“Ukraine needs any weapon its troops can learn to use, including tanks, to hold the line on the international order and the world’s safety.” “Some NATO nations are wavering about sending tanks and other advanced weapons to Ukraine. I understand fears of escalation, but if Russia wins in Ukraine, the world will lose. …” Click here for: “To Defend Civilization, […]
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“… Ukraine has won repeated and decisive victories …, clawed back some of its lands and cities and withstood lethal assaults on … infrastructure[] [but] the war is at a stalemate. Still, the fighting rages on, including a ferocious battle for … Bakhmut in … eastern Donetsk …. Cruel, seemingly random Russian missile strikes at civilian targets have become a […]
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“… Plans to send German-made Leopard tanks and UK Challengers to the front lines here in the Donbas have been greeted with visible excitement by Ukrainian forces, who have been taking heavy casualties in recent weeks, around Bakhmut, and, more particularly, during the ferocious struggle for the nearby town of Soledar. … The war in Ukraine has, in many ways, […]
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“The recently-approved Patriot air missile defense system from the United States is heading to Ukraine, but the timeline for … delivery and implementation remains vague. The missile defense system is the standout piece of an additional $1.85 billion in security assistance announced by [DOD] … Wednesday simultaneously as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington D.C. …. While … Putin dismissed […]
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“… Here is some of what is in the bill … $9 billion to arm, equip and train Ukrainian forces …. on top of the nearly $20 billion in [U.S.] military hardware … already sent …. $7 billion … to fund the surge of U.S. troops and gear to Europe …. $687 million for Army ammunition plants[] to build capacity […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Dec. 5, 2022) While rightly helping Ukraine to defend itself, the Pentagon and weapons contractors should not be allowed to exploit the crisis to expand the U.S. arms industry “in ways that go far beyond what is needed to help Ukraine in its current conflict,” according to William Hartung of the Quincy Institute for Responsible […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Mark N. Katz, Vlad Wallace – Dec. 1, 2022) Mark N. Katz is a professor of government and politics at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author. Student associate Vlad Wallace researched and […]
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“… Top European officials are furious with Joe Biden’s administration … accus[ing] … Americans of making a fortune from the war, while EU countries suffer. … The biggest point of tension [recently]… has been Biden’s green subsidies and taxes that Brussels says unfairly tilt trade away from the EU and threaten to destroy European industries. Despite formal [European] objections … […]
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“Western and Ukrainian officials have said Moscow’s stockpile of missiles was dwindling. But the assaults this week raise questions about that.” “The 96-missile barrage fired across Ukraine on Tuesday was Russia’s biggest aerial attack of the war …. Whether… long planned, as Ukrainian commanders say … a deadly response to Kyiv’s recapture of … Kherson … [it] raises questions about […]
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“The mishap in Poland should concentrate minds on tackling the cause of the conflict” “The rocket that landed in Poland on November 15th, killing two people, was … not … from Russia. But the Ukrainian interceptor which fell to the ground would never have been launched were it not for Russia’s brutal aerial assault on Ukraine that day — its […]
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(U.S. Department of Defense – Oct. 31, 2022) SENIOR MILITARY OFFICIAL: Thanks very much for joining us. Today’s background briefers will include [REDACTED] and me, [REDACTED]. For attribution, please refer to [REDACTED] as “a senior defense official,” and to me as “a senior military official”. And with that, I will turn it over to the senior defense official for opening […]
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“Moscow’s systematic targeting of the country’s energy infrastructure threatens residents’ ability to survive through the winter.” “A second front has opened … as Russia attempts to destroy [Ukraine’s] energy infrastructure hundreds of miles … from the military battlefield …. Kyiv says the systematic destruction of power stations and heating infrastructure across the country … aims to bend Ukrainians’ will by […]
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“In an effort to overcome Biden administration resistance to providing it with a new set of powerful, long-range rocket systems, the Ukrainian government [reportedly] is now offering the U.S. full and ongoing visibility into their list of intended Russian targets …. essentially giv[ing] the U.S. veto power over Ukrainian targeting of Russia … [That step seeks] to convince the [U.S.] […]
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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg held a special meeting of the alliance’s arms directors to discuss ways to refill member nations’ weapons stockpiles. But ramping up defense production is no quick or easy feat. The U.S. has been by far the largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia, providing $15.2 billion in weapons packages to date […]
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“Throughout … July, Europe’s six largest countries[, the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland, reportedly] offered Ukraine no new bilateral military commitments … the first month that … happened since Russia invaded in February. … [D]espite historic shifts in European defense policy — which have seen once reluctant countries like France and Germany ship arms to Ukraine — military […]
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(Moscow Times – August 18, 2022) Major European governments promised no new military aid to Ukraine in July, the first month this has happened since Russia invaded its pro-Western neighbor, according to research published Thursday. Ukraine, which relies heavily on Europe’s military and economic aid, received only around 1.5 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in new pledges of support in July, […]
