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The spokesman, John F. Kirby, said Ukraine had a critical need for Patriot interceptor missiles as Russia has accelerated attacks against cities and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. “This decision demonstrates our commitment to supporting our partners when they’re in existential danger,” Mr. Kirby told reporters. He said the move would not affect weapons shipments to Israel or Taiwan. The Patriot is the Pentagon’s standard air-defense system for ground forces to defend against airborne threats. The United States first sent a Patriot battery to Ukraine in December 2022.

Persons: Biden, John F, Kirby, Mr Organizations: United States, Patriot Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Taiwan

☆ A new Howitzer ammo plant nearly doubles US production, but it's still not nearly enough to match Russia's output
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewThe US has opened a new factory for Howitzer ammo near Dallas, which aims to pump out 30,000 of the 155mm shells a month as the Ukraine war chews through Western stocks. The new facility at max capacity would bump total production to 66,000 shells a month for the US. Kofman told the outlet that while the Mesquite plant would be important for long-term production, Russia would likely still be producing more ammo than the West even if the US hits its 2025 goal. The US and Europe have sent Ukraine more than 3 million 155mm artillery shells since the war began. With Washington and its allies expected to produce about 1.3 million rounds in 2024, that would be about a third of Russia's forecast capacity at triple the cost.

Persons: —, John Ismay, Ismay, Michael Kofman, That's, Kofman, Doug Bush Organizations: Service, General Dynamics, The New York Times, Business, Texas, US Army, CNN, Kyiv, Carnegie Endowment, International, European Union, Sky News, Bain & Company, Washington, Press, Pentagon Locations: Dallas, Ukraine, Mesquite , Texas, The, Pennsylvania, Moscow, Kyiv . Washington, Israel, Europe, Russia, Mesquite, Kyiv

☆ The US gave sensitive plans for over 1,000 American weapons to Ukraine, says 2 officials who gave only a cryptic hint as to what they are: report
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Two senior US officials told the NYT that Washington has sent plans for more than 1,000 weapons to Ukraine. The officials declined to say which weapons plans were included, but left a clue, per the NYT. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementThe US has given Ukraine manufacturing plans for more than 1,000 American weapons in hopes of helping Kyiv bolster its own arms production, two officials told The New York Times. The military officials told NYT's John Ismay of the transfer during a reporting visit to a new factory for Howitzer artillery shells near Dallas.

Persons: —, NYT's John Ismay, William A, Douglas R, Bush Organizations: Washington, Service, New York Times, Defense, Army, Acquisition, Logistics, Technology, Business Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Dallas

In a warehouse off Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway in an industrial area outside Dallas, the future of American military ammunition production is coming online. Here, in the Pentagon’s first new major arms plant built since Russia invaded Ukraine, Turkish workers in orange hard hats are busy unpacking wood crates stenciled with the name Repkon, a defense company based in Istanbul, and assembling computer-controlled robots and lathes. The factory will soon turn out about 30,000 steel shells every month for the 155-millimeter howitzers that have become crucial to Kyiv’s war effort. Ukraine fired between 4,000 and 7,000 such shells daily for several months in 2023, according to NATO’s secretary-general, before infighting among House Republicans held up further funding for Pentagon arms shipments. Large shipments of American artillery ammunition resumed in April after Congress passed an aid package that included $61 billion to Ukraine.

Organizations: Republicans, Pentagon Locations: Dallas, Russia, Ukraine, Istanbul

YouTube YouTube TikTok TikTok TikTok TikTok YouTube Visual Investigations How a Haitian Gang Is Trying to Turn Itself Into a Militia Dozens of 5 Segonn members dance in a music video. It’s typically carried by militaries and hasn’t been seen being used before by the 5 Segonn gang. It’s typically carried by militaries and hasn’t been seen being used before by the 5 Segonn gang. A group of 5 Segonn gang members dressed in tactical gear. TikTok TikTok TikTok TikTok YouTube YouTube YouTube TikTok TikTok On social media, Izo often posts videos of himself dancing and drinking.

