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Yesterday, 8:21 PM
Orbán is not yet convinced, but does not rule out Rutte as NATO chief either

Hungary still has great difficulty with Mark Rutte as the new Secretary General of NATO, but is not ruling him out either. Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán says in an interview with the French magazine Le Point that he is not yet convinced of Rutte.

Rutte is almost all NATO member states' favorite to become NATO's new leader. Three countries still have reservations: Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. In addition to Rutte, there is one other candidate, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

'Problematic positions'
Orbán says Rutte has expressed "problematic" views in the past. "On the one hand he said that Hungary should leave the European Union and on the other hand that we should be forced to our knees. That is not the best way to get our support," Orbán said in the interview.

While Orbán says today that he is not yet convinced, the Hungarian Foreign Minister was more certain yesterday. He indicated that the Hungarian government does not support Rutte's candidacy and would prefer to see the Romanian president as the new Secretary General of NATO.

An informal two-day NATO summit starts tomorrow in Prague. The American ambassador to NATO said today that there will certainly be discussions in Prague about the succession of current NATO chief Stoltenberg. "Not every member state is ready yet to support Mark Rutte. I think we have made progress. Our goal is to have this arranged before the NATO summit in Washington in July."

NOS News
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Today, 2:30 PM
Dutch war volunteer killed in Ukraine

Another Dutch war volunteer has died in Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms reports on social media about this, but does not want to say anything further at the request of the man's relatives.

According to AD, the man fought in the Ukrainian Foreign Legion and was killed on May 20 near Chasiv Yar, a town in the north of the Donetsk region. His body has reportedly since been repatriated.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote on May 24 that Russia had come within 1.5 kilometers of Chasiv Yar, but that the Ukrainians were firmly entrenched there.

Third Dutchman
As far as we know, this is the third Dutch war volunteer to die in Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not know how many Dutch people were fighting there and how many were killed.

At the start of the war, dozens of Dutch volunteers had signed up, according to the honorary consul of Ukraine in the Netherlands.

Ukraine very commendable keeping the mighty and powerful Russia at bay for more than two years Extraordinary indeed

Ukraine now reportedly been granted permission by America and Germany for use of their weapons inside Russia

Fear of Dutch F-16s
Russian MP threatens nuclear attack on the Netherlands: 'After that everything in Europe will be completely dead'
OUR EDITORIAL STAFF ABROAD

Updated: Today, 1:20 PMToday, 12:36abroad?
AMSTERDAM - A Russian parliamentarian has advocated on Russian state television to paralyze the European continent in one go by dropping an atomic bomb on the Netherlands. Commitments by Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren that Dutch F-16s may be used in Russian airspace are the reason for the threats, according to the former lieutenant general.


Retired Russian general Andrei Gurulev often makes absurd statements.

The chilling threat was made on Russian state television by Lieutenant General Andrei Gurulev – a member of parliament from the United Russia party – in a conversation with propagandist Vladimir Soloviev.

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War rhetoric on Russian state TV: 'Throwing atomic bomb on London''

According to Gurulev, a nuclear attack would cause the dikes and dams to break, flooding the country with water. “The dams there will collapse at once, everything. The whole of the Netherlands will be flooded,” the MP claims. “One hundred percent sure that everything in Europe will be completely dead after that.”

Russian nuclear weapon
“Somewhere between 50 and 60 percent of the European fuel supply is in the Netherlands,” Gurulev claimed in the television interview. “The army calls this a big target.” Furthermore, Gurulev claims that the attack can be carried out in one day with minimal use of Russian nuclear weapons.

The MP's nuclear saber-rattling comes days after the Netherlands said it would allow the Ukrainian air force to use its 24 F-16 fighter jets to carry out attacks in Russia.

Gurulev said that two normal nuclear weapons would destroy the Netherlands. “One can be taken down, the second will reach the target. That will be enough.” He made it clear that such an attack on the Netherlands belonged to the 'target catalogue' of the Russian military machine.

It's not just Gurulev who has been saying this. They are itching to make an example out of any country who is willing to assist the Ukrainians. People think guys like Gurulev are being facetious, but that's not exactly the case

Very true, many hardliners in Russia, but I do believe Putin is not a fool he is playing with European and American voters’ minds.

Putin, at Economic Forum, Again Talks About Nuclear War
The Russian leader’s chatter about nuclear weapons has picked up since the U.S. allowed Ukraine to use its conventional weapons against military targets in Russia.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/07/us/putin-forum-nuclear-war.html

This is Called Fear Mongering...

“Putin is not going to stop at Ukraine,” President Biden said in a meeting with Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris, pledging support for the Ukrainian cause.

“All of Europe will be threatened, we are not going to let that happen,” Biden told journalists during his state visit to France.

“The United States is standing strong with Ukraine."

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/...ance-s-macron-in-pomp-filled-state-visit