Ukraine

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to London on Thursday in a show of the U.K.'s support for Ukraine a day before a critical U.S.-Russia summit is set to take place in Alaska. The situation between Ukraine, Russia, the U.S. and the European Union hits home for Yaryna Zhurba. The Huntsville resident has family living in the Ukrainian city of Solochiv, near the border with Poland.

Back in April, the Alabama Manufacturing Madness competition named Boeing’s PAC-3 Patriot missile “seeker system” the winner of the “Coolest Thing Made in Alabama” contest. It’s possible someone in the White House heard about it. Donald Trump says he’s working on a plan to send Patriot Missiles, possibly purchased by NATO countries, to Ukraine to fend off missile attacks from Russia. This could mean extra business for Boeing in Huntsville.

It looks like Ukraine wants to buy more weapons marked made in Alabama. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is at the G-seven summit in Canada. Published reports say Ukraine wants the U.S. Patriot Missile Defense system. That could be good news for Huntsville which makes the new version of the weapon.

The European Union is targeting Alabama and other Republican states in a retaliatory trade action, in the form of new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products. This response came within hours to the Trump administration's increase in tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%. Alabama produce is specifically mentioned.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the American people and leadership and voiced hope for "strong relations," a day after an astonishing Oval Office blowout with U.S. President Donald Trump that left many uncertain where the once staunch allies stood. APR contacted a fellow journalist in Ukraine for her perspective.

Donald Trump has given voters a hefty list of promises, and many of them come due right away. On many major issues, Trump promises to deliver on Day 1. But there's only so much Trump can do without Congress, and some of his vows are bound to fall short.

The Pentagon has announced that the U.S. will provide Ukraine additional Patriot missiles for its air defense systems as part of a massive $6 billion additional aid package. President Joe Biden also singled out Javelin anti-tank missiles, built at a Lockheed-Martin factory in Troy as being part of the new U.S. package of aid for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

The State Department has greenlighted an emergency $138 million in foreign military sales for Ukraine to provide critical repairs and spare parts for Kyiv's Hawk missile systems. The U.S. announced the move Tuesday saying that Ukraine has an urgent need for the maintenance support to keep the missile system running. An Alabama based company will to be put to work on the delivery.

Political observers in Alabama will be watching to see if the newly installed Speaker of the U.S. House follows through on threats regarding a bill supporting Israel. Mike Johnson is scheduled to lead the chamber on a funding measure to help Israel in its war against Hamas

Both of Alabama’s U.S. Senators voted in favor a bi-partisan stopgap funding measure designed to avert a government shutdown, which would have left members of the military and the TSA unpaid, and programs like Alabama Head Start at risk of going unfunded. Support among Alabama’s delegation wasn’t unanimous.