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☆ Aid to Ukraine Is on the Way. Here’s How It Might Help.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Now that the Senate has approved a nearly $61 billion aid package to Ukraine, and with President Biden poised to sign it, desperately needed American weapons could be arriving on the battlefield within days. The weapons package — which has been delayed over political wrangling by House Republicans since last fall — is “a lifeline” for Kyiv’s military, said Yehor Cherniev, the deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament’s national security committee. But it will not include everything that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has asked for as his military struggles to hold firm after two years of war against invading Russian forces. Here is a look at what Ukraine says it needs, what it is expected to get in the American aid package and whether it will be enough to make an immediate difference.

Persons: Biden, Yehor Cherniev, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: House Republicans, Ukrainian Locations: Ukraine, Russian

☆ Ukraine War Helped Push World Military Spending to 35-Year High, Study Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The study, by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, concluded that global military spending reached $2.4 trillion last year — a 6.8 percent increase from 2022. “The unprecedented rise in military spending is a direct response to the global deterioration in peace and security,” said Nan Tian, a senior researcher at the institute, which has tracked military expenditures since at least 1988. He described an “increasingly volatile geopolitical and security landscape.”Ukraine, in its first full year of war with Russia, devoted $64.8 billion to its military in 2023. That accounted for 58 percent of the government’s overall spending last year and 37 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Only seven other countries spent more on military and defense costs than Ukraine in 2023, analysts found.

Persons: spender, ”, Nan Tian Organizations: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Locations: Ukraine, Stockholm, Asia, United States, Russia

☆ Do Tanks Have a Place in 21st-Century Warfare?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The drone combat in Ukraine that is transforming modern warfare has begun taking a deadly toll on one of the most powerful symbols of American military might — the tank — and threatening to rewrite how it will be used in future conflicts. Over the last two months, Russian forces have taken out five of the 31 American-made M1 Abrams tanks that the Pentagon sent to Ukraine last fall, a senior U.S. official said. A vast majority of those are Soviet-era, Russian or Ukrainian-made tanks; only about 140 of those taken out in battle were given to Ukraine by NATO states. And Russia has so far lost more than 2,900 tanks, the Oryx data show, although Ukraine claims that the number exceeds 7,000. German Leopard tanks have also been targeted in Ukraine, with at least 30 having been destroyed, Oryx says.

Persons: Markus Reisner, Abrams, ” Organizations: Abrams, Pentagon, NATO, Leopard, Hudson Institute Locations: Ukraine, U.S, Austrian, Russia, Washington

☆ Middle East Crisis E.U. Will Impose New Sanctions on Iran for Attacking Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Mr. Abu Jayyab said the strike hit less than 10 meters from where the children were playing. Mr. Abu Jayyab said Luji had been eager to meet the new baby that her parents, Mr. Abu Jayyab’s brother and sister-in-law, were expecting. In his grief, Luji’s father decided they would name the baby after her, Mr. Abu Jayyab said. “Doctors say he needs a miracle to survive, and we should prepare ourselves for the bad news,” Mr. Abu Jayyab said in a phone interview. Two of the girls’ cousins, 15-year-old Ahmed and 18-year-old Abdullah, as well as a 60-year-old neighbor were also killed in the strike, Mr. Abu Jayyab said.

Persons: Abu, Yousef Abu Jayyab, Abu Jayyab, ”, Abdel Kareem Hana, Luji, Abu Jayyab’s, Luji’s, Mila, Ahmed, ” Mr, Abdullah, Aric Toler Organizations: Palestinian, The New York Times, Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Associated Press, United Nations Locations: Gaza, Israeli, Al Aqsa, Credit

☆ For Many Western Allies, Sending Weapons to Israel Gets Dicey
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For months, Western governments have provided military support for Israel while fending off accusations that their weapons were being used to commit war crimes in Gaza. But as a global outcry over the growing death toll in Gaza mounts, maintaining that balance is becoming increasingly difficult, as was clear on a single day this past week. On Tuesday, in a United Nations court, Germany found itself having to defend against accusations that it was complicit in genocide against Palestinians in Gaza by exporting weapons to Israel. A few hours later, in Washington, a top Democrat and Biden administration ally, Representative Gregory W. Meeks of New York, said he might block an $18 billion deal to sell F-15 fighter jets to Israel unless he was assured that Palestinian civilians would not be indiscriminately bombed. And two miles away, at a media briefing at the State Department, Britain’s foreign minister, David Cameron, was pressed on what his government had concluded after weeks of internal review about whether Israel has breached international humanitarian law during its offensive in Gaza.

