The Pentagon contract to deploy Elon Musk’s Starlink terminals in Ukraine will expire next month, Bloomberg has reported, citing an unnamed US official. The service plays a vital role in Washington's security assistance to Kiev, the report adds.
The source also revealed that the contract, which went into force in June of last year and lasts through May, is worth $23 million. The US Department of Defence has so far refused to officially disclose the size of the contract. The amount has been described by the publication as “miniscule” compared to the “hundreds of millions of dollars” Musk’s SpaceX received from the US for launching some of its national security satellites. Musk has repeatedly voiced unease about the use of Starlink in Ukraine. The satellite network has been providing communications to the country’s military and the government. ”Starlink needs to be a civilian network, not a participant to combat,” Musk said on X (formerly Twitter) in September, referring to the use of the satellites in Ukraine throughout the conflict with Russia. “This is the right order of things,” he added. Musk’s comment came shortly after the billionaire revealed that he had foiled a Ukrainian drone raid on Crimea by refusing to let Kiev forces use Starlink to guide naval drone strikes on Russian ships. Musk’s admission sparked outrage in Kiev, with Mikhail Podoliak, a top adviser to President Vladimir Zelensky, accusing him of “enabling evil.” Musk responded to the accusation by explaining that he had no obligation to fight for Ukraine, adding that he did not want Space X to be “explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.” His remark echoed a previous statement made in the winter of 2023, where he admitted that although Starlink was “the communication backbone of Ukraine, especially at the front lines”, SpaceX “will not enable escalation of conflict that may lead to WW3.” Last year, SpaceX signed a contract with the US Defence Department to provide satellite services as part of the Pentagon’s new ‘Starshield’ program. CEO Elon Musk described the effort as a military alternative to the “civilian” Starlink. However the new Space Force contract will see Starshield’ rely on the existing constellation of Starlink satellites.
0 Comments
Washington has intercepted and transferred to Kiev thousands of Kalashnikov assault rifles and machine guns, with over half a million rounds of ammunition, as well as grenade launchers and sniper rifles, the US Central Command announced on Tuesday.
The transfer took place on April 4 and included “enough materiel” to equip a single Ukrainian brigade with small arms, CENTCOM said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “The US government transferred over 5,000 AK-47s, machine guns, sniper rifles, RPG-7s and over 500,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces,” it wrote. The Pentagon claims that the guns and ammunition were on their way from Iran to the Houthi militia in Yemen, in violation of a UN arms embargo, when they were seized by the US Navy and its allies from several “transiting stateless vessels” off the coast of Yemen between May 2021 and February 2023. In December, the US government “obtained ownership of these munitions” through the civil forfeiture claims by the Justice Department. Civil asset forfeiture is a practice that allows the US government to seize property suspected of being used in criminal activity, and has long been criticized as de facto theft. “US CENTCOM is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means,” it claimed, insisting that Tehran’s “support for armed groups threatens international and regional security.” The announcement came amid uncertainty over further US funding of Ukraine’s war effort. President Joe Biden has been urging Congress for months to approve his aid package which would earmark $60 billion for Ukraine. Many Republicans have opposed the measure, demanding more efforts to strengthen US border security, while seeking more accountability for the aid already transferred to Kiev. The US has provided Ukraine with $113 billion in various forms of assistance since the start of hostilities. Russia has repeatedly condemned Western arms shipments to Ukraine, saying these will only prolong the conflict, while making the West a direct participant in the hostilities. Ukraine may ultimately have to agree to some kind of compromise with Russia to end the conflict, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said.
