In response to the question whether Moscow and Kyiv would carry on peace negotiations in Istanbul, Russia launched their summer offensive with increased attacks, more casualties, and civilians who were forced to flee their homes.
It is unclear if Russia has launched their new attack to besiege Ukraine’s eastern city Charkiw. Allegedly, 50,000 Russian soldiers are gathered there to prepare an attack on the border region.
Ukraine has been recruiting up to 27,000 young men this month to further defend their country.
At the NATO summit at the end of this month, countries will discuss how much to invest in defence. First talks have revealed numbers up to 5% of the GDP. The Luxembourgish defence minister Yuriko Backes has already stated that it would be an enormous sum for the Grand Duchy. Minister Backes also added that it is crucial to know when these sums would have to be available.
At the World Expo in Japan, the Democratic Party minister Yuriko Backes told RTL.lu her concerns:
“Are we talking about five, 10 or more years’ time to achieve that percentage? And is it really worth it? Who knows what the situation will be like in 10, in 15, or in 20 years? Nobody knows that now. That means, discussions still have to be carried out. Nevertheless, investing nine or 10 percent from Luxembourg’s budget into defence seems difficult to me. We need a certain flexibility. Not only Luxembourg will ask for that I think. It doesn’t mean we are not ready to be united allies, even in the future.”