Persons: Gregory W, Meeks, David Cameron Organizations: Israel, United Nations, Biden, State Department Locations: Gaza, Germany, Israel, Washington, New York

☆ C.I.A. Director Is Heading to Cairo for New Truce Talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

During a 30-minute call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, President Biden went further than ever in pressing for change in the military operation. Credit... Fatima Shbair/Associated PressBy the middle of the night in Jerusalem, Israel made its first gestures to Mr. Biden. The reported agreement came as American officials held out the prospect of consequences if Mr. Netanyahu resisted. But Mr. Kirby would not outline specific metrics for judging Israel’s response or what Mr. Biden would do if not satisfied. Mr. Biden called himself “outraged and heartbroken” over the incident and made a point of calling Mr. Andrés to express his condolences.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, President Biden, Biden, Biden’s, “, Netanyahu, ”, Fatima Shbair, Mr, Antony J, Blinken, ” Mr, Chris Coons, Coons, Kamala Harris, Jake Sullivan, Biden “, William J, Burns, Mohammed Saber, John F, Kirby, emboldening, John Hannah, José Andrés, Andrés, Zomi Frankcom, Damian Soból, Barack Obama, Bibi, ” Ben Rhodes, Obama, ” Jon Favreau, doesn’t, ‘, ’, aggravation, Jill Biden, Joe, ” Julian E, Barnes, Katie Rogers, David E, Sanger, Lara Jakes Organizations: Israel, Hamas, Credit, Associated, U.S . National Security Council, NATO, Democratic, CNN, Republican, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Iran, Central Kitchen, Shutterstock, Jewish Institute for National Security of America, Biden, Mr, Israel Defense Forces, White Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rafah, Jerusalem, Ashdod, Jordan, Brussels, Michigan, Washington, Delaware, Iran, Syria, United States, Cairo, “ Hamas, Haiti, Cyprus, U.S, “

☆ NATO Wants to Show Support for Ukraine, but Only So Much
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When NATO’s leaders gather this summer to celebrate the 75th anniversary of their military alliance, the last thing they want to see is a resurgent Russian military marching across Ukraine because Europe was too weak to provide Kyiv with the support it needed. What Ukraine wants, ultimately, is a formal invitation to join NATO. NATO has no appetite for taking on a new member that, because of the alliance’s covenant of collective security, would draw it into the biggest land war in Europe since 1945. That has sent NATO searching for some middle ground, something short of membership but meaty enough to show that it is backing Ukraine “for the long haul,” as Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary general, put it this week. What that will be has so far proven elusive, according to senior Western diplomats involved in the discussions.

Persons: Ukraine “, Jens Stoltenberg Organizations: NATO Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Europe, Washington, NATO

☆ Biden Chides Netanyahu, Threatening to Pivot U.S. Policy
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

During a 30-minute call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, President Biden went further than ever in pressing for change in the military operation. “President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable,” according to a White House summary of the call. But Mr. Kirby would not outline specific metrics for judging Israel’s response or what Mr. Biden would do if not satisfied. Mr. Biden called himself “outraged and heartbroken” over the incident and made a point of calling Mr. Andrés to express his condolences. Bibi obviously doesn’t care what the U.S. says, its about what the U.S. does.”Jon Favreau, a former chief speechwriter for Mr. Obama, was even more derisive of Mr. Biden.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, President Biden, Biden, “, Netanyahu, ”, Fatima Shbair, Antony J, Blinken, ” Mr, Biden’s, Chris Coons, Mr, Coons, Kamala Harris, Jake Sullivan, Biden “, Mohammed Saber, John F, Kirby, emboldening, John Hannah, José Andrés, Andrés, Zomi Frankcom, Damian Soból, Barack Obama, Bibi, ” Ben Rhodes, Obama, ” Jon Favreau, doesn’t, ‘, ’, aggravation, Jill Biden, Joe, Katie Rogers, David E, Sanger, Lara Jakes Organizations: Israel, Hamas, Credit, Associated, NATO, Democratic, CNN, Republican, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Iran, Central Kitchen, Shutterstock, Jewish Institute for National Security of America, Biden, Mr, Israel Defense Forces, White Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rafah, Brussels, Michigan, Washington, Delaware, Jerusalem, Iran, Syria, United States, “ Hamas, Haiti, Cyprus, U.S, “

