EU Defense Chiefs to Unleash New Sanctions Against Russia
EU defense and foreign ministers have a lot on their plates for their meeting today in Brussels. They will sign off on new sanctions against Russia, including measures against its shadow fleet and its hybrid attack arsenal. Top diplomat Kaja Kallas is also expected to announce that the EU's rapid deployment capacity, an initiative three years in the making to allow the bloc to quickly deploy up to 5,000 troops, is now operational, according to a senior EU official. But the bloc is also working on expanding its existing military training and civilian support missions to protect critical Ukrainian infrastructure and boost the country's defense industry once a possible ceasefire is signed, according to this official.
— Gian Volpicelli and Andrea Palasciano
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Los Angeles Times
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- Los Angeles Times
Putin and Trump discuss Iran and Ukraine in phone call, Kremlin official says
MOSCOW — President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Iran, Ukraine and other issues by phone on Thursday, the Kremlin said, in their sixth publicly disclosed chat since Trump returned to the White House. While discussing the situation around Iran, Putin emphasized the need to resolve all issues by political and diplomatic means, said Yuri Ushakov, his foreign affairs advisor. The United States struck three sites in Iran on June 22, inserting itself into Israel's war aimed at destroying Tehran's nuclear program. On the conflict in Ukraine, Ushakov said Trump emphasized his push for a quick halt to the fighting, and Putin voiced Moscow's readiness to pursue talks with Kyiv. At the same time, the Russian leader emphasized that Moscow will seek to achieve its goals in Ukraine and remove the 'root causes' of the conflict, Ushakov said. Putin has argued he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to fend off a threat to Russia posed by Ukraine's push to join NATO and protect Russian speakers in Ukraine — arguments rejected by Kyiv and its allies. He insisted that any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine abandon its NATO bid and recognize Russia's territorial gains. Thursday's call follows the Pentagon's confirmation that it's pausing shipment of some weapons to Ukraine as it reviews U.S. military stockpiles. The weapons being held up for Ukraine include air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other equipment. The details on the weapons in some of the paused deliveries were confirmed by a U.S. official and former national security official familiar with the matter. They both requested anonymity to discuss what is being held up as the Pentagon has yet to provide details. Ushakov said a suspension of some U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine wasn't discussed in the Trump-Putin call. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Denmark after meeting with major European Union backers that he may talk to Trump in the coming days about the suspension of U.S. weapons deliveries. 'I hope that maybe tomorrow, or close days, these days, I will speak about it with President Trump,' he said. Asked about his expectations from the Trump-Putin call, he said that 'I'm not sure that they have a lot of common ideas, common topics to talk [about], because they are very different people.' The previous publicly known call between Trump and Putin came June 14, a day after Israel attacked Iran. The resumed contacts between Trump and Putin appeared to reflect both leaders' interest in mending U.S.-Russian ties that have plummeted to their lowest point since the Cold War amid the conflict in Ukraine. On Tuesday, Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron held their first direct telephone call in almost three years. Isachenkov writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Aamer Madhani in Washington and Lorne Cook in Aarhus, Denmark, contributed to this report.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Putin and Trump discuss Iran and Ukraine in phone call, Kremlin official says
MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Iran, Ukraine and other issues on Thursday in a 'frank and constructive' phone call, the Kremlin said, in their sixth publicly disclosed chat since Trump returned to the White House. While discussing the situation around Iran and in the broader Middle East, Putin emphasized the need to resolve all differences 'exclusively by political and diplomatic means,' said Yuri Ushakov, his foreign affairs adviser. The leaders agreed that Russian and U.S. officials will maintain contacts on the issue, he added. The United States struck three sites in Iran on June 22, inserting itself into Israel's war aimed at destroying Tehran's nuclear program. On the conflict in Ukraine, Ushakov said Trump emphasized his push for a quick halt to the fighting, and Putin voiced Moscow's readiness to pursue talks with Kyiv, noting the previous rounds in Turkey yielded humanitarian results. At the same time, the Russian leader emphasized that Moscow will seek to achieve its goals in Ukraine and remove the 'root causes' of the conflict, Ushakov said. 