Persons: hasn’t, Jovenel Moïse, Ariel Henry, Johnson André, TikTok, Izo, They’ve, Gustavo Petro, Moïse’s, Dimitri Hérard, Hérard, Izo’s Organizations: YouTube YouTube, Kenyan, The New York Times, Gang, PORT, PRINCE, Prince Bay Gang, Prince, Global, Transnational, Rights, Human Rights Defence Network, Human Rights, Integrated, YouTube, of, Los Angeles Crips, Toyota, Haitian National Police, Haitian Army, Times, Associated, The Justice Department, State Department, Facebook Locations: Belgian, Haiti, Port, Dominican Republic, Prince Bay HAITI, PRINCE HAITI, U.S, America, Dieu, Izo’s, United States, Colombia, Haitian, South, Central America, Brazil, Latin America, Europe, Izo, Western

☆ Army Officer Resigns in Protest of ‘Unqualified’ U.S. Support to Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( John Ismay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An Army officer assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency has resigned in protest over the United States’ support for Israel, which he said had “enabled and empowered” the killing of Palestinian civilians. The officer, Maj. Harrison Mann, announced his resignation and explained his reasons for leaving the service in a post on the social media site LinkedIn on Monday. According to his biography on the site, he has specialized in the Middle East and Africa for about half of his 13-year career and previously served at the U.S. Embassy in Tunis. “The policy that has never been far from my mind for the past six months is the nearly unqualified support for the government of Israel, which has enabled and empowered the killing and starvation of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians,” Major Mann wrote in the post, which noted that he had previously emailed his comments to co-workers on April 16. “This unconditional support also encourages reckless escalation that risks wider war.”

Persons: Harrison Mann, ” Major Mann, ” Organizations: Army, Defense Intelligence Agency, Israel, U.S, Embassy Locations: United States, East, Africa, Tunis, “, Israel

☆ A Brief History of the 2,000-Pound Bombs Central to U.S.-Israeli Tensions
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( John Ismay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When President Biden threatened to pause some weapons shipments to Israel if it invaded the southern Gaza city of Rafah, the devastating effects of one weapon were of particular concern to him. “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs,” Mr. Biden said in remarks to CNN this week. He was referring to U.S.-made 2,000-pound aerial weapons, the largest in the Pentagon’s Mark 80 series of bombs. In the military’s banal lexicon, the Mark 80s are “general purpose” bombs, meaning that they can be used on almost any target the military typically expects to encounter in war. In addition to the 2,000-pound Mk-84, they also come in 250-pound, 500-pound and 1,000-pound versions — the Mk-81, Mk-82 and Mk-83.

Persons: Biden, Mr Organizations: “, CNN Locations: Israel, Gaza, Rafah, U.S

A U.S. Army soldier has been detained by Russian authorities in the port city Vladivostok on charges of criminal misconduct, the State and Defense Departments said on Monday, adding what is likely to be another complication in the contentious relationship between Moscow and Washington. A military official identified the soldier as Staff Sgt. He was apprehended on May 2, and Russia notified the State Department of the soldier’s “criminal detention” in accordance with international agreements between the two nations. “The Army notified his family, and the U.S. Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia,” Cynthia O. Smith, an Army spokeswoman, said in a statement. A State Department official reiterated the U.S. government’s warning for Americans not to travel to Russia.

Persons: Gordon Black, ” Cynthia O, Smith, Sergeant Black Organizations: U.S . Army, State and Defense, State Department of, Army, U.S . Department of State, State Department, NBC News Locations: Vladivostok, Moscow, Washington, Fort Cavazos, Texas, South Korea, Russia

☆ The Death of a Treaty Could Be a Lifesaver for Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( John Ismay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

During a military exercise with the Philippines that began last month, the U.S. Army deployed a new type of covert weapon that is designed to be hidden in plain sight. Called Typhon, it consists of a modified 40-foot shipping container that conceals up to four missiles that rotate upward to fire. It can be loaded with weapons including the Tomahawk — a cruise missile that can hit targets on land and ships at sea more than 1,150 miles away. In 2019, President Donald J. Trump abandoned the treaty, in part because the United States believed Russia had violated the terms of the pact for years. But U.S. officials said that China, with its growing long-range missile arsenal, was also a reason the Trump administration decided to withdraw.