☆ Ukraine’s Arms Industry Is Growing, but Is It Growing Fast Enough?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine’s military had only one Bohdana artillery cannon in its arsenal when Russia invaded the country two years ago. Now, Ukraine’s arms industry is building eight of the self-propelled Bohdana artillery systems each month, and although officials will not say how many they’ve made in total, the increased output signals a potential boom in the country’s domestic weapons production. Russia’s war machine is already quadrupling weapons production in round-the-clock operations. Ukraine’s forces are losing territory in some key areas, including the strategic eastern town of Avdiivka, where they withdrew from in February. And while European defense firms are gingerly opening operations in Ukraine, major American weapons producers have yet to commit to setting up shop in the middle of a war.

Organizations: NATO Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Avdiivka, U.S

☆ Lloyd Austin Praises NATO Allies for Commitment to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With additional American aid still in doubt, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Tuesday called for “creative, adaptable and sustainable ways” to continue arming Ukraine and praised European allies who were trying to bolster Kyiv’s military as the war against Russia entered a critical stretch. Mr. Austin, in Germany for the start of a semiregular meeting of nearly 50 nations who are supplying Ukraine’s forces, said that allies would “dig deeper to get vital security assistance to Ukraine.” He singled out Denmark, France, Germany and Sweden for recent donations of weapons and noted the Czech Republic’s efforts to provide 800,000 artillery shells — the first tranche of which could arrive on the battlefield within weeks. Germany’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, said Berlin would send Ukraine 10,000 rounds of badly needed artillery shells, 100 armored infantry vehicles and transport equipment in a new infusion of support worth 500 million euros, about $544 million. “Things are progressing sometimes in small steps, sometimes in larger steps, but the main thing is the constant supply of ammunition,” Mr. Pistorius told journalists in Germany, according to local news reports.

Persons: Lloyd J, Austin III, Austin, ”, Boris Pistorius, Mr, Pistorius Organizations: Russia Locations: Ukraine, Germany, Denmark, France, Sweden, Czech, Berlin

☆ Ukraine Could Deploy F-16s as Soon as July, but Only a Few
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The jets are ready, and the flight instructors are waiting, at a new training center in Romania that was created to teach Ukraine’s pilots to fly the F-16 warplane. But the delay is a window into the confusion and chaos that has confronted the military alliance’s rush to supply the F-16s. That is not to say that Ukraine’s pilots are not being prepared. Twelve pilots so far — fewer than a full squadron — are expected to be ready to fly F-16s in combat by this summer after 10 months of training in Denmark, Britain and the United States. But by the time the pilots return to Ukraine, as few as six F-16s will have been delivered out of about 45 of the fighter jets that European allies have promised.

Persons: It’s Organizations: NATO Locations: Romania, Denmark, Britain, United States, Ukraine

The staff member, Kyle Parker, is the senior Senate adviser for the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, known as the Helsinki Commission. The commission is led by members of Congress and staffed by congressional aides. It is influential on matters of democracy and security and has been vocal in supporting Ukraine. A confidential report by the commission’s director and general counsel, which The New York Times reviewed, said that the equipment transfer could make Mr. Parker an unregistered foreign agent. It said that Mr. Parker had traveled Ukraine’s front lines wearing camouflage and Ukrainian military insignia and had hired a Ukrainian official for a U.S. government fellowship over the objections of congressional ethics and security officials.

