How Ukraine can cope with the U.S. pause on crucial battlefield weapons
The decision by the United States to pause some weapons shipments to Ukraine has come at a tough time for Kyiv: Russia's bigger army is making a concerted push on parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line and is intensifying long-range drone and missile attacks that increasingly hammer civilians in Ukrainian cities.
Article content
Washington has been Ukraine's biggest military backer since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022. But the Trump administration has been disengaging from the war, and no end to the fighting is in sight, despite recent direct peace talks.
Article content
Article content
Here's a look at Ukraine's options following the U.S. pause of some arms deliveries:
Article content
Article content
Amid recurring concerns in Kyiv about how much military support its allies can supply and how quickly, Ukraine has raced to build up its domestic defense industry.
Article content
The country's output has gradually grown, especially in the production of more and increasingly sophisticated drones, but Ukraine needs to speedily scale up production.
Crucially, some high-tech U.S. weapons are irreplaceable. They include Patriot air defense missiles, which are needed to fend off Russia's frequent ballistic missile attacks, but which cost $4 million each. That vital system is included in the pause, and many cities in Ukraine, including Kyiv, could become increasingly vulnerable.
Article content
A senior Ukrainian official said Thursday that Patriot systems are 'critically necessary' for Ukraine, but U.S.-made HIMARS precision-guided missiles, also paused, are in less urgent need as other countries produce similar assets.
Article content
Article content
'Other countries that have these (Patriot) systems can only transfer them with U.S. approval. The real question now is how far the United States is willing to go in its reluctance to support Ukraine,' he told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of sensitivity of the subject.
Article content
The official said that Patriot missiles exist in sufficient numbers globally, and he said that accessing them requires political resolve.
Article content
'There are enough missiles out there,' he said, without providing evidence.
Article content
He also stated that Ukraine has already scaled up its domestic production of 155 mm artillery shells, which were once critically short, and is now capable of producing more than is currently contracted. 'Supplies from abroad have also become more available than before,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Market Online
31 minutes ago
- The Market Online
@ the Bell: Trump targets BRICS allies and key trade partners with tariff warnings
Canada's main stock index lost ground on Tuesday as investors weighed new tariff threats from US President Donald Trump and looming deadlines for international trade agreements. On Monday, Trump issued letters to 14 countries—including Japan and South Korea—warning of steep tariff hikes on US imports, though he delayed their enforcement until August 1st. Canada, which recently scrapped its proposed digital services tax on American tech firms to keep trade negotiations on track, is aiming to finalize a deal by July 21st. Meanwhile, US markets attempted to rebound after a downturn triggered by Trump's latest trade measures. The president also floated the possibility of an additional 10 per cent tariff on nations that support what he described as the 'Anti-American policies' of the BRICS bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The Canadian dollar traded for 73.12 cents US compared to 73.18 cents US on Monday. US crude futures traded $0.41 higher at US$68.34 a barrel, and the Brent contract rose $0.57 to US$70.15 a barrel. The price of gold was down US30.11 to US$3,302.66. In world markets, the Nikkei was up 101.13 points to ¥39,688.81, the Hang Seng was up 260.24 points to HK$24,148.07, the FTSE was up 47.65 points to ₤8,854.18, and the DAX was up 133.24 points to €24,206.91. Stockhouse does not provide investment advice or recommendations. All investment decisions should be made based on your own research and consultation with a registered investment professional. The issuer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the information contained herein. For full disclaimer information, please click here.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump's previous tariffs terrified the world economy. He's betting this time is different
WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Donald Trump last rolled out tariffs this high, financial markets quaked, consumer confidence crashed and his popularity plunged. Only three months later, he's betting this time is different. In his new round of tariffs being announced this week, Trump is essentially tethering the entire world economy to his instinctual belief that import taxes will deliver factory jobs and stronger growth in the U.S., rather than the inflation and slowdown predicted by many economists. On Tuesday, he told his Cabinet that past presidents who hadn't aggressively deployed tariffs were 'stupid.' Ever the salesman, Trump added that it was 'too time-consuming' to try to negotiate trade deals with the rest of the world, so it was just easier to send them letters, as he's doing this week, that list the tariff rates on their goods. The letters marked a change from his self-proclaimed April 2 'Liberation Day' event at the White House, where he had posterboards with the rates displayed, a choice that led to a brief market meltdown and the 90-day negotiating period with baseline 10% tariffs that will end Wednesday. Trump, instead, chose to send form letters with random capitalizations and punctuation and other formatting issues. 'It's a better way,' Trump said of his letters. 'It's a more powerful way. And we send them a letter. You read the letter. I think it was well crafted. And, mostly it's just a little number in there: You'll pay 25%, 35%. We have some of at 60, 70.' When Trump said those words, he had yet to issue a letter with a tariff rate higher than 40%, which he levied Monday on Laos and Myanmar. He plans to put 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea, two major trading partners and allies deemed crucial for curbing China's economic influence. Leaders of the 14 countries tariffed so far hope to negotiate over the next three weeks before the higher rates are charged on imports. 'I would say that every case I'm treating them better than they treated us over the years,' Trump said. Three possible outcomes His approach is at odds with how major trade agreements have been produced over the last half-century, detailed sessions that could sometimes take years to solve complex differences between nations. There are three possible outcomes to this political and economic wager, each of which could drastically reshape international affairs and Trump's legacy. Trump could prove most economic experts wrong and the tariffs could deliver growth as promised. Or he could retreat again on tariffs before their Aug. 1 start in a repeat of the 'Trump Always Chickens Out' phenomenon, also known as TACO. Or he could damage the economy in ways that could boomerang against the communities that helped return him to the White House last year, as well as hurt countries that are put at a financial disadvantage by the tariffs. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Trump's letters had 'extended his tariff purgatory for another month,' essentially freezing in place the U.S. economy as CEOs, foreign leaders and consumers are unclear of Trump's actual strategy on foreign trade. 'The TACO negotiating tactic pioneered by Trump is making his threats less and less credible and reducing our trading partners' willingness to even meet us halfway,' Wyden said. 'There's no sign that he's any closer to striking durable trade deals that would actually help American workers and businesses.' So far, the stock and bond markets are relatively calm, with the S&P 500 stock index essentially flat Tuesday after a Monday decline. Trump is coming off a legislative win with his multitrillion-dollar income tax cuts. And he's confidently levying tariffs at levels that previously rocked global markets, buoyed by the fact that inflation has eased so far instead of accelerating as many economists and Democratic rivals had warned. 'By floating tariffs as high as 40% to even 100%, the administration has 'normalized' the 25% tariff hikes — yet this is still one of the most aggressive and disruptive tariff moves in modern history,' said Wendong Zhang, an economist at Cornell University. 'This gradual unveiling, paradoxically, risks normalizing what would otherwise be considered exceptionally large tariff hikes.' Questions about how much money tariffs will generate With Trump's 90-day tariff negotiation period ending, he has so far sent letters to 14 countries that place taxes on imported goods ranging from 25% to 40%. He said he would sign an order Tuesday to place 50% tariffs on copper and said at the Cabinet meeting that at some point pharmaceutical drugs could face tariffs of as much as 200%. All of that is on top of his existing 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum, 25% tariffs on autos and his separate import taxes on Canada, Mexico and China. 'The obvious inference is that markets for now are somewhat skeptical that Trump will go through with it, or alternatively they think compromises will be reached,' said Ben May, a director of global economic research at the consultancy Oxford Economics. 'That's probably the key element.' May said the tariffs are likely to reduce the growth in U.S. household incomes, but not cause those incomes to shrink outright. Trump has said his tariffs would close U.S. trade imbalances, though it's unclear why he would target nations such as Tunisia that do relatively little trade with America. Administration officials say trillions of dollars in tariff revenues over the next decade would help offset the revenue losses from the continuation and expansion of his 2017 tax cuts that were signed into law Friday. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. The federal government has collected $98.2 billion in tariff revenues so far this year, more than double what it collected last year, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. At Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the tariff revenues could be 'well over $300 billion by the end of the year.' Bessent added that 'we don't agree' with the Congressional Budget Office estimate that tariffs would bring in $2.8 trillion over 10 years, 'which we think is probably low.' The governments of Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and South Africa have each said they hope for further negotiations on tariffs with Trump, though it's unclear how that's possible as Trump has said it would be too 'complicated' to hold all those meetings. Instead on Tuesday, Trump posted on social media that the tariffs would be charged as scheduled starting Aug. 1. 'There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'No extensions will be granted. Thank you for your attention to this matter!'
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Supreme Court clears the way for Trump's plans to downsize the federal workforce
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for President Donald Trump's plans to downsize the federal workforce despite warnings that critical government services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs. The justices overrode lower court orders that temporarily froze the cuts, which have been led by the Department of Government Efficiency. The court said in an unsigned order that no specific cuts were in front of the justices, only an executive order issued by Trump and an administration directive for agencies to undertake job reductions. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only dissenting vote, accusing her colleagues of a 'demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this President's legally dubious actions in an emergency posture.' Trump has repeatedly said voters gave him a mandate to remake the federal government, and he tapped billionaire ally Elon Musk to lead the charge through DOGE. Musk recently left his role. Tens of thousands of federal workers have been fired, have left their jobs via deferred resignation programs or have been placed on leave. There is no official figure for the job cuts, but at least 75,000 federal employees took deferred resignation and thousands of probationary workers have already been let go. In May, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston found that Trump's administration needs congressional approval to make sizable reductions to the federal workforce. By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to block Illston's order, finding that the downsizing could have broader effects, including on the nation's food-safety system and health care for veterans. Illston directed numerous federal agencies to halt acting on the president's workforce executive order signed in February and a subsequent memo issued by DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management. Illston was nominated by former Democratic President Bill Clinton. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. The labor unions and nonprofit groups that sued over the downsizing offered the justices several examples of what would happen if it were allowed to take effect, including cuts of 40% to 50% at several agencies. Among the agencies affected by the order are the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Labor, the Interior, State, the Treasury and Veterans Affairs. It also applies to the National Science Foundation, Small Business Association, Social Security Administration and Environmental Protection Agency.
