New data from a Nanos tracking survey shows that Donald Trump, China, and the war in Ukraine are all shaping how Canadians feel about their place in the world, with shifting public opinion. Before the defeat of US President Trump, Canada was seen as being caught in between two economic, political and military superpowers, the US and China. This relationship was further strained when a Huawei executive was detained, and Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were jailed in China. The war in Ukraine has also prompted a rethink about commitments to allies and security needs. Public opinion matters because it signals the scope of public policy license: if Canadians have negative opinions about a foreign country, policy license is limited; if they feel positively, it is a signal for political leaders to engage. Canada’s relationships with other countries in 2023 are predicted in the graph provided in the article.
Leaders from the G7 group have recently stated their commitment to promoting democratic values and aims to build “a healthier, safer, more prosperous future for all”. At a summit meeting in Japan, the G7 countries criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and stated that they would move to further restrict Russia's access to their economies. While there is general agreement among G7 members with regard to Russia, policy towards China varies. The EU has been cautious about direct confrontation with China and some G7 members favour stronger links with the country. However, China’s increasing “pressure throughout the entire Western Pacific” might force a less conciliatory approach.
President Zelensky of Ukraine is trying to lobby support from countries outside of the West, including Saudi Arabia, India, and Japan, to protect itself from further Russian aggression, as beyond NATO, many countries maintain neutrality despite Russia invading Ukraine more than seven years ago. The stance of many of these neutral nations has become more challenging for the US and NATO as Russia, China and other hostile powers have been successful in pulling these wavering countries into their sphere of influence. Increasingly, the importance of creating “a more coherent and robust strategy for uniting the democracies of the world behind a common mission, particularly in light of the rise of China” is being recognised.
A US national guardsman is due to learn if he will be granted bail while awaiting trial on charges of leaking classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other national security issues to a chat room on Discord, a social media platform. Jack Teixeira is accused of taking notes on classified information or viewing intelligence not related to his job, prompting questions about why he continued to have access to military secrets after being admonished for his behaviour by superiors. Teixeira is said to have been the leader of a Discord group called Thug Shaker Central.
The US government is set to support Ukraine in providing advanced fighter jets, including US-made F-16s to aid in the country's fight against Russia. The US has also backed training pilots on these planes. President Biden informed G7 leaders of the decision ahead of meetings in Japan. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky requested these fighter jets several months ago, and the decision by the US will allow other nations to export their own F-16s, as the US must legally approve the re-export of equipment purchased by its allies.
US President Joe Biden has given permission for Ukrainian pilots to receive training on American F-16 combat jets. Western countries backing the Ukrainian government have insisted that their pilots are trained to operate equipment first before delivery, as part of an initiative that is already underway with some other NATO members. Biden gave the green light at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, though a decision on the delivery of the US-made aircraft is yet to come. The coalition will decide who would provide the F-16s, when and how many they will supply, with training due to start shortly and last several months.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has said every country could act as a mediator in the war between Russia and Ukraine, on the condition that their mediation efforts lead to the full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and do not freeze the conflict. Kuleba made the comments at a news conference with his Portuguese counterpart Joao Gomes Cravinho in Lisbon, when asked about an offer from Saudi Arabia to mediate between the two countries. Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelenskiy is at a summit of Arab League nations in Saudi Arabia to obtain support, with the G7 later announcing further military and financial help.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to arrive in Japan with a request for more military assistance, amid fears of Russia threatening the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine and NATO states supporting Kyiv. The visit to Hiroshima is seen as highly symbolic, being one of only two cities in the world to have suffered an atomic attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is to attend the G7 summit on Sunday, allowing him to confront Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, two crucial developing countries that have maintained close ties with Moscow despite the country’s invasion of Ukraine, about their lack of support for sanctions against Russia, with their obfuscation over who is to blame for the conflict in which Kyiv is preparing to push for battlefield gains. Experts believe Zelenskyy’s presence should serve as a ‘symbol of unity’ against Russia.
As Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu challenges President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the upcoming presidential elections, the outcome will have global repercussions. Erdogan, who has held power for 20 years, has alienated some allies with his authoritarian policies and his increasingly close relations with Russia. Kilicdaroglu has pledged to restore democracy and improve human rights, but some are unsure if he can match Erdogan's skills on the international stage. Turkey has cemented its position as a valuable diplomatic broker since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but its role in Nato and its stalled candidacy for European Union membership continue to complicate its relationship with the West. Both candidates have promised to return as many Syrian refugees as possible if they win the election, but this raises further concerns about the welfare or accommodation of displaced Syrians if Turkey puts a stop to the support offered to refugees.
