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President Donald Trump is almost daily widening the divide with the US’s traditional allies over Russia’s war on Ukraine, with seismic implications for the West.

The US sided with Russia yesterday in voting against a resolution at the United Nations backed by Ukraine and Europe that condemned Moscow’s invasion exactly three years earlier.

That put the leader of the free world in a select company of 18 states alongside Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua and Sudan. A US resolution that avoided blame was passed at the UN Security Council, making it binding on all members, with support from Russia and China.

The US also opposed a joint statement with Group of Seven allies denouncing Moscow’s aggression, similar to ones issued at previous points in the conflict.

European leaders who gathered in support of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Ukraine yesterday are left struggling to comprehend a changed security environment, in which US interests may align more with autocrats than those of Western partners.

Germany’s incoming chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is warning that Europe shouldn’t count on Trump honoring NATO obligations on mutual defense. We’re hearing that he’s already started talks on as much as €200 billion ($210 billion) in additional defense spending.

Meanwhile, the US continues to press for a deal to gain access to Ukraine’s natural resources, in return for security commitments.

Terms are still being hammered out — Ukraine refused earlier US demands to commit to paying $500 billion — but the sight of a country that’s fighting for its existence having to negotiate essentially at gunpoint has left many observers uneasy.

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers drew comparisons with the post-World War I settlement that punished Germany at Versailles, except that this deal would be “imposed on the victims of aggression.”

The implication was clear: as with Versailles, an unjust peace may lead to another, larger war. — Tony Halpin

WATCH: Trump says he’ll meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon.

Global Must Reads

Trump’s administration is sketching out tougher versions of US semiconductor curbs and pressuring allies to tighten restrictions on China’s chip industry, sources say. It’s an early indication that the US leader plans to expand efforts that began under predecessor Joe Biden to limit Beijing’s technological development.

Trump said tariffs due to hit Canada and Mexico next month were “on time” and “moving along very rapidly” following an initial delay, even as a US official cautioned that the fate of the special 25% levy — tied to border-security demands — was still to be determined. The European Union, meanwhile, is broadening the list of US goods it will target with retaliatory tariffs if Trump follows through on a threat to impose duties on steel and aluminum exports, sources say.

German leader-in-waiting Merz needs to win over Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats — who slumped to their worst result since World War II in Sunday’s election — to forge a viable ruling coalition and says he wants his new government in place within two months. With Scholz likely out of the picture, a new SPD leadership team has started to take shape, with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius set to play a key role, alongside party co-leader Lars Klingbeil.

South Korea’s Constitutional Court started its final hearing today of a trial to decide whether to permanently remove impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol from office for his short-lived declaration of martial law. The hearing began without Yoon and with police heightening security around the court as rallies both for and against the embattled leader continue across the country.

Mark Carney squared off for the first time with his main rival Chrystia Freeland in the race to become Canada’s next prime minister during a TV debate that focused on how to handle Trump. The face-off between the two leading candidates in the Liberal Party leadership contest comes after Justin Trudeau tried to recruit Carney to replace Freeland as finance minister, which led to her stinging resignation.

From left, Liberal leadership candidates Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland, Karina Gould and Frank Baylis at the TV debate yesterday. Photographer: Graham Hughes/Bloomberg

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is seeking to deploy Starlink satellite-internet terminals to help accelerate an upgrade of the information-technology networks that support the US Federal Aviation Administration’s national airspace system, sources say.

Indonesia and Apple have agreed on terms to lift the country’s ban on iPhone 16s, sources say, paving the way to end a five-month tug of war that forced the US tech giant to raise its promised investment in the country to $1 billion.

The Philippines arrested two more suspected Chinese spies and their local cohorts that it said targeted military camps and the presidential palace as it steps up its campaign against espionage amid geopolitical tensions with Beijing.

The global economy is at risk of splintering under Trump’s policy onslaught and could reignite inflation, the head of South Africa’s central bank, Lesetja Kganyago, warned in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

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Chart of the Day

The EU is about to walk back significant chunks of planned environmental, social and governance regulations amid complaints they’re hampering efforts to compete with the US and Asia. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive, has proposed that regulations covering everything from ESG reporting requirements to supply-chain management be watered down to protect business interests in the bloc.

And Finally

Authorities in the Belgian town of Ghent are trying to balance surging tourist numbers with limiting their local impact. A 25% increase in visitors over four years is threatening fallout familiar to other European hotspots, with homes and apartments converted to short-term rentals and a retail landscape bent to the needs of vacationers instead of residents. One key strategy is to convince visitors to explore beyond the city’s historic core. If Ghent succeeds, it could help shape urban tourism elsewhere.

Visitors pack a grandstand at the annual Ghent Festival. Source: Arterra/Universal Images Group Editorial

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