The European Union remains confident that a series of energy deals with COP29 host Azerbaijan aren't creating a back door for more Russian gas to reach the continent, the European Commission said today.

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Georgia. Moldova. Now Romania?

Alarm bells are ringing in Brussels after a far-right, pro-Russia candidate came out of nowhere to win the first round of Romania’s presidential election on Sunday.

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Authorities must “seriously” consider whether a cargo plane crash in Lithuania was an act of “hybrid” warfare, Germany’s foreign minister said.

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Europe needs to take more risks, spend more, be faster and cut bureaucracy to win the new global arms race, a top NATO commander told us.

Here's what else he said.

Britain's foreign secretary said his country is not considering sending troops into Ukraine "at this time," after his French counterpart urged Western allies not to set "red lines" in the conflict and the Kremlin warned against "hotheaded" escalation.

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Sweden asked a Chinese vessel to return to its waters today while the Nordic country investigates the suspected sabotage of submarine internet cables in the Baltic Sea.

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Defense projects will need to source almost two-thirds of their components from the EU to get cash under a program to spur the bloc’s own arms industry, according to a proposal by the Hungarian Council presidency.

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Israel should “stop killing people” and accept the terms of a cease-fire with Lebanon brokered by the US and France, the EU’s foreign policy chief said.

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Russia expelled a British diplomat after accusing him of espionage today, its Federal Security Service announced.

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The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has been actively investigating claims that domestically produced 120 mm mortar shells have been malfunctioning on the war front for the last three weeks.

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Ukraine’s armed forces hit a military and civilian airfield in Russia’s Kursk region yesterday with multiple US-made long-range ATACMS, the Russian defense ministry has admitted.

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In an interview with POLITICO, Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told us he has no hope that US President-elect Donald Trump can broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.

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After months of hand-wringing about securing the EU and its economy, Brussels is mostly waiting out Donald Trump’s plans during his second term as US president — especially on trade and security.

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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said today he wanted to launch a “navy policing” program to secure the Baltic Sea against Russian threats.

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🚨 BREAKING: The European Parliament has approved Ursula von der Leyen’s right-leaning Commission for a Dec. 1 start.

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Monday’s cargo plane crash in Vilnius was not due to sabotage, Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas said.

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The ruble tumbled today to its lowest level in over two years, as a mix of low oil prices, new sanctions against Russian businesses and burgeoning government spending on its war effort put ever-greater strain on the Russian economy.

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Romania’s President will hold a meeting tomorrow with the country’s top national security officials to discuss possible risks “generated by the actions of state and non-state cyber actors” in ongoing elections in the country.

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COMMENTARY: For good or ill, Donald Trump is already shaping the calculations of combatants in the Middle East.

But much depends on how Hezbollah’s bosses in Tehran proceed.

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Russia launched another massive attack against Ukraine with drones and missiles early Thursday, targeting the power grid across the country, including western regions close to the border with the EU.

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