NATO has opened its largest-ever aerial war games in Germany. The military alliance says some 10,000 personnel from 25 countries are taking part in drills involving 250 warplanes. Non-NATO nations Japan and Sweden are participating.
The war games opened as French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda to Paris, where the three discussed aid to Ukraine. Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg delayed Monday’s planned visit with President Joe Biden by a day, after Biden had emergency dentistry.
On Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a surprise visit to Kyiv, where he met President Volodymyr Zelensky and addressed Ukraine’s parliament. Trudeau pledged a half-billion dollars in new military aid and said he would support Ukraine’s bid to join NATO during the alliance’s July summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: “Canada and many others are very supportive of Ukraine joining NATO when the conditions allow. What that exactly looks like is a conversation that we’re continuing to have between now and Vilnius, but I’m very — Vilnius, but I’m very positive about it.”