Category: Russian Invasion of Ukraine

UK Prime Minister Opposes Placing Solar Panels on Farmland, Downing Street Says

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss does not think solar panels should be installed on productive agricultural lands, Downing Street has said. According to a report in The Guardian, Environment Secretary Ranil Jayawardena wants to protect farmland amid concerns over food security and is seeking to restrict the development of solar projects on farms in England….


Australia’s Ukrainian Visa Conundrum

Commentary Australia was one of the countries that welcomed Ukrainian refugees following the Russian invasion of their country on Feb. 24. According to the website of the Australian Department of Home Affairs, around 8,600 temporary protection visas were granted to Ukrainian nationals. As of June 30, over 3,800 of these visa holders have arrived in…


UK Sends Fighter Jets to Sweden and Finland for Training Drills

Britain’s Royal Air Force has sent fighter jets to Sweden and Finland for training exercises as part of the UK’s “increased presence in the region” following the two countries’ application to join the NATO military alliance, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced. Two F-35Bs and four Typhoons conducted “high-end warfighting training” with Finnish F-18…


U.S. Senators Meet With Ukrainian President, Discuss Designating Russia as ‘State Sponsor of Terrorism’

U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the capital city of Kyiv on June 7 to discuss legislation that would assign a terrorism designation to Russia. The proposed bill seeks to designate Moscow as a “state sponsor of terrorism” and would place Russia alongside countries like…


US Senators Meet With Ukrainian President, Discuss Designating Russia as ‘State Sponsor of Terrorism’

U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the capital city of Kyiv on July 7 to discuss legislation that would assign a terrorism designation to Russia. The proposed bill seeks to designate Moscow as a “state sponsor of terrorism” and would place Russia alongside countries like…


Ukraine’s New Status as EU ‘Candidate Member’ a Dangerous Game to Play

Commentary The European Council has now accepted the application of Ukraine and Moldova to become a “candidate member” countries of the European Union (EU). The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, welcoming the award of candidate membership, described it as “a unique and historic moment” in his country’s relationship with the 27 members of the EU…


Russian Forces Fire Missiles on Ukraine From Belarus: Kyiv

A barrage of missiles was fired from Belarus on Saturday as Kyiv accused Moscow of dragging Minsk into the war even as Belarus has officially stayed out of the conflict. At around 5 a.m. on June 25, 20 rockets targeted the village of Desna in the northern Chernihiv region of Ukraine, according to the country’s…


Putin–Xi Call: Kremlin Claims Xi Endorses Putin’s Invasion; US Innovation Race Losing to China

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls Chinese leader Xi Jinping on his birthday. But the call might be a good thing for the Chinese leader. Now people are having their suspicion confirmed: China and Russia are in it together. But I think there is a more subtle reason why Putin called Xi Jinping.  I got the…


How Brazil Is Saving the World From a Catastrophic Food Crisis

Commentary Brazil is the fourth-largest producer of food in the world. The country is entirely self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs, and it ranks as the world’s number one producer of banana, cacao, cassava, coffee, corn, maize, rice, soybean, and sugar. Although the bulk of these products are consumed domestically, a considerable part is also exported, including…


Food Price Rises Caused by Ukraine War ‘Major Worry’ for World: Bank of England Governor

The potential for further food price rises is a “major worry” for the UK and the developing world, the governor of the Bank of England, the UK’s central bank, has warned. Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee of the House of Commons on May 16, Andrew Bailey said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has…