“The retirement of aging equipment” is needed as the U.K. looks to “transition to new capabilities and make our armed forces fit for the future,” Healey said. Under the plan, two assault ships, the HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, will be taken out of service a decade early, while logistics vessels RFA Wave Knight and … Read more
“Don’t expect any competition between myself and NATO,” Kubilius said. “Where the EU can be of assistance … is … on the development of resources for [the] development of defense plans. We can raise money … that is what NATO cannot do.” “With the resources we have now, in the 10 days we’d spend waiting … Read more
Attacks on Ukraine’s nuclear plants would be particularly serious, said Kharchenko, the analyst. Kyiv’s reactors currently provide 60 percent of the country’s total power output and any missile strikes on the energy infrastructure supporting those plants could put them out of commission. Last month, Ukraine urged the European Union for help, fearing Russia would soon … Read more
“We need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint. Iran should not respond,” Starmer said at the Commonwealth summit in Samoa. Saudi Arabia condemned the attacks against Iran, the Saudi Press Agency said on Saturday, against the backdrop of improved relations between Riyadh and Tehran. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia … Read more
An Israeli airstrike Friday on a refugee camp in northern Gaza killed at least 33 people including 21 women, the BBC reported, citing the Gaza Strip’s Hamas-run health authorities. Qatar-based Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya reiterated the Palestinian group’s position that no hostages would be released “unless the aggression against our people in Gaza stops,” France24 reported. Iran’s Supreme Leader … Read more
BERLIN — War is taking its toll on Russia, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in Berlin on Friday — but there’s little sign major Western allies are about to raise their military commitments to Ukraine or offer a snap invitation to join NATO. “While the situation is incredibly tough, it is also true that Russia … Read more
Astonishingly scything through arch-foe Hezbollah’s upper echelons, remorselessly picking off leaders and military commanders one after another, Israel’s becoming increasingly bullish, convinced the disaster of Oct. 7 is being paid back. Israel is being made safer, victory snatched from the jaws of defeat — or so its leaders argue. And soon, they believe, it will … Read more
“The enemy once again used its drones against Kyiv,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said in a post on Telegram. “Russian drones entered the capital of Ukraine in several waves and from different directions.” The State Emergency Service said one person was wounded and warehouses and cargo trucks were damaged in Odessa during the … Read more
The U.K. has suspended some arms sales to Israel, while the U.S. has stopped one arms shipment. Macron also criticized the failure of diplomatic efforts to reach a cease-fire in Gaza. “I think we are not being heard,” Macron said, calling the lack of a cease-fire “a mistake, including for the security of Israel tomorrow.” … Read more
As the Iranian minister met with Lebanese and Hezbollah officials in Beirut, Israel continued to pick off top Hezbollah commanders with airstrikes. Hashem Safieddine, seen as Nasrallah’s most likely successor, was possibly among the dead in a series punishing Israeli attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut this week. Israeli officials say they are still … Read more
