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☆ Even with F-16s, Ukraine's pilots still wouldn't be 'out of the woods' against Russia's air force, US officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Polish and Slovakian MiG-29s would add to Ukraine's fleet and be familiar to Ukrainian pilots but won't bring much more capability than Ukraine's current MiG-29s. 'The hard work'A pilot exits a Polish Air Force F-16 at an airbase in Poznan in November 2006. If the US or another NATO country elected to supply Ukraine with F-16s, Kelly said his first question would be "what sustainment depot are they going to use? "Again, that's just for the short-term of being able to launch or recover aircraft," Baum said. Ukraine's new jets would also be flying against Russian air-defense weapons that have claimed dozens of Ukrainian aircraft and continue to contest the airspace around the front lines.

Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene have both inadvertently slammed the Trump administration in recent weeks. Greene falsely blamed the Biden administration for fentanyl deaths that happened while Trump was in office. MAGA-faithful Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene have both inadvertently slammed the Trump administration in recent weeks while trying to take shots at President Joe Biden. Rep. Matt Gaetz, meanwhile, got schooled for unknowingly basing a critique of Biden's policies on a Communist newspaper. Gaetz tried to recover, pressing Kahl to "just tell me if the allegation is true or false."

☆ Russia will have to rely on nukes, cyberattacks, and China since its military is being thrashed in Ukraine, US intel director says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Chris Panella | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's military losses in Ukraine will leave it reliant on "asymmetric" options, the US intel director said. Discussions on Russia's relationship with China have also been ongoing, including speculation that Beijing might be considering sending lethal aid to Russia. In late February, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers Russia had lost the war and will emerge from war in Ukraine a "shattered military power." "Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a strategic defeat. Russia's military is going to have to be rebuilt," George Barros, a military analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, told Insider in September.

☆ Two Ukrainian pilots are in the U.S. for training assessment on attack aircraft, including F-16s
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Courtney Kube | Carol E. Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. authorities have approved bringing up to 10 more Ukrainian pilots to the U.S. for further assessment as early as this month, the officials said. The arrival of the first two pilots marks the first time Ukrainian pilots have traveled to the U.S. to have their skills evaluated by American military trainers. Officials said the effort has twin goals: to improve the pilots' skills and evaluate how long a proper training program could take. Asked about the assessment of two Ukrainian pilots, a defense official described it as "familiarization event." This event allows us to better help Ukrainian pilots become more effective pilots and better advise them on how to develop their own capabilities."

☆ Ukrainian pilot pair in Arizona to fly military simulators -US officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - Two Ukrainian pilots are in Arizona to fly flight simulators and be evaluated by the U.S. military, two U.S. officials said on Saturday, as Washington remains mute on whether it will send fighter jets or sophisticated remotely piloted drones to Kyiv. "This event allows us to better help Ukrainian pilots become more effective pilots and better advise them on how to develop their own capabilities," the defense official said. Other allies have also conducted similar events in the past, the defense official said. The defense official did not say how long the Ukrainians had been in the Southwestern state. Training on military equipment, both for its use and maintenance, has been a leading indicator of a potential transfer.

☆ Putin's top troops are being 'decimated' as Russia relies too much on so-called 'elite' forces to wage war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Several so-called "elite" Russian units have suffered heavy casualties on the battlefield in Ukraine. The 155th is only the latest so-called "elite" Russian unit to face serious setbacks on the battlefield. An abandoned Russian military tank left in the Ukrainian city of Balakliia after Russian Forces withdrew from the Kharkiv region on September 15, 2022. So I think it's much more of a blow to Russia's ground force's combat power than it is to their reputations." Russia's military leadership has at times faced criticism and even domestic outrage over its decision-making.

☆ A nuclear watchdog says it found uranium in Iran that's less than 7% away from bomb-making levels in enrichment purity
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A UN nuclear watchdog has found uranium enriched to 83.7% purity at Iran's nuclear plants. The new findings come as Iran continually breaches its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. On February 19, Bloomberg reported that the highly enriched uranium had been discovered, citing two senior diplomats. That means it's been breaching its 2015 nuclear deal with Western powers, China, and Russia. Iran has in turned continually breached the deal, raising the level of its uranium enrichment and stockpiling more material.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Russians press battle for Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Ukrainian service members ride a self-propelled howitzer, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukraine February 27, 2023. * The Kremlin repeated its position that Russia was open to negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict, but that new "territorial realities" could not be ignored. * Foreign ministers from around the world meet in New Delhi this week in the shadow of the war and U.S.-China tensions. * External backers pour billions into Ukraine* How has China stood by 'no limits' partner Russia? * A year into war, older refugees running out of hope* Life and death in Mariupol - a survivor's tale of war* Family mourns Bucha victim who became symbol of warPODCASTLearn more about the Ukraine war.

