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☆ Rheinmetall could be worth 17 billion euros over medium term, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, June 10 (Reuters) - The CEO of Germany's largest defence contractor Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) said he expected a further boost to the company's stock market value due to the Ukraine war and increased defence spending in Europe. "Our operating income in 2025 should be about 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion), maybe even 1.7 billion euros. "A valuation of 17 billion euros is realistic for Rheinmetall over the medium term," he added. Rheinmetall's current stock valuation is about 10.5 billion euros, on 2022 operating income of 754 million euros. The stock market value of the company, a maker of tanks, ammunition and other war equipment, has tripled since December 2021 and it joined Germany's blue-chip DAX (.GDAXI) index earlier this year.

Persons: Armin Papperger, DAX, Christian Kraemer, Holger Hansen, Sabine Siebold, Kirsti Knolle, Madeline Chambers Organizations: Rheinmetall, RND, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Ukraine, Europe

☆ NATO says reinforcements arriving in Kosovo after clashes last week
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, June 5 (Reuters) - Reinforcements for NATO's peacekeeping force have begun to arrive in Kosovo following last week's unrest in the north of the country, the alliance said on Monday. The clashes injured 30 members of the NATO peacekeeping force known as KFOR as well as 52 Serb protesters. "Around 500 service members from Turkey's 65th Mechanized Infantry Brigade will make up the bulk of the reinforcements," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said in a tweet. NATO decided to deploy 700 additional peacekeepers to Kosovo, reinforcing the 4,000-strong contingent, in response to the crisis and the alliance's secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Thursday it was ready to send more. Kosovo won internationally recognised independence in 2008 but Serbia rejected it and Serbs in the country's north seek autonomy for their region under a 2013 deal that has not been implemented.

Persons: Oana Lungescu, Jens Stoltenberg, Sabine Siebold, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: NATO, KFOR, Turkey's 65th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, Kosovo, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Kosovo, Oslo, Serbian, Serbia

☆ Germany to send two warships to Indo-Pacific in 2024 amid South China Sea tensions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, June 4 (Reuters) - Germany will send two warships to the Indo-Pacific in 2024, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday, amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan and over the disputed South China Sea. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's most important security conference, Pistorius said countries needed to stand up for the rules-based international order and the protection of major maritime passages. By showing a greater military presence in the region, Germany is walking a tightrope between its security and economic interests as China is Berlin's most important trading partner. In 2021, a German warship sailed into the South China Sea for the first time in almost 20 years, a move that saw Berlin joining other Western nations in expanding its military presence in the region amid growing alarm over China's territorial ambitions. Some 40% of Europe's foreign trade flows through the South China Sea.

Persons: Boris Pistorius, Pistorius, Sabine Siebold, Nick Macfie Organizations: German Federal Government, Berlin, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Germany, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Berlin, Bay, Bengal, South China, German, Beijing

☆ Stoltenberg says Swedish NATO deal can be reached after more talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Burcu Karakas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISTANBUL, June 4 (Reuters) - An agreement on Sweden joining NATO could be reached in time for a summit of the alliance next month in Lithuania, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. He also said officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland would meet later this month for talks to try to overcome objections from Turkey and Hungary that have delayed Sweden's NATO membership bid. Stoltenberg's talks in Istanbul with Erdogan took place a week after Erdogan extended his two-decade rule in an election. Stoltenberg told Reuters in an interview it was important to use the remaining time before the NATO summit in Vilnius in July to get a deal. In its objections to Swedish membership, Turkey has said Stockholm harbours members of militant groups it considers to be terrorists.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Tayyip Erdogan, Stoltenberg's, Erdogan, Stoltenberg, Huseyin Hayatsever, Andrew Gray, Sabine Siebold, Hugh Lawson, Barbara Lewis Organizations: NATO, Reuters, Atlantic Treaty Organization, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Sweden, Lithuania, Turkey, Finland, Hungary, Istanbul, Russia, Ukraine, Vilnius, Stockholm, Ankara, Brussels

