Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump’s threat to withdraw from Nato ‘is Putin’s dream plan’, says Tusk – UK Times

Russian strategic missile forces have conducted drills ⁠in Siberia involving camouflaged movements of Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles that are capable of delivering ⁠nuclear warheads, ​the ⁠Defence Ministry has claimed.

Crews practised a range ⁠of activities including using camouflage ​and ⁠concealment to ‌disguise movements of ground-based missiles in the field, the ‌ministry said.

They also rehearsed ‌responding to simulated enemy attacks and countering air attack ⁠weapons. The ministry did not report any launches of missiles.

Russia holds regular exercises of its strategic nuclear forces in order to test their ‌combat-readiness and send warning signals ​to the West, ‌at a ⁠time of high tension ⁠with its Nato adversaries over the ‌war ​in Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia and Egypt could discuss plans to create a “grain and energy hub” in the North African country.

Putin raised the idea ⁠at a meeting in the Kremlin with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, saying that there were “many interesting ideas” to discuss.

Abdelatty, speaking through an interpreter, said Egypt welcomed the Russian initiatives.

In the televised part of ⁠their meeting, neither elaborated on what the “hub” ​proposal ⁠would involve.

Russia has been seeking new ways of distributing its energy and commodities exports in response to waves ⁠of Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

Russian forces carried out 129 attacks ⁠on Ukrainian gas and heating ⁠facilities ​during the recent ⁠151-day heating ⁠season, state ​oil and ⁠gas ‌firm Naftogaz said on Thursday.

“The Russians ‌hit pipelines, ‌gas production, underground storage ⁠facilities, heating systems — everything that Ukrainians depend on for heat and gas,” ‌it ​said in ‌a ⁠statement.

Hungary’s centre-right Tisza party widened its lead over ​prime minister Viktor Orban’s ruling Fidesz ahead of the parliamentary election on 12 April, two opinion polls ‌showed yesterday, although a large share of voters remained undecided.

Veteran nationalist Orban faces the biggest challenge to his rule in 16 years, although the outcome of the election remains uncertain due to the many undecided voters.

His opponent, Peter Magyar, ​has said his ​party would curb corruption, unlock ⁠billions of euros in frozen European Union funds to boost the economy, and firmly anchor Hungary in the EU and Nato.

While most polls have shown a ​Tisza lead, Fidesz points to other surveys that still show it on course ​to victory, ⁠though its opponents say these have mainly been conducted by institutes with financial or personal ties to the ruling party.

But even if Magyar wins the elections, he is unlikely to represent the pro-Ukrainian alternative Brussels is hoping for.

Magyar often sounds strikingly similar to Orban when it comes to Ukraine. He has opposed fast-tracking Ukraine’s EU membership, said he would deny military help to Kyiv, and signalled he would put Ukraine’s EU accession to a referendum – which could derail the process entirely.

Emmanuel Macron has launched an impassioned defence of Nato after Donald Trump threatened to withdraw from the alliance over its lack of support for the war in Iran.

“I believe that organisations and alliances like Nato are defined by what is left unsaid – that is, the trust that underpins them, and that has often been the case, incidentally, with military and strategic matters. If you cast doubt on your commitment every day, you erode its very substance,” he said.

“We need to be serious, and if you want to be serious, you don’t go around saying the opposite of what you said the day before” he said.

“I think there is too much talk,” he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak by ⁠phone to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ⁠on ​Thursday, TASS ⁠news agency reported.

It ⁠quoted presidential ​aide Yuri ⁠Ushakov ‌as saying the call would take place ‌after a ‌meeting between Putin and ⁠Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Moscow.

The Kremlin said earlier that Russia was ready ‌to contribute to ​efforts to ‌end ⁠the Iran ⁠war and that ‌Putin ​was continuing contacts ‌with regional ​leaders.

According to American military officials, Washington is seeking access to three additional bases on the Arctic territory, including two that they had previously abandoned.

Earlier this year, Europe was thrown into mayhem after Trump said that the US “needed” Greenland and demanded control of the territory “right now”, threatening to impose extortionate tariffs on countries that prevented the move or disagreed.

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Donald Trump’s threat to leave Nato over its lack of support for his war in Iran “looks like Putin’s dream plan”, Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has said.

The US president on Wednesday said that he was “seriously considering” withdrawing Washington from the military alliance as they “were not there for us” when he began his war in

In a social media post, Mr Tusk wrote: “The threat of Nato’s break-up, easing sanctions on Russia, a massive energy crisis in Europe, halting aid for Ukraine and blocking the loan for Kyiv by Orbán – it all looks like Putin’s dream plan.”