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Biden Reaffirms Support for Weapons Surge to Ukraine after Russia’s Christmas Attack

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, US, December 10, 2024. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, US, December 10, 2024. (Reuters)
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Biden Reaffirms Support for Weapons Surge to Ukraine after Russia’s Christmas Attack

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, US, December 10, 2024. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, US, December 10, 2024. (Reuters)

US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he had asked the Defense Department to continue its surge of weapons deliveries to Ukraine, after condemning Russia's Christmas Day attack on Ukraine's energy system and some of its cities.

Russia attacked Ukraine on Wednesday with cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as drones, Ukraine said. The strikes wounded at least six people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and killed one in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, the governors there said.

Nearly three years into the war, Washington has committed $175 billion in aid for Ukraine, but it is uncertain if the aid will continue at that pace under Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who replaces Biden on Jan. 20. Trump has said he wants to bring the war to a swift end.

"The purpose of this outrageous attack was to cut off the Ukrainian people's access to heat and electricity during winter and to jeopardize the safety of its grid," Biden, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Keith Kellogg, Trump's pick for special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, also criticized Wednesday's attack.

"Christmas should be a time of peace, yet Ukraine was brutally attacked on Christmas Day," Kellogg said. "The US is more resolved than ever to bring peace to the region."

During the presidential election campaign, Trump questioned the level of US involvement in the conflict, suggesting European allies should bear more of the financial burden. Some of his fellow Republicans - who will control both the House of Representatives and Senate starting next month - have also cooled on sending more aid to Kyiv.

This stance - despite previous strong support in the US Congress for sustained or expanded support for Ukraine - has raised concerns among Ukraine's supporters about the future of US assistance under Trump.

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World

US Pays $160 Million of More than $4 Billion Owed to UN

US President Donald Trump during the Board of Peace meeting at the Donald J. Trump US Institute of Peace in Washington, USA, 19 February 2026. EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MEO
US President Donald Trump during the Board of Peace meeting at the Donald J. Trump US Institute of Peace in Washington, USA, 19 February 2026. EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MEO
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US Pays $160 Million of More than $4 Billion Owed to UN

US President Donald Trump during the Board of Peace meeting at the Donald J. Trump US Institute of Peace in Washington, USA, 19 February 2026. EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MEO
US President Donald Trump during the Board of Peace meeting at the Donald J. Trump US Institute of Peace in Washington, USA, 19 February 2026. EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MEO

The United States has paid about $160 million of the more than $4 billion it owes to the UN, a United Nations spokesperson said on Thursday as President Donald Trump hosted the first meeting of his "Board of Peace" initiative that experts say could undermine the United Nations.

"Last week, we received about $160 million from the United States as a partial payment of its past dues for the UN regular budget," the UN spokesperson said ‌in a ‌statement.

Trump said during his comments at the opening "Board of Peace" ‌meeting ⁠that Washington would ⁠give the United Nations money to strengthen it.

The US is the biggest contributor to the UN budget, but under the Trump administration it has refused to make mandatory payments to regular and peacekeeping budgets, and slashed voluntary funding to UN agencies with their own budgets.

Washington has withdrawn from dozens of UN agencies.

UN officials say the US owed $2.19 billion to the regular UN budget as of the start ⁠of February, more than 95% of the total owed by ‌countries globally. The US also owes another $2.4 billion ‌for current and past peacekeeping missions and $43.6 million for UN tribunals.

"We're going to help ‌them (UN) money-wise, and we're going to make sure the United Nations is viable," ‌Trump said.

"I think the United Nations has great potential, really great potential. It has not lived up to (that) potential."

Countries, including major powers of the Global South and key US allies in the West, have been reluctant to join Trump's "Board of Peace" where ‌Trump himself is the chair. Many experts have said such an initiative undermines the United Nations.

Trump launched the board ⁠last month ⁠and proposed it late last year as part of his plan to end Israel's war in Gaza.

A UN Security Council resolution recognized the board late last year through 2027, limiting its scope to Gaza, the Palestinian territory it was meant to oversee following Israel's devastating more than two-year assault. Under Trump's plan to end Israel's war in Gaza, the board was meant to oversee Gaza's temporary governance. Trump subsequently said the board will tackle global conflicts and look beyond Gaza as well.

UN experts say that Trump's oversight of a board to supervise a foreign territory's affairs resembles a colonial structure and criticized the board for not having Palestinian representation. There was no UN representative at the "Board of Peace" meeting on Thursday.

World

Türkiye Says Greece-Chevron Activity off Crete Unlawful 

A Chevron gas station sign is pictured at one of their retain gas stations in Cardiff, California October 9, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
A Chevron gas station sign is pictured at one of their retain gas stations in Cardiff, California October 9, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
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Türkiye Says Greece-Chevron Activity off Crete Unlawful 

A Chevron gas station sign is pictured at one of their retain gas stations in Cardiff, California October 9, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
A Chevron gas station sign is pictured at one of their retain gas stations in Cardiff, California October 9, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

Türkiye said on Thursday it opposed Greece's "unilateral activities" in energy fields south of Crete with a consortium led by US major Chevron as a violation of international law and good neighbourly relations.

Athens responded that its policies abide international law.

The Chevron-led consortium signed exclusive lease agreements on Monday to look for natural gas off southern Greece, expanding US presence in the eastern Mediterranean.

"We oppose this unlawful activity, which is being attempted in violation of the 2019 Memorandum of Understanding on Maritime Jurisdiction between Libya and our country," the Turkish Defense Ministry said at a press briefing.

It said the activity, while not directly impacting Türkiye's continental shelf, also violated Libya's maritime jurisdiction that was declared to the United Nations in May last year.

"We continue to provide the necessary support to the Libyan authorities to take action against these unilateral and unlawful activities by Greece," the ministry said.

A 2019 agreement signed by Türkiye and Libya set out maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea. It was rejected by Greece as it ignored the presence of the Greek island of Crete between the coasts of Türkiye and Libya. The Chevron deal doubles the amount of Greek maritime acreage available for exploration and is the second in months involving a US energy major, as the European Union seeks to phase out supplies from Russia and the US seeks to replace them.

Asked about the Turkish objections later on Thursday, Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told a press briefing that Athens followed an "active policy" and "exercises its rights in accordance with international law and respects international law steadfastly - and I think no one questions that, period."

There was no immediate comment from Chevron.

Neighbors and NATO members Türkiye and Greece have been at odds over a range of issues for decades, primarily maritime boundaries and rights in the Aegean, an area widely believed to hold energy resources and with key implications for airspace and military activity.

A 2023 declaration on friendly relations prompted a thaw between the sides and leaders have voiced a desire to address remaining issues.

World

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office

FILE - Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office

FILE - Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

UK police arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The Thames Valley Police, an agency that covers areas west of London, including Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home, said it was “assessing” reports that the former Prince Andrew sent trade reports to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2010. The assessment followed the release of millions of pages of documents connected to a US investigation of Epstein.

The police force did not name Mountbatten-Windsor, as is normal under UK law. But when asked if he had been arrested, the force pointed to a statement saying that they had arrested a man in his 60s. Mountbatten-Windsor is 66.

“Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office,’’ the statement said. “It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence."

“We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time,” the statement added.

Pictures circulated online appearing to show unmarked police cars at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, with plainclothes officers appearing to gather outside the home of Mountbatten-Windsor.