☆ Berlin calls on China to stop enlisting former German military pilots
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, June 3 (Reuters) - German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on Saturday called on China to stop enlisting former German military pilots for the training of its own forces. He added the Chinese defence minister had not denied the practice of hiring former German military pilots, but played down its significance. Pistorius did not give any further details in a recording of his comments that was distributed by the defence ministry in Berlin. German news magazine Spiegel reported on Friday that former German fighter pilots have been training Chinese military pilots for years. German security officials consider it highly likely that the pilots have been passing on expert military knowledge, such as the secret operational tactics of German forces and NATO, Spiegel said.

Persons: Boris Pistorius, Pistorius, Spiegel, Sabine Siebold, David Holmes Organizations: German, NATO, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, China, Singapore, Berlin, Taiwan, Indonesia, India, Asia

☆ NATO ready to deploy even more troops to quell unrest in Kosovo - Stoltenberg
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Italian members of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) stand guard behind wire fencing, in Leposavic, Kosovo, June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen TeofilovskiOSLO, June 1 (Reuters) - NATO is prepared to deploy more troops to Kosovo to quell violence in the ethnically polarized north, the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, adding that the first 700 reinforcement troops are on the way there. NATO decided to boost its 4,000-strong mission in the region with 700 additional troops after 30 of its KFOR peacekeepers and 52 ethnic Serb protesters were hurt on Monday. Stoltenberg called the violence against NATO troops "totally unacceptable" and said allies were readying more troops in case NATO needed to send additional reinforcements to the region. Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Bart MeijerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Sabine Siebold, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Bart Meijer Organizations: NATO, Kosovo Force, KFOR, REUTERS, U.S, Thomson Locations: Leposavic, Kosovo, Ognen, OSLO, Oslo, Kosovo's, Serbs, Pristina, Belgrade, EU

OSLO, June 1 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday he would soon travel to Turkey to discuss Sweden's NATO membership, in a bid to close a process that has been delayed due to objections from member countries Turkey and Hungary. Speaking during a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo, Stoltenberg said he had spoken to Tayyip Erdogan earlier this week, who at the weekend won re-election as Turkey's president. "I will also travel to Ankara in the near future to continue to address how we can ensure the fastest possible accession of Sweden," Stoltenberg told reporters. "It is time for Turkey and Hungary to start the ratification of Swedish membership to NATO." Several NATO foreign ministers expressed confidence Sweden could become a member before, or at, a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Tayyip Erdogan, Sweden, Tobias Billstrom, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Gwladys Fouche, Sabine Siebold, Terje Solsvik Organizations: NATO, Lithuanian, Thomson Locations: OSLO, Turkey, Hungary, Oslo, Ankara, Sweden, Swedish, Vilnius, Lithuania

Violence flared on Monday after Kosovo authorities, backed by special police units, installed ethnic Albanian mayors in offices in northern municipalities. Speaking after the meeting with Vucic, Osmani accused the Serbian leader of "whining and complaining and ... not telling the truth". But she said Kosovo could hold new elections in the north with Serb participation if they were triggered legally. Earlier in the day, neither leader had expressed any desire to meet with the other, before relenting under international pressure. Vucic said Kosovo authorities should withdraw "alleged mayors" from the north and declared the Kosovo special police units were there illegally.