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“Ukraine says peace talks will not happen until it has more advanced military capabilities to take on Russia.” “A top advisor to … Zelenskyy and … chief negotiator on [Ukrainian] peace talks with Russia, Mykhailo Podolyak, said … there are four ‘components’ Kyiv needs before negotiations with Moscow can continue – all … [relating to] advanced military equipment. … [such […]
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“Sergei Lavrov aims to combat idea that Ukraine invasion has caused higher food and fertiliser prices.” “… Lavrov’s tour of Egypt, Republic of Congo, Uganda and Ethiopia comes as African countries struggle with soaring food and fertiliser prices. … [T]he west has sought to isolate Moscow over [Ukraine]… [yet] the welcome [Lavrov] has received has shown the strength of [Russia’s] […]
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“U.S., its allies study Europe’s biggest conflict in decades; ‘You can’t cyber your way across a river’” “…. Defense planners are studying weapons, tactics, logistics and other factors …. The conflict … has become something of a laboratory for professional soldiers[,] … so deadly … the first big war to play out in near-real-time …. [and] the first in decades […]
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“… [Western] help is desperately needed. In recent weeks Ukraine has made some gains …. small consolations next to the steady gains that Russia’s army has made in the … Donbas. … Russia’s army is concentrating its forces and using them more methodically than it did in the first stage of the conflict …. Russia also has a big advantage […]
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“President tells FT conference western sanctions ‘have not really influenced’ Moscow’s position.” “… Zelensky said a stalemate in the war with Russia was ‘not an option for us’ as he once more appealed for western military support to restore his country’s territorial integrity. ‘We are inferior in terms of equipment and therefore we are not capable of advancing,’ … ‘We […]
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“…. ‘ The Pentagon said it would send a first consignment of four m142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (himars) …. Each carries a pod of six gps-guided missiles, accurate over distances as far as 70-84km — about three times the range of the howitzers … America has supplied thus far. … Germany and Britain [reportedly] are likely to provide […]
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“Governments see Ukrainian success offering chance of curbing Russian expansionism.” “Ukraine’s military successes against Russia have transformed [Western] calculations … leading to a sharp increase in military help for Kyiv as a war that started with Western efforts at damage control … [now] offers a strategic opportunity to constrain Russia[n] expansionis[m] …. [Western] allies are now shipping large volumes of […]
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“Russia told the United States to stop sending more arms to Ukraine, warning that large Western deliveries of weapons were inflaming the conflict and would lead to more losses …. Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands … displaced millions … and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the United States …. The United States […]
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“The formal diplomatic note from Moscow, a copy of which was reviewed by The Washington Post, came as President Biden approved a dramatic expansion in the scope of weapons being provided to the government in Kyiv.” “… [The] expansion in … weapons … provided to Ukraine[] [features] an $800 million package including 155 mm howitzers … coastal defense drones … […]
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“Navigating between aiding Ukraine and avoiding an escalation with Moscow has led to a tangle of decisions and sometimes tortured distinctions over weapons and other elements of policy.” “… [T]he tenuous balance the Biden administration has tried to maintain as it seeks to help Ukraine lock Russia in a quagmire without inciting a broader conflict … or … cutting off […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jan. 20, 2022) The United States has given the green light for Baltic nations to rush U.S.-made weapons to Ukraine, with Lithuania on Thursday saying it hoped to deter “aggressor” Russia. A State Department official in Berlin, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken is holding crisis talks on Ukraine, said Washington was “expediting authorized transfers […]
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Moscow could once again be dangling a defense deal in front of Tehran to get what it wants elsewhere […]
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To address a rising China, Washington has set up the QUAD security dialogue with India, Japan, and Australia, raising concerns in both Beijing and Moscow […]
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“Russia is reportedly stepping up … involvement in the Libyan civil war … in recent years … a heated proxy conflict drawing in numerous foreign players … [with] a range of motives. … U.S. Africa Command issued a statement, … with satellite imagery, accusing Russia of deploying 14 fighter jets to Libya in support of the Wagner Group, a Russian […]
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“… ‘[DOD] announced … plans for $250 million in Fiscal Year 2020 Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds for additional training, equipment, and advisory efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s capacity to more effectively defend itself against Russian aggression,’ the Pentagon said in a statement …. the ‘funds — $125 million of which was conditional on Ukraine’s progress on defense reforms — […]
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(Oilprice.com – Vanand Meliksetian – Oct. 17, 2019) Virtually all great powers have set their eyes on Africa as the continent’s global importance grows. Its population is set to double by 2050 and its economy is expected to expand significantly alongside its energy consumption. It is these projections that have driven Russia to invest heavily in strong relations in the […]
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“India and Russia have agreed on a new payment method through their national currencies for multi-billion-dollar defense deals … [seeking] to avoid risks created by the U.S. threat of sanctions and banking restrictions. … [and to] enable India to pay the first installment … for two warships … Russia is building for its navy …. Defense contracts will be settled […]
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(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Dec. 10, 2018 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/putin-calls-us-senator-mccain-old-world-but-admires-his-patriotism/28537171.html) The United States remains the global leader in arms sales, while Russia has surpassed Britain to take the No. 2 spot as it attempts to modernize its military, a leading research group says. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said on […]
