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Comfortable, leisurely exploration is a hallmark of SITA World Tours, a trusted leader in global travel since 1933. Focusing on small-group tours -- most are limited to just 15 guests each -- SITA offers an unprecedented level of personal attention and private interaction, forging a special connection between travelers and the destinations visited. Guests will find experienced tour guides, educational excursions, smooth transportation, fine dining and stellar accommodations in some of the planet's most remote locales.

SITA offers vacations in more than 30 countries. Itineraries highlight the cultural, cosmopolitan, ecological and, on occasion, spiritual aspects of each destination.

Trip ratings on this site are based on the quality of accommodations, the number of included meals and activities and the level of service delivered. SITA's vacations are categorized as first class on the industry rating scale (budget, first class or deluxe).

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ECUADOR & GALAPAGOS ISLANDS 8 DAYS

8 days: quito & galapagos islands 4 night cruise, tour overview:.

Not only does Ecuador offer a rich, cultural, and historic diversity, but it is the gateway to the Galapagos Islands, a natural wonderland of unique species and stunning volcanic landscapes. This UNESCO World Heritage site is a pristine natural classroom and makes for a once-in-a-lifetime magical adventure.

Day 1 - Arrive Quito

Arrive in Quito. You are welcomed at the airport and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure.

Day 2 - Colonial Quito & The Middle of the World

This morning tour offers the best of Quito, with its rich cultural legacy, ornate façades and dazzling gilt altars. Visit Independence Square, the Archbishop’s Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral as well as other very representative samples of colonial art and architecture. Continue to visit and relive the history of Ecuador’s most ancient cultures in one of the finest archaeological and gold artifact collections in the Americas. There are over 1,800 pieces, beautifully arranged in chronological corridors with explanatory panels and dioramas. (B)

Day 3 - Quito / Baltra – Galapagos Islands Cruise (Thursday-Monday)

You will be assisted and transferred to the airport for your flight to Baltra. Upon arrival, transfer to the pier to board the cruise. Afternoon, Mosquera Islet. (BD)

Enjoy a 5-days/4 nights cruise on board your cruise. ITINERARY: Subject to change due to climatic conditions or National Park regulations.

Day 4 - Egas Port (Santiago Island) / Rabida Island (BLD)

Day 5 - urbina bay (isabela island) / tagus cove (isabela island) (bld), day 6 - punta espinosa (fernandina island) / punta vicente roca (isabela island) (bld), day 7 - highlands tortoise reserve or pit craters: for extended cruises (santa cruz island) / baltra airport / quito.

Arrive in Baltra this morning. Transfer to the airport for your flight back to Ecuador. Arrive Quito and transfer to hotel. (B)

Day 8 - Depart Quito

At schedule time you will be transferred to airport for your flight back home. (B)

Date & Pricing Accommodations

Departures:, junior suite / cabin $555 $830 not included: galapagos entrance fee - $200/person & cgg (migration control card) $20/per person internal airfare not included. please contact us for current applicable pricing. * minimum 2 passengers * single travelling alone price is available upon request. * supplements may apply for special events and holidays. * the accommodation will be provided in the below hotel or similar in case the priority hotel is unable to accommodate the booking. hotels:.

• Quito : Hotel Dann Carlton Quito
• Galapagos Island : M/V Galapagos Legend Cruise

Inclusions & Exclusions

Inclusions:

7 Night’s accommodation with private facilities

Standard Plus cabin on the MV Galapagos Legend Cruise

7 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 4 dinners

Private arrival & departure transfers in Quito

Shared sightseeing with English-speaking guide in Quito

Galapagos Island cruise including all activities

Shore expeditions as per cruise itinerary

Entrance tickets to attractions mentioned in the itinerary

We welcome hearing from you! Feel free to call or simply Email us with any questions you may have.

YOUR GATEWAY TO EXOTIC DESTINATIONS WORLDWIDE

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Now is the time for biden to get russia to stand down in ukraine.

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The time has come to push Moscow to end its war on Ukraine — by supplying Kyiv with the right weapons fast, removing boneheaded restrictions on their use and making clear that Russia simply can’t win.

The alternative: Watch Vladimir Putin and his forces gobble up our ally bit by bit — and then prepare for a far broader Russian-triggered conflict sure to involve NATO and US troops.