☆ Russians intensify assault on Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces try to dig in
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Ukrainian aircraft launched three strikes on areas of concentration of Russian forces, according to a statement by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Tuesday night. Bakhmut had a pre-war population of around 70,000 but has been ruined during months of fighting as a focal point of Russian assaults and determined Ukrainian defence. A Russian takeover of Bakhmut would open the way to seizing the last remaining urban centres in the industrial Donetsk province. 'GRINDING SLOG'[1/4] Ukrainian service members ride BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukraine February 27, 2023. The meeting will be attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Britain's James Cleverly, while China is expected to send its foreign minister, Qin Gang.

☆ Iran can make fissile material for a bomb 'in about 12 days' - U.S. official
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Elizabeth FrantzWASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Iran could make enough fissile for one nuclear bomb in "about 12 days," a top U.S. Defense Department official said on Tuesday, down from the estimated one year it would have taken while the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was in effect. Back in 2018, when the previous administration decided to leave the JCPOA it would have taken Iran about 12 months to produce one bomb's worth of fissile material. Now it would take about 12 days," Kahl, the third ranking Defense Department official, told lawmakers. U.S. officials have repeatedly estimated Iran's breakout time - how long it would take to acquire the fissile material for one bomb if it decided to - at weeks but have not been as specific as Kahl was. While U.S. officials say Iran has grown closer to producing fissile material they do not believe it has mastered the technology to actually build a bomb.

☆ Matt Gaetz unknowingly cites Chinese Communist newspaper during Ukraine military funding hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Matt Gaetz unknowingly cited from a Chinese propaganda outlet during a congressional hearing. Gaetz asked Colin Kahl, the US's undersecretary of defense for policy. Gaetz asked Kahl. "Is this the — I'm sorry, is this the Global Times from China?" Watch the exchange below:Asked for comment, a spokesman for Gaetz told Insider: "Congressman Gaetz wanted to ask if the report was true.

REUTERS/Elizabeth FrantzWASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The United States does not expect Russia to make significant territorial gains in Ukraine in the near-term, a senior Pentagon official said on Tuesday, describing the front lines in the year-long war as a "grinding slog." Kahl made the remarks during a hearing focused on oversight of the billions of dollars in military aid Washington has provided to Kyiv. In October, the U.S. restarted on-site inspections in Ukraine to help keep track of the billions of dollars of weapons being provided to Kyiv. One of the weapons the U.S. has not provided -- despite public appeals by Ukrainian officials -- are F-16 fighter jets. Kahl was asked repeatedly by lawmakers about sending the jets to Ukraine.

☆ Russia will emerge from the Ukraine war a 'shattered military power,' top Pentagon official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Chris Panella | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia will emerge from war in Ukraine a "shattered military power," a senior Pentagon official said. Colin Kahl told lawmakers that Russia lost the war — echoing a similar remark by the top US general. He added that US military support for Kyiv has been, and will continue to be, flexible and dynamic. "They intended for Russia to emerge out of this war a great power in a multi-polar world — they will emerge from this conflict a shattered military power," he added. His remarks in November, and again on Tuesday, echo what other top US officials and generals have said in stating that Russia has already lost and failed in Ukraine.

☆ Wagner boss drops gruesome photo of war dead while blasting top Russian military leaders for getting them killed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who founded the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group, shared a graphic photograph of dead Russian mercenaries earlier this week and criticized the country's military leadership for getting them killed. Prigozhin shared the gruesome image, which shows dozens of corpses placed in multiple rows on the ground, to his Telegram channel on Tuesday. Russia's defense ministry denied the claims and said any statements about munitions shortages are "absolutely untrue," Russian state media TASS reported. A pedestrian walks past a mural depicting the logo of the Russian mercenary 'Group Wagner' and a slogan in Russian on January 20, 2023 in Belgrade, Serbia. "Wagner is becoming a rival power center to the Russian military and other Russian ministries."

☆ White House mocks Putin's mismanagement of the war in Ukraine, saying he changes generals like 'socks'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The White House mocked Putin's handling of the Ukraine war on Monday. NSC spokesperson John Kirby said Putin changes generals like "I change socks." "It's kind of like a reality TV show," Colin H. Kahl, the under secretary of defense for policy, said to reporters last month while speaking on the shuffle among Russian generals in Ukraine. Russia has begun a new spring offensive in eastern Ukraine, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said, but Kyiv's forces have been bracing for this fight. NATO countries have provided Ukraine with billions in military aid, including vital weapons, since the war began.

On energy, the ministry has “completely overhauled the previous government’s Russia-friendly policy” to reduce Germany’s dependence on Russian natural gas, it said. “That tells you something.”Germany consistently underestimated the Russian threat and gave counterintelligence work a low priority, but that is changing now in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, experts and Western officials said. Last April, Berlin expelled 40 Russian Embassy employees for allegedly working for Russian intelligence services. Germany’s intelligence services failed to anticipate that Russia would invade Ukraine, a failure that has yet to be the subject of any publicly released “lessons learned” review. Such a review would show Germany is serious about altering its approach, the Western official said.

