Jens Stoltenberg

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised victory against Russia on the second anniversary of the invasion on Saturday as his troops fight on despite a lack of Western aid and recent Russian gains.

"We will win," he said at a ceremony at Kiev's Gostomel airport, which was targeted by Russia in the first days of the all-out assault in 2022.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has garnered backing from over two-thirds of NATO's 31 member nations for the role of the alliance's next secretary general, according to sources cited by Politico.

Senior diplomats in Brussels revealed that Rutte's candidacy gained significant traction following extensive discussions and negotiations, making him the primary contender thus far.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday that 18 of the alliance's 31 countries are set to meet the defence spending target of two percent of gross domestic product in 2024.

The release of the new estimates came after Donald Trump rattled the alliance by saying he would "encourage" Russia to attack members who were not meeting the obligation.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has once again criticized US President Donald Trump while simultaneously acknowledging America's right to express dissatisfaction over the inadequate defense spending of its European allies. Stoltenberg's remarks came during a press conference preceding a meeting of defense ministers from NATO member countries in Brussels.

NATO said on Wednesday that Europe had increased its spending on defense and the United States needed allies, days after former US President Donald Trump suggested that Washington might not protect countries that did not spend enough.

NATO "cannot be an alliance a la carte," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday after Donald Trump downplayed his commitment to NATO's security umbrella in Europe if he becomes U.S. president again.

NATO's secretary general called on Europe to increase its arms production to support Ukraine and prevent "potentially decades of confrontation" with Moscow, in an interview published by German media Saturday.

Ending months of negotiations, the U.S. government on Friday approved a $23 billion deal to sell F-16 warplanes to Türkiye, after Ankara ratified Sweden's NATO membership, the State Department said.

As required by U.S. law, the State Department notified Congress of the agreement, as well as a separate $8.6 billion sale of 40 F-35s to Greece.

The Turkish Parliament has passed a bill on the approval of the ratification of the protocol on Sweden's accession to NATO on Tuesday.

After a parliamentary session that lasted about 4 hours, the bill was approved by 287 out of 346 members of parliament who participated in the vote.

NATO yesterday signed contracts worth $1.2 billion to acquire over 200,000 155-millimeter artillery shells in the face of Russia's invasion on Ukraine.

Members of the Western military alliance have drained their stocks sending shipments of heavy ammunition to help Ukraine's forces battle Russia in a brutal war of attrition.