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“… The Israeli government rejected the accusations and even sent a defence delegation to Russia to provide clarification. Its efforts, however, do not seem to have pacified the Russian defence ministry, which on September 24 announced that it was going to deploy a modern S-300 system to Syria. This could curb Israel’s ability to launch air operations in Syria and […]
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“… [Russia] plans to send a powerful air-defense system to Syria, escalating tensions with Israel following the downing of a Russian war plane last week that the Kremlin has blamed on Israeli forces. Syrian air defense systems shot down the Russian reconnaissance plane, killing 15 service members on board, as they defended against Israeli military jets that were attacking Iranian […]
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“The U.S. has delivered …Javelin anti-tank busters to Ukraine … the first provision of lethal weaponry to Kiev despite warnings from Moscow …. [T]he handheld fire-and-forget precision Javelin systems stand to help Ukraine’s army repel future attacks by Russian-backed militants who seized control over Far Eastern breakaway regions in 2014 after Moscow occupied Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. U.S. and Ukrainian officials […]
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“On April 30, the U.S. Department of State confirmed … the delivery of Javelin antitank missile systems to Ukraine. This issue has been long-standing: the Obama administration refused to send the weapons to Kyiv, while President Donald Trump changed course. Some experts warn that giving Ukraine lethal defensive weapons will only enrage the Russians and escalate the war, while others, […]
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“… Erdogan received … Putin in Ankara … with a crowded agenda … including … Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, the purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defence system and progress with the TurkStream natural gas pipeline …. even more challenging … with the scheduled arrival of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and … the complicated task of finding an end-game […]
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“The Trump administration last week announced updated sanctions on Russian individuals and companies …. Since 2015, the conflict in eastern Ukraine has continued to simmer, with no apparent political solution on the horizon. The seizure of territory has largely ended, leaving both sides vexed at their failure to achieve their objectives. The U.S. decision in late 2017 to provide the […]
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MOSCOW. Jan 9 (Interfax) – The drones that attacked Russia’s military bases in Syria could have been shipped to the country only from the United States, Russian Federation Council Defense and Security Committee head Viktor Bondarev said. “I think it’s clear to everyone who stands behind the militants. Only a technologically powerful state could have supplied the drones that bombarded […]
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“U.S. officials are preparing to test Moscow’s willingness to end the Ukraine conflict by seeking Russia’s approval for 20,000 peacekeepers across Ukraine’s embattled east, U.S. and Western officials said. … driven by hopes in some Western capitals, including Paris and Berlin, that … Putin is seeking a way out of Moscow’s military support to Ukrainian separatists. * * * … U.S. officials […]
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“The … Senate passed … the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, authorizing the provision to Ukraine of $500 million worth of military aid, including lethal defensive weapons. … approved 89 to 8 votes, [the bill] will now go to the president’s desk … [it passed] the House … on July 14. * * * The executive summary … [says] that half of the $500 million … will be withheld until […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Tobin Harshaw – April 25, 2017) Tobin Harshaw writes editorials on national security, education and food for Bloomberg View. He was an editor with the op-ed page of the New York Times and the paper’s letters editor. Russian President Vladimir #Putin is mighty proud of his #military’s performance in #Syria. And, as I have written, it’s […]
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“National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said he hopes that the new U.S. administration will make a decision on granting lethal weapons to Ukraine. ‘I do think that Ukraine has a chance to get lethal weapons. … The position of the Republican Party towards Ukraine is sufficiently clear and consistent. All their votes in the Congress and […]
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When Iran took delivery of the first parts of an advanced Russian air defense system this month, it paraded the anti-aircraft missile launchers … to mark Army Day. … the Kremlin’s decision a year ago to press ahead with the stalled sale of the S-300 system was the first clear evidence of a growing partnership between Russia and Iran that […]
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MOSCOW. March 16 (Interfax) – Yet another humanitarian aid convoy for Donbas residents is due to be sent on March 24, said Vladimir Puchkov, Russia’s Emergency Situations Minister. “We are now readying yet another humanitarian convoy. We are completing all necessary preparatory procedures, coordinating with the International Committee of the Red Cross, committees from Kyiv, a convoy is planned for […]
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The Washington Post reports on old, second-rate U.S. equipment being given to Ukraine. The United States has delivered more than $260 million in nonlethal military equipment to help the government of Ukraine in its fight against a Russian-backed insurgency, but some of the U.S.-supplied gear meant to protect and transport Ukrainian military forces is little more than junk. … for […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – WASHINGTON – November 10, 2015) Congress has passed a defense policy bill that authorizes up to $50 million in lethal military aid for Ukraine and mandates a White House response if Russia is deemed to be violating a key arms control treaty. The White House said hours after the $607 billion bill was passed by the […]
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