Over the past weeks, Russia chalked up some of the largest territorial gains since its invasion of Ukraine, including advances in the country’s northeast and Donbas region.

Washington can help reverse those gains if it chooses.

And now’s the time to do so.

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lamented the costly delays in US military aid, noting that everyone eventually comes to the right decision but about a year late.

It’s “one big step forward,” he said, but “two steps back. So we need to change the paradigm.”

Absolutely right: President Biden’s approach to getting weapons and ammunition to Ukraine has been tragically anemic.

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Ukraine also needs US weapons that can make a difference and permission to use them to their full capacity.

Consider: As Russian forces amassed on Ukraine’s border in preparation for its recent offensive, Ukrainian soldiers were prevented from attacking them with US weapons, thanks to restrictions from Team Biden, which fears provoking Putin and escalating the fighting.

It’s beyond insane: Had Ukraine been able to degrade Russian troops before they advanced — using, say, US rocket launchers and long-range missiles — it’s unlikely it would have lost as much ground and as many troops as it did.

Iran and China supply Moscow with military equipment , with no restrictions. Why can’t Biden & Co. do likewise with Ukraine?

Heck, Russia has no qualms even about violating third-country airspace, as it’s done in Poland.

Biden’s fear of escalation and half-hearted backing of Ukraine — National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan admitted the recent aid package was meant merely to let Ukraine “hold the line” — can only prolong the war.

And risk Ukraine’s eventual defeat.

With American weaponry, Ukraine can accomplish far more.

And it has a golden opportunity now: Reports suggest Putin is ready for a cease-fire along current battlefield lines, meaning he’s increasingly reluctant to pay the price, particularly in Russian lives, of continuing.  

Some doubt that, yet extending the fight would require another deeply unpopular mobilization in Russia.

Were Ukraine allowed to fight with an adequate supply of weapons — and no hands tied — it could not only reverse Russian gains, but force a new call-up that enrages the Russian public, pressuring Putin, perhaps, to stand down.

Biden’s limited-aid-with-strings not only misses this critical opportunity; it needlessly costs Ukrainian lives.

If Biden truly wants Ukraine to survive — for its sake, as well as the world’s — he needs to shed his escalation fears and ramp up unrestricted US aid deliveries now.

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Russia ‘captures two villages in eastern Ukraine’

Russia says its forces have captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine – one in the Donetsk region, and another in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

The defence ministry said its troops had “liberated the village of Netailove in the Donetsk region” and “Ivanivka in the Kharkiv region”, the latest in a string of Russian territorial gains over recent weeks.

Russia launched a major new ground assault on the northeastern Kharkiv region two weeks ago, though the latest claim of captured territory is in a part of the front line further east, where fighting has been raging for months.

Moscow is looking to press its advantage on the battlefield while long-awaited US weapons are making their way to Ukrainian troops on the front lines.

Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, urged Western partners last night to allow Kyiv to strike military targets in Russia to help it defend from the Kremlin’s forces.

“We see every point of concentration of Russian troops. We know all the areas where Russian missiles and combat aircraft are launched,” Mr Zelensky said.

Live Reporting

Related stories, thank you for following today’s coverage.

On May 27, Russia said its forces had captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine – one in the Donetsk region, and another in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

As more troops amassed on the border, Volodymyr Zelensky urged Western partners to allow Kyiv to strike military targets in Russia to help it defend from the Kremlin’s forces.

Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg weighed into the debate, also calling on leaders to end the ban. “If (Ukraine) cannot attack military targets on Russian territory then it ties one hand of the Ukrainians on their back and makes it very hard for them to conduct defence,” he said.

The Kremlin condemned his appeal, accusing Nato of “increasing the degree of escalation”.

Other key developments from the day were:

• Russia is amassing its forces on the border with Kharkiv and Sumy as Moscow prepares for a new attack.
• Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said he had signed paperwork allowing French military instructors to visit Ukrainian training centres.
• Poland will restrict the movement of Russian diplomats, the foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said, calling it a response to what he termed Moscow’s hybrid warfare.
• A Russian attack on a village in the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv left three people dead, including two teenagers, and wounded six more, the regional governor said.
• Russia will build a small nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan, the first such project in post-Soviet Central Asia, the Uzbek president said at a meeting with visiting Vladimir Putin.
• Russian forces have dropped about 3,200 guided aerial bombs on Ukraine this month, according to Mr Zelensky.
• Spain will grant one billion euros (£850 million) worth of military equipment to Ukraine throughout 2024, according to a bilateral deal signed Mr Zelensky and prime minister Pedro Sanchez.
• A Ukrainian drone hit a Russian radar station capable of tracking nuclear missiles for the second time in three days.
• A German former soldier was sentenced to three and a half years in jail for sharing secret military information with Russia in the wake of the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

Watch: Russian soldiers raise flag in captured village

Zelensky to visit Portugal tomorrow

Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Portugal on tomorrow, at the invitation of the country’s leadership.

