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Berlin has veto power over any decision to export its Leopard tanks, fielded by NATO-allied armies across Europe and seen by defence experts as the most suitable for Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stressed the condition about U.S. tanks several times in recent days behind closed doors, the German government source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. This week, Britain raised the pressure on Berlin by becoming the first Western country to send tanks, pledging a squadron of its Challengers. Poland and Finland have already said they will send Leopard tanks if Germany approves them. "The supplies of Western tanks must outpace another invasion of Russian tanks."

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.

☆ Davos 2023-Ukraine's Zelenskiy says tank supplies should come quicker
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the World Economic Forum on Wednesday that Western supplies of tanks and air defence units should come more quickly and be delivered faster than Russia was able to carry out its own attacks. "The supplying of Ukraine with air defence systems must outpace Russia's next missile attacks," Zelenskiy said. "The supplies of western tanks must outpace another invasion of Russian tanks." Moscow has blamed that civilian attack on Ukrainian air defences. Reporting by Max Hunder and Aleksandar Vasovic; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Berlin will allow exports of German tanks to Ukraine if U.S. sends its tanks -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Jan 18 (Reuters) - 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. Western allies will meet at a U.S. air base in Germany on Friday to offer more weapons for Ukraine. Poland and Finland have already said they will send Leopard tanks if Germany approves them. The United States has committed roughly $24 billion to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian forces. The Wall Street Journal, citing senior German officials, first reported Berlin's condition on tanks earlier on Wednesday.

☆ NATO deploys surveillance planes to Romania, to monitor Russian activity
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BUCHAREST, Jan 17 (Reuters) - A NATO surveillance plane arrived in Romania on Tuesday to bolster the military alliance's eastern flank and help monitor Russian military activity. NATO announced last week it would deploy the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) surveillance planes to Bucharest, where they will start reconnaissance flights solely over NATO territory. "In the context of Russia's illegal war against Ukraine, NATO will monitor military activity on the eastern flank with the help of AWACS aircraft," Romanian Defence Minister Angel Tilvar said on Facebook. NATO has boosted its air presence in eastern Europe and the Baltics since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, using fighter jets, surveillance planes and tankers. The aircraft deployed to Romania belong to a fleet of 14 NATO surveillance aircraft usually based in Germany.

☆ China says it's sending its junior air force pilots to keep an eye on increasing activity by US spy planes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Minnie Chan | South China Morning Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Chinese pilots fresh out of training are being deployed to respond to flights by foreign jets. Without giving details about the foreign aircraft, it said the intensive training programme pushed junior pilots to master practical air confrontation skills and countermeasures within a short time. Chinese fighter pilots during combat exercises around Taiwan in August 2022. "I received radar warnings from foreign aircraft soon after heading to the scene, meaning my aircraft was targeted [by air-to-air missiles]." In 2021, large US reconnaissance aircraft conducted around 1,200 close-in spying flights over the South China Sea, the think tank said in a report in March.

In the south, Russian mortar and artillery fire hit several towns, including the regional capital, Kherson, which Russian forces abandoned in November. Russian troops are active at night - we are in great need of night vision equipment." Western countries have produced a steady supply of weapons to Ukraine since Russian forces invaded last Feb. 24 but Zelenskiy and his government are insisting they need tanks. The OSCE is the world's largest regional security organisation, consisting of 57 states, such as the United States, all European states, including Russia and all states of the former Soviet Union. The U.S. State Department estimated last year that between 900,000 and 1.6 million Ukrainian citizens, including 260,000 children, have been forcibly deported into Russian territory.

☆ Russian-installed official in Crimea says air defences shot down 10 drones
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 16 (Reuters) - The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol in Crimea said on Monday that air defences had downed 10 drones over the city in what he called a "failed Ukrainian attack". Sevastopol, which is on the Crimean peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014, has come under repeated air attack since Russia invaded Ukraine last February. "Air defence and the Black Sea Fleet shot down 10 out of 10 Ukrainian drones over the sea," he said in a post on his Telegram channel. In October, Russia said Ukraine had attacked the Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol with maritime drones which it said it managed to destroy. In August, Russia's Saky air base in Crimea was hit by a devastating attack in which satellite imagery showed at least eight warplanes were destroyed.

KYIV, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Russian missile attacks hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv and the eastern city of Kharkiv on Saturday morning, officials said, and the governor of another region warned that a massive missile strike could follow in the coming hours. Russia, which invaded last February, has been pounding Ukraine's vital energy infrastructure with missiles and drones since October, causing sweeping blackouts and disruptions to central heating and running water as winter bites. "Missile attack on critical infrastructure facilities. The attacks hit critical energy infrastructure and industrial facilities in the Kharkiv and Chuhuev district of the region, he said. Residential infrastructure was also hit in the village of Kopyliv in the Kyiv region just outside the capital.

