Ukraine Financial News

Elon Musk’s latest business venture in Europe is causing major controversy. His company, Starlink, is in talks for a billion-dollar deal with Italy’s government, but opposition leaders are outraged, as per a report. Meanwhile, Giorgia Meloni has been presenting herself as the European leader who can serve as the vital connection between the U.S. government and Europe. Critics argue that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s close ties with Musk are raising serious concerns about national security.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The White House granted a temporary reprieve for many of its tariffs on Canada and Mexico last week, but a similar pause seems less likely for revamped global steel and aluminum tariffs set to go into effect Wednesday. President Trump’s team has repeatedly said there would be no exceptions or exemptions from the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum.

In an annual report released on Tuesday, Eva Hoegl said that despite a recruitment drive launched in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, personnel numbers in the armed forces had dipped to 181,200 in 2024 from 181,540 a year prior, while the average age had risen to 34 from 32. That pushes the Bundeswehr's goal of increasing the number of personnel to over 200,000, a target postponed from 2025 to 2031 two years ago, further out of reach. Increased spending allowed Germany to reach the NATO defence spending target of 2% of gross domestic product for the first time in 2024, but around 82% of a 100-billion-euro special defence fund agreed in 2022 to overhaul the country's creaky military has already been spent, according to the report. Friedrich Merz's conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) — in negotiations to form a coalition after a snap election last month — are seeking to overhaul borrowing rules in order to revamp the military and revive economic growth.

Trump is obsessed with winning the Nobel Peace Prize, which is one reason why he’s pushing Ukraine and Russia so hard toward cease-fire negotiations. The way the US president is going about it won’t earn him any favor in Oslo, though, because so far he mainly seems to be coercing Ukraine to capitulate.

Speaking at Moscow's Higher School of Economics, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cautioned against people getting excited about the prospect of Elon Musk cutting off the Ukrainian military from his Starlink communications system or about Trump's decision last week to suspend military aid to Kyiv. «Don't rush to put on rose-tinted spectacles,» Peskov told the audience. «We always need to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. And we must always be ready to defend our interests.» Peskov issued his warning as U.S. officials prepared to meet with a Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia later on Tuesday, in part to determine whether Ukraine is willing to make material concessions to Russia to end the war. Peskov said that Russia was achieving its aims on the battlefield in Ukraine, regardless of what decisions the U.S. was taking. He said the amount of weapons circulating in Ukraine was so large that Kyiv had enough to keep fighting for many months despite the suspension of U.S. deliveries.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. At the first cabinet meeting of his second term in office, US President Donald Trump declared his intention to impose a sweeping 25% tariff on all imports from the European Union.

Defence stocks, once the darlings of the market in 2024, are roaring back to life after a brutal correction. The sector, which witnessed a blistering rally last year amid rising global tensions and surging exports, saw a sharp selloff as high valuations, budget disappointments, and profit-booking took hold. Just when investors were questioning the long-term growth trajectory, Europe’s stunning $850 billion defence rearmament plan has flipped the script in Dalal Street’s favour. With Europe scrambling to fortify its military capabilities, Indian defence giants are in prime position to ride this global wave of rearmament.

federal agencies. The pair also joined forces on social media to push back against criticism of US support for Ukraine. Musk claimed his Starlink satellite internet system was critical to Ukraine’s military operations, suggesting the front lines would collapse without it. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski criticized Musk’s remarks as a veiled threat, noting Poland pays millions annually for Starlink services in Ukraine and warned of seeking alternatives if SpaceX became unreliable. Rubio quickly defended Musk, denying any threats to cut Ukraine’s access and praising Starlink as vital to Ukraine’s survival in the war.

The Czech National Bank (CNB) recently launched an investigation into whether to invest in cryptocurrency or other digital assets. 

Donald Trump has asked U.S. Representative Mike Waltz, a retired Army National Guard officer and combat veteran, to serve as his National Security Adviser. The position, which does not require Senate confirmation, places Waltz at the center of handling several pressing global security challenges, including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, tensions with China, and the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Waltz’s Role and Policy Stance Waltz, a three-term Republican congressman from Florida, is known for his hawkish stance on China and Iran. He has been a sharp critic of the Biden administration’s national security strategy, including the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and handling of Chinese espionage. Waltz has pushed for a tougher U.S. approach to counter China’s influence, calling for a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights violations and concerns around COVID-19 origins.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. American defense companies have increased their dominance of the global arms trade, buoyed by European nations snapping up U.S. jet fighters and missiles.