The office of the Portuguese president said that Zelensky’s visit “is part of a common intention to deepen excellent relations between the two countries, with a special emphasis on strengthening cooperation in the field of security and defence.”

During the visit, Mr Zelensky will hold working meetings with Portuguese prime minister Luís Montenegro and meet with president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

Kremlin condemns Nato boss’s appeal for Ukraine to use Western arms in Russia

The Kremlin scolded Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg for suggesting alliance members should let Ukraine strike deep into Russia with Western weapons.

Mr Stoltenberg told The Economist that Nato members supplying weapons to Ukraine should end their prohibition on using them to strike military targets in Russia.

“Nato is increasing the degree of escalation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian daily Izvestia when asked about the remarks.

“Nato is flirting with military rhetoric and falling into military ecstasy,” Mr Peskov said, adding that the Russian military knew what to do.

When asked if Nato was approaching a direct confrontation with Russia, Peskov said: “They are not getting close; they are in it.”

Ukraine commander says French instructors to visit Ukrainian training centres

Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said he had signed paperwork allowing French military instructors to visit Ukrainian training centres soon.

“I am pleased to welcome France’s initiative to send instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian servicemen,” Syrskyi said on the Telegram messaging app.

“I have already signed the documents that will enable the first French instructors to visit our training centres shortly and familiarize themselves with their infrastructure and personnel.”

Poland to curb Russian diplomats’ movements

Poland will restrict the movement of Russian diplomats, foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Monday, calling it a response to what he termed Moscow’s hybrid warfare.

“I just announced a Polish decision in connection to Russia’s participation in hybrid warfare against the European Union, including Poland: a restriction of movement for Russian diplomats in our country,” Mr Sikorski told reporters in Brussels after meeting with his EU counterparts.

The minister said the new measures will restrict the movement of consular staff to the Warsaw region, but will not impact the Russian ambassador, Sergei Andreyev.

Three killed and six wounded in Russian strike on south Ukraine

A Russian attack on a village in the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv has left three people dead, including two teenagers, and wounded six more, the regional governor said.

“Three people were killed and six injured in the Russian attack on Snigurivka. Two of the victims are a 17-year-old girl and boy,” the official, Vitaliy Kim announced on social media.

Pictured: Zelensky welcomed by Spain’s royals

Zelensky rejects Russian participation in Switzerland peace summit

Volodymyr Zelensky has excluded Russia’s participation in an upcoming peace summit in Switzerland, which he said dozens of foreign leaders would attend.

“We do not see Russia there, because Russia will block everything. It’s clear,” he said, adding that Moscow “does not benefit from peace. It wants to destroy Ukraine and move on”.

Russia to build Central Asia’s first nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan

Russia will build a small nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan, the first such project in post-Soviet Central Asia, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the Uzbek president, said on Monday at a meeting with visiting Vladimir Putin.

The nuclear deal, if implemented, will showcase Russia’s ability to export not only energy, but also high-tech products to new Asian markets, at a time when the West is increasing pressure on it through sanctions.

Mr Mirziyoyev also said Tashkent was interested in buying more oil and gas from Russia, a reversal of decades-long practice where Moscow imported hydrocarbons from Central Asia.

The Uzbek president described Mr Putin’s visit as “historic”.

Kremlin says Nato is in direct confrontation with Russia over Ukraine

The Kremlin said on Monday that Nato was already in direct confrontation with Russia and that the US-led military alliance was escalating the Ukraine conflict with military rhetoric.

The Interfax news agency cited Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, as saying that comments made by Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, were contradictory.

Mr Stoltenberg told the Economist that Nato members supplying weapons to Ukraine should end their prohibition on using them to strike military targets in Russia.

