Salvini’s last hope rests on building a bridge to Sicily – POLITICO

Salvini is pushing to launch the project by June, when European elections will be held that could make or break his leadership of the League.  The timing will be critical. As electoral support for the League shrinks, Salvini’s party colleagues are running out of patience. All 15 members of one local party association in Lombardy, … Read more

India looks beyond Russia for defense imports – POLITICO

“How come the Patriots took down the Kinzhal missiles that were touted as invincible? How come Russian ships are becoming such easy targets from a country that doesn’t have a navy? Its spy planes such as A-50s, and fighter jets such as Sukhois have been downed so effectively,” Rao told POLITICO. India’s air force has … Read more

Kharkiv TV tower destroyed in Russian missile attack – POLITICO

“The attack on the TV tower in Kharkiv is part of a systematic, large-scale campaign against the Ukrainian civilian population by Russia,” said Oksana Romaniuk, head of the Institute of Mass Information, a think tank based in Kyiv. “The destruction of the TV tower is a war crime, both according to Ukrainian legislation and international … Read more

Situation in east Ukraine has ‘deteriorated significantly,’ Kyiv commander says – POLITICO

The situation around the city of Chasiv Yar, on the eastern front line, is difficult and tense with the area under constant fire, Ukraine has said. The city is 20 kilometers to the west of Bakhmut, which Moscow took last May in an assault led by Wagner Group mercenaries. As Western military aid to Ukraine … Read more

From Doctor Botox to Facebook’s top lobbyist, meet the folks who left politics to cash in – POLITICO

Doctor Botox Olivier Véran, a former French government spokesperson and ex-minister of health, recently announced his next career venture at the Clinique des Champs-Élysées in Paris. For Véran, who was a neurologist before turning to politics, going back to medicine is not all that surprising. What was shocking — and caused some uproar in the … Read more

Macron corners far left, far right with vote on Ukraine aid – POLITICO

The ballot was conceived as an opportunity to “clarify” each party’s stance on supporting Ukraine, Benjamin Haddad, a spokesperson for the pro-Macron Renaissance party and chair of the French-Ukrainian friendship group, told POLITICO. With their votes, he argued, France Unbowed and the National Rally had “confirmed their alignment with the Kremlin’s positions.” “Voting against [the … Read more

France finds Baltic allies in its spat with Germany over Ukraine troop deployment – POLITICO

“The presence of NATO forces in Ukraine is not unthinkable,” Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said on Friday in Poland, adding that he appreciated Macron’s initiative, “because it is about [Russian President Vladimir] Putin being afraid, not us being afraid of Putin.” Séjourné raised concerns about Moscow setting its sights on the Baltic countries, which used … Read more

Sending Taurus missiles won’t escalate Ukraine war – POLITICO

 “At every stage it’s been said if you give anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, that’s escalation. No, it wasn’t,” said Cameron as he stood alongside German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at a press conference Wednesday. “‘If you give tanks to the Ukrainians, that’s escalation. No, it wasn’t. If you give long-range artillery or long-range fires to … Read more

What Europe wants from the State of the Union — love for Ukraine – POLITICO

“We shouldn’t make the mistake of declaring Trump a premature winner, or even subscribing to this idea,” German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said on Wednesday. But for others it’s already too late. Ex-Tory Minister Tim Loughton told the BBC that Biden “frankly needs to read the room — it’s time to go home to the … Read more

UK’s Tories tear themselves apart over Islamophobia – POLITICO

Indeed, Anderson — elected in 2019 after defecting from Labour — may be tapping into wider Tory sentiment. An Opinium poll of Conservative Party members released Wednesday by the advocacy group Hope not Hate found that more than half (58 percent) believe Islam is a “threat to the British way of life.” A further 40 … Read more