Latest news with #MilitarySupport
LBCI
13-07-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
North Korean leader Kim reaffirms support for Russia in Ukraine conflict: KCNA
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told Russia's top diplomat his country was ready to "unconditionally support" Moscow's every effort to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, state media reported on Sunday, as the two countries held high-level strategic talks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was on a three-day visit to North Korea, which has provided troops and arms for Russia's war with Ukraine and pledged more military support as Moscow tries to make advances in the conflict. Kim met Lavrov in the eastern coastal city of Wonsan where the two countries' foreign ministers held their second strategic dialogue, pledging further cooperation under a partnership treaty signed last year that includes a mutual defense pact. Reuters
Telegraph
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Not even Trump can stand in Netanyahu's way
Payback will be the sentiment uppermost in Donald Trump's mind when he hosts the Israeli premier in Washington this week. In return for providing vital military support for Israel's military assault on Iran's nuclear programme, Trump will expect Benjamin Netanyahu's unequivocal support for his Gaza ceasefire plan. The Israeli military may have carried out a highly impressive operation to destroy and degrade Iran's key nuclear facilities, as well as liquidating several top nuclear scientists and commanders in the regime's intelligence and security establishment, but not even the Israelis could summon the firepower to take out two of Iran's key nuclear targets, the underground enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow. Trump's decision, therefore, to authorise US air strikes against the heavily-fortified compounds, using fourteen 30,000lb Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPS) to destroy the facilities, provided a vital boost to the Israeli offensive. And even though the jury is still out about how much damage the Americans inflicted on Iran's nuclear programme – there are already suggestions that Iran has resumed work on enriching uranium – Trump clearly believes his military contribution helped the Israelis to achieve their military objectives in Operation Rising Lion, their codename for the Iran attack. Now, having forced Tehran and Jerusalem to observe a ceasefire, Trump has turned his attention to Gaza. This is a president who, after all, has set his sights on winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Ending the war in Gaza – together with resolving the conflict in Ukraine – have been two of Trump's main foreign policy objectives since returning to the White House. While his efforts in Ukraine have been frustrated by Putin's marked lack of interest in a ceasefire, the White House has enjoyed a modicum of success in Gaza, where it did succeed in establishing a short-lived break in the fighting earlier this year. The most notable elements of that deal were the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and the easing of humanitarian aid for Gaza's battered civilian population. The ceasefire collapsed at the end of March amid mutual recriminations, with Israel resuming its military offensive against Hamas terrorists. Buoyed by his successful intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict, Trump believes now is the time to strike a new ceasefire deal, which would be based on similar terms to the previous agreement implemented earlier this year. In return for the staggered release of Israeli hostages – both dead and alive – hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be freed from Israeli jails, aid supplies will resume and Israel will be expected to begin a phased withdrawal from territory it has occupied in the enclave. While Netanyahu can be expected to accept the hostages-for-prisoners formula, and ease aid restrictions, he will be more resistant to the notion of any military withdrawal from Gaza so long as any vestige remains intact. Thus, while Trump has sought to pre-empt the outcome of his meeting with Netanyahu by announcing that Israel has already agreed to the 'necessary conditions' to finalise a 60-day ceasefire, there will nonetheless be concerns at the White House that the Israeli premier will not be prepared to commit to any form of military withdrawal until Hamas's presence in Gaza has been fully eradicated. This was Israel's key military objective in the wake of the October 7 attacks in 2023, and remains so to this day. While the US and Israel have forged an effective alliance in combatting Iran's nuclear infrastructure, on a personal level tensions remain between Trump and Netanyahu, who have not always enjoyed the easiest of relationships. Trump has privately accused Netanyahu of being ungrateful for the backing he receives from Washington, especially after the key role Trump played during his first term negotiating the Abraham Accords, which saw several Arab states normalise relations with Israel. These tensions memorably erupted in public after Trump accused both Israel and Iran of breaching the ceasefire terms he arranged at the end of the Iran conflict in June, claiming that they 'don't know what the f*** they are doing'. Using expletives to describe Iran's conduct is nothing new for Trump – he used the F-word about Iran in 2020. But using it in relation to a country that is supposed to be one of Washington's closest allies showed that not even Netanyahu is immune from Trump's temper tantrums. The risk of upsetting Trump, and provoking one of his famous Oval Office outbursts, will therefore be one of Netanyahu's foremost concerns during his Washington visit, as will be his desire to ensure that he ultimately achieves his goal of destroying Hamas in Gaza. One important consequence of the US-Israel military attack on Iran is that Tehran is no longer in a position to maintain its support for Hamas's terrorist activities, placing the terrorist organisation in its weakest position since the October 7 attacks. With Hamas on the ropes, Netanyahu will remain committed to achieving his ultimate goal of destroying the organisation once and for all, even if it means upsetting his White House host.
