North Korea’s “transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia supports Russia’s war of aggression, increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and undermines the global nonproliferation regime”, said Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state. Boris Nadezhdin, a Russian presidential hopeful opposing the war against Ukraine, met on Thursday with a group of soldiers’ wives who are demanding that their husbands be discharged from the frontline. The longtime Kremlin critic is collecting signatures to qualify to challenge President Vladimir Putin in the 15-17 March vote. The EU industrial chief, Thierry Breton, is targeting €3bn in a new scheme to ramp up production of defence equipment. The European Commission has already allocated €1.5bn but wants to double the amount, said Breton, who earlier this week broached the idea of a €100bn European defence fund.

Source: The Guardian January 12, 2024 19:28 UTC