Persons: Kyle Parker, Parker Organizations: Capitol Hill, U.S . Commission, Security, Cooperation, Helsinki Commission, New York Times Locations: Russia, Europe, Helsinki, Ukraine

☆ For Europe and NATO, a Russian Invasion Is No Longer Unthinkable
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Lara Jakes | Christina Anderson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia once proclaimed the dissolution of the Soviet empire “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.” At the time, back in 2005, few expected him to do anything about it. But then came Russia’s occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia in 2008, its backing for Ukrainian separatists and the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and, most resoundingly, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Now, with the rise of former President Donald J. Trump, who in the past has vowed to leave NATO and recently threatened never to come to the aid of his alliance allies, concerns are rising among European nations that Mr. Putin could invade a NATO nation over the coming decade and that they might have to face his forces without U.S. support. That could happen in as few as five years after a conclusion of the war in Ukraine, according to some officials and experts who believe that would be enough time for Moscow to rebuild and rearm its military.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Donald J, Trump Organizations: Ukrainian, NATO Locations: Russia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Georgia, Crimea, Ukraine, NATO, Moscow

The measure passed after a vote of 287 to 55, with four abstentions in the 600-member body. It will go into effect once it is published in the country’s official gazette, usually a swift formality. That would make Hungary the only NATO member that has not approved Sweden’s accession, depriving the alliance of the unanimity required to add a new member. NATO’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said in a statement late Tuesday that he welcomed the news from Turkey, according to Reuters. But, he said, “I also count on Hungary to complete its national ratification as soon as possible.”

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, “ Organizations: NATO, Nordic, Reuters Locations: Sweden, United States, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Turkey

When Iran launched a barrage of airstrikes this week into Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, it was not just showing off the reach and sophistication of some of its newest missiles but also staking a claim: This is a new era in which Iran can flex its muscles at will and, as an added benefit, bolster its credentials as an important arms supplier. In at least one of the attacks — a strike that Tehran claimed targeted the Islamic State terrorist group in Idlib, Syria — Iran appeared to make use of one of its longest-range and most advanced missiles, the Kheibar Shekan. Both the range and the apparent accuracy seized the attention of national security officials in Europe and Israel, as well as outside experts who track Iran’s technological advances. The combination of its newest missiles and its fleet of drones, which Russia has been purchasing by the thousands for use in Ukraine, has helped Iran become the producer of some of the most sophisticated weaponry in the Middle East. And Tehran’s willingness to intervene — as a supplier to its proxy forces in the region and to Moscow — may well complicate American calculations as the Pentagon considers the question looming over the widening Middle East conflict: Could it lead to a direct conflict with Iran?

Persons: — Organizations: Islamic State, Pentagon Locations: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Tehran, Idlib, Europe, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow

☆ White House Warns Congress That Weapons Money for Ukraine Will Run Out
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Lara Jakes | More About Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Mr. Johnson is leading Republicans who now want the Biden administration to stem the number of migrants entering by tightening U.S. borders in exchange for more funding for Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has long made clear how big a loss it would be to his war effort should American military assistance end. And I believe it will be.”In battlefield interviews, Ukrainian soldiers said the amount of American weapons and other equipment had already begun to drop. In a bunker of a frontline artillery unit more than 150 miles north of Avdiivka, in eastern Ukraine, soldiers recently looked at a screen of Russian armor arrayed across the enemy lines. They only had 20 shells per day allotted to them, which meant they could realistically hope to take out two targets.

Persons: Johnson, Biden, “, Mr, David Cameron, Antony J, Blinken, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, It’s Organizations: Ukraine, NATO Locations: Ukraine, United States, British, Washington, U.S, Europe, Avdiivka

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and top Western diplomats vowed on Wednesday to sustain support for Ukraine and its bid to join NATO despite dwindling military supplies and competing crises. Mr. Blinken’s remarks came at the tail end of a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels, where he and other Western diplomats sought to assuage doubts about Western resolve to help Kyiv amid Russia’s full-scale invasion. A White House proposal to send Ukraine additional emergency aid has stalled in the Republican-led House, and the war in Gaza has consumed global attention. “But the answer here today at NATO is clear, and it’s unwavering. We must and we will continue to support ensuring that Russia’s war of aggression remains a strategic failure.”He added that he expected that President Biden’s request for $61.4 billion in additional military and economic support for Ukraine would be approved by Congress.