Al Bawaba
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
North Korea to send about 30,000 troops to Russia
Published July 3rd, 2025 - 08:18 GMT ALBAWABA - An intelligence assessment from Ukrainian officials detailed that North Korea is planning to triple the number of its troops fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine. Also Read Extra 3,000 North Korean soldiers sent to Russia in 2025 The intelligence assessment reported that North Korea is set to send an extra 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers to help Russian President Vladimir Putin. The troops may arrive in Russia in the coming months, CNN reported after viewing the report. North Korea could send up to 30,000 additional troops to Russia over the coming months to aid Moscow in its war against Ukraine, media reports citing intelligence officials and security sources have said. | 📸: KCNA / via Reuters — The Japan Times (@japantimes) July 3, 2025 At least 11,000 were sent to Russia last November and helped repel Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region. About 4,000 of them were killed or injured in the deployment, according to Western officials. The Ukrainian assessment reads that the Russian Ministry of Defense is capable of providing "needed equipment, weapons and ammunition" with the aim of "further integration to Russian combat units." © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
Russia Today
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
US is no longer our ‘ally'
Kiev is no longer a 'priority' at the center of US foreign policy, several Ukrainian MPs have lamented after Washington suspended the supply of certain categories of weapons as part of its 'America First' shift. Washington scaled back critical military aid to Kiev, reportedly halting deliveries of air defense ammunition, missiles, and artillery shells. While the exact list of suspended weaponry remains unclear, US envoy to NATO Matthew Whitaker said on Wednesday that the move was part of President Donald Trump's domestically focused policy shift. 'The United States is no longer our ally,' Ukrainian MP Mariana Bezuglaya wrote on social media. She followed up with a remark that her earlier post suggesting President Trump should 'go f**k himself' was now even more relevant. Bezuglaya went on to accuse Trump of 'helping Russia move towards Dnepr and Sumy,' apparently referring to Moscow's ongoing push to create a 'buffer zone' intended to protect Russian border areas from attacks. 'Ukraine is no longer a priority, no longer at the center of US foreign policy… At least Trump is very honest about this with the Ukrainians,' another Ukrainian MP and member of the defense and intelligence parliamentary committee, Solomiya Bobrovskaya, told the New York Times. Earlier on Wednesday, Kiev summoned the US chargé d'affaires in Ukraine, John Ginkel, to lecture him about 'the critical importance of continuing the deliveries of previously allocated defense packages' and to warn against 'delay or procrastination in supporting Ukraine's defense capabilities.' Kiev has repeatedly voiced frustration over what it sees as dwindling support from Washington. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky met with Trump at the NATO summit in The Hague last week to demand more Patriot air defense systems but received no firm promises. Trump said the systems were 'very hard to get' and that the US needed them for its own defense and for Israel. Russia has consistently condemned Western arms shipments to Ukraine, arguing they only serve to prolong hostilities and increase bloodshed without altering the ultimate outcome of the conflict. President Vladimir Putin said last month that Russian forces currently hold the strategic initiative across the entire frontline. After expelling Kiev's invasion force