Preparations to deliver Patriot missile systems to Ukraine under way, Nato's top Europe commander says
Date: 2025-07-17T07:48:39.000Z
Title: Morning opening: Preparations for deliveries for Ukraine under way, Nato's top Europe commander says, as he warns Russia is and will remain threat
Content: Preparations are fully under way for delivery of Patriot missile systems to Ukraine, Nato's most senior commander in Europe confirmed, as he warned that Russia is and will remain a threat to the alliance in Europe even if a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine is found.
Nato's Supreme Allied Commande Europe, Gen Alexus Grynkewich, confirmed this morning that the guidance he has been given was to deliver the Patriots to Ukraine as quickly as possible, making good on US president Trump's announcement earlier this week.
'I'm not going to reveal to the Russians or anyone else the exact numbers of weapons that we're transferring or when those will happen, but what I will say is that preparations are under way.
We're working very closely with the Germans on the Patriot transfer, and the guidance that I've been given has been to move out as quickly as possible.
So we're doing that. And then we're also looking at other capabilities and what those needs are, and working on proposals for our political leadership.'
He added:
We're going to move as quickly as we can on this.
He said that Patriot systems already in Europe can be quickly moved to Ukraine, and later backfilled from the production line in the US.
'Air defence is important on the modern battlefield, and we've seen the scale of recent Russian attacks against Ukraine, so it is a key focus area,' he said.
Grynkewich, a former fighter pilot who took the most senior allied post in Europe post earlier this month, also warned that even if there is a peaceful solution in Ukraine, Russia will remain a threat.
'War persists on our doorstep in Ukraine.
While we seek a peaceful resolution, even if that resolution comes, the Russian capabilities that are there will reconstitute and just by their very existence will be something that we'll have to think of from the military perspective, and understand how it threatens the Alliance and the freedoms that we hold dear.
Russia will undoubtedly, in my mind, remain an enduring threat.'
Grynkewich also stressed the urgency of Nato stepping up more broadly, as he warned about the prospect of multiple conflicts happening at the same time, including a war in Europe and a war in the Pacific.
'Those of you who listen to our great secretary general, Mark Rutte, have heard him say that the thing [China's] Xi is probably going to do before he decides to go across the Taiwan Strait is give his friend Putin a call and ask him to help.
That, to me, means that both of these things could happen together, but we're going to need every bit of kit and equipment and munitions that we can in order to meet that.
And we've all heard the year 2027, that's just two years away, when we think that Xi could be ready to make his move, and that phone call to Putin might come.
So time is of the essence.'
I will bring you all key updates from across Europe today.
It's Thursday, 17 July 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
2 minutes ago
- Reuters
Frustration, Gaza alarm drove Macron to go it alone on Palestine recognition
PARIS, July 26 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that France would become the first Western member of the United Nations Security Council to recognise a Palestinian state in September has caused diplomatic ructions from the Middle East through Europe to Washington. But it did not come out of the blue. When Macron visited the Egyptian town of Al-Arish on the border with Gaza in April, he was struck by the mounting humanitarian crisis and made clear on his return home that Paris would soon opt for recognition. Working with Saudi Arabia, Macron came up with a plan to have France plus G7 allies Britain and Canada recognise Palestinian statehood, while pushing Arab states to adopt a softer stance towards Israel through a United Nations conference. But despite weeks of talks he failed to get others on board. Three diplomats said London did not want to face the wrath of the United States, and Ottawa took a similar stance, leaving Macron to go it alone. "It became increasingly apparent that we could not wait to get partners on board," said a French diplomat, adding France will work to get more states on board ahead of conference on a two-state solution in September. Domestically Macron was under rising pressure to do something amid widespread anger at the harrowing images coming out of Gaza. Although with both Europe's biggest Muslim and Jewish communities and a polarised political landscape, there was no obvious course of action that would satisfy all sides. Israel and its staunch supporter the United States have blasted France's move, branding it a reward for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which ran Gaza and whose attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 triggered the current war. Macron had discussed the matter extensively with both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in advance. Trump said on Friday that France's decision didn't "carry any weight" but added Macron was "a good guy". French officials previously considered an announcement at a conference scheduled for June at the United Nations, co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, to sketch out a roadmap to a viable Palestinian state while also ensuring Israel's security. But the conference was postponed amid intense U.S. diplomatic pressure and after Israeli air strikes on Iran. Macron's announcement on Thursday is linked to a rescheduled and rejigged version of the U.N. conference, now planned to take place Monday and Tuesday. That meeting will be at ministerial level, but Paris decided it would hold a second event with heads of state and government on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September, where Macron will announce formal recognition. Some analysts say Macron has used the carrot of recognition to extract concessions from Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority which is a moderate rival to Hamas, and other regional players. "Macron here is acting as a catalyst to get the Palestinians to deliver on the needed reforms, to get the Arabs to deliver on a stabilization force and the disarming of Hamas," said Rym Momtaz, editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog run by the Carnegie Europe think tank. Others say while recognition has symbolic value, there will still be no functioning Palestinian state whenever the war in Gaza comes to an end. "Recognition by a European heavyweight like France is indicative of the rising frustration with Israel's intransigent policies," said Amjad Iraqi, senior analyst at International Crisis Group. "What's the point of recognising a state if they're doing little to stop it from turning into ruins?" French officials point to months of intense Israeli lobbying to try to prevent Macron's move - and Netanyahu's fierce criticism of it - as evidence that it matters a lot to Israeli leaders. Sources familiar with the matter say Israel's warnings to France had ranged from scaling back intelligence-sharing to complicating Paris' regional initiatives - even hinting at possible annexation of parts of the West Bank. But French officials concluded that Netanyahu would do whatever he thought was in his interests in the West Bank anyway, regardless of what France did on recognition. Israel's parliament voted on Wednesday in favour of a non-binding declaration urging the government to apply Israeli law to the West Bank, widely seen as a de facto annexation of the territory. That added to the urgency in Paris. "If there is a moment in history to recognise a Palestinian state, even if it's just symbolic, then I would say that moment has probably come," said a senior French official.
Reuters
2 minutes ago
- Reuters
Russian attack kills 3 in Ukraine's city of Dnipro, governor says
KYIV, July 26 (Reuters) - Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles in an overnight attack that killed three people in Ukraine's Dnipro and the nearby region on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said. Moscow's troops launched 235 drones and 27 missiles, damaging residential and commercial buildings and causing fires, the Ukrainian Air Force said. It said in a statement that 10 missiles and 25 attack drones hit nine sites. The rest of the drones and missiles were brought down, the Air Force said. "A terrible night. A massive combined attack on the region," Serhiy Lysak, the Dnipropetrovsk regional governor, said on the Telegram app. He said three people were killed in the attacks and six others wounded in the city of Dnipro and the nearby region. Lysak posted pictures showing firefighters battling fires, a residential building with smashed windows, and charred cars. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed retaliatory strikes. "Russian military enterprises, Russian logistics, and Russian airports should feel that Russia's own war is now hitting them back with real consequences," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app. Ukraine's attacks on Russia have heated up in recent months, with Moscow and Kyiv exchanging swarms of drones and fierce fighting raging along more than 1,000 kilometres of the frontline.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Israel-Gaza war live: European nations debate recognition of Palestine as starvation spreads in Gaza
Update: Date: 2025-07-26T07:53:49.000Z Title: European nations debate Palestinian state recognition Content: European nations are becoming split on the question of whether to recognise a Palestinian state, as the desperate situation in Gaza continues. Britain's prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has rejected calls to immediately recognise a Palestinian state, after some 221 MPs signed a letter urging the British Government to recognise the state of Palestine at a meeting of the UN next week. While the PM said he was 'unequivocal' about wanting to see a Palestinian state, he insisted this needed to be part of a 'wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis'. Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that recognising the State of Palestine before it is established could be counterproductive. 'I am very much in favour of the State of Palestine but I am not in favour of recognising it prior to establishing it,' Meloni told Italian daily La Repubblica. 'If something that doesn't exist is recognised on paper, the problem could appear to be solved when it isn't,' Meloni added. A German government spokesperson said on Friday that Berlin was not planning to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term and said its priority now is to make 'long-overdue progress' towards a two-state solution. It comes after French President Emmanuel Macron drew angry rebukes from Israel and the United States when he announced France intends to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly. Macron, who unveiled the decision on X, published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirming France's intention to press ahead with Palestinian recognition and work to convincing other partners to follow suit. According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states - including France - now recognise the Palestinian state proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile in 1988. Meanwhile today: The Israeli military said a 'projectile' was fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel on Saturday. 'A projectile was identified crossing the Gaza Strip from the south and most likely falling in an open area,' the military said in a statement, adding that there were no injuries reported. Four Palestinian-Americans have been killed in the occupied West Bank since the war in Gaza began and their families are losing hope for justice. They told AP Israel and its law enforcement have made them feel like culprits - by imposing travel bans and, in some cases, detaining and interrogating them. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his government was considering 'alternative options' to ceasefire talks with Hamas after Israel and the US recalled their negotiating teams, throwing the future of the negotiations into further uncertainty. Netanyahu's statement came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic.