Persons: Antony J, Blinken, Blinken’s, ” Mr, Vladimir V, Putin, Biden’s Organizations: NATO, Republican, Congress Locations: Ukraine, Brussels, Gaza, United States, Russia

☆ NATO Leaders Try to Pin Down U.S. on Ukraine Aid as Republicans Waver
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Lara Jakes | More About Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A White House proposal to send Ukraine about $61.4 billion in additional emergency aid — out of an overall $105 billion plan — has stalled in the Republican-led House. That has left the United States with less than $5 billion available to contribute to the war; American military aid to Ukraine has so far totaled about $45 billion in weapons and equipment. The American secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, tried to assuage concerns among NATO leaders. “We will be strongly reaffirming our support for Ukraine as it continues to face Russia’s war of aggression,” Mr. Blinken said a few hours later, as he headed into Tuesday’s meetings. The pointed remarks underscored NATO’s attempts to deter Russia as its war in Ukraine approaches the two-year mark — and as all indications suggest the conflict will likely drag out for far longer.

Persons: —, Antony J, Blinken, “, Mr, NATO’s Organizations: Republican, NATO Locations: Ukraine, United States, Russia, Sweden

☆ Europe Moves to Fill Weapons Gap Amid Doubts About U.S. Commitment to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Lara Jakes | More About Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Faced with growing American reluctance to send more military aid to Ukraine, European leaders are moving to fill the gap, vowing new support for Kyiv as it battles Russia in a war in Europe’s backyard. Several countries — including Germany, Britain and Norway — are increasing production of weapons, especially the artillery ammunition that Ukraine so badly needs. Germany, once a laggard in providing aid to Ukraine, announced a week ago that it planned to double its support to $8.5 billion in 2024 and would deliver more crucial air-defense systems by the end of this year. And European Union states are gearing up to train an additional 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers, bringing the total so far to 40,000. But that may be little comfort to Ukraine, where a counteroffensive against invading Russian forces has stalled as winter approaches, and officials say more support is needed now, even as many countries turn their attention to the Israel-Gaza war.

Persons: Kajsa Ollongren Organizations: Kyiv, Union, Clingendael Institute Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Britain, Norway, Israel, Gaza

☆ Desperate for Air Defense, Ukraine Pushes U.S. for ‘Franken’ Weapons
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Lara Jakes | More About Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With winter approaching, Ukrainian officials are desperate for more air defenses to protect their power grids from Russian strikes that could plunge the country into freezing darkness. So desperate, in fact, that they are willing to experiment with a monster of a weapons system that was the brainchild of Ukraine and is now being pursued by the Pentagon. Americans officials call it the FrankenSAM program, combining advanced, Western-caliber, surface-to-air missiles with refitted Soviet-era launchers or radars that Ukrainian forces already have on hand. Two variants of these improvised air defenses — one pairing Soviet Buk launchers and American Sea Sparrow missiles, the other marrying Soviet-era radars and American Sidewinder missiles — have been tested over the past several months on military bases in the United States and are set to be delivered to Ukraine this fall, officials said. A third, the Cold War-era Hawk missile system, was displayed on Ukraine’s battlefield this week for the first time, in an example of what Laura K. Cooper, a senior U.S. defense official, had described this month as a FrankenSAM “in terms of resurrection” — an air defense relic brought back to life.

Persons: Laura K, Cooper Organizations: Pentagon Locations: Ukraine, Soviet, United States, U.S

With his prime-time vow to send more weapons to both Ukraine and Israel, President Biden sought to make clear on Thursday that the United States was not prioritizing one war over the other. But hours earlier, a Defense Department official said that tens of thousands of 155-millimeter artillery shells promised to Ukraine would be diverted to Israel. Here are three key weapons systems that Israel and Ukraine may need from the United States. Artillery ammunitionPerhaps more than any other weapons, the NATO-standard 155-millimeter shells will be in high demand, as both Israel and Ukraine use them against targets within a few dozen miles. In January, the Pentagon said it would tap into an American stockpile in Israel and ship hundreds of thousands of 155-millimeter shells to Ukraine.