In an interview with the BBC published on Saturday, the NATO chief reiterated that the West must support Ukraine in the long term “even if we believe and hope that the war will end in the near future.” He added that Western countries should invest in Kiev’s defence capabilities to make it more resilient in the event of future hostilities. At the same time, he signaled that it was up to Ukraine to choose when and under what conditions to seek peace with Russia. “At the end of the day, it has to be Ukraine that decides what kind of compromises they’re willing to do,” Stoltenberg said, adding that the West’s role is to help Kiev reach a negotiating position that could produce an “acceptable result.” That said, Stoltenberg emphasized that he was not pushing Kiev toward any concessions, adding that “real peace” can only be achieved with a Ukrainian victory. Earlier this week, the NATO boss made a strong plea to support Kiev in the long term, urging the bloc’s members to “rely less on voluntary contributions and more on NATO commitments.” According to several reports, Stoltenberg proposed a five-year €100 billion ($107 billion) military aid package to Ukraine. The exact details of the initiative are reportedly now under discussion. Throughout the conflict, Russia has maintained that it is open to talks with Ukraine. However, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky banned any negotiations with the current leadership in Moscow after four former Ukrainian territories overwhelmingly voted to join Russia in the autumn of 2022. The Ukrainian leader has been advocating a ten-point ‘peace formula’ demanding that Moscow withdraw its troops from territory Kiev claims as its own, as well as for a tribunal to be established to prosecute Russian officials for alleged war crimes. Moscow has dismissed the initiative as “detached from reality.” In an interview with Politico on Saturday, Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, claimed that while Ukrainians were tired of the conflict, they would vehemently oppose any compromise with Russia. However, last month Zelensky suggested that a return to Ukraine’s 1991 borders was no longer a precondition for negotiations with Russia. Nevertheless, he still insisted that Kiev must regain the territory it lost to Moscow in 2022. Moscow has said Ukraine must take into account the fact that its borders have changed drastically since the start of the hostilities. NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg urged the United States to stick with Europe as the military alliance turned 75 menaced by Russia and the spectre of Donald Trump's return to power.
"I don't believe in America alone, just as I don't believe in Europe alone. I believe in America and Europe together in NATO because we are stronger and safer together," Stoltenberg said on Thursday at a ceremony at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Foreign ministers from NATO's 32 countries will hold a ceremony at its Brussels headquarters to fete the organisation that bills itself as the "most powerful and successful alliance in history". But, amid the cake-cutting and speeches, NATO is grappling with one of its most serious challenges since it emerged from the ashes of World War II in 1949 to counter the Soviet Union. "As we celebrate NATO's achievements, we do not rest upon them," alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday. "Europe now faces war on a scale we thought was resigned to history." Since Russia launched its all-out offensive on Ukraine two years ago, a reinvigorated NATO has added Finland and Sweden to its ranks and bolstered its forces in eastern Europe. Alliance members also have thrown their weight behind Kiev -- which is bidding to join NATO -- by sending Ukraine weapons worth tens of billions of dollars. But those supplies have now dwindled as support from leading NATO power the United States remains stuck by political wrangling. On the frontline, Ukraine's outgunned forces have been pushed onto the back foot. In the face of surging Russian missile attacks on its infrastructure, Kiev is pleading with its Western backers to send all the Patriot defence systems they can spare. Stoltenberg, meanwhile, has proposed a 100-billion-euro ($108-billion) five-year fund in a bid to ensure long-term support for Ukraine. He is also pushing to get NATO as an organisation more directly involved in coordinating deliveries, something the alliance has so far refused to do out of concern it could drag it closer to war with Russia. Part of the urgency for the plan, officials say, is to try to protect support for Ukraine from the possible return of Donald Trump to the White House after US elections in November. The former US president has worried allies by criticising backing for Kiev and he unleashed a political firestorm by saying he would "encourage" Russia to go after NATO allies who do not spend enough on defence. In the search for unanimity on the appointment of the new NATO chief, the number of supporters for Mark Rutte is now estimated at 28. This should convince four more NATO member states of the candidacy of the current Dutch Prime Minister. There is cautious optimism in government circles about Rutte's chances, although it is emphasized that unanimity is a condition for the appointment. It's not that far yet. For example, there is resistance from Hungary. Romania has put forward its President Klaus Johannis as an opposing candidate. Last month, the American capital Washington announced that President Biden supports Rutte's appointment. Shortly afterwards, expressions of support followed from the United Kingdom and France, among others. At that time, the number of supporters for Rutte was still estimated at 20 out of 31 countries by the website Politico. Sweden is now also a member of NATO and the support of 28 of the 32 member states is assumed. Dutch soldiers Rutte is in Lithuania on Tuesday. He arrived in the morning at the NATO base Rukla, west of the capital Vilnius. Dutch soldiers are also stationed at the camp. Later he meets Lithuanian President Nauseda. The day ends with a European working dinner with several fellow government leaders, at the invitation of European President Charles Michel. The European meeting is the reason for the lightning visit to Lithuania, but above the visit there is of course the fact that Rutte is in the race to become Secretary General of NATO. At the beginning of the day, Lithuania did not yet know whether it considers Rutte to be the right candidate for the post. However, in The Hague it can be heard that things are also 'looking good' with support around the Baltic states, in addition to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Later on Tuesday, Rutte will hold a joint press conference with his Lithuanian host, President Nauseda. This week, a formal decision on the successor to Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg would be made at a ministerial NATO summit. The American ambassador to the organization had indicated that Washington would like to complete the appointment in the first quarter of this year. That turns out not to have worked; A number of countries in Eastern Europe in particular are not yet outspoken in favor of Rutte's candidacy. People in that region believe that they deserve a stronger say within the alliance, because the secretaries-general are usually supplied from the west of Europe. For example, the Hungarian Foreign Minister said that his country could not vote for Rutte because of his strong position at European level towards Budapest.
