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Vladimir Putin has congratulated Donald Trump on winning the US election, and expressed admiration for the way Trump reacted to an assassination attempt during the campaign. He also said he was ready for dialogue with Trump, a prospect which will cause disquiet in Kyiv and many other European capitals.

Putin gave his first public remarks on Trump’s win on Thursday evening during a discussion forum in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. His words seemed calibrated to appeal to the president-elect’s well-documented fondness for flattery.

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Putin also claimed Trump had been “hounded by all sides” during the campaign, another line that is likely to resonate well with Trump, and offered his congratulations on the victory. He highlighted Trump’s remarks on Ukraine and Russia. “What was said about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to bring about the end of the Ukrainian crisis in my opinion this deserves attention at least,” said Putin.

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In anticipation of a Trump victory, there have already been efforts to try to ensure continued support for Ukraine, continuity in NATO and to craft a response should Mr. Trump make good on his threat to apply blanket tariffs on goods imported into the United States.

But the Europeans have a long way to go. A second Trump presidency could serve as a catalyst for Europe to fortify itself in the face of a more undependable America. But it is far from clear the continent is prepared to seize that moment.

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“A Trump victory is very painful for Europeans, as it confronts them with a question they’ve tried hard to hide from: ‘How do we deal with a United States that sees us more as a competitor and a nuisance than a friend to work with?’” said Georgina Wright, deputy director for International Studies at the Institut Montaigne in Paris. “It should unite Europe, but that does not mean Europe necessarily will unite.”

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The world is still underestimating the risk of catastrophic climate breakdown and ecosystem collapse, the UN secretary general has warned in the run-up to Cop29, acknowledging that the rise in global heating is on course to soar past 1.5C (2.7F) over pre-industrial levels in the coming years.

Humanity is approaching potentially irreversible tipping points such as the collapse of the Amazon rainforest and the Greenland ice sheet as global temperatures rise, António Guterres has said, warning that governments are not making the deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions needed to limit warming to safe levels.

Speaking to the Guardian, the UN secretary general said that a second US departure from the Paris climate agreement under a new Donald Trump presidency would risk crippling the process but said the accord would survive.

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The U.S. will send Ukraine the full $6 billion in outstanding military aid before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said at a briefing on Nov. 7.

Previously, Politico reported that U.S. President Joe Biden was rushing to deliver the remaining $6 billion by the end of his term out of fear that a Trump administration might halt weapons shipments to Ukraine.

Ukraine will receive $4 billion under the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which pulls weapons from U.S. stocks, and $2 billion from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), Singh told reporters.

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Kamala Harris’s resounding defeat affirmed the worst of what many Black women believed about their country, even as some looked to the future with a wary determination.

Black women could see the mountaintop.

Across the country, they led an outpouring of Democratic elation when the vice president took over the top of the presidential ticket. But underneath their hope and determination was a persistent worry: Was America ready, they asked, to elect a Black woman?

The painful answer arrived this week.

It affirmed the worst of what many Black women believed about their country: that it would rather choose a man who was convicted of 34 felonies, has spewed lies and falsehoods, disparaged women and people of color, and pledged to use the powers of the federal government to punish his political opponents than send a woman of color to the White House.

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Though doubt looms over Trump's moves in the coming months, his warm relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his September claim that Ukraine was "demolished" and its people "dead" have left Kyiv worried.

In his victory speech in Florida, Republican party leader Trump did not directly mention the war in Ukraine but reminded the cheering crowd that the U.S. saw "no wars" during his first presidential term from 2017 to 2021 before Joe Biden, the Democratic party's outgoing president, succeeded him.

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The Kyiv Independent asked six Ukrainian servicemen for their reaction to Trump's victory.

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In his speech declaring victory in the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 6, Donald Trump made no mention of Ukraine yet alluded to just how consequential his second term in office will likely be for the country ravaged by Russia’s invasion.

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How does Trump plan to stop Russia's war against Ukraine?

That's the million-dollar question that is undoubtedly being discussed in capitals worldwide, not least in Kyiv and Moscow.

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Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has reassured her country that “there’s nothing to worry about” after Donald Trump’s stunning victory in the US presidential election.

But Trump’s extreme campaign promises have left Mexico bracing for punishing tariffs, mass migrant deportations – and even the far-fetched but alarming suggestion of US military strikes on organised crime groups in Mexican territory.

Addressing reporters at her daily press conference, the Mexican leader said: “We are a free, independent, sovereign country and there will be good relations with the United States. I am convinced of this.”

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Two recent videos have sought to undermine confidence in the security of the vote.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia is behind a video that appeared on social media this week falsely claiming that Haitians illegally voted multiple times for Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia.

The U.S. government issued a new warning on Friday, one that followed another video that began circulating a week ago falsely claiming that ballots in Pennsylvania were destroyed.

Officials say foreign powers are working to undermine faith in the election, and government agencies in charge of protecting the vote have said the torrent of false claims is greater than before.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the F.B.I. released a joint statement on Friday saying the video was the work of Russia.

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A murdered priest, a beheaded mayor, car bombs and an all-out cartel war have stained Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s first month in office.

The killings have had a higher shock value reminiscent of the late 2000s, when Felipe Calderon’s administration launched a war against drug cartels. Back then, decapitations and hangings were common sights in Mexican newspapers.

Sheinbaum inherited the security crisis from her predecessor and mentor, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. But recent high-impact, violent crimes have put pressure on the new leader to deliver results on the security front — and fast. Barely one month into her administration, experts are questioning whether her plan is enough to rein in the nonstop violence.

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Washington announced on Nov. 1 a new military aid package for Kyiv worth $425 million, according to a U.S. Defense Department press release.

The day prior, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a joint press conference that the U.S. would "soon" provide Ukraine with another aid package in light of North Korean troops' involvement in Russia's war.

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The aid list includes munitions for NASAMS missile systems, Stinger missiles, ammunition for HIMARS rocket systems, tube-launched, optically tracked, and wire-guided (TOW) missiles, Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems, as well as 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition.

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Weapons supplies are no longer Ukraine’s main disadvantage, American military officials say.

American military and intelligence officials have concluded that the war in Ukraine is no longer a stalemate as Russia makes steady gains, and the sense of pessimism in Kyiv and Washington is deepening.

The dip in morale and questions about whether American support will continue pose their own threat to Ukraine’s war effort. Ukraine is losing territory in the east, and its forces inside Russia have been partially pushed back.

The Ukrainian military is struggling to recruit soldiers and equip new units. The number of its soldiers killed in action, about 57,000, is half of Russia’s losses but still significant for the much smaller country.

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If U.S. support for Ukraine remains strong until next summer, Kyiv could have an opportunity to take advantage of Russia’s weaknesses and expected shortfalls in soldiers and tanks, American officials say.

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