European countries are spending more on defense, a think tank says

Associated Press

PRAGUE (AP) — European nations have boosted their defenses in response to the annexation of the Crimea Peninsula in 2014 and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but much remains to be done for them to be ready to face threats from Russia. That’s a conclusion of a new report by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. It was released as European leaders are reassessing their trans-Atlantic relations in Budapest, Hungary in the hope that Donald Trump’s second U.S. presidency will avoid the strife of his first administration and a strong common stance on Russia.