Results 31.01: Long-range missiles and nuclear weapons

The US is ready to respond to North Korean aggression with various weapons, in particular, nuclear weapons. This was stated by the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, at a briefing after a meeting with the head of the Ministry of Defense of South Korea. The US defense secretary is said to be visiting Seoul, where Washington is trying to reassure its key Asian ally of its nuclear commitments amid growing threats from North Korea. “The United States remains firmly committed to its extended deterrence commitments, which include the full range of defense capabilities, including conventional, nuclear, and missile defense,” Austin said.

Reznikov went to negotiate with Paris about the F-16

Negotiations with the Kremlin are possible only under conditions withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. In addition, no agreements can be reached without the participation of the Ukrainian side. This was announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Ukraine rose in the rating of the Corruption Perceptions Index, compiled by Transparency International for 2022. This is evidenced by the data of this rating. Ukraine ranked 116th out of 180 countries with 33 points, while in 2021 it ranked 122nd. The rankings noted that war-torn Ukraine is one of the few countries to have significantly improved its scores, gaining eight points since 2013.

At the summit, the European Union will praise Ukraine for its progress in reforms related to membership. However, member states, as before, disagree about the speed of entry. This was reported by Euractiv with reference to the draft communique of the Ukraine-EU summit. According to the project, the leaders of the EU and Ukraine intend to confirm that “the future of Ukraine and its citizens lies in the European Union” and “their commitment to supporting Ukraine’s further European integration.”

In the first wave of aid from the Western allies Ukraine will receive 120-140 modern tanks. This was said by the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba. He noted that now the tank coalition has 12 members. However, according to the minister, it is still too early to name all the coalition countries and their practical assistance, because some still have to make formal decisions according to their internal procedures.

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevich said on January 31 that the Baltic states and Poland oppose the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Olympic Games, this also applies to the possibility of performing under a neutral flag. “We all agree that as long as Russia, with the support of Belarus, continues unprovoked direct aggression against Ukraine, such a step cannot be supported, it is unacceptable,” he said.