Persons: Vjosa, Aleksandar Vucic, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Vucic, Osmani, Macron, Scholz, Mimi, Vladislav Culiomza Macron, Albin Kurti, Jens Stoltenberg, Fatos Bytyci, Ivana Sekularac, Sabine Siebold, Tassilo Hummel, Daria Sito, Edmund Blair, Daniel Wallis Organizations: EU, Kosovo, NATO, Political, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: BULBOACA, Moldova, Kosovo, Serbia, France, Germany, United States, Serbian, Belgrade, Paris, Berlin, Bulboaca, Oslo

[1/2] An Italian member of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) looks on while standing guard in Leposavic, Kosovo, June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen TeofilovskiBULBOACA, Moldova, June 1 (Reuters) - The presidents of Serbia and Kosovo insisted on Thursday they want to defuse a violent crisis in northern Kosovo but showed little sign of backing down from their opposing positions. Violence flared on Monday after Kosovo authorities, backed by special police units, installed ethnic Albanian mayors in offices in northern municipalities. But he said Kosovo authorities should withdraw "alleged mayors" from the north and declared the Kosovo special police units were there illegally. Vucic said he did not even know who was coming to the summit from Kosovo.

Persons: Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic, Vjosa Osmani, Osmani, Vucic, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Albin Kurti, Macron, Scholz, Jens Stoltenberg, Andrew Gray, Fatos Bytyci, Ivana Sekularac, Sabine Siebold, John Irish, Daria Sito, Edmund Blair Organizations: NATO, Kosovo Force, REUTERS, Kosovo, European, Political, Thomson Locations: Italian, Leposavic, Kosovo, BULBOACA, Moldova, Serbia, Belgrade, Moldovan, European Union, United States, Oslo

"All allies agree that Moscow does not have a veto against NATO enlargement," Stoltenberg told reporters as NATO foreign ministers gathered in Oslo, seeking to dispel any signs of discord ahead of the summit. At the Vilnius summit, NATO leaders aim to send a strong message of support to Kyiv. But with only six weeks to go, pressure is building for allies to find common ground on what exactly to offer Ukraine. Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Kyiv had suffered two invasions while waiting for an answer from NATO for 14 years. "Ukraine needs to get a clear path, and the next steps, on how to enter NATO," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Margus Tsahkna, Annalena Baerbock, Luxembourg's Jean Asselborn, Sabine Siebold, Gwladys Fouche, Terje Solsvik, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Bart Meijer, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Alezander, Boldizsar, Bart H, Meijer, Ros Russell Organizations: NATO, Kyiv, Ukraine, Lithuania's, Estonian, Thomson Locations: OSLO, Moscow, Ukraine, Vilnius, Oslo, Moldova, Kyiv, Europe, United States, Germany, Russia, Estonian, Luxembourg, Hungary, NATO, Brussels, Alezander Tanas, Chisinau, Olena, Budapest

☆ NATO head urges Kosovo to ease tensions with Serbia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Stoltenberg, the transatlantic military alliance's Norwegian secretary-general, said he had spoken to European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell about Kosovo. Ethnic Albanians make up more than 90% of the population in Kosovo as a whole. Local Serbs, backed by Belgrade, said they will not accept the mayors and that they do not represent them. The situation remained tense on Sunday with heavily armed police in armoured vehicles still guarding the mayors' offices. Reporting by Sabine Siebold, writing by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ NATO urges Kosovo to de-escalate tension with Serbia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The resulting clashes on Friday between Kosovan police and protesters opposed to the ethnic Albanian mayors prompted Serbia to put its army on full combat alert and to move units closer to the border. "We urge the institutions in Kosovo to de-escalate immediately and call on all parties to resolve the situation through dialogue," said Oana Lungescu, a spokeswoman for the transatlantic military alliance, in a Twitter post. She said KFOR, the 3,800-strong NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, would remain vigilant. It is also the right of citizens to be served by those elected officials," Kurti said on Twitter on Saturday. Ethnic Albanians form more than 90% of the population in Kosovo, with Serbs only the majority in the northern region.

