Ukraine aims to expand domestic arms production to 50 percent of needs within six months
'What we need is greater capacity to push the war back onto Russia's territory–back to where the war was brought from,' Zelenskyy said late Wednesday in his nightly video address. 'We must reach the level of 50 percent Ukrainian-made weapons within the first six months of the new government's work by expanding our domestic production.' The need to adequately arm Ukraine's military is pressing as Russia looks to drive forward its summer offensive and pounds Ukrainian cities with hundreds of drones and ballistic and cruise missiles.
Meanwhile, it remained unclear when promises of US-made weapons, especially Patriot missile systems crucial for stretched Ukrainian air defenses, might reach Ukraine. US President Donald Trump agreed to send the weaponry, but it will be paid for by European countries. NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, told the Associated Press Thursday that preparations are underway for weapons transfers to Ukraine and that NATO is working very closely with Germany to transfer Patriot systems.
Grynkewich said at a military event in Wiesbaden, Germany, that he had been ordered to 'move (the weapons) out as quickly as possible.' He said the number of weapons being transferred is classified. 'We're already in preparation phase for the first tranche of capability to start moving with respect to Patriots,' he said. An expert working group under Grynkewich is to discuss concrete planning very quickly but also with corresponding caution, German Defense Ministry spokesperson Mitko Müller said Wednesday.
He said that the exact modalities are still being worked out, as are the modalities of what systems will be supplied. He added: 'Regarding the systems that we are talking about, I can't confirm that anything is currently on the way. I'm not aware of that.' NATO chief Mark Rutte said in Washington on Monday that the alliance is coordinating the military support with funding from allies in Europe and Canada. He said there were commitments from Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada, with more expected to follow.
Ukraine has also developed its own long-range drones, which it uses to strike deep inside Russia. Russian air defenses shot down 122 Ukrainian drones overnight, the country's defense ministry said Thursday. The wave of drones caused flights to be grounded at airports in Moscow and St Petersburg, although most of the drones were reportedly destroyed over the border regions of Bryansk and Kursk.
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Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Support for Palestinian statehood gathers momentum
In many European countries, official recognition of a Palestinian state is an excruciatingly slow process, more so than it should be. Despite mounting pressure from parliamentarians, civil society organizations and the wider public, many governments remain cautious, including British and the French authorities who have already expressed support for such a move. Their caution, even fear, before taking such a crucial decision is harming their own national interests, violates natural justice, and ignores the fact that the promise of the advancement of a peace based on a two-state solution outstrips, by far, any political risks that come with taking the plunge and recognizing Palestine as a state. Therefore, it was refreshing to hear French President Emmanuel Macron, during his visit to London this month for an Anglo-French summit, tell British parliamentarians: 'With Gaza in ruins and the West Bank being attacked on a daily basis, the perspective of a Palestinian state has never been put at risk as it is (now), and this is why this solution of the two states and the recognition of the state of Palestine is … the only way to build peace and stability for all in the whole region.' This is a somewhat late realization of something that, had it been done years ago, might have prevented the events of the past two, horrific years. Still, Macron deserves credit for advancing this agenda now and resisting Israeli claims that in the aftermath of Oct. 7, such recognition would be a reward for Hamas and terrorism. Israel is deliberately advancing this spurious theory that recognition of Palestinian statehood is effectively caving in to terrorism, when in fact the aim of such recognition is to break the impasse in resolving the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict peacefully, and actually sideline extremism. If nothing else, recognition would be a step toward redressing the power imbalance between Israel and Palestine, which has become a hindrance to efforts at reaching a peace agreement based on a two-state solution. Macron's remarks in London created some momentum for Palestinian statehood; immediately after his departure, perhaps inspired and encouraged by his statements, 59 MPs from Britain's governing Labour Party signed a letter addressed to Foreign Secretary David Lammy, calling on him to recognize, 'with great urgency,' the State of Palestine. Certainly, many of those who signed the letter have for a long time been outspoken proponents of such recognition. But others were new recruits to the idea, who see it not only as an end in itself but also a response to the shocking news coming out of Gaza every day, and to the constant stream of 'novel ideas' that originate from the Israeli government and inflict even more misery on the Palestinian people. Recognition would be a step toward redressing the power imbalance between Israel and Palestine. Yossi Mekelberg Deplorable suggestions from both Washington and senior Israeli officials have also served as a catalyst for the letter from MPs, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal of a 'voluntary migration' of Palestinians from Gaza, and the announcement by Defense Minister Israel Katz of his plan to forcibly transfer hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians, if not the entire population of the territory, to a camp in the almost completely destroyed city of Rafah. The MPs called for action to prevent Katz's sinister plan becoming reality before it is too late. Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this week described it as tantamount to the construction of a 'concentration camp.' It is designed to make the lives of those forcibly placed there impossible, while preventing them from leaving unless their destination is outside of Mandatory Palestine. The British politicians who signed the letter to Lammy consider recognition of Palestinian statehood a priority, but in the meantime they also demanded the removal from the agenda of Katz's draconian proposal to concentrate masses of Palestinians in such a camp, which seems to be more of a transitional facility serving as a precursor to expulsion. In addition, they urged Lammy to continue to support the work of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in providing aid to the people of Gaza, while also pressing for the 'full and unhindered resumption of the humanitarian aid,' and efforts to secure the release of all hostages. This is an opportunity for the British government to adopt these recommendations — some would call them demands — and in doing so become an important player in efforts to resolve one of the most intractable conflicts in modern history. In an ideal world, recognition of the State of Palestine by European nations would come from the EU as a whole and not happen in piecemeal fashion, as has been the case so far with the much-welcomed recognition in May last year by Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, and Norway (the last of which is not a member of the EU). Nevertheless, the need for unanimity in passing such a resolution within the EU makes it almost impossible to achieve, as long as countries such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Hungary oppose it. Therefore, if Paris and London were to announce recognition of Palestinian statehood in tandem — either before or during the upcoming summit of world leaders on the two-state solution, which was postponed by the outbreak of the war between Israel and Iran in June and is now scheduled to convene at the UN headquarters in New York in September — it would send a strong message from two major powers, which are also permanent members of the UN Security Council, in support of what is already the policy of 147 other members of the UN. The message should be clear: This is not an anti-Israeli act, and most definitely not a reward for terrorism, but instead a positive move toward the peaceful resolution of one of the longest-running disputes in contemporary international politics, stretching all the way back to the beginning of the 20th century. It reaffirms the partition plan of 1947 and many subsequent international resolutions, and follows in the footsteps of diplomatic efforts that began with the Oslo Accords in 1993 and have been negotiated in different rounds of peace talks since then. It could be a game-changer, allowing the Palestinians to negotiate with the Israelis as equals. As long as this does not happen, the asymmetry in the balance of power between the two protagonists remains a major obstacle, and it is one Israel is unfairly using during negotiations to demand concessions their Palestinian interlocutors cannot deliver, or to cause crises in the discussions. This effectively allows Israel to postpone indefinitely any agreement based on a two-state solution, while also creating a situation on the ground that is prohibitive to the establishment of a territorially contiguous independent Palestinian state. Recognition of a Palestinian state would send a clear message from the international community to those who are hell-bent on annexation of the occupied West Bank and the building of Israeli settlements there. Whatever the setbacks along the way, the only viable and long-term sustainable solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians remains a two-state solution. The letter from British MPs is, therefore, a welcome contribution to the efforts to advance this cause, and the British government must heed its recommendations. • Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Ukraine proposes fresh peace talks with Russia next week: Zelensky
'The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up,' Zelensky saidKYIV: Kyiv has proposed to Moscow a new round of peace talks next week, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday, after negotiations stalled in early June.'Security Council Secretary Umerov also reported that he had proposed the next meeting with the Russian side for next week,' Zelensky said in his evening address. 'The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up,' he added.
Al Arabiya
8 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Kyiv accuses Russia of leaving Ukrainians stranded at Georgian border
Ukraine's foreign minister accused Russia on Saturday of deporting Ukrainians into Georgia and leaving them stranded there without proper documents hundreds of miles from their home. Andrii Sybiha said Russia was stepping up the expulsions of Ukrainians - many of them former prisoners - over the southern frontier, rather than sending them directly over its border with Ukraine. That amounted to Russia 'weaponizing the deportation of Ukrainian citizens,' he added on X. There was no immediate response from Moscow, which has denied accusations of mistreating or targeting civilians since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 'Since June, Russia has significantly increased the number of deported Ukrainian nationals, mostly former convicts, to the border with Georgia,' Sybiha wrote. 'As a result, dozens of people, many of whom lack proper documentation, have been stuck in the transit zone.' Sybiha said 43 citizens, including former political prisoner Andrii Kolomiyets, have been transported from Georgia to Ukraine via Moldova, but more people remain in 'difficult conditions' at the border. Sybiha called on Russia to transport them to the Ukrainian border instead. Earlier on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had discussed the matter with Sybiha. 'These are Ukrainians released by Russians from prisons and penal colonies in Russia-controlled territory,' Zelenskiy said. 'Ukrainian diplomats are arranging the transit of these citizens of our state back to Ukraine.'