Persons: Biden, “ You’re, ” Sabrina Singh, “, ” Michael J, Morell, Mark F, Rob Bauer, Charlie Dietz, ” Organizations: Defense Department, Pentagon, U.S, Central Intelligence Agency, White, Center for Strategic, International Studies, United States, Artillery, NATO, United, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Locations: Ukraine, Israel, United States, Gaza, Russia, Washington, United, Europe, North, Netherlands

Ukraine’s forces struck two air bases in Russian-held territory on Tuesday with American-supplied long-range missiles that were one of the last major weapons systems that Kyiv had sought from the United States, according to two American officials and a Ukrainian parliamentarian who posted about the attack on social media. They were the first strikes with a weapon known as ATACMS — for advanced, long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems — that President Biden was long reluctant to provide for fear it could escalate the conflict with Russia. But Mr. Biden told President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine during a visit to the White House in September that he had agreed to provide the missiles, albeit a version limited in range, according to officials familiar with the conversation. “ATACMS is already with us,” a Ukrainian lawmaker, Oleksiy Goncharenko, wrote Tuesday on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. He said that an airfield in the Russian-controlled city of Berdiansk “was hit by them.”

Persons: Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, ATACMS, ”, Oleksiy Goncharenko, Berdiansk “ Organizations: Tactical Missile Systems, White House, Twitter Locations: Russian, United States, Ukrainian, Russia, Ukraine, Berdiansk

☆ Europe Made a Bold Pledge of Ammunition for Ukraine. Now Comes the Hard Part.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Lara Jakes | More About Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The pledge last March sounded as catchy as it was ambitious: European Union states would deliver a million rounds of 155-millimeter ammunition to Ukraine within a year. Europe’s shrunken military sector, they say, may simply be unable to ramp up production fast enough to achieve the million-shell goal. Since March, governments across Europe have become more aggressive about assessing — and replenishing — ammunition needs, not just for Ukraine, but also for their own military stockpiles. Manufacturers are building 155-millimeter rounds even before being fully paid. And European Union officials have fast-tracked at least eight contracts with producers on the continent to supply and reimburse states that jointly procure artillery ammunition instead of competing for it.

Organizations: European Union Locations: Ukraine, Europe

The images of Russian troops retreating from a village in Ukraine under fire leave little doubt of the impact of cluster munitions. An armored vehicle speeding down a road before being hit in a cascade of simultaneous eruptions salting the surrounding ground. By embracing cluster munitions to keep this summer’s counteroffensive moving forward, Ukraine and the United States have opened themselves to human rights concerns about their long-term threat to civilians who inadvertently trigger unexploded bombs. One official said the weapons were key to helping Ukraine maintain the momentum its troops just recently gained on the southern front against Russian forces. All three of the officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.

Persons: Biden Organizations: The New York Times, Russian Locations: Ukraine, Urozhaine, United States

There he was in Denmark, praising the government for “helping Ukraine to become invincible” with its pledge to send 19 jets. In Athens, he said Greece’s offer to train Ukrainian pilots would “help us fight for our freedom.” Within days of returning to Kyiv, Mr. Zelensky had secured promises from a half-dozen countries to either donate the jets — potentially more than 60 — or provide training for pilots and support crew. “It is important and necessary,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store of Norway told Mr. Zelensky in Kyiv, announcing that his government would provide an undetermined number of the jets — probably 10 or fewer — in the future. It was a remarkable victory lap for a sophisticated attack aircraft that even Ukraine’s defense minister has acknowledged is unlikely to perform in combat until next spring — and then only for the few pilots who can understand English well enough to fly it. With Ukraine’s counteroffensive grinding ahead slowly this summer, Mr. Zelensky’s airy announcements of securing the F-16s signal a tacit acknowledgment that the 18-month war in Ukraine will likely endure for years to come.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Jonas Gahr Organizations: ” Locations: Ukraine, Netherlands, Denmark, “, Athens, Kyiv, Norway

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