☆ Wanted spies: No remote work and must leave cell phone at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, May 22 (Reuters) - Calling wannabe James Bonds. Intelligence services are finding it harder to recruit staff since the pandemic as prospects want to work from home and would rather not part with their personal cell phones, the head of Germany's foreign intelligence service BND said on Monday. "Remote work is barely possible at the BND for security reasons, and not being able to take your cell phone to work is asking much from young people looking for a job," he added. Some 6,500 people work for the BND, according to its homepage. Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ NATO reaches back to Cold War past with first major defense plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/6] The Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer listens during an interview in Tallinn, Estonia September 16, 2022. By outlining what it calls its regional plans, NATO will also give nations guidance on how to upgrade their forces and logistics. Finland's accession last month has alone doubled NATO's border with Russia to some 2,500 km, forcing a more flexible approach to deployments than in the past, when Germany was seen as the main battlezone. "We don't envision the type of war that the Cold War was, where allied forces ... would be hit simultaneous with large-scale Warsaw Pact attacks," he said, pointing rather to regionalised conflicts that needed to be contained by quick force deployments. NATO agreed in 2022 to put 300,000 troops on high alert, up from 40,000 in the past.

☆ NATO reaches back to Cold War past with first major defence plans in decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

☆ NATO says Moscow may sabotage undersea cables as part of war on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS, May 3 (Reuters) - Russia may sabotage undersea cables to punish Western nations for supporting Ukraine, NATO's intelligence chief warned on Wednesday, as the alliance boosts efforts to protect undersea infrastructure following the Nord Stream attacks. "There are heightened concerns that Russia may target undersea cables and other critical infrastructure in an effort to disrupt Western life, to gain leverage against those nations that are providing security to Ukraine," David Cattler told reporters. As concerns grow over the security of undersea cables, Western countries are setting out to turn the North Sea into a green power engine, planning a spate of new wind parks that will be linked to the mainland by cables. Other undersea cables transport some 95% of internet traffic around the world at speeds of about 200 terabytes per second, with 200 of these 400 cables deemed critical, according to NATO. NATO significantly increased the number of ships patrolling the North and Baltic seas after the Nord Stream blasts, and established a Critical Undersea Infrastructure Protection Cell to improve cooperation with industry, capitals and experts.

☆ No flight cancellations expected during largest NATO air drill in history
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Air Defender 23 will be one of the largest air drills in NATO history, with 25 countries taking part in the joint exercise in German, Dutch and Czech airspace. It will use air corridors that have often been used for training purposes, according to the German air force. Air traffic control strikes in France and elsewhere have exacerbated that limited airspace, increasing fears of costly cancellations and delays across the continent. Germany's aviation sector in particular was concerned about the exercise's detrimental impact on commercial aviation. "Coordinated action will allow this major military event to take place while, at the same time, accommodating civil air traffic with the lowest possible impact in terms of air traffic delays and re-routing actions," Eurocontrol added.

☆ Countries rush Sudan evacuations, fearful of violence rocking Khartoum
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KHARTOUM, April 24 (Reuters) - A German air force plane with 101 people evacuated from Sudan landed in Berlin early on Monday, as countries rushed to extract their citizens from Khartoum amid a deadly power struggle between the army and a paramilitary force. Sweden said that all its embassy staff in Khartoum, their families and an unspecified number of other Swedes had been evacuated to nearby Djibouti. Others are via Port Sudan on the Red Sea, which is about 650 km (400 miles) northeast of Khartoum, but is about 800 km (500 miles) by road. The German military did not provide a break-down of how many of those evacuated were German citizens or nationals from other countries. The fighting in Sudan has triggered a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country, where millions of people have been left without access to basic services.

☆ EU ministers braced for Ukrainian frustration over ammunition plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Andrew Gray | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

loading"The inability of the EU to implement its own decision on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine is frustrating," Kuleba said on Thursday. Kuleba can make his case directly when he discusses the state of the war and Ukraine's needs by video link to a regular meeting of EU foreign ministers, taking place in Luxembourg. EU officials pushed back against Kuleba's criticism by stressing that this fast track is up and running so ammunition is already flowing to Kyiv. But the second track, worth another 1 billion euros to fund joint procurement, has yet to be finalised. EU officials and diplomats said they expected an agreement that would satisfy all sides in the coming days.