Germany is preparing to publish its first comprehensive national security strategy. The strategy will be published some time next month, ahead of a Nato summit in July. The purpose of the strategy is to set out a conceptual framework for policymakers to plan foreign, defence and security policies. It will assess both long-term and immediate challenges, sending a useful signal to citizens, allies and rivals about how leaders see the world and their country's place in it. The new German strategy is built on three concepts: vigorous defence, resilience and sustainability. Germany's friends on both sides of the Atlantic are keen to see Berlin take more responsibility for European security, spend more on defence, and above all, think strategically. However, the initiative seems a useful way to flesh out the ideas contained in a landmark speech that Chancellor Olaf Scholz made just days after the war’s outbreak. This has become known as his Zeitenwende speech after the word he coined to suggest that Russia’s invasion marked a“historical turning point” or an“epochal shift in geopolitics.”
Russia has warned Western countries that supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets is a "colossal risk". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been seeking the supply of advanced fighter jets to help defend against Russia's invasion, but until now his request has been rejected by Western allies who fear it could lead to an escalation from Russian President Vladimir Putin. US President Joe Biden has reportedly told G7 leaders that Washington supports joint allied training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s.
Turkish citizens living abroad have begun voting in the presidential runoff election between incumbent Tayyip Erdogan and challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Erdogan failed to win an outright majority in Sunday's first round of voting, which Kilicdaroglu trailed by 4%. Attention is now focused on nationalist Sinan Ogan, who came third with 5% of the vote. Erdogan took 49.5%. Of the 64 million-strong electorate, 3.4 million are eligible to vote abroad. They can do so until 24 May.
There was no plan B for Russia in Ukraine and Putin cannot win, lose, or stop, according to New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman. He reveals that Ukraine's 1991 independence was seen as an "unfortunate historical misunderstanding" by the Russian elite, who have sought to bring Ukraine back into the fold ever since. Ukraine, just like Russia, did not have a plan B; the fight against Russian aggression and its invasion of the eastern part of Ukraine has been long and tiring. Marich believes Ukraine's path to peace "is NATO."
The US has failed to provide immigration assistance to most Afghans who helped American forces. The United Kingdom pledged to allow Afghans who assisted British forces to build a life in safety and security, but many are undergoing deportation. Despite the broad bipartisan support of both houses of US Congress and President Joe Biden, Congress has failed to live up to its commitments to Afghans. Most Afghans who came to the United States after the withdrawal of US military forces from the country arrived on what is called humanitarian parole, wherein people who may be otherwise ineligible for admission into the US are allowed to enter for humanitarian reasons, but in a few months, many humanitarian parolees will lose their status.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Russian mercenary group Wagner, has claimed that the group has successfully captured the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. However, Ukraine has denied the claim. Bakhmut is a regional transport and logistics hub in Ukraine's Donetsk that Moscow aims to annex with its "special military operation". Its capture would put two larger cities in the region, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, within easy range of Russian artillery. Despite this, US and NATO military officials have played down its significance. The largely ruined city has been at the centre of the war's longest and bloodiest battle.
The Group of Seven summit has witnessed the world's most powerful leaders in front of the world's cameras, frequently posing in arrangements with one another in various settings and against sober backdrop of bombed-out Hirsohima. The photo sessions act as one of the few windows into global discussion around which leaders habits are scrutinised and body language can be assessed. At such summits there is also little room for the staging of "silly shirts" pictures, a common feature of the colourful Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summits.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko has warned against the possibility of the West supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, saying that the decision carries “colossal risks”. Ukraine has long sought these more advanced aircraft to replace its obsolete Soviet-era fleet, while Western countries have been holding back in their support because it risks escalating its tensions with Russia. The US President has now said the US will support a joint effort with allies to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s.
Russia’s Wagner group claims to have captured Bakhmut but Ukraine says it still controls a part of it
CNN
23-05-20 14:26
The Russian private military group Wagner led by Yevgeny Prigozhin has claimed that it has completely taken control of eastern Ukrainian city Bakhmut after nearly 230 days of fighting. However, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar has disputed this. While Russian troops have been continuing their street-by-street advances over the months, Ukrainian forces have in recent weeks been taking back small pockets of territory previously held by Russia to the southwest and northwest of Bakhmut. If Bakhmut has indeed been captured, it would be Russia's first gain in months.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine has caused China to delay its ambition to invade Taiwan. Speaking at the Financial Times Weekend Festival in Washington, Clinton offered assessments on a range of subjects including Joe Biden’s re-election, US-China relations and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Clinton warned that Donald Trump's re-election in 2024 would “spell the end of democracy” in the US and the “end of Ukraine”. She also described Putin as “complicated, Messianic, narcissistic authoritarian” whose intention was to pull the US out of NATO if Trump won the 2020 presidential election. Clinton added that she no longer believes China’s President Xi will make a move on Taiwan within three or four years as previously expected. Clinton urged voters to judge Biden on his record rather than his age. She also endorsed Biden’s penultimate move to push the Democratic National Committee and overhaul the party’s nominating process in the wake of the 2020 Iowa caucuses marked by delayed results due to a faulty vote-counting app.