Persons: Donald J, Trump Organizations: U.S . Army, Nuclear Forces Treaty Locations: Philippines, U.S, United States, Russia, China

☆ Russia Strikes Civilian Center in Odesa, Killing Five
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Constant Méheut | John Ismay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainian officials said a Russian airstrike on Monday evening killed five people and wounded about 30 others in Odesa, a southern Ukrainian city that has been a regular target of Russian missiles and drones trying to destroy its port infrastructure. Videos and photos showed lifeless and bloodied bodies of civilians lying on a seafront promenade not known to be close to any strategic site like military buildings or grain storehouses. Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday accused Russia of using cluster munitions — a controversial and widely banned weapon that can often cause indiscriminate harm to civilians — in the attack. Andriy Kostin, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, said in a statement that Russia had fired an Iskander ballistic missile with a cluster warhead. “The investigators have a reason to believe that the decision to use such a weapon was taken by the Russian military officers deliberately to kill as many Ukrainian civilians as possible,” Mr. Kostin said.

Persons: Andriy Kostin, Mr, Kostin Organizations: Russian Locations: Russian, Odesa, Ukrainian, Russia

☆ Pentagon Announces Additional $6 Billion in Military Aid for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( John Ismay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United States will give Ukraine $6 billion to purchase military hardware directly from American defense companies, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III announced on Friday, expressing confidence that many of the weapons and munitions the country most needs will soon arrive. “This is the largest security assistance package that we’ve committed to date,” Mr. Austin told reporters at the Pentagon. It will include air-defense missiles and artillery ammunition among other offensive and defensive weaponry, he said. Mr. Austin and Gen. Charles Q. This was the 21st such monthly meeting of the group since it was formed two years ago at a U.S. air base in Ramstein, Germany, and the first to be held since President Biden signed a long-stalled foreign aid package that includes $60.8 billion for Ukraine.

Persons: Lloyd J, Austin III, ” Mr, Austin, Charles Q, Brown Jr, Biden Organizations: Ukraine, Defense, Pentagon, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Ukraine Defense Contact, NATO, United Locations: States, Ukraine, United States, Kyiv, U.S, Ramstein, Germany

They call it an encirclement of their nation and say the United States is trying to constrain its main economic and military rival. The United States also has a new security agreement with Papua New Guinea. On Wednesday, Mr. Biden signed a $95-billion supplemental military aid and spending bill that Congress had just passed and that includes $8.1 billion to counter China in the region. In addition, the United States continues to send weapons and Green Beret trainers to Taiwan, a de facto independent island and the biggest flashpoint between the United States and China. A swarm of Chinese militia and Coast Guard vessels chased a Philippine Coast Guard ship in the South China Sea last year.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Biden, Antony J, Blinken, Yuri Gripas, ” Ely Ratner, Xi, ” Kurt Campbell, Joseph Wu, ”, “, Samuel J, Paparo Jr, Mr, Paparo, Carl Vinson, Richard A, Brooks, Trump, Lloyd J, Austin III, Chen Jining, Jes Aznar, David H, Berger, Obama, Tony Mcdonough, United States —, Admiral Paparo, China’s “ revanchist, we’re Organizations: Australian, U.S, Marines, United, Pentagon, Corps, Mr, White House, White, The New York Times, American, Marine, Green, China’s, Liberation Army, Seoul SOUTH, Pacific Command, People’s Liberation Army, Agence France, Nuclear Forces Treaty, Defense, Communist Party, Tokyo Okinawa, U.S . Navy, Coast Guard, Philippine Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Army, Philippines Luzon Partner, Australia Darwin Potential, NATO, Tomahawk Locations: Beijing, United States, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, Asia, Pacific, U.S, China, Shanghai, South China, South Korea, Guam, Washington, Manila, Taipei, People’s Republic of China, Palau, West Papua, Seoul, Tokyo JAPAN CHINA Taipei TAIWAN Hong Kong, GUAM philippines MALAYSIA INDONESIA JAPAN CHINA TAIWAN, philippines GUAM, INDONESIA Seoul, GUAM philippines, MALAYSIA INDONESIA, Philippine, Moscow, Tokyo, Ryukyu Islands, South, Philippines Luzon, Luzon, Spratly, Australia, Canberra, Singapore, Darwin, Australia’s, . North Carolina, Virginia, Perth, United Kingdom, Navy’s, America