☆ Allies move to bolster Ukrainian tank forces ahead of counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine has pressed its allies for long-range weapons, jets and ammunition ahead of a counteroffensive to push back Russian troops that is expected in the coming weeks or months. Abrams battle tanks will arrive in Germany in the coming weeks for Ukrainian troops to begin training, U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters. NATO member states and their allies have provided Ukraine with weapons and armour, but Ukraine's leadership has repeatedly asked for more powerful weapons and quicker supplies. "The Russians are cautious to come into Ukraine because of the effective use of the Ukrainian air defense system. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban poured cold water on Ukraine's NATO prospects, simply tweeting "What?!"

☆ Lockheed and Rheinmetall to develop German version of HIMARS rocket launchers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Lockheed Martin's logo is seen during Japan Aerospace 2016 air show in Tokyo, Japan, October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonBERLIN, April 20 (Reuters) - Arms makers Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) and Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) will team up to develop a German rocket artillery system, they said on Thursday, a weapon in the same category as the HIMARS rocket launchers Lockheed has been supplying to Ukraine. Rheinmetall and Lockheed said in a statement they had signed a memorandum of understanding and that the new weapon would integrate existing German components. "The combination of proven capabilities and comprehensive know-how of Lockheed Martin with the expertise of Rheinmetall on the production side will provide unique opportunities for both sides," Rheinmetall Chief Executive Armin Papperger said. "Lockheed Martin is looking forward to the cooperation and the optimisation of our joint resources to meet the immediate needs for deterrence," said Paula Hartley, Lockheed's vice president of tactical missiles.

☆ Germany to end Patriot air defence system deployments in Poland, Slovakia this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"The nations have been informed about the plans," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence was quoted as saying by Funke media group. The deployment in Poland should end in June while the one in Slovakia will expire by the end of year, the spokesperson added. The German government has also delivered a Patriot system from army stocks will also be delivered to Ukraine this year. Germany had 36 Patriot units when it was NATO's frontline state during the Cold War. Today, the German forces are down to 11 Patriot units.

☆ Germany allows Poland to export old fighter jets to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, April 13 (Reuters) - Germany has approved Poland's request to export five old MiG-29 fighter jets to bolster Ukraine's air power against the Russian invasion, the German defence ministry said on Thursday. Germany inherited 24 MiG-29 jets from the East German GDR during reunification in 1990. At the time, the aircraft were seen as among the most advanced fighter jets in the world. Ukraine, which hopes to launch a counteroffensive in the coming weeks or months, wants to secure fighter jets to defend against air strikes. Western countries have so far been reluctant to send advanced fighter jets such as F-16's to Kyiv, but some countries have stepped in to send old MiG-29 jets that Ukraine already uses.

☆ Ukraine's tech entrepreneurs fight war on a different front
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Michael Kahn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

It's an example of how some startups in Ukraine's dynamic tech sector are switching to pursue military projects. Pavlo Kartashov, director of the Ukrainian Startup Fund (USF), a government-backed organization that seeds technology startups, told Reuters his group resumed funding in October. Demand from the government has driven the shift to military technology, but most of the entrepreneurs who spoke to Reuters said that patriotic duty also played a role. "There are much more ideas in military technology," said Krasovsky, the founder and chief executive of Swedish-Ukrainian Sigma Software Group. Groups like the Polish-Ukrainian Start Up Bridge - a Polish-government backed venture - offer emerging Ukrainian tech companies small grants to fund basic business needs and a co-working space in Warsaw.

☆ Finland will join NATO on Tuesday - Stoltenberg
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg attends a news conference before a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium April 3, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna GeronBRUSSELS, April 3 (Reuters) - Finland will join NATO on Tuesday, a step that will make Finland safer and the alliance stronger, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday. "We will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at NATO headquarters. It will be a good day for Finland's security, for Nordic security and for NATO as a whole," he told reporters in Brussels. Reporting by Sudip Kar Gupta, Sabine Siebold and Andrew Gray; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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