The Netherlands will deploy a Patriot air defence unit to its NATO ally Lithuania as part of a summer joint air defence exercise, the Dutch Défense Ministry announced this week.
The several-week-long drill is essential to strengthening air defences on the eastern flank, the Dutch military claimed in a press release on Thursday. The stated goal is to test the ability of NATO troops to quickly transport and deploy such units to a given area. The decision to position a US-made system near the Russian border “contributes to the readiness of NATO air defence,” Dutch Défense Minister Kajsa Ollongren claimed in the release. Vilnius welcomed the exercise as excellent news, noting the Dutch will be training in the no-notice redeployment of such units alongside the Lithuanian armed forces. The US-led military bloc’s Enhanced Forward Presence forces are “vital for the Baltic states’ security,” Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas said on Friday, calling for more deployments and exercises involving NATO aircraft and ground-based air defense systems in her country. It’s unclear what the Dutch deployment of Patriot units in Lithuania will entail. A single battery of the air defence system consists of multiple truck-mounted units, including power, radar, antenna, engagement control and other support vehicles, as well as up to eight launchers with interceptor missiles. The Netherlands has been one of the few countries to supply two of their Patriot launchers to Ukraine, along with the US and Germany, which each sent a full battery. The deployment will follow NATO’ ongoing military exercise Steadfast Defender 2024, one of the biggest in decades, which features some 90,000 troops, more than a thousand combat vehicles, over 50 naval vessels, 80 helicopters, drones and fighter jets from all 32 member states. Russia has stated the US-led military bloc’s increased military spending and increasingly frequent military drills demonstrate its “increasingly aggressive nature.” The drills are practicing a “scenario of armed confrontation with Russia,” increasing tensions and destabilizing the world, Russian Security Council secretary Nikolay Patrushev said in early March. Patrushev described NATO as “an important tool of Washington’s influence on other countries,” which, over the 75 years of its existence as a self-described guarantor of peace and democracy “unleashed more than a hundred wars and military conflicts around the world and is getting ready for more.” What will happen when Russia destroys US-made F-16 fighter jets that eventually made it to Ukraine, just as it has other Western equipment?
Several NATO member states have promised to donate their F-16s to Kiev and have trained Ukrainian pilots to fly them, but no deliveries have been made yet. Russia has warned the West that fielding the nuclear-capable jets will represent an unacceptable escalation of the Ukraine conflict. “ If they deliver the F-16s, I think you know better than others that this will not change the situation on the battlefield,” the president said. “And we will destroy these planes just as we have destroyed tanks, armored vehicles, and other equipment, including multiple launch rocket systems.” The comments came during Putin’s visit to Torzhok air base in Tver Region, home of the 344th Training Center for Russian combat pilots, including personnel being trained to take part in the Ukraine conflict. F-16s flown by Ukrainian pilots but based in third countries will nevertheless be legitimate targets for Russia, Putin added. “Of course, if they are used from airfields of third countries, they become a legitimate target for us, wherever they are located,” he said. Russia is well aware that the 1970s jet can potentially carry nuclear weapons, and this will be taken into account in combat operations, Putin noted. Kiev has lost much of its air force over the past two years, including Soviet-era jets donated by several NATO members as replacements. The Ukrainian government eventually asked the US-led bloc for F-16s. The single-engine fighter is a late 1970s design, originally manufactured by General Dynamics before it was acquired by Lockheed Martin. It requires pristine runways, which are in short supply in Ukraine, prompting speculation that Ukrainian-operated jets might be stationed in nearby NATO countries instead. Ukraine can use Telegram for influence operations but the messaging application still represents a threat, the head of the Ukrainian military intelligence service (GUR), Kirill Budanov, said on Wednesday.
In comments sent to the media by Kiev’s Center for Strategic Communications, Budanov admitted the wide reach of the encrypted instant-messaging platform, calling it both an opportunity and a problem. “From the viewpoint of national security, Telegram is definitely a problem,” Budanov said. “Anyone can create a channel, start writing whatever he wants, and – when someone tries to do something about it – hides behind freedom of the press.” “I am absolutely against the suppression of freedom of speech. But this is too much,” Budanov added. “This is not freedom of the media, it is something else.” Telegram was created as an instant-messaging platform by Russian entrepreneurs Pavel and Nikolay Durov in 2013. What sets it apart from similar applications, such as WhatsApp and Viber, is the ability to create public broadcast channels and discussion groups. It is currently the number one messaging app in Ukraine. “The most interesting thing is that everyone reads Telegram,” Budanov said. While this may have a “destructive effect” inside Ukraine, it also allows Kiev to spread its message in the Russian-controlled territories, he added. His comments come two days after several Ukrainian lawmakers proposed a bill to “regulate” Telegram. The proposal defines messaging platforms as a separate legal category and creates reporting requirements for “providers of information” using them. If passed, it would require any messaging platforms operating in Ukraine to have a registered office in the country – unless they are headquartered in the EU – and disclose their ownership structure and funding to the government. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has consolidated all media outlets under the state’s umbrella, citing martial law imposed due to the conflict with Russia. Officials in Kiev have repeatedly lamented the fact that Telegram has enabled citizens to bypass government censorship. Last month, a parliamentary committee agreed that the platform should be banned in Ukraine. This prompted criticism from a National Security and Defense Council official in charge of “countering disinformation,” who argued that Ukraine was using the platform to “strangle the pro-Russian segments of the media field” and that banning it would be “impossible.” Ukraine is not the first country in Europe to ban the Telegram App. Also the Spain National Court ordered to suspend the use of the App last week. Earlier this month, the US embassy in Russia said it was “monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow,” including concerts. The embassy warned US citizens to avoid large gatherings. On Friday, following reports of the Crocus City Hall attack, it advised US citizens not to travel to Russia.
Starting in November, there has been a steady stream of intelligence that ISIS-K was determined to attack in Russia, according to two sources familiar with the information. ISIS-K stands for ISIS-Khorasan, the terror organization’s affiliate that is active in Afghanistan and the surrounding region. US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the US government had had information about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow – potentially targeting large gatherings, to include concerts – and that this is what prompted the State Department to issue the public advisory. “The US government also shared this information with Russian authorities in accordance with its longstanding ‘duty to warn’ policy,” Watson said. In a speech Tuesday, Putin had blasted the American warnings as “provocative,” saying “these actions resemble outright blackmail and the intention to intimidate and destabilize our society.” In March alone, Russian authorities had thwarted several ISIS-related incidents, according to RIA. On March 3, RIA reported that six ISIS members were killed in a counter-terrorist operation in the Ingush Karabulak; on March 7, it said security services had uncovered and “neutralized” a cell of the banned organization Vilayat Khorasan in the Kaluga region, whose members were planning an attack on a synagogue in Moscow; and on March 20, it said the commander of an ISIS combat group had been detained. A US official said Friday that Washington had no reason to doubt ISIS’ claim that it was responsible for the latest attack. FSB: Moscow attackers had contacts in Ukraine The perpetrators of the attack in Moscow on Friday evening had contacts in Ukraine. Four attackers were on their way to the Ukrainian border when they were apprehended on Saturday morning, the Russian security service FSB said. The arrests the FSB refers to took place in Bryansk province, several hundred kilometers southwest of Moscow. Bryansk borders both Ukraine and Belarus. The FSB does not say what role these 'Ukrainian contacts' would have played in the attack. Shortly after the attack on Crocus City Hall, the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group claimed responsibility. Employees of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also immediately announced on Friday evening that Kiev had nothing to do with the attack in Moscow. The United States also said on Friday evening that it had no indications that Ukraine was involved in the shooting. Europe will deliver the first batch of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine within the next several months, with more to come later this year, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren has said.
Denmark will be the first Western country to supply Ukraine with the advanced aircraft, with the Netherlands soon to follow, the defense minister revealed in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, as she wrapped up her visit to Kiev. “I’m very confident that we will start delivering F-16s this summer... Denmark first, and we have a schedule ... so in the second half of the year, the Dutch F-16s will be going this way,” Ollongren said, without providing details on how many jets would be included in the first shipments. She added that it will not be easy for the West to provide Ukraine with all the aid it needs, as the US struggles to approve President Joe Biden’s assistance package earmarking $60 billion for Kiev. Republican lawmakers have opposed the move, demanding that the White House do more to enhance US border security. Ollongren also called for ammunition production in the EU to be ramped up amid Ukraine’s complaints that it suffers from a lack of munitions. “We have to be realistic, and consider the possibility that it might be a lengthy war, and it is better to plan for a long war,” she said. Western countries announced an international coalition to help Ukraine procure US-designed F-16s and train its pilots last year, with plans to provide Kiev with more than 40 aircraft. Denmark has pledged to send Kiev 19 jets of this type. The Netherlands initially promised 18, later increasing the number by six. Media reports indicate that Norway could send Kiev five to ten F-16s, with Belgium pledging to support Ukraine with an undisclosed number. Ukrainian officials, however, have warned that the country could face infrastructure difficulties in maintaining the US-designed jets. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in November that while the F-16s will certainly add to Ukraine’s capabilities, they will not be “a silver bullet” to fundamentally change the battlefield situation. Russia has warned the West that arms shipments to Ukraine will only prolong the conflict without changing the ultimate outcome. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has also said that F-16s would be “legitimate targets” for the Russian military, adding that the shipments will only increase the risk of a direct clash between Moscow and NATO. The European Commission is pressing ahead with its plan to give Kiev up to €3 billion ($3.2 billion) from profits generated by frozen Russian assets amid waning financial support from the US, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
Brussels is fast-tracking the decision to seize the interest earned from the assets held at clearinghouse Euroclear, starting from February onwards, the article stated. A first tranche of money could be sent to Kiev as early as July if Brussels can secure the approval of all bloc members, the outlet said, citing EU officials. The proposal is reportedly expected before a summit of EU leaders next week. The West has frozen roughly $300 billion in holdings belonging to the Russian central bank since the start of the Ukraine conflict two years ago. Brussels-based clearing house Euroclear holds around €191 billion ($205 billion) of them and has accrued nearly €4.4 billion in interest over the past year. According to the report, Brussels would disburse between €2 and €3 billion in revenue generated by frozen assets this year, depending on interest rates. EU officials estimate that overall profits derived from Russian funds held by Euroclear could reach €20 billion by 2027, the FT said. The issue of tapping Russian assets has grown in importance since a $60 billion American aid package to Ukraine was blocked by the Republican-led US Congress, prompting Kiev to look for alternative donors to fund its war effort. The European Commission is pressing ahead with its plan to give Kiev up to €3 billion ($3.2 billion) from profits generated by frozen Russian assets amid waning financial support from the US, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Brussels is fast-tracking the decision to seize the interest earned from the assets held at clearinghouse Euroclear, starting from February onwards, the article stated. A first tranche of money could be sent to Kiev as early as July if Brussels can secure the approval of all bloc members, the outlet said, citing EU officials. The proposal is reportedly expected before a summit of EU leaders next week. The West has frozen roughly $300 billion in holdings belonging to the Russian central bank since the start of the Ukraine conflict two years ago. Brussels-based clearing house Euroclear holds around €191 billion ($205 billion) of them and has accrued nearly €4.4 billion in interest over the past year. According to the report, Brussels would disburse between €2 and €3 billion in revenue generated by frozen assets this year, depending on interest rates. EU officials estimate that overall profits derived from Russian funds held by Euroclear could reach €20 billion by 2027, the FT said. The issue of tapping Russian assets has grown in importance since a $60 billion American aid package to Ukraine was blocked by the Republican-led US Congress, prompting Kiev to look for alternative donors to fund its war effort. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov signed a plan for the implementation of the adapted Annual National Program of Cooperation with NATO for 2024, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported Friday.
Aiming at reforming Ukraine's security and defense sector, the Ukrainian defense ministry mapped out 50 steps to achieve 17 goals in its plan. The plan includes creating a joint NATO-Ukraine center for analysis, training and education, developing national documents based on NATO standards and completing the transformation of its command and control system in accordance with NATO principles and standards. The Ukrainian parliament earlier declared rapprochement with NATO as one of the key priorities for Ukraine this year. NATO recognized Ukraine as its Enhanced Opportunities Partner in 2020. In September 2023, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance is not ready to accept Ukraine as a member while its conflict with Russia is in an active stage. US State Department fixture and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, aka “Regime Change Karen,” apparently woke up one day recently, took the safety off her nuclear-grade mouth, and inadvertently blew up the West’s Ukraine narrative.
Until now, Americans have been told that all the US taxpayer cash being earmarked for Ukrainian aid is to help actual Ukrainians. Anyone notice that the $75 billion American contribution isn’t getting the job done on the battlefield? Victory in military conflict isn’t supposed to look like defeat. Winning also isn’t defined as, “Well, on a long enough time axis, like infinity, our chance of defeat will eventually approach zero.” And the $178 billion in total from all allies combined doesn’t seem to be doing the trick, either. Short of starting a global war with weapons capable of extending the conflict beyond a regional one, it’s not like they’ve been holding back. The West is breaking the bank. All for some vague, future Ukrainian “victory” that they don’t seem to want to clearly define. We keep hearing that the support will last “as long as it takes.” For what exactly? By not clearly defining it, they can keep moving the goal posts. But now here comes Regime Change Karen, dropping some truth bombs on CNN about Ukrainian aid. She started off with the usual talking point of doing “what we have always done, which is defend democracy and freedom around the world.” Conveniently, in places where they have controlling interests and want to keep them – or knock them out of a global competitor’s roster and into their own. “And by the way, we have to remember that the bulk of this money is going right back into the US to make those weapons,” Nuland said, pleading in favor of the latest Ukraine aid package that’s been getting the side eye from Republicans in Congress. So there you have it, folks. Ukrainians are a convenient pretext to keep the tax cash flowing in the direction of the US military industrial complex. This gives a whole new perspective on “as long as it takes.” It’s just the usual endless war and profits repackaged as benevolence. But we’ve seen this before. It explains why war in Afghanistan was little more than a gateway to Iraq. And why the Global War on Terrorism never seems to end, and only ever mutates. Arguably the best one they’ve come up with so far is the need for military-grade panopticon-style surveillance, so the state can shadow-box permanently with ghosts while bamboozling the general public with murky cyber concepts that it can’t understand or conceptualize. When one conflict or threat dials down, another ramps up, boosted by fearmongering rhetoric couched in white-knighting. There’s never any endgame or exit ramp to any of these conflicts. And there clearly isn’t one for Ukraine, either. Still, there’s a sense that the realities on the ground in Ukraine, which favor Russia, now likely mean that the conflict is closer to its end than to its beginning. Acknowledgements abound in the Western press. And that means there isn’t much time left for Europe to get aboard the tax cash laundering bandwagon and stuff its own military industrial complexes’ coffers like Washington has been doing from the get-go. Which would explain why a bunch of countries now seem to be rushing to give Ukraine years-long bilateral security “guarantees,” requiring more weapons for everyone. France, Germany, Canada, and Italy have all made the pledge. Plus Denmark, which also flat-out said that it would send all its artillery to Ukraine. If security for Europe is the goal, that sounds kind of like the opposite. Particularly when Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba told the EU that “Russia has gotten closer to your home” in the wake of the most recent defeat in Avdeevka. He sounds like one of those guys in TV ads trying to peddle burglar alarms. Seems like Russia only exists in the minds of the West these days to justify sending weapons to Ukraine to get blown up, while also justifying to taxpayers why they should continue funding this whole charade. Meanwhile, the West’s drive towards peace seems to be taking the scenic route. “As we move forward, we continue our support to Ukraine in further developing President Zelensky’s Peace Formula,” G7 leaders said after a recent meeting with Zelensky in Kiev. Nice to see that he’s devoting all his time to this magic peace formula instead of running around extorting his friends for cash by threatening them with Putin. It was already a pretty big hint of what’s really been going on when the EU decided to use the taxpayer-funded European Peace Facility to reimburse EU countries for the unloading of their mothballed, second-hand weapons into Ukraine, where Russia can then dispose of them before anyone could be accused of overcharging for clunkers. Now, with the clunker supply running dry, they just have to make more weapons. Maybe funneling cash into weapons for themselves will be the Hail Mary pass that saves their economies that they’ve tanked “for Ukraine”? Thanks to Nuland’s nuking of any plausible deniability on Ukrainian “aid” not going to Washington, it’s now clear that Ukrainians continue to die so poor weapons makers don’t end up shaking tin cans on street corners. She has also removed any doubt about the ultimate US goal being Russian regime change, calling Putin’s leadership “not the Russia we wanted,” and sounding like someone who chronically sends back a meal to kitchens of a dining establishment. “We wanted a partner that was going to be Westernizing, that was going to be European. But that’s not what Putin has done,” she told CNN. That’s exactly what Putin has done, actually. It’s the West that’s moved away from itself and is becoming increasingly unrecognizable by its own citizens. Pretty sure that it goes beyond just wanting a country to be “European,” too. Because Germany’s European, and an ally, and Nuland wouldn’t shut up about how much she hated its Nord Stream gas supply — until it mysteriously went kaboom. Regime Change Karen saying the quiet part out loud has decimated the Western establishment’s narrative so badly that it’s a miracle no one has yet accused her thermonuclear mouth of being an asset of Russia’s weapons program. French President Emmanuel Macron has argued that deployments of troops to Ukraine by NATO members and other allies cannot be ruled out because Western powers must stop at nothing to ensure that Russia does not defeat Kiev’s forces.
“There’s no consensus today to send, in an official manner, troops on the ground,” Macron told reporters after hosting a meeting of European leaders on Monday in Paris. “But in terms of dynamics, we cannot exclude anything. We will do everything necessary to prevent Russia from winning this war.” France hosted Monday’s summit of Ukraine backers to demonstrate steadfast support and European unity amid concerns that US aid to Kiev may stop, especially if Donald Trump wins this year’s presidential election. Macron said that while Ukraine’s European allies want to avoid escalating the conflict into a direct war with Russia, they agree that they must do more to ensure that Moscow doesn’t win. “We have to take stock of the situation and realize our collective security is at stake,” the French leader said. “We have to ratchet up. Russia must not win, not only for Ukraine, but secondly, we are, by doing so, ensuring our collective security for today and for the future.” Macron noted that the allies who say “never, ever” today about direct troop deployments to Ukraine are the same ones that previously ruled out escalations of military aid that were later granted, including long-range missiles and fighter jets. “Two years ago, a lot around this table said that we will offer helmets and sleeping bags, and now they’re saying we need to do more to get missiles and tanks to Ukraine. We have to be humble and realize that we’ve always been six to eight months late, so we’ll do what is needed to achieve our aim.” There is broad consensus among the nations represented at Monday’s meeting that the allies must provide more aid to Ukraine and step up more quickly, Macron claimed. “We are not at war with the Russian people, but we cannot let them win in Ukraine,” he said, adding, “We are determined to do everything necessary for as long as necessary. That is the key takeaway from this evening.” Washington ran out of money for Ukraine last month, after burning through $113 billion in congressionally approved aid packages. US President Joe Biden is seeking an additional $60 billion in Ukraine funding as part of an emergency spending bill that also includes aid for Israel and Taiwan. Conservative Republican lawmakers have balked at approving more aid for Ukraine, saying Biden is merely prolonging the conflict without changing its outcome. Trump has claimed he would end the crisis swiftly by forcing the Ukrainian and Russian leaders to the negotiating table. The early delivery of US fighter jets would not have changed the course of Ukraine’s failed summer counteroffensive because there were not enough trained pilots to fly them, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said.
Speaking to ABC News on Sunday, Sullivan disagreed with the narrative that the White House did not provide enough “war-fighting equipment” for Ukraine to succeed on the front line. “The idea that we did not mobilize a massive quantity of resources and capabilities to deliver to Ukrainians simply doesn’t wash,” Sullivan said in response to a question on whether Washington’s incremental approach to deliveries of advanced weaponry was to blame for Ukraine’s lack of progress on the battlefield. “If you look at some total of what the United States provided to Ukraine in this fight it is an incredible quantity of material delivered at speed, at scale outpacing the expectation,” he argued. “There are additional capabilities that Ukrainians have looked for, F-16 being one of them,” he continued, explaining that while the US is prepared to provide the jets, the real challenge Ukraine faces is that “there aren’t many pilots to be able to pilot those aircraft.” Kiev has repeatedly asked for Western fighter jets, saying they are needed to repel Russian air attacks. In August, the US allowed Denmark and the Netherlands to donate F-16s to Ukraine, with the first deliveries expected this year. NATO member states also agreed to form a coalition to help train Ukrainians to fly the Western-made aircraft. Moscow has warned that the move would be a dangerous escalation, given that some F-16 modifications can carry nuclear bombs, and vowed to destroy the jets in Ukraine if they arrive. |
Thank you for choosing to make a difference through your donation. We appreciate your support.
This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of CookiesCategories
All
Archives
April 2024
|