☆ Ukraine's allies are finally sending the advanced tanks it asked for. Now they want it to embrace a rapid, aggressive style of warfare.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine's allies have agreed to send it advanced tanks after months of indecision. The group said Ukraine should move towards a style of mechanized maneuver warfare that "uses rapid, unanticipated movements against Russia," sources told CNN. The new tanks and armored vehicles committed by Ukraine's allies are supposed to help Ukraine make the switch, CNN reported. Tanks for UkraineUkraine had been requesting advanced tanks for months, but the US and Germany in particular had been reluctant to send the weapons. Even so, Ukraine's plans, and Western hopes for a new, more aggressive strategy, will be aided by other advanced weaponry that its allies have recently committed and sent.

☆ This is the M1 Abrams, the powerful US battle tank that Kyiv wants but can't have
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But German Leopards and American Abrams tanks are still off the table. "I just don't think we're there yet," Colin Kahl, undersecretary for defense policy, said this week, "The Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment," he argued. Just over 2,000 Abrams tanks were deployed with combat units during the war, and only 23 were damaged or destroyed. In the aftermath of the Gulf War, the US military developed the M1A2 Abrams, which has steadily been upgraded over the past two decades. The Abrams tank also saw extensive combat early in the Iraq War and was used to some extent in Afghanistan.

☆ U.S. and Germany head for showdown over tanks for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine pleaded on Thursday for the West to finally send it heavy tanks as the defense chiefs of the U.S. and Germany headed for a showdown over weapons that Kyiv says could decide the fate of the war. But the meeting’s success could depend on whether it brings heavy tanks, which Kyiv says it needs to fend off Russian assaults and recapture occupied land. “The question of tanks for Ukraine must be closed as soon as possible,” he said. Britain added to the pressure by breaking the taboo on heavy tanks last week, offering a squadron from its fleet of Challengers, though far fewer of these are available than Leopards. Opening his meeting Pistorius, Austin described Germany as one of Washington’s closest allies and thanked it for its support for Ukraine so far.

☆ U.S., German defense ministers meet as differences emerge over tanks for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Idrees Ali | Thomson Reuters | National Security Correspondent Focusing On The Pentagon In Washington D.C. Reports On U.S. Military Activity | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Germany will allow German-made tanks to be sent to Ukraine to help its defense against Russia if the United States agrees to send its own tanks, a German government source told Reuters. "The secretary (of defense) will be pressing the Germans on this," one senior U.S. defense official said. The United States has committed roughly $24 billion to help Ukraine to defend itself against Russian forces. Some Eastern European officials have publicly called on Germany to allow the transfer of Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Some U.S. officials remain hopeful that they can convince Germany to allow the transfer of third party tanks to Ukraine.

☆ Ukraine needs more weapons now because Putin 'clearly' thinks he can still win, former US general Petraeus says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Ellie Zofagharifard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

David Petraeus is among those calling for more aid for Ukraine. He said the war with Russia was at a pivotal moment, and that Putin is not giving up. His warning came ahead of a NATO meeting and pressure to give Ukraine Western tanks. "This is an inflection point because Russia is taking steps which clearly indicate they don't think the war is lost," Petraeus told the Financial Times. The warning came as NATO defense ministers prepared to meet Friday to agree to a new arms package for Ukraine.

But Colin Kahl, the Pentagon's top policy adviser, said the Pentagon still wasn't prepared to meet Kyiv's calls for gas-guzzling M1 Abrams main battle tanks. "I just don't think we're there yet," said Kahl, who had just returned from a trip to Ukraine. U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said President Joe Biden's administration is next expected to approve Stryker armored vehicles for Ukraine. Pressure has been mounting on Germany to send its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine -- or at least approve their transfer from third countries. A German government source told Reuters Germany would allow German-made tanks to be sent to Ukraine to help its defense against Russia if the United States agrees to send its own tanks.

Police arrested the suspect, a German citizen identified as Carsten L., on Wednesday in Berlin, the federal prosecutors office said. "The accused is suspected of state treason," federal prosecutors said in a statement. "In 2022, he shared information that he came by in the course of his work with a Russian intelligence agency. As such, the BND would not be giving out any further details on the case until federal prosecutors had concluded their investigation, Kahl added. The last time a German intelligence employee was arrested for treason was in 2014 - although then it was for betraying secrets to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

[1/2] Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud arrives to attend the APEC Leader's Informal Dialogue with Guests during the APEC 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand, 18 November 2022. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday the immunity decision did not speak to a review of Washington's relationship with Saudi Arabia, which was ongoing. HISTORIC LOWSaudi ties with the United States and the wider West are still at a historic low point. When Saudi Arabia consequently took its security into its own hands with its war in Yemen, it saw Western criticism as hypocritical. Saudi Arabia would likely still prefer to have a U.S. security umbrella.

"They're really trying to overwhelm and exhaust Ukrainian air defense systems," Kahl told reporters during a trip to the Middle East. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Western military experts widely expected the Russian military to try to immediately destroy Ukraine's air force and air defenses. "I think one of the things that probably surprised the Russians the most is how resilient Ukraine's air defenses have been since the beginning of this conflict," Kahl said. "In large part, that's because of the ingenuity and cleverness of the Ukrainians themselves in keeping their air defense systems viable. Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin focused on air defense supplies for Ukraine at a virtual meeting he hosted from the Pentagon.

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