☆ Ukraine's smart air defense threatens one of Russia's most advanced jets, leaving it too scared to use them, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Since the start of the war, Russia's air force has struggled in combat over Ukraine. Moscow has been afraid to use them because of Ukraine's smart air defense, two experts told Insider. But, per an intelligence update earlier this week from the British ministry of defense, Russia has only used the jets from within its own airspace. Dr. Matthew Ford, a professor at the Swedish Defence University, also credited Ukraine's air defense to deterring Russian incursions. "[Ukraine's] air defense is sufficiently credible to make it open to question for the Russians as to whether they want to commit their air power," he added.

[1/4] Taiwan's Air Force's Mirage 2000-5 aircraft is seen at Hsinchu Air Base, in Hsinchu, Taiwan, January 11, 2023. REUTERS/Ann WangHSINCHU, Taiwan, Jan 11 (Reuters) - A Taiwan air force officer revealed details on Wednesday of a rare interaction between the island's military and NATO, describing how he had attended a six month academic programme with senior officials in Italy. Speaking to reporters on a trip to the Hsinchu air base in northern Taiwan, air force Lieutenant Colonel Wu Bong-yeng said he had attended a six month course at the NATO Defence College in Rome in 2021, returning to Taiwan in January last year. Taiwan's defence ministry told Reuters that Wu was not the first officer it had sent to the defence college. In August, China staged large-scale war games around Taiwan to express anger at then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visiting Taipei.

☆ Russia is holding back on using its most advanced fighter jets over Ukraine because it's scared they will get shot down, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia is using its most advanced combat jets against Ukraine, British intelligence said Monday. But the jets are only firing missiles into Ukraine from Russian territory, the brief added. Russia is keeping them back over worries about "reputational damage" if they're shot down, it said. In its latest intelligence update, the UK's Ministry of Defence said Moscow has "almost certainly" used Su-57 Felon fighter jets to conduct missions against Ukraine since at least June 2022. "These missions have likely been limited to flying over Russian territory, launching long-range air-to-surface or air-to-air missiles into Ukraine," the brief said.

☆ Prolonged fighting in Ukraine is revealing the Russian air force's fragility, researchers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Other decisions by Russian commanders are setting the air force up for future problems. Another sign of poor discipline is the habit of stacking munitions next to aircraft parked at Russian air bases. RUSI believes they have "corresponded with a significant reduction in the scale and complexity of VKS air operations over Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict." Mihail Siergiejevicz/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesStill more ominous are the implications for future Russian air operations over Ukraine. Russia needs to maintain a flow of properly trained pilots, as well as competent and disciplined ground crews.

☆ Ukrainian Drone Attack on Russian Air Base Kills Three, Russia Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( James Marson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A satellite image of a plane at the Engels air base in Saratov, Russia, earlier this month. LVIV, Ukraine—Three Russian service members were killed during a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian military air base, officials there said, the latest apparent demonstration of Kyiv’s ability to strike military targets inside Russia. The strike at the Engels air base in Saratov region, a hub for Russia’s strategic bombers, is the second this month.

☆ Ukrainian Drone Attack on Russian Air Base Kills Three, Moscow Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( James Marson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LVIV, Ukraine—Three Russian service members were killed during a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian military air base, Moscow said, the latest apparent demonstration of Kyiv’s ability to strike military targets inside Russia. The strike at the Engels air base in Saratov region, a hub for Russia’s strategic bombers, is the second this month. Although small, it still offered a reminder to Moscow that even forces deep inside its territory can be hit, forcing the Kremlin to redirect resources and leaders’ attention.

☆ Ukrainian drone shot down deep within Russia kills 3, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Russia said on Monday it had shot down a Ukrainian drone close to one of its air bases for long-range bombers deep inside its own territory and that three Russian air force personnel had been killed in the incident. The drone was allegedly flying near Russia’s Engels air base where long-range strategic bombers that may have been used to target Ukrainian cities and infrastructure are based. An overview of Engels Airbase, which is home to a strategic bomber military base. The same base was attacked earlier this month by Ukrainian drones, Russia said at the time. “A Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) was shot down at low altitude while approaching the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region,” the defense ministry statement, published on Monday, said.

Summary Russia says air base targeted by Ukrainian droneSays it shot the drone down, no aircraft damagedSays three servicemen were killed by falling debrisNo immediate comment from UkraineDec 26 (Reuters) - Russia said on Monday it had shot down a Ukrainian drone close to one of its air bases for long-range bombers deep inside its own territory and that three Russian air force personnel had been killed in the incident. The drone was allegedly flying near Russia's Engels air base where long-range strategic bombers that may have been used to target Ukrainian cities and infrastructure are based. Unverified Russian and Ukrainian social media accounts reported that a number of planes had been destroyed however. The same base was attacked earlier this month by Ukrainian drones, Russia said at the time. The earlier Dec. 5 strike on the same base, along with another attack the same day on another base, raised questions about the effectiveness of Russian air defences and shocked Russian commentators.