'Russia will not back down from these goals,' Ushakov told reporters after the call. Putin has argued he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to fend off a threat to Russia posed by Ukraine's push to join NATO and protect Russian speakers in Ukraine — arguments rejected by Kyiv and its allies. He insisted that any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine abandon its NATO bid and recognize Russia's territorial gains. Thursday's call follows the Pentagon's confirmation that it's pausing shipment of some weapons to Ukraine as it reviews U.S. military stockpiles. The weapons being held up for Ukraine include air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other equipment. The details on the weapons in some of the paused deliveries were confirmed by a U.S. official and former national security official familiar with the matter. They both requested anonymity to discuss what is being held up as the Pentagon has yet to provide details. Ushakov said a suspension of some U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine wasn't discussed in the Trump-Putin call. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in Denmark after meeting with major European Union backers that he may talk to Trump in the coming days about the suspension of U.S. weapons deliveries. 'I hope that maybe tomorrow, or close days, these days, I will speak about it with President Trump,' he said. Asked about his expectations from the Trump-Putin call, he said that 'I'm not sure that they have a lot of common ideas, common topics to talk (about), because they are very different people.' The previous publicly known call between Trump and Putin came June 14, a day after Israel attacked Iran. The resumed contacts between Trump and Putin appeared to reflect both leaders' interest in mending U.S.-Russian ties that have plummeted to their lowest point since the Cold War amid the conflict in Ukraine. Ushakov said Trump told Putin about his $4.5 trillion tax breaks and spending cuts bill, and the Russian leader wished him success in pursuing his plans and also congratulated the U.S. on the Independence Day holiday. The Kremlin adviser noted the leaders also discussed developments in Syria and expressed interest in pursuing bilateral projects in the energy sector and space exploration, during what he described as 'frank, businesslike and concrete conversation.' Ushakov added that Putin even suggested that the U.S. and Russia could exchange movies promoting 'traditional values shared by us and the Trump administration.' On Tuesday, Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron held their first direct telephone call in almost three years. —- Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Washington and Lorne Cook in Aarhus, Denmark, contributed.
Digital Trends
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- Digital Trends
The Stop Killing Games movement hits a major milestone for game preservation
The consumer initiative Stop Killing Games has gotten one step closer towards its goal of preventing game publishers from effectively deleting online games after discontinuing their service. The European Citizens' Initiative just passed the required 1 million signatures needed to appear before the European Commission, where it could then lead to legislation being put in place. For those unaware, the Stop Killing Games movement was started by content creator Ross Scott after Ubisoft's The Crew was taken offline in 2024. Without any official servers, this always-online game that people purchased was rendered useless. This prompted Scott to begin a campaign that seeks to require publishers to transition their games into a playable state after ending support. Ways this could be done include adding an offline mode and giving players the ability to host private servers. The main goal of this initiative is to remove the ability for publishers to remotely disable games, thus making preservation impossible. The initiative also calls out the misleading nature of purchasing a good when, in reality, it is just a license with a hidden expiration date. Recommended Videos The petition, which just crossed the minimum 1 million signature threshold, will now be presented to the European Commission with the hopes of bringing enough attention to the matter to put new laws into place that will require publishers to offer some way to continue playing their games after ending official support. This comes just days before the July 31 deadline, but that still doesn't guarantee it will be effective. For one, the petition will be vetted to ensure there are no invalid signatures so more signatures are still being collected to hopefully account for that. Second, appearing before the European Commission doesn't necessarily mean any legislative action will be taken. Sadly, this movement is only possible in the EU right now, so those of us in America are unable to sign to show our support. However, this initiative's passing would still likely benefit us as well. The rationale here is that if publishers are required to offer an offline mode or private servers in the EU, there's no reason not to apply it worldwide. Considering how many games — even single-player ones — require an online connection today, this issue will only grow as time goes on. If you're curious about this initiative, there's an extensive FAQ page that gives detailed answers to all the major questions you might have.