☆ U.S. Military Aid for Ukraine Could Soon Flow Again
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( John Ismay | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Shipments of American weapons could begin flowing to Ukraine again soon after House approval of a long-stalled aid package, U.S. officials say, with goods from the Pentagon’s stockpiles in Germany shipped quickly by rail to the Ukrainian border. The measure would provide the Ukraine war effort with about $60 billion. A sizable amount is set aside to replenish U.S. defense stockpiles, and billions more would be used to purchase U.S. defense systems, which Ukrainian officials say are badly needed. For months, Ukrainian military officials have complained that political paralysis in the U.S. Congress had created critical munitions shortages in the war against Russia. Ukrainian troops on the front lines have had to ration shells, and morale has suffered.

Persons: Biden Organizations: U.S . Congress Locations: Ukraine, Germany, Ukrainian, Russia

There are more heavily trafficked routes across the Baltimore Harbor than the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The Harbor Tunnel carries double the daily traffic of the Key Bridge and the Fort McHenry Tunnel much more than that. The six men who are missing were part of this tradition of working Baltimore: members of a construction crew, working overnight hours filling potholes on the bridge. One day in 1977, Mr. Metzger said, his father, a truck driver, was coming back home from his route and happened upon the bridge’s ribbon cutting. And the Key Bridge is gone.”

Persons: Francis Scott Key, “, ”, Kurt L, Mr, Schmoke, Rafael Alvarez, Dali, Jim Lo Scalzo, Curtis Bay, Alvarez, Baltimoreans, James Metzger, Metzger, Metzger’s Organizations: Fort, University of Baltimore, Chesapeake, Washington , D.C, Bethlehem Steel Plant, Amazon Locations: Baltimore, Fort McHenry, Baltimore’s, Maryland, Washington ,, New York City, Shutterstock

Jesus Campos said he worked at Brawner Builders alongside the men missing after a bridge collapse in Baltimore. “We’re low-income families,” said Jesus Campos, who has worked at the construction company, Brawner Builders, for about eight months. The executive, Jeffrey Pritzker, and the Coast Guard said that all of the missing workers were presumed dead, given how long it had been since the collapse. Embassies for the other two countries mentioned by Mr. Campos did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Officials said that in addition to the six missing workers, two people had been rescued from the water.

Persons: Jesus Campos, “, ”, Jeffrey Pritzker, Mr, Pritzker, “ It’s, Campos, Francis Scott Key, Miguel Luna, Luna, Gustavo Torres, Jacey Fortin, Miriam Jordan, Patricia Mazzei, Emiliano Rodríguez Mega, Kirsten Noyes Organizations: Brawner Builders, Brawner, Coast Guard, Baltimore Banner Locations: Baltimore, Baltimore County, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Maryland, Petén, Mexican, Washington, Brawner

The law is more burdensome than “red flag” laws in other states, which do not require taking people into custody and evaluating them. When the Sheriff’s Office received the Army report in mid-September, Sgt. Aaron Skolfield went to do a welfare check but did not find Mr. Card. Instead, Sergeant Skolfield worked with Ryan Card, who said he and his father had come up with a way to secure Mr. Card’s weapons. But Robert Card, it said, still “had access to his firearms prior to the shootings.”John Ismay and Dave Philipps contributed reporting.

Persons: Aaron Skolfield, Sergeant Skolfield, Ryan Card, Ryan, Robert Card, “, ” John Ismay, Dave Philipps, Kirsten Noyes Organizations: Sheriff’s, Army Locations: Sagadahoc

Image Robert Card. Mr. Card was last known to be driving a white Subaru Outback with a black bumper, officials said. The neighbor, Rick Goddard, 44, said he had known the Card family most of his life, because Mr. Goddard lives less than a mile down the road from the Card family house. At the address for the Card family home, no one answered the door on Thursday, and there was only one car parked out front. “We’re on edge right now because we know this is his stomping area,” Mr. Goddard said.

