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Defence secretary says PM will make case for spending boost at Nato’s 75th anniversary summit later this yearUK politics – latest updatesAll Nato countries should boost their defence spending to 2.5% of their GDP to meet the demands of a “more dangerous world”, the UK’s defence secretary has said.Grant Shapps said the prime minister would make the case at Nato’s 75th anniversary summit in...

PM pledges equipment including 400 vehicles, 1,600 weapons and 4m rounds of ammunition, plus £500m in fundingRishi Sunak has promised the UK’s largest ever military support package for Ukraine as he warned that Vladimir Putin would “not stop at the Polish border” if Russia won the war.The prime minister will visit Poland on Tuesday to discuss European security and the threat from Russia with...

Underwater infrastructure vulnerable to Russian threats, says V Adm Didier Maleterre, after suspected sabotage of gas pipelinesThe security of nearly 1 billion people across Europe and North America is under threat from Russian attempts to target the extensive vulnerabilities of underwater infrastructure including windfarms, pipelines and power cables, a Nato commander has warned.V Adm Didier Maleterre, the deputy commander of Nato’s Allied Maritime Command...

British foreign minister to urge counterparts to step up support for Kyiv and ramp up defence productionArriving for the Nato ministers’ meeting this morning, Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance’s secretary-general, made the case for changing how aid is channeled to Ukraine.He said officials will now discuss how Nato could take on more responsibility for coordinating military equipment for Kyiv and that ministers will discuss a...

UK’s foreign secretary is in Australia alongside defence secretary Grant Shapps for high-level talks with Richard Marles and Penny WongGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has suggested the Aukus pact and Nato alliance must get into “the best possible shape” to increase their chances of surviving Donald Trump’s potential return to the...

Aerospace group chief executive urges UK and Europe to pool efforts and merge fighter jet programmesEurope is unprepared for war with Russia or the risk that Donald Trump could withdraw the US from Nato and needs to ramp up spending on defence equipment, the boss of Airbus has said.Guillaume Faury, the chief executive of Europe’s biggest aerospace and defence company, said it was a...

Activists say public debate has been shut down by overhyped claims of imminent war since Ukraine invasionThe Swedish flag will be raised on Monday outside Nato’s HQ in Brussels. But while the prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, basks in the glow of his country finally joining the western military alliance after months of delays, Sweden’s once thriving peace movement is smarting.Once widely visible in debates...

Hungary dropping opposition allows historically neutral country to become member, cementing alliance’s control of Nordic regionSweden has officially became the 32nd member of Nato, in a landmark moment for the historically neutral country and the western military alliance.Stockholm’s ratification process was finally completed in Washington as Sweden and Hungary, the last country to ratify Sweden’s membership, submitted the necessary documents after a drawn-out process...

For Swedes it means a dramatic change of national identity, while the alliance gets greater control of the Baltic SeaJust a few short months ago, Sweden’s Nato membership seemed a very long way from being a done deal. Having submitted its application to join in May 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it seemed at times as though Stockholm might be left hanging interminably....

Closely watched meeting takes place amid conflicts in Middle East and Ukraine and debates over Nato’s futureUkraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is set to spend the next few days meeting with western officials and advocating for more aid for Kyiv.He will be speaking in Munich tomorrow. Continue reading...

Jens Stoltenberg believes Congress will finally vote for package but meanwhile Russian forces are advancing near AvdiivkaThe US failure to vote through a fresh military aid package for Ukraine is already having an impact on the battlefield, Nato’s secretary general has warned at the end of a defence ministers’ meeting.Jens Stoltenberg said he still believed Congress would eventually approve the stalled $60bn (£50bn) package,...

The ex-president said that ‘if they’re not going to pay, we’re not going to protect’ at rally in South CarolinaDonald Trump has doubled down on his threat to undermine Nato, repeating his threat not to protect countries he believes do not pay enough to maintain the alliance and claiming such nations “laugh at the stupidity” of the US.On Wednesday night, at a rally in...

Centre-right Alexander Stubb declares victory and is congratulated by Pekka HaavistoFinland’s centre-right former prime minister Alexander Stubb will become the next president after winning an election runoff with rival Pekka Haavisto in the country’s most high-stakes presidential election in a generation.Stubb, of the National Coalition party, declared victory on Sunday night and Haavisto, a former foreign minister and a member of the Green party...

Remarks by former president and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee described as ‘unhinged’ by the White HouseSeeking a second presidency as the Republicans’ presumptive 2024 White House nominee, Donald Trump has said he would “encourage” Russia to attack any of the US’s Nato allies whom he considers to have not met their financial obligations.The White House described the remarks as “appalling and unhinged”. Trump made...

French president says future security architecture of Europe could no longer be settled by the US and RussiaThe European Union has to make bold decisions to defend Ukraine, pre-empting any US decision to withhold or reduce its military support, Emmanuel Macron has said.In a speech in Sweden, which hopes to be the next country to join Nato, the French president also said the future...

All presidential candidates champion independence and country’s new role in Nato as relations with Moscow deteriorateRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesFinns headed to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president, an office whose importance has grown as tensions increase tensions with neighbouring Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.While the president’s powers are limited, the head of state – who also acts as...

In first such admission, previously secret document says Danish aircraft participated in attacks linked to civilian deathsDenmark’s defence ministry said it would launch a review after evidence emerged showing its air force participated in airstrikes on Libya that killed 14 civilians in 2011, the first time any of the 10 countries involved in the Nato bombing campaign has acknowledged a possible link to non-combatant...

Vote leaves Hungary as only country still to ratify application made in response to Russian invasion of UkraineEurope live – latest updatesThe Turkish parliament has given its long-awaited approval to Sweden’s membership of Nato, bringing the Nordic country significantly closer to joining the western military alliance after months in limbo.Three months after Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish president, submitted a bill on approving membership...

Exclusive: Pekka Haavisto says being ‘united against all external threats’ is key to security amid tension with RussiaFinland must crack down on hate speech against minorities if it is to appear “united against all external threats”, including from Russia, a leading candidate in the country’s presidential election has said.The Nordic country, which is governed by a coalition including the far-right Finns party, needs to...