Il Senato USA approva la legge sugli aiuti a Ucraina, Israele e Taiwan 🗞️ Rassegna del 24/04/2024

Ucraina

USA-Ucraina:

(Reuters) Exclusive: US preparing $1 billion weapons package for Ukraine, officials say

• The United States is preparing a $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine, the first to be sourced from the yet to be signed Ukraine-Israel bill, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
• The aid package includes vehicles, Stinger air defense munitions, additional ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems, 155 millimeter artillery ammunition, TOW and Javelin anti-tank munitions and other weapons that can immediately be put to use on the battlefield, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
• The Ukraine bill also calls for the transfer of ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) with a range of up to 190 miles, which Kyiv has pledged not to use inside Russia's territory.

Danimarca-Ucraina:

(The Kyiv Independent) Denmark to allocate around $450 million for Ukraine's reconstruction, energy sector

• Copenhagen will allocate around 420 million euros ($450 million) to Kyiv as part of a memorandum of understanding on long-term cooperation and reconstruction signed on April 23, Ukraine's Economy Ministry reported.
• About 40 million euros ($43 million) will be devoted to support the private sector involved in Ukraine's reconstruction and another 380 million euros ($407 million) will support critical infrastructure using renewable energy, according to the document.
• Copenhagen, one of Kyiv’s key supporters throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion, has recently announced a new $313 million military aid package for Kyiv.
• Ukraine and Denmark also agreed to strengthen cooperation in shipbuilding, development and restoration of seaport infrastructure, the statement read.

Russia

(Bloomberg) Russia Hosts China, Iran Security Chiefs to Discuss Cooperation

• Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and China’s security chief Chen Wenqing discussed strengthening ties between the special services and law enforcement agencies of their two countries at talks on Tuesday.
• Patrushev and Chen, the Chinese Communist Party Politburo member in charge of security and law enforcement agencies, met in St. Petersburg on the sidelines of an international conference of intelligence chiefs, the state-run Tass news service reported.
• Iran’s National Security Council chief, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, has also arrived in St. Petersburg for the conference and is due to hold talks with Patrushev, as well as with representatives of Brazil, South Africa, China, India and Iraq, Tass reported, citing the Iranian embassy in Moscow.

(Meduza) Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov reportedly suffering from pancreatic necrosis

• Chechnya Governor Ramzan Kadyrov is suffering from pancreatic necrosis [since 2019], a condition that entails part of the pancreas dying, Novaya Gazeta Europe reported on Monday. 
• To divert attention from Kadyrov’s health issues, the Russian authorities reportedly decided to launch a “PR campaign,” which involved Kadyrov meeting publicly with Vladimir Putin and other officials to give the impression that he was active and healthy. According to Novaya Gazeta, the video Kadyrov posted in September 2023 that showed his 15-year-old son Adam assaulting a defenseless prisoner was also part of this distraction effort, as were the numerous awards Adam received in the weeks that followed.
• As Kadyrov’s condition has worsened, according to Novaya Gazeta, the Putin administration has begun drafting plans for a possible “forced regime change in Chechnya.” The outlet named former Akhmat Battalion Commander Apti Alaudinov as one possible successor.
• Shortly after Novaya Gazeta’s article was published, Kadyrov’s press service released a video showing the governor in a meeting on “issues related to Chechnya’s participation in the special military operation.” In the clip, Kadyrov speaks in a slurred manner and barely moves.

Europa

UK:

(POLITICO) UK announces £75B defense boost — and challenges Europe to follow suit

• The U.K. promised to pump an extra £75 billion into its defense budget over the next six years in a move that will take its spending well above a crucial NATO target and pile pressure on European allies to follow suit. [...] The move will see the U.K. spend the equivalent of 2.5 percent of GDP per year on defense by the end of the decade [...]
• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said during a trip to Poland Tuesday that the new package is the “biggest strengthening of our national defense for a generation," while his office argued it "sets a new standard for other major European NATO economies to follow."
• Speaking at a press conference alongside NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg Tuesday afternoon, Sunak said [...] "We can’t keep thinking America will pay any price or bear any burden if we are unwilling to make sacrifices for our own security," he said.
• The commitment, which Sunak insisted would not require spending cuts or tax rises, would bring the U.K.’s annual defense spending to £87 billion in 2030-31.

Germania:

(POLITICO) Germany arrests EU Parliament aide over bombshell China spying claims

• German police arrested the aide of a top European lawmaker working for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party over accusations he spied for China. The staffer, identified as Jian G. by German authorities, works for MEP Maximilian Krah who is the AfD’s top candidate in the European Parliament election in June. [...]
• The bombshell arrest, which rocks the AfD while it polls in second place nationally, sparked calls from one top European lawmaker for a tougher crackdown on Chinese and Russian infiltrators attempting to influence EU democracy.
• Belgium recently opened a criminal investigation into suspicions that a network of European politicians including MEPs were paid by a media outlet operated by a pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch. In a separate case in Latvia, an MEP is being investigated on suspicion of collaborating with the Russian secret service.
• In a statement Tuesday morning, Krah denied having prior knowledge of his assistant’s alleged espionage activities. [...] Krah himself will soon face a disciplinary panel consisting of other MEPs over another matter, according to an EU Parliament official who was granted anonymity to discuss the confidential subject. The panel was convened after reports in the German media that Krah had been questioned by the FBI during a trip to the U.S. over alleged payments from sources close to the Kremlin. Krah denied having received payments.

Politica internazionale

Nord America

USA:

(Reuters) US Senate votes overwhelmingly to advance Ukraine, Israel aid legislation

• Billions of dollars in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan advanced in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, heading for a vote on final passage days after the House of Representatives abruptly ended a months-long stalemate and approved the assistance in a rare Saturday session.
• The Senate voted by an overwhelming 80 to 19 in favor of advancing the package of four bills passed by the House, far more than the 60 needed to pave the way for a vote on final passage as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday.
• One of the bills provided $61 billion for Ukraine, a second $26 billion for Israel, and a third $8.12 billion "to counter communist China" in the Indo-Pacific. A fourth includes a potential ban on the social media app TikTok, measures for the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine and new sanctions on Iran.
• It was not immediately clear how the money for Israel would affect the conflict in Gaza. Israel already receives billions of dollars in annual U.S. security assistance. The package includes humanitarian assistance, which supporters hope will help Palestinians in Gaza.