Persons: Robert R, Robert Card, ” Col, William G, Ross, Robert Russell Card II, Card, Bowdoin, Rick Goddard, Goddard, Robert, Card’s, Mr Organizations: . Lewiston, . Lewiston Maine Police Department, Associated Press, Maine State Police, Pentagon, Army Reserve, Subaru, Bowdoin, Mr Locations: Maine, Lewiston ., ., . Lewiston Maine, U.S, Lisbon, Lewiston

Travis T. King, the American soldier who returned to the United States last month after crossing into North Korea in July, has been charged in military court with multiple offenses, including desertion, assaulting other soldiers and child pornography. Private King, 23, is being held at a civilian jail just outside Fort Bliss, near El Paso, according to a family spokesman. He was moved there from Fort Sam Houston, near San Antonio, where he had been undergoing reintegration procedures. The charges were filed on Sunday by officials at Fort Bliss. Private King was made aware of them on Wednesday, the family spokesman said.

Persons: Travis T, King, Fort Sam Houston, Private King, King’s, Claudine Gates of, ” Organizations: Fort Bliss Locations: United States, North Korea, Fort Bliss, El Paso, Fort Sam, San Antonio, Claudine Gates of Racine, Wis

☆ State Department Official Resigns Over Arms Transfers to Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( John Ismay | More About John Ismay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A State Department official in the bureau that oversees arms transfers resigned this week in protest of the Biden administration’s decision to continue sending weapons and ammunition to Israel as it lays siege to Gaza in its war with Hamas. In his resignation letter, Josh Paul, who has been the director of congressional and public affairs for the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs for over 11 years, said the Biden administration’s “blind support for one side” was leading to policy decisions that were “shortsighted, destructive, unjust and contradictory to the very values we publicly espouse.”“The response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people,” he wrote, adding, “I fear we are repeating the same mistakes we have made these past decades, and I decline to be a part of it for longer.”In an interview, Mr. Paul said that Israel’s cutting off of water, food, medical care and electricity to Gaza, a territory of two million people, should prompt protections in a number of longstanding federal laws intended to keep American weapons out of the hands of human rights violators. But those legal guardrails are failing, he said.

Persons: Biden, Josh Paul, Biden administration’s, ”, Paul Organizations: Department, State Department’s Bureau, Political, Military Affairs Locations: Israel, Gaza

☆ Three American Lives Forever Changed by a Weapon Now Being Sent to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( John Ismay | More About John Ismay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Marines were experts in their craft, trained for missions like these, and still there was an accident. Their task that day was made even more difficult by the sheer scale of the mess they had to clean up. Mass produced toward the end of the Cold War, cluster munitions of this type scatter dozens or even hundreds of the tiny grenades at a time. These grenades were designed to destroy enemy tanks and soldiers deep behind enemy lines on land allied soldiers were never meant to tread. More than 100 nations have banned their use because of the harm they pose, especially to children, but the United States, Russia and Ukraine have not.

Organizations: Marines Locations: Ukraine, United States, Russia

In a long-awaited move, the United States will allow allies to send American-made F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv once Ukrainian pilots are trained to operate them, a U.S. official confirmed on Thursday. However, the requirement that Ukraine’s pilots be fully trained means that the approvals will not come for months. Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which began two months ago, has a chance of prevailing without the fighter jets, experts say, but it is likely to be far more difficult. The U.S. decision had been anticipated since May, when President Biden eased his resistance to NATO allies’ efforts to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s and provide the jets to Ukraine. The official who confirmed the U.S. shift was not authorized to publicly discuss the agreement and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Persons: Yuriy Ihnat, ”, Biden Organizations: U.S, Ukraine’s Air Force, NATO Locations: United States, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Ukraine, U.S

☆ Russia Is Replicating Iranian Drones and Using Them to Attack Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( John Ismay | More About John Ismay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Russia has begun making copies of attack drones it acquired from Iran last year and is using them in combat against Ukrainian forces despite sanctions imposed to cripple the country’s weapons production, according to a report issued Thursday by a weapons research group. The researchers traveled to Kyiv in late July and inspected the wreckage of two attack drones that were used in combat in southeastern Ukraine. Both appeared to be Iranian Shahed-136s, but they contained electronic modules that match components previously recovered from Russian surveillance drones, according to the report. The investigation was conducted by Conflict Armament Research, an independent group based in Britain that identifies and tracks weapons and ammunition used in wars. It is the group’s 10th published account of its work in Kyiv, where researchers have analyzed Russian military hardware collected on the battlefield by Ukraine’s security services.

