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Continue reading...Category Archives: Nato
‘Usually just rhetoric’: European policy leaders downplay Putin’s war threats
International reaction muted over Russia’s warning about allowing Kyiv to strike it with western-made missiles
European leaders have dismissed Vladimir Putin’s warning that the west would be directly fighting Russia if it allowed Kyiv to strike Russian territory with western-made long-range missiles.
The US and UK are discussing, in conjunction with other allies, allowing Kyiv to strike military targets inside Russia with Storm Shadow missiles, which can hit targets up to 155 miles (250km) from their launch site.
Continue reading...Starmer tells Putin he started Ukraine war and can end it any time
UK PM responds to Putin’s threat that use of long-range British missiles inside Russia would put it at war with Nato
Keir Starmer has told Vladimir Putin that he started the war in Ukraine and could end it at any time after the Russian leader warned that any use of long-range British missiles into Russian territory would put Nato at war with his country.
The prime minister spoke en route to Washington to see US president Joe Biden as he sought to justify a western decision made behind closed doors that would allow Ukraine to attack inside Russia with partly British-made Storm Shadow missiles.
Continue reading...Putin: lifting Ukraine missile restrictions would put Nato ‘at war’ with Russia
Comments come after Antony Blinken hints US will lift restrictions on Kyiv’s use of weapons inside Russia
Vladimir Putin has said that a western move to let Kyiv use longer-range weapons against targets inside Russia would mean Nato would be “at war” with Moscow.
Putin spoke as US and UK top diplomats discussed easing rules on firing western weapons into Russia, which Kyiv has been pressing for, more than two and a half years into Moscow’s offensive.
Continue reading...Sweden warns of heightened risk of Russian sabotage
Weapons facilities targeted as security companies report more sabotage attempts, espionage and cyber-attacks
Swedish authorities have warned of a heightened risk of Russian sabotage, in particular of weapons facilities, as the defence industry said it was being increasingly targeted.
Security companies in Sweden reported a rise in sabotage attempts, including using drones over defence company facilities to document and map them, “more aggressive” espionage, cyber-attacks and misinformation.
Continue reading...Ukraine links Kursk incursion to ‘fair talks’ as Russia closes in on key city
Comments by Zelenskiy aide come as officials in strategic Pokrovsk say Moscow’s forces are ‘advancing at a fast pace’
Ukraine’s lightning offensive into several Russian border regions is designed to persuade Moscow to engage in “fair” talks about its war in Ukraine, an aide to Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said, as Russian forces close in on the strategic city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region.
“We need to inflict significant tactical defeats on Russia,” the Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “In the Kursk region, we clearly see how the military tool is objectively used to convince the Russian Federation to enter into a fair negotiation process.
Continue reading...Germany investigates possible attack on water system at military base
People may have broken in and contaminated supply pipes at Cologne-Wahn airbase, the defence ministry says
The German armed forces are investigating the suspected sabotage of one of their military bases amid suspicions that it was broken into and the water supply system contaminated.
The defence ministry confirmed on Wednesday that state security was investigating the reported attack after suspicions of attempted or actual entry, as well as sabotage, at the Cologne-Wahn barracks, just outside Cologne.
Continue reading...Ukrainian pilots have started flying F-16s, says Zelenskiy
President confirms long-awaited arrival of US-made fighter jets as Ukrainian pilots fly overhead
Ukrainian pilots have started flying F-16s, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said, confirming the long-awaited arrival of the US-made fighter jets more than 29 months since Russia’s invasion.
Ukraine’s president announced the use of F-16s, which Kyiv has long lobbied for, as he met military pilots at an airbase flanked by two of the jets, with two more flying overhead.
Continue reading...Putin warns US against deploying long-range missiles in Germany
Russian leader says Washington risks triggering cold war-style missile crisis and promises to respond in kind
Vladimir Putin has warned the US that if Washington deploys long-range missiles in Germany from 2026, Russia will station similar missiles within striking distance of the west.
The US would start deploying long-range fire capabilities in Germany in 2026 in an effort to demonstrate its commitment to Nato and European defence, Washington and Germany said earlier this month.
Continue reading...‘A massive relief and a change of mood’: how did Keir Starmer’s first week in power go?
Britain’s new PM and his team are genuinely excited to have seized the reins of power in Westminster – but are under no illusion about the size of the task ahead
When the new British prime minister, Keir Starmer, invited Wes Streeting into Downing Street to appoint him health secretary on Friday 5 July, the exchanges behind closed doors were entirely cordial.
But things rarely run 100% smoothly in the first days of a new administration as a complete government jigsaw is put together, piece by piece.
Continue reading...Hungary’s Viktor Orbán to meet with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago
Also snubbing Biden, the prime minister has enraged Nato allies as he tries to broker a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire
- A ‘peace mission’ and a likely Trump meeting: how Hungary’s PM became the spoiler of the Nato summit
Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, will fly to Mar-a-Lago on Thursday to meet with Donald Trump, according to two sources with knowledge of the meeting.
Orbán has enraged his Nato allies by meeting with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping en route to the alliance’s summit in Washington DC. He has also met with Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv, and is said to be quietly negotiating his own ceasefire plan without consulting either the Biden administration or other EU countries.
Continue reading...Biden’s Nato press conference poses major test for his campaign as calls mount to step down
US president’s press conference, which will include questions from reporters, is certain to be scrutinised for any signs of slip-up
Joe Biden was gearing up for one of the most pivotal press conferences of his long political career on Thursday in Washington as the growing number of Democratic party members calling on him to step down has turned the eyes of the world to his performance tonight.
The US president was scheduled to face journalists at a news conference marking the end of Nato’s 75th anniversary summit at 5.30pm, while across the city senators were preparing to meet key members of Biden’s staff at the White House to air their concerns about Biden’s electability following last month’s disastrous debate performance with Donald Trump.
Continue reading...China a ‘decisive enabler’ of Russia’s war in Ukraine, says Nato
Communique highlights concerns over Beijing’s nuclear arsenal and space capabilities
Nato leaders have labelled China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine and called its deepening ties with Moscow a cause of “deep concern”, in what has been seen as the most serious rebuke against Beijing from the alliance.
The final communique, approved by the 32 Nato members at the summit in Washington, also highlights concerns about Beijing’s nuclear arsenal and its capabilities in space.
Continue reading...Joe Biden hints UK should move closer to EU in Starmer meeting
Two leaders meet during Nato summit in Washington as prime minister works on EU-UK security pact
Joe Biden has appeared to back Keir Starmer’s ambition for the UK having a closer relationship with the European Union as the leaders held their first bilateral talks at the White House.
The US president called the US and UK the “best of allies” as he met the new prime minister in the Oval Office, describing Britain as the “knot” that tied the transatlantic relationship together.
Continue reading...UK will give Ukraine £3bn a year ‘for as long as it takes’, says Starmer
Prime minister holds first official bilateral talks with Volodymyr Zelenskiy at Nato summit in Washington
The new government will stick with plans to spend at least £3bn every year on military support for Ukraine for “as long as is it takes” in its conflict with Russia, Keir Starmer has said.
After his first official bilateral talks with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, at the Nato summit in Washington, the prime minister confirmed the military aid would continue until at least 2030-31.
Continue reading...First F-16 jets heading to Ukraine after months of training and negotiations
Dutch and Danish leaders say Ukraine will be ‘flying operational F-16s this summer’ as Kyiv seeks battlefield wins
The first F-16 fighter jets are on their way to Ukraine and will be flying sorties this summer, according to a statement from the Dutch and Danish governments that was released by the White House at the Nato summit.
Dick Schoof, the prime minister of the Netherlands, and Mette Frederiksen, his counterpart from Denmark, said the “transfer process” of F-16s to Kyiv was under way after months of pilot training and political negotiations.
Continue reading...UK will be ‘leading European nation’ in Nato, defence secretary pledges
John Healey acknowledges likely shift of US focus to China and says Britain and EU must raise military spending to counter Russia
Britain will be “the leading European nation” in Nato under a Labour government, the new defence secretary, John Healey, pledged in an interview at the Nato summit in Washington DC – though spending may have to rise significantly if the UK is to remain ahead of Germany.
The cabinet minister, appointed last Friday, acknowledged that European countries within Nato would have to take on more of the burden of defending the west against Russia – regardless of whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November.
Continue reading...Nato summit live: Stoltenberg says Ukraine Nato membership is ‘not the question of if, but when’ – as it happened
This live blog is now closed. For more on the Dutch and Danish governments’ statement at the summit, read our report:
Here’s the schedule for today’s talks in Washington (all in local time).
8:15am: Nato secretary general’s doorstep
Continue reading...Move to reduce Lords retirement age to 80 is not about Joe Biden, says Keir Starmer
Ahead of UK-US bilateral talks, PM says primary driver for cutting peers’ retirement age is size of Lords chamber
Keir Starmer has denied that his decision to bring in a retirement age of 80 for the House of Lords means he believes Joe Biden should stand down as US president.
Ahead of his first bilateral talks with Biden at the White House, the UK prime minister said the “primary driver” for bringing in a retirement age for peers was the size of the second chamber.
Continue reading...Almost half Tory members want merger with Reform UK, poll suggests, as leadership infighting escalates – UK politics live
Shadow home secretary James Cleverly has urged the party to avoid descending into ‘bitter infighting and finger pointing’
Former education recovery commissioner Sir Kevan Collins, who resigned after Boris Johnson rejected his £15bn Covid catch-up plans, is to advise the new government on driving up school standards and finding solutions to teacher shortages and high absence rates.
The Department for Education confirmed on Tuesday that Collins, a widely respected figure in the sector, has been appointed a non-executive board member at the DfE. As such his role will be to support and challenge the department in its efforts to raise standards in England’s schools.
I’m delighted to be returning to the Department for Education. There are real challenges facing our schools and I am looking forward to being part of a renewed drive to ensure that we tackle these with bold and fresh new ideas, to deliver high and rising standards in every corner of the country.
Sir Kevan has been an outstanding force for good in schools, especially his work advocating for our teachers and children during the pandemic and he will play a crucial role in advising the department.
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