REUTERS/Clodagh KilcoyneKVIV/MOSCOW, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Russian forces bombarded scores of towns in Ukraine on Christmas Day as Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was open to negotiations, a stance Washington has dismissed as posturing because of continued Russian attacks. Ukraine has traditionally not celebrated Christmas on Dec. 25, but Jan. 7, the same as Russia. That range reaches deep into neighbours of Belarus: Ukraine and NATO member Poland, which has very strained relations with Minsk. The S-400 system is a Russian mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) interception system capable of engaging aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles, and has a terminal ballistic missile defence capability. Blasts were heard at Russia's Engels air base, hundreds of kilometres (miles) from the Ukraine frontlines, Ukrainian and Russian media reported on Monday.

☆ The falling wreckage of a downed Ukrainian drone killed 3 people at a Russian military base, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia said that it shot down a Ukrainian drone near Engels airbase in Russia's Saratov region. Falling debris from the downed drone killed three Russian military personnel, authorities said. The drone, which was shot down near the Engels military airbase in Russia's Saratov region, hit and fatally wounded the staff members, a statement from the Defence Ministry, published by Russian news agencies, said. Although Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the drone, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat told national television Monday that incidents like this are the "consequences of Russian aggression," ABC News reported. Ukraine has also not taken responsibility for other recent drone attacks on Russian airbases.

☆ Explosions reported at military airbase deep inside Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A Russian soldier watches a bomber take off from Engels airbase in this file photo from 2008. Engels is home to strategic bombers that Russia uses to launch missiles into Ukrainian cities. Blasts were heard at Russia's Engels air base, hundreds of kilometers (miles) from the frontlines in Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian media outlets reported early on Monday. The Russian news outlet Baza reported, citing local residents, that air raid sirens were wailing and an explosion was heard. Ukraine has never publicly claimed responsibility for attacks inside Russia, but has said, however, that such incidents are "karma" for Russia's invasion.

☆ Blasts reported at Engels air base deep inside Russia - online media
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 26 (Reuters) - Blasts were heard at Russia's Engels air base, hundreds of kilometres (miles) from the frontlines in Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian media outlets reported early on Monday. There was no immediate official confirmation of the blasts and Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports. The Russian news outlet Baza reported, citing local residents, that air raid sirens were wailing and an explosion was heard. The air base, near the city of Saratov, about 730 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow, was hit on Dec. 5 in what Russia said was Ukrainian drone attacks on two Russian air bases that day. Ukraine has never publicly claimed responsibility for attacks inside Russia, but has said, however, that such incidents are "karma" for Russia's invasion.

☆ These are 10 most popular fighter planes in service around the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Miguel Ortiz | We Are The Mighty | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Using data from Cirium, FlightGlobal published their 2023 World Air Forces directory detailing military aircraft fleets around the world, including the most popular fighter planes. These are the 10 most popular fighter planes in service around the world:Northrop F-5An F-5 Tiger II takes off at Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada. Despite its age, the J-7 remains extremely popular with 444 in active service. 522 Typhoons are in active service, including with all of the original collaborating countries except France. 545 F-35s are in active service, with more on the way as existing orders are filled and additional orders are placed.

Since the early days of the invasion, Mr. Putin has conceded, privately, that the war has not gone as planned. “I think he is sincerely willing” to compromise with Russia, Mr. Putin said of Mr. Zelensky in 2019. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. “I think this war is Putin’s grave.” Yevgeny Nuzhin, 55, a Russian prisoner of war held by Ukraine, in October.

☆ Ukraine-Russia war sees U.S. mull Patriot missile defense battery for Kyiv. It's not enough.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Pavel K. Baev | Pavel K. Baev Is A Research Professor At The Peace Research Institute Oslo | Prio | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

The feeble Russian response to Ukraine’s recent drone attacks suggests the West has room to maneuver. The drone attacks also point to how the West can do more to turn the tide of war in Ukraine’s favor. But the Patriot deployment would take months even in the best circumstances, and the war gives no respite. And the feeble Russian response to Ukraine’s recent drone attacks suggests the West has room to maneuver. A U.S. Army Patriot Missile System operates at a joint exercise with NATO allied and partner forces, in Zadar, Croatia, on May 17, 2021.

☆ U.S. forces launch space unit in South Korea amid North's growing threats
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Forces Korea launched a new space forces unit on Wednesday as the allies ramp up efforts to better counter North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats. The U.S. Space Forces Korea is the second overseas space component of the U.S. Space Force and is tasked with monitoring, detecting and tracking incoming missiles, as well as bolstering the military's overall space capability. South Korea's air force also set up its own space unit this month to bolster its space power and operation capability together with the U.S. Space Force. Beijing has warned Seoul against joining a U.S.-led global missile shield, and criticised the THAAD U.S. missile defence system installed in South Korea. Seoul's defence ministry said the creation of the U.S. space component had nothing to do with South Korea's participation in existing missile defence programmes.

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