Organizations: Ukrainian, Armament Research Locations: Russia, Iran, Kyiv, Ukraine, Iranian, Britain

☆ Biden Nominates Adm. Lisa Franchetti to Lead the Navy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( John Ismay | More About John Ismay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since the days of John Paul Jones and the American Revolution, the top job in the U.S. Navy has gone to a man, but that will change if President Biden’s pick to become the service’s top uniformed leader is confirmed. The White House announced on Friday that President Biden intends to nominate Adm. Lisa Franchetti to become the Navy’s highest-ranking officer following the retirement of Adm. Michael M. Gilday this summer. Lloyd J. Austin III, the secretary of defense, said he was proud that Admiral Franchetti had been selected to be the first woman to lead the Navy and to serve as a permanent member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “She will continue to inspire all of us,” Mr. Austin said in a statement. Currently the Navy’s vice chief, Admiral Franchetti will serve in an acting role as the Navy’s top officer, awaiting confirmation by the Senate — a process that Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, has blocked for hundreds of admirals and generals in an attempt to force the Pentagon to drop a policy offering time off and travel reimbursement to service members who need to go out of state for abortions.

Persons: John Paul Jones, Biden’s, Biden, Lisa Franchetti, Michael M, Lloyd J, Austin III, Franchetti, “, ” Mr, Austin, Admiral Franchetti, Tommy Tuberville Organizations: American, U.S . Navy, White, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Senate, Republican, Pentagon Locations: Alabama

U.S. officials said Thursday that they had no information on the whereabouts or condition of an Army soldier who crossed into North Korea without authorization and had not spoken to North Korean authorities about the incident. The soldier, Pvt. Travis T. King, was supposed to fly to Texas on Tuesday to face disciplinary actions for misconduct. But instead of boarding his flight at the international airport in Incheon, about 30 miles west of Seoul, he joined a civilian group that went to tour the joint security area between North and South Korea at Panmunjom, where he ran across the border and was taken into custody by North Korean forces. John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said the administration is “doing everything we can” to determine the soldier’s condition and “making it clear that we want to see him safely and quickly returned to the United States and to his family.”But winning Private King’s release — and learning about his status — is greatly complicated by a deep diplomatic freeze between the United States and North Korea, which technically remain at war.

Persons: Travis T, John Kirby Organizations: Army, North, National Security Council Locations: North Korea, Texas, Incheon, Seoul, North, South Korea, Panmunjom, North Korean, United States

☆ What the U.S. Risks By Supplying Ukraine With Cluster Weapons - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Cluster munitions used by both Ukrainian and Russian forces have led to, reportedly, at least dozens of civilian deaths and serious injuries, according to a Human Rights Watch report published Thursday. Specifically, the report said Ukrainian cluster-munition rocket attacks on Russian-controlled areas around the city of Izium in 2022 “caused many casualties among Ukrainian civilians.” (Ukraine denied that cluster munitions were used there.) While it is Ukraine’s decision to choose what weapons it uses in its defense, it is for America to decide which weapons to supply. Sending cluster munitions to Ukraine amounts to a clear escalation of a conflict that has already become far too brutal and destructive. In 2008, the Pentagon set a limit of 1 percent on cluster munitions, and Congress has since banned the use, production or transfer of weapons over that rate.

Persons: “, Abrams, America’s, Russia’s, John Ismay Organizations: Human Rights, Pentagon, Times, Foreign Assistance Locations: Ukrainian, Izium, ”, Ukraine, America, United, Russia, Washington, Vietnam, Afghanistan

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