America's ominous new halt on weapons to Ukraine
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Reuters
35 minutes ago
- Reuters
Death of Ukrainian F-16 pilot highlights perils of air defence, commander says
KYIV, July 3 (Reuters) - The death of an experienced Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilot in battle against Russian drones shows the high-risk tactics Kyiv will increasingly adopt if it is unable to obtain critical new air defences, a senior commander said on Thursday. Dozens of people have been killed during intensifying Russian air strikes on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, a trend officials have said will worsen if Kyiv's allies do not step up supplies of critical munitions. Oleh Zakharchuk, deputy commander of Ukraine's western air command, delivered the warning just days after the Pentagon said it was pausing some supplies of arms Ukraine needs to defend its cities. "Everyone must understand that there is no such thing as enough weapons," he said at the funeral for fighter pilot Maksym Ustymenko at the golden-domed St Michael's Monastery and Cathedral in Kyiv. "If we cannot use the missiles because we do not get them, then it will be very difficult." Ustymenko was killed on June 29 after shooting down seven Russian Shahed drones during a massive air strike that included hundreds of drones as well as missiles. Zakharchuk said the pilot first dispatched all the jet's air-to-air missiles, then resorted to firing his plane's cannons, which the commander described as a riskier tactic because it requires Ukrainian pilots to get close to the drones. "If we do not shoot down a Shahed and it falls on a settlement, on a building and people die, what should we choose?" he said. "Of course, we choose to destroy air targets despite how difficult and risky it is." The held-up U.S. package includes missiles carried by the F-16s. On Thursday, at least four people were killed in separate Russian air strikes on Poltava in central Ukraine and the southern port of Odesa. The Pentagon's pause, a decision it said was made to conserve U.S. stockpiles, also included precision munitions Ukraine needs to fend off Russian advances on the battlefield. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that he hoped to talk with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on Friday or in coming days about the decision. Mourners descended on St. Michael's to honor Ustymenko, whose coffin was later carried to Independence Square in a sombre procession. Fighter pilots are typically revered in Ukraine for their role in fending off the increasingly heavy waves of air strikes that Russia has launched against Ukrainian towns and cities since late 2022. Ustymenko was among the first 12 pilots to train on the prized American-made fighter, which Kyiv began deploying last August, deputy Air Force commander Serhiy Holubtsov said at the ceremony. Zakharchuk said Ustymenko had logged hundreds of hours on Soviet-era aircraft before transitioning to the F-16. He also tested Gripen fighter jets in Sweden.
Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Telegraph
Battle Lines: Trump wants a new armada. Can America still build one?
Last week, the Pentagon unveiled a jaw-dropping $47.3 billion plan to supercharge its fleet with 19 brand-new battleships. That's right—nineteen. Up from a paltry five last year. And let's not kid ourselves: this isn't just about flexing maritime muscle, it's a direct message to China—loud and clear. Enter Commander Tom Sharpe, a man who's not only been there and done it, but practically wrote the manual. A retired Royal Navy heavyweight who's commanded four warships and earned an OBE for saving HMS Endurance from a catastrophic flood, Sharpe joins us to tear into what this seismic shift really means. Are we gearing up for World War Sea? Has the age of battleship brinkmanship returned? Expect sharp analysis, no-nonsense truth bombs, and a few jaw-dropping tales from the frontlines of naval warfare.
Glasgow Times
8 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Putin and Trump discussed Iran and Ukraine in phone call, Kremlin official says
The call on Thursday was their sixth publicly disclosed chat since Mr Trump returned to the White House. While discussing the situation around Iran, Mr Putin emphasised the need to resolve all issues by political and diplomatic means, said Yuri Ushakov, his foreign affairs adviser. The United States struck three sites in Iran on June 22, inserting itself into Israel's war aimed at destroying Tehran's nuclear programme. On the conflict in Ukraine, Mr Ushakov said Mr Trump emphasised his push for a quick halt to the fighting, and Mr Putin voiced Moscow's readiness to pursue talks with Kyiv. Emergency services work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in the Donetsk region of Ukraine (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP) At the same time, the Russian leader emphasised that Moscow will seek to achieve its goals in Ukraine and remove the 'root causes' of the conflict, Mr Ushakov said. Mr Putin has argued he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to fend off a threat to Russia posed by Ukraine's push to join Nato and protect Russian speakers in Ukraine – arguments rejected by Kyiv and its allies. He insisted that any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine abandon its Nato bid and recognise Russia's territorial gains. Thursday's call follows the Pentagon's confirmation that it is pausing shipments of some weapons to Ukraine as it reviews US military stockpiles. The weapons being held up for Ukraine include air defence missiles, precision-guided artillery and other equipment. The details on the weapons in some of the paused deliveries were confirmed by a US official and former national security official familiar with the matter. Mr Ushakov said a suspension of some US weapons shipments to Ukraine was not discussed in the Trump-Putin call. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Denmark after meeting with major European Union backers that he may talk to Mr Trump in the coming days about the suspension of US weapons deliveries. 'I hope that maybe tomorrow, or close days, these days, I will speak about it with President Trump,' he said. Asked about his expectations from the Trump-Putin call, he said that 'I'm not sure that they have a lot of common ideas, common topics to talk (about), because they are very different people'. The previous publicly known call between Mr Trump and Mr Putin came on June 14, a day after Israel attacked Iran. The resumed contacts between Mr Trump and Mr Putin appeared to reflect both leaders' interest in mending US-Russian ties that have plummeted to their lowest point since the Cold War amid the conflict in Ukraine. On Tuesday, Mr Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron held their first direct telephone call in almost three years.
