders of a external spy agency against the nation of the country.”
The Chinese government is ready to deepen cooperation with Russia in energy, agriculture and other investments, Premier Li Qiang said during a meeting with Russia's leader Mishustin in Moscow. The Chinese premier informed his counterpart that the country welcomes more agricultural and food-related goods from the nation, according to a state-run news agency. China also hopes that Russia will make it easier for companies from China to invest and do business there, the source mentioned. The Russian leader told his counterpart that the cooperation between the both nations has repeatedly proven its strength to external pressures.