Listen: Exclusive interview with Sir Lawrence Freedman

Zelensky says Russia dropped 3,200 bombs on Ukraine in May

Russian forces have dropped about 3,200 guided aerial bombs on Ukraine this month, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference in Madrid, he added that Ukraine’s military does not have enough air-defence missiles to stop Russia from dropping thousands of bombs per month.

Russian forces ‘massing on Ukrainian border’

Russia is amassing its forces on the border with Kharkiv and Sumy as Moscow prepares for a new attack, experts say.

The Institute for the Study of War said the move is likely intended to “fix and draw” Ukraine’s army to the area and prepare for operations that aim to expand the Russian foothold in the international border area in northeastern Ukraine.

Russia sent troops across the border north of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, earlier this month, and have been slowly making gains.

Volodymyr Zelensky urged Western partners last night to allow Kyiv to strike military targets in Russia to help it defend from the Kremlin’s forces.

US and German officials have repeatedly said that they do not support Kyiv’s strikes with the Western-supplied arms inside Russia, but the tide appears to be shifting.

Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, was one of the latest high-profile Western leaders to call for an end to the ban.

“If (Ukraine) cannot attack military targets on Russian territory then it ties one hand of the Ukrainians on their back and makes it very hard for them to conduct defence,” he said.

Russia invites Taliban to major economic forum

Russia has invited Afghanistan’s Taliban to its biggest annual economic forum as Moscow moves to remove a ban on the Islamist movement, a senior Russian diplomat was quoted as saying on Monday.

Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021 as US-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war, Russia has been slowly building ties with the Taliban, though the movement is still officially outlawed in Russia.

Russia’s foreign and justice ministries have reported to president Vladimir Putin on the issue of removing the ban, Zamir Kabulov, director of the Second Asia Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told state news agency TASS.

Zamir Kabulov, director of the Second Asia Department at the Russian foreign ministry was quoted as saying that an invitation to attend the June 5-8 St Petersburg international economic forum had been extended to the Taliban.

Afghan leaders, he said, were traditionally interested in the purchase of oil products.

The St Petersburg forum, which once hosted Western CEOs and investment bankers from London and New York, has changed significantly amid the Ukraine war which has triggered the biggest crisis in Russia’s relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Western investors seeking a slice of Russia’s vast resource wealth have now been replaced by businesses from China, India, Africa and the Middle East.

Spain to grant 1 billion euros worth of weapons to Ukraine this year

Spain will grant 1 billion euros (£850 million) worth of military equipment to Ukraine throughout 2024, according to a bilateral deal signed between president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and prime minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday.

Sweden indicates support of Ukraine striking targets on Russian soil

Sweden has indicated that it supports Ukraine in striking targets on Russian territory with Western-made weapons.

US and German officials have repeatedly said that they do not support or encourage Kyiv’s strikes with the Western-supplied arms inside Russia.

But the tide appears to be shifting as leaders say that the ban stopped Ukraine from attacking Russian forces building up before crossing the border into Kharkiv Oblast in early May.

“Ukraine has the right to defend itself through military actions aimed at the enemy’s territory as long as the military actions comply with the laws of war,” Pal Jonson, the Swedish defence minister, said in answer to a question about the possible use of Swedish arms against Russian territory.

Mr Jonson added that Sweden stands behind international law and Ukraine’s right to defend itself.

Zelensky in Madrid to sign Spain security deal

Volodymyr Zelensky has landed in Spain for talks with prime minister Pedro Sanchez, with the pair due to ink a deal increasing Madrid’s military aid to Kyiv.

As he touched down at Madrid’s Barajas airport, Mr Zelensky was met on the tarmac by King Felipe VI before heading straight into the Spanish capital to meet Mr Sanchez.

The two leaders are expected to sign a security agreement and then hold a news conference.

Later, Mr Zelensky is due at the Royal Palace for talks followed by “a lunch in his honour” hosted by King Felipe and Queen Letizia, a palace statement said.

The visit had initially been planned on May 17, but was postponed  after Russian troops began a major assault on the Kharkiv region.

According to El Pais newspaper, the deal will include 1.1 billion euros worth of military aid and new Patriot missiles and Leopard tanks.

EU sanctions Voice of Europe, Czech ministry says

The European Union has added Voice of Europe and two businessmen connected to the news website to an EU-wide sanctions list, extending sanctions imposed by the Czech Republic, its foreign ministry said on Monday.