Trump administration is boosting a powerful force in global affairs: anti-Americanism. Canadians have taken to booing the American national anthem and Panamanians to burning US flags. The British tabloids have tarred and feathered Vice President JD Vance for insulting British troops. A carnival float in Dusseldorf, Germany, displayed giant puppets of Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, shaking hands while squeezing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy between them into a bloodied pulp. A sign on the float read “Hitler-Stalin Pact 2.0.” Back at home, the Washington Post has published a guide on how to navigate hostility abroad (“dress neutrally, not patriotically”). There has never been a better time to be anti-American. Trump embodies everything critics of the US have always warned about, multiplied several times over. Yankee arrogance? He and Vance, in the Oval Office, shamelessly bullied the leader of a nation victimized by the Russian president’s aggression. Yankee imperialism? Trump bragged to a cheering Congress that he will take over Greenland “one way or another.” Yankee incompetence? His tariffs are destabilizing global stock markets and downgrading his own economy.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. FOR TEN DAYS, since the shouting-match in the Oval Office, Ukraine has been scorched by Donald Trump’s wrath. Now comes a moment of catharsis—or another round of brutal punishment.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. When you make a pact with the devil, he always comes back to get his due. I wish Volodymyr Zelensky had remembered this before getting into a confrontation with Russia.

In a video released by the presidency, Zelensky, a former actor and comedian, thanked the audience at the end of his speech at an awards ceremony, adding: «Sorry I'm not in a suit», to smiles and applause. The president was dressed in a black outfit with Ukraine's trident symbol similar to what he wore during his acrimonious exchange with the US president last month.

Tech billionaire and advisor to former US President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, has hit back at critics accusing him of siding with Russia. Musk said he has previously stood up to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Replying to a user on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Musk wrote, “I literally challenged Putin to one-on-one physical combat over Ukraine.” He also pointed out that his company’s Starlink satellite system is crucial for Ukraine’s military communication. “Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off,” he said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Russian army was advancing relentlessly in northeastern Ukraine in the summer of 2022 when the U.S. tipped the scales with new weapons and crucial battlefield intelligence.

Ukraine. Last week, that group of experts went public for the first time, publishing a 31-page paper that delves into the technical details of how a ceasefire along a more than 700-mile front line could be monitored and enforced. The paper was shared last month via another confidential channel: a recurring meeting in Geneva between American, Russian and Ukrainian foreign-policy experts who are close to their governments. The paper, one of the most detailed templates for a Ukraine ceasefire to have been published, is a sign of how quickly the topic of planning for a ceasefire has gone from a controversial and theoretical exercise to an urgent and practical issue.

Real Time With Bill Maher, the 69-year-old comedian quipped about the pop sensation’s unexpected streak of relationship stability, saying, “This world is so upside down now. It took [President] Trump three weeks to break up with Ukraine, Mexico, and Canada. And yet, Taylor Swift has the same boyfriend for over a year.” The joke, a clear dig at Swift’s relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce, is just the latest in a long line of public figures making her love life the punchline. But at this point, are these cracks about her dating history just lazy, outdated, and—dare we say—boring?

That was the reaction of many who witnessed the televised spat between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Oval Office last week. Beyond the memes and the jokes, it was the clearest sign that there is a new world order in the making. Of new friendships being forged, old ones being discarded. Some existing alliances slayed it for eight decades after World War II. But it is in the nature of relationships that things turn. The Soviet Union and the US had fought as allies against Germany, Japan and Italy up until 1945. It didn’t take long for that relationship to become salty, resulting in the Cold War.

Targeting the centre of the town, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the front line in the Donetsk region, the barrage killed 11 people and wounded 40 others, including six children, according to Ukrainian emergency services. «It was apocalyptic,» said Iryna Kostenko, 59, her hand bandaged with blood-stained cloth.