In a significant step to bolster its long-term defense, the Ukrainian government has finalized a preliminary agreement to acquire up to 100 Rafale jets, drones, air defense equipment and other key equipment from the French Republic. The agreement was signed by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French president Macron during a joint press briefing at the Elysée presidential palace. Zelenskyy described the pact as “an unprecedented agreement.”
Several relatives of Ukraine's children who were forcibly deported to Russia have sounded the alarm about their fate, stating that all contact has been cut off. During a rare press event in the French capital, a legal guardian, who is responsible for two minors taken after Russia's widespread military action of the country in 2022, said that officials in Russia are ignoring every appeal to facilitate the minors' repatriation.
An unmanned aerial vehicle struck a Turkey-registered ship and set it ablaze in the southern part of Ukraine's Odesa area, officials reported. The incident took place just one day after Zelenskyy approved a agreement to import US liquefied natural gas via the region. The vessel was hit while unloading LPG at Izmail harbor, according to Turkish Directorate for Maritime Affairs. All 16 crew members on board evacuated and no one was hurt.
Romania's authorities said they had relocated two villages near the Ukrainian frontier following the aerial strike on the MT Orinda. Since entering Ukraine in recent years, Moscow has consistently targeted Ukrainian ports in the Danube River region, triggering warnings in adjacent Romania.
US president Donald Trump is prepared to approve a bill to enact penalties on the Russian Federation, provided that he keeps final decision-making authority over any such measures, a senior U.S. administration official said. The U.S. president told journalists late on Sunday that it was “acceptable to me” that GOP members were working on legislation to impose restrictions on nations doing business with Moscow over its failure to reach a peace deal with Ukraine.
The Polish leader, Tusk, has described an blast along a section of rail track used for shipments to the country as an “unprecedented act of disruption” that could have resulted in catastrophe. This statement came as a announcement from legal authorities saying that an investigation had opened “concerning actions of disruption of a terrorist kind […] committed on orders of a foreign spy agency against the nation of the country.”
China is prepared to deepen collaboration with Russia in energy, agriculture and additional investments, Leader Li stated during a discussion with Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin in the Russian capital. The Chinese premier informed Mishustin that the country is open to more agricultural and food-related products from Russia, as per a state-run news agency. The Chinese side also desires that Moscow will facilitate for companies from China to put money and operate in Russia, the source cited. Mishustin told Li that the partnership between the two sides has repeatedly proven its strength to outside pressures.