The sanctions on the two individuals, Viktor Medvedchuk and Artem Marchevskyi, and the website will consist of travel bans and asset freezes, the ministry said.

In March, the Czech Republic sanctioned the Prague-based company, which runs the news website voiceofeurope.com, alleging it was a tool of Russian propaganda.

It said the pro-Russian Ukrainian politician and businessman, Mr Medvedchuk, who was exiled to Russia in 2022, had been covertly financing the Voice of Europe’s influence operations ahead of this year’s European parliamentary election, including financial support for European politicians.

Mr Marchevskyi led the news website for Mr Medvedchuk, it has said. Voice of Europe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pictured: Attack on hypermarket in Kharkiv

Kyiv hampered by limits on using Western arms in Russia, says Nato chief

Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of Nato, has said that Western powers should reconsider restrictions on Ukraine using weaponry they supply to strike inside Russia as it is hampering Kyiv’s ability to defend itself.

“The time has come to consider whether it will be right to lift some of the restrictions which have been imposed because we see now that especially in the Kharkiv region the front line and the border line is more or less the same,” Mr Stoltenberg told Nato lawmakers.

“If (Ukraine) cannot attack military targets on Russian territory then it ties one hand of the Ukrainians on their back and makes it very hard for them to conduct defence.”

Ukraine has been pressing its Western backers to allow it to use the longer-range weaponry they supply to hit targets in Russia.

Washington, and other allies, have been reluctant to permit Kyiv to strike over the border out of fear that it could drag them closer to direct conflict with Moscow.

Mr Stoltenberg said “some allies have lifted restrictions enabling the Ukrainians to better defend themselves”, without giving details.

“It is clear that Ukraine has the right to defend themselves,” the secretary general of the Western alliance said. “Self-defence includes the right to also attack legitimate military targets inside Russia.”

In a daily briefing, the defence ministry said its troops had “liberated the village of Netailove in the Donetsk region” and “Ivanivka in the Kharkiv region”, the latest in a string of Russian territorial gains over recent weeks.

Ukrainian drone hits second Russian nuclear radar station

A Ukrainian drone has hit a Russian radar station capable of tracking nuclear missiles for the second time in three days, Ukrainian sources have said.

The unnamed intelligence service source told Ukrainska Pravda that the drone had travelled more than 1,000 miles across Russia to strike the Voronezh-class radar station in Orsk on the border with Kazakhstan.

Russian media also quoted a regional government official confirming the drone attack and saying that there had been “no civilian objects damaged and no threats to residents”.

Last week, satellite images showed that a Ukrainian drone had hit a Voronezh-class radar station in Krasnodar, southern Russia. Voronezh-class radars are some of the Kremlin’s most sophisticated radars and are tasked with providing an early warning alarm against a nuclear attack.

The attacks have worried Ukraine’s Western allies as they debate whether to give Kyiv permission to strike targets in Russia with Western missiles. They are worried that Ukraine will use Western missiles to escalate the war in Ukraine.

Pictured: Funeral of child killed in Russian war

German ex-soldier sentenced to 3.5 years for spying for Russia

A German former soldier has been sentenced to three and a half years in jail for sharing secret military information with Russia in the wake of the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

A court in Duesseldorf found the defendant, named only as Thomas H., guilty of passing on information on his own initiative from his post in the military procurement service.

The 54-year-old had admitted the crime during his trial, claiming he was hoping to obtain information in return that would help him get his family to safety in time in the event of the conflict escalating into a nuclear war.

The espionage case is one of several uncovered in Germany since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Prosecutors had accused Thomas H. of photographing old training documents related to munitions systems and aircraft technology and dropping the material through the letterbox of the Russian consulate in Bonn.

The defendant “approached the Russian general consulate in Bonn and the Russian embassy in Berlin and offered his cooperation” in May 2023, prosecutors said. “He passed on information he had obtained in the course of his professional activities for it to be passed on to a Russian intelligence service.”

Thomas H. admitted at the opening of his trial in April that the accusations against him were “broadly” accurate.

Thomas H. said his concern about a possible escalation in the war in Ukraine led him to reach out to the Russian side.

Russia issues journal instructing soldiers to ‘mortally hate the enemy’

Russia’s Ministry of Defence has issued a new journal for “the political education of soldiers”, according to the UK’s Defence Intelligence.

The journal “draws heavily on the legacy of Soviet era military publications” and cites Stalin on the “need to mortally hate the enemy,” said the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

“The journal emphasises that the enemy in Ukraine today is the same as the enemy the Soviet Union was fighting, namely the Nazis,” the statement reads. “A map of Ukraine published in the journal is used to support arguments, casting doubt on the authenticity of Ukrainian statehood, and hence to justify the invasion.”

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 27 May 2024. Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/YKHA9tW6JW #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/YBadCUTRXH — Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 27, 2024

Scholz: Russian casualties amount to 24,000 soldiers per month

Around 24,000 Russian soldiers are killed or seriously injured each month of war, German chancellor Olaf Scholz has said.

While the exact numbers have not been independently verified, Ukraine’s military said that Moscow’s losses throughout the full-scale war recently hit half a million killed or wounded.

“There is a figure that says there are 24,000 killed or seriously injured Russian soldiers per month,” Mr Scholz said during a citizens’ dialogue.

“All of this for the Russian president’s imperialist megalomania.”

Pictured: Russian prisoners of war

Spain to send Patriot missiles and Leopard tanks to Ukraine

Spain plans to send Patriot missiles and Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of a 1.13 billion euro weapon package announced last month, El Pais newspaper has reported.

Spain will hand over a dozen crucial Patriot anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine and 19 second-hand German-made Leopard 2A4 tanks and other Spanish-made weapons, such as anti-drones gear and ammunition, the newspaper said.

The new weapon delivery commitment will be announced during an official visit by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Madrid on Monday, where he will meet with prime minister Pedro Sanchez and King Felipe, the paper said.

The worth of the package was approved last month by the government, though it did not specify which weapons were included.

Nato nations plan ‘drone wall’ to protect from Russian aggression

Six Nato nations have agreed to build a “drone wall” along their borders to defend themselves against Russian threats.

Norway, Poland and Finland will work with the three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – to prevent Russian aggression, including forcing migrants across the border.

“This is a completely new thing. A drone border from Norway to Poland,” Agne Bilotaite, Lithuania’s interior minister, told broadcaster Baltic News Service.

“This will allow us to protect ourselves from provocations by unfriendly countries.”

EU countries bordering Europe have become increasingly nervous that an emboldened Vladimir Putin will turn his sights on Russia’s Western neighbours if he succeeds in his war in Ukraine.

In anticipation, Poland has spent billions upgrading its border defences with Belarus, Estonia has built a network of frontier army bunkers and Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, has joined Nato.

Read the full article here

Hungary ‘systematically’ obstructing support for Ukraine, says Lithuania

Hungary is systematically blocking all efforts at the European Union level to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielis Landsbergis said on Monday, adding the bloc must “find a way to work around this.”

“We have to start seeing this as a systematic approach towards any efforts by the EU to have any meaningful role in foreign affairs,” Landsbergis said, adding: “It has gone very, very far.”

His statement comes the day after president Gitanas Nauseda was elected to a second term, with voters overwhelmingly backing continuity in foreign policy and a hard line on the threat of Russian aggression. 

Mr Nauseda won 74 per cent of the vote in a runoff against his political rival Ingrida Simonyte, Lithuania’s prime minister, according to electoral commission.

Russia’s war in Ukraine dominated the presidential campaign. 

“Lithuania’s independence, Lithuania’s freedom is a fragile thing that we must cherish and prevent from cracking,” the president told reporters on Sunday. “This is the reason why a lot more needs to be done for collective security.”

Ukraine drone attacks Russian early-warning radar at ‘record’ distance, Kyiv source says

 A Ukrainian drone attacked a Russian “Voronezh M” early-warning radar near the city of Orsk in the Orenburg region at a “record” distance, a Kyiv intelligence source said on Monday.

The source told Reuters the attack was conducted by Ukraine’s military spy agency on Sunday and did not say whether it caused any damage. 

Russian news outlets reported that a UAV “went down” near Orsk and that the drone’s target “may have been a military facility.”

The city of Orsk lies around 1,500 km from the nearest parts of Ukrainian-controlled territory.

• Nato nations plan 'drone wall' to protect from Russian aggression
• Ukrainian strike on Russian nuclear radar system causes alarm in West
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