Defence

Belarus said on Monday (19 August) that it had sent more troops to its border with Ukraine. A day earlier, President Alexander Lukashenko said nearly a third of the Belarusian army was stationed on the border, although he did not give exact figures. Belarusian General Andrei Lukyanovich said this included anti-aircraft troops.

Croatia reintroduces a two-month military service from next year. The country is taking the measure because of heightened tensions in Europe and the Balkans following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Gallant, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin promised that an aircraft carrier already on its way to the Middle East would be speeded up. The US is also sending a nuclear submarine with guided missiles - the USS Georgia - to the region. The US aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt has been in the region for some time and will soon be joined by the USS Abraham Lincoln, which will carry advanced Joint Strike Fighter jets.

The European Union has condemned several waves of large-scale attacks on several Ukrainian cities carried out by Russia on Monday (8 July). 

In a statement issued on Tuesday (2 July), the European Union "strongly condemned" the launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea on 1 July, in further violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

Commerce and trade ministers from the United States, Japan and South Korea pledged on Wednesday (27 June) to work together on strategic issues such as artificial intelligence (AI) security, export controls, clean energy and semiconductor supply chains. "We are redoubling our efforts to work together," said US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo at the start of the meeting in Washington. "As leaders in manufacturing, services, technology and innovation, we must work together not only for the benefit of our countries, but for the security of the world," she added. Raimondo was joined by Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ken Saito, and South Korea's Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ahn Duk-geun, for this inaugural trilateral meeting, which was agreed by their leaders at a summit in Camp David in August.

The 32 NATO countries have officially elected outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the next Secretary General of the transatlantic military alliance. NATO made the announcement on Wednesday (26 June). Rutte will take over when current NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg completes his final term on 1 October 2024.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday (25 June) for former Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. He is suspected of being responsible for attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine between October 2022 and March 2023. An arrest warrant has also been issued for Valery Gerasimov, commander-in-chief of the Russian army.

The Council of the European Union on Monday (24 June) adopted a 14th package of economic and individual restrictive measures against Russia, "dealing a further blow to the Putin regime and those who perpetuate its illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine". These measures are designed to target high-value sectors of the Russian economy, such as energy, finance and trade, and make it increasingly difficult to evade EU sanctions.