Rural voting habits, military aid for Ukraine, and our new website

What’s six months among friends? The United States Congress finally voted on more than $60bn [€56bn] in fresh military aid for Ukraine, finding a way around campaign-year politicking that includes more than a few Russian-friendly Republicans. That combined with the new billions from European Union should give Ukraine a boost on the battlefield. We shall see.

Given how many Republicans — a majority, in fact — still voted against the bill, Ukraine and its supporters should only be breathing a partial sigh of relief. The next round of money might be after November elections, and who knows what American foreign policy will look like depending on the results. That leaves the EU stuck in the unpleasant position it has found itself, trying to lead a dance it was always meant to follow.

Martin’s got some more information on the latest far-right shenanigans around the EU, including a high-level arrest on charges of spying for China. Xi Jinping, however, is no match for our fearless leader — EUobserver’s editor-in-chief Alejandro Tauber, who joins Euroscopic to talk about the site’s brand-new redesign and why it matters as an independent operation in an age of fragmented media.

Plus, Lorenzo Buzzoni tells us about his reporting that has analyzed rural voting habits across the EU. The article he co-authored appeared recently on EUobserver.

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