Page 18 - Nato

US will send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, says President Joe Biden

President Joe Biden has announced that the US will send 31 state-of-the-art Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine to help its troops push back Russian forces that remain entrenched in the country's east for almost a year since Moscow's invasion. President Biden's announcement on Wednesday came after he held talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on aiding Ukraine. Today, I'm announcing that the United States will be sending 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, the equivalent of one Ukrainian battalion. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has recommended this step because it will enhance Ukraine's capacity to defend its territory and achieve its strategic objectives, Biden said. The Abrams tanks are the most capable tanks in the world, Biden said, adding that they are also extremely complex to operate and maintain. The US will also provide training programme to maintain and operate these tanks, as well as eight M88 recovery vehic

Give peace a chance

G20 presidency is an opportunity to lead the initiative

Sweden braces for anti-Turkey demonstrations amid NATO accession bid

Sweden is bracing for demonstrations Saturday that could complicate its efforts to persuade Turkey to approve its NATO accession, which has already drawn Turkey's ire

Bill introduced in US to terminate Pak's designation as major non-NATO ally

A US lawmaker has introduced a legislation in the US House of Representatives that seeks to terminate Pakistan's designation as a major non-NATO ally

NATO plans to deploy surveillance planes to Romania to eye Russian activity

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, NATO has bolstered its presence on Europe's eastern flank, including by sending additional battlegroups to Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia

Finnish MPs can decide on NATO membership by simple majority: Committee

There has been debate in Finland on whether Parliament could complete the legislative process while ratification in Hungary and Turkey is still under way

EU, NATO set up joint task force to protect critical infrastructure

The European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have agreed to set up a task force to better protect critical infrastructure and increase resilience

Ukraine war: Zelenskyy hails US military aid as cease-fire said to falter

Ukraine's president is praising the United States for including tank-killing armoured vehicles in its latest multibillion-dollar package of military aid, saying they are exactly what is needed for Ukrainian troops locked in combat against Russian forces. Officials, meanwhile, said it was unclear whether Moscow was abiding by a unilateral 36-hour cease-fire for Orthodox Christmas that Ukraine has denounced as a ploy. The latest multi-billion dollar package of U.S. military assistance announced Friday by the White House was the biggest to date for Kyiv. For the first time, it included Bradley armoured vehicles known as tank-killers because of the anti-tank missiles they fire. In his nightly televised address on Friday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a very powerful package. For the first time, we will get Bradley armoured vehicles this is exactly what is needed. New guns and rounds, including high-precision ones, new rockets, new drones. It is timely and strong, h

US to send $3.75 billion in military aid to Ukraine, its NATO neighbours

The White House announced on Friday a new USD 3.75 billion military assistance package to help Ukraine and its neighbours on NATO's eastern flank as Russia's invasion of Ukraine grinds on. The latest tranche of assistance will include for the first time Bradley armoured vehicles for Ukraine. The armored carrier is used to transport troops to combat and is known as a tank-killer because of the anti-tank missile it can fire. The biggest US assistance package to date for Kyiv includes a USD 2.85 billion drawdown from the Pentagon's stocks that will be sent directly to Ukraine and USD 225 million in foreign military financing to build the long-term capacity and support modernisation of Ukraine's military, according to the White House. It also includes USD 682 million in foreign military financing for European allies to help backfill donations of military equipment they've made to Ukraine. The war is at a critical point and we must do everything we can to help the Ukrainians resist Russ

On New Year's, Vladimir Putin slams West for hypocrisy, aggression

President Vladimir Putin used his New Year's address to the nation to accuse Western countries of aggression and trying to use the conflict in Ukraine to undermine Moscow. Putin made the video address, shown on state television on Saturday in each of Russia's 11 time zones, from a military headquarters with soldiers in the background, a sharp departure from his previous practice of recording the message against the backdrop of the snowy Kremlin. "It was a year of difficult, necessary decisions, the most important steps toward gaining full sovereignty of Russia and powerful consolidation of our society, he said, echoing his repeated contention that Moscow had no choice but to send troops into Ukraine because it threatened Russia's security. The West lied about peace, but was preparing for aggression, and today it admits it openly, no longer embarrassed. And they cynically use Ukraine and its people to weaken and split Russia, Putin said. "We have never allowed anyone and will not al

LIVE: Yogi Adityanath says may move SC after HC setback on ULB polls in UP

Live news updates: The delay in getting Central govt's clearance for the semi high-speed rail project SilverLine may also be discussed in the meeting

Serbia places its troops on Kosovo border on combat alert, ignores NATO

Serbia on Monday placed its security troops on the border with Kosovo on "the full state of combat readiness", ignoring NATO's calls for calming down of tensions between the two wartime Balkan foes. Serbia's Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic said he "ordered the full combat readiness" of police and other security units and that they be placed under the command of the army chief of staff according to "their operational plan. He said in a statement that he acted on the orders of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic so that "all measures be taken to protect the Serbian people in Kosovo". It was not immediately clear what this order meant on the ground as Serbian troops have been on alert for a while on the border with Kosovo. Officials claim alleged harassment of Kosovo Serbs by ethnic Albanians who are a majority in the breakaway province that declared its independence in 2008. Earlier Monday, NATO-led peacekeepers said they were investigating a shooting incident in a tense northern ..

Signs of Libya's partition grow, election needed, warns UN special envoy

The U.N. special envoy for Libya warned Friday that signs of partition are already evident in the troubled North African nation and urged influential nations to pressure Libya's rival leaders to urgently finalize the constitutional basis for elections. The first anniversary of the vote's postponement is coming up later in December, said Abdoulaye Bathily, who stressed that if there is no resolution, an alternative way should be found to hold elections. Oil-rich Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In the chaos that followed, the county split into two rival administrations, each backed by different rogue militias and foreign governments. Bathily told the U.N. Security Council that the continuing disagreement between the two rivals specifically, the speaker of Libya's east-based parliament, Aguila Saleh, and Khaled al-Mashri, the president of the High Council of State based in the country's west, in the .

A difficult year with worse to follow

There is a lot at stake for Russia in the ongoing Ukraine war, and it could cause a great deal of pain for the world

US approves $4 billion sale of Abrams battle tanks to NATO ally Poland

The Biden administration on Tuesday approved a nearly USD 4 billion sale of advanced tanks, other combat vehicles and a large amount of assorted weaponry to NATO ally Poland at a time of heightened security concerns because of the war in neighbouring Ukraine. The State Department said it had given the OK for Poland to purchase 116 M1A1 Abrams Battle Tanks and other equipment, including tens of thousands of rounds of various ammunition, worth approximately USD 3.75 billion. At the same time, the department said it had also approved a USD 1.5 billion sale of Chinook helicopters to treaty ally South Korea. The department said both sales were in support of US national security interests and would not alter the basic military balance in either region, which are facing threats from Russia and North Korea. The Abrams tank purchase by Poland will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a NATO ally that is a force f

Finland must end arms embargo to join NATO: Turkish foreign minister

Finland must publicly declare that it's lifting an arms embargo on Turkey to win Ankara's approval for its membership to NATO, the Turkish foreign minister said Tuesday. Mevlut Cavusoglu made the comments ahead of visit by Finland's Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen, who will be discussing his nation's bid to join the military alliance with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar on Thursday. The Finnish defense minister's visit to Turkey is important because we have not yet heard a statement from Finland saying they've lifted their arms embargo against us, Cavusoglu told reporters. We're expecting such a statement from there. Sweden and Finland abandoned their longstanding policies of military nonalignment and applied for membership in the alliance after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February, amid concerns that Russia might target them next. But NATO-member Turkey has been holding up Sweden and Finland's bids to join the military alliance, accusing the two Nordic countries of ...

Putin is failing in brutal war of aggression against Ukraine: NATO chief

"We have doubled the number of NATO battlegroups from four to eight, including one in Romania, led by France," he said

NATO's Sec Gen reaffirms to future Ukraine membership, drums up aid

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reaffirmed the military alliance's commitment to Ukraine on Tuesday, saying that the war-torn nation will one day become a member of the world's largest security organization. Stoltenberg's remarks came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his NATO counterparts gathered in Romania to drum up urgently needed support for Ukraine aimed at ensuring that Moscow fails to defeat Ukraine as it bombards energy infrastructure. NATO's door is open, Stoltenberg said. Russia does not have a veto on countries joining, he said in reference to the recent entry of North Macedonia and Montenegro into the security alliance. He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will get Finland and Sweden as NATO members soon. The Nordic neighbours applied for membership in April, concerned that Russia might target them next. We stand by that, too, on membership for Ukraine," the former Norwegian prime minister said. "At the same time, the main focus now is on ..

NATO ministers meet to drum up more aid, arms for Ukraine against Russia

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his NATO counterparts are gathering in Romania on Tuesday to drum up urgently needed support for Ukraine, including deliveries of electrical components for the war-torn country's devastated power transmission network. Ukraine's grid has been battered countrywide since early October by targeted Russian strikes, in what U.S. officials call a Russian campaign to weaponise the coming winter cold. Ahead of the meeting, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to use winter as a weapon of war against Ukraine and that NATO's allies and Ukraine need to be prepared for more attacks. The meeting in the capital Bucharest is likely to see NATO make fresh pledges of nonlethal support to Ukraine: fuel, generators, medical supplies, winter equipment and drone-jamming devices. Blinken will announce substantial U.S. aid for Ukraine's energy grid, U.S. officials said Individual allies are also likely to

Poland probably hit by Ukrainian missile: NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg

His remark comes as investigations continue into the blast on Tuesday night on a farm in Przewodow, 6 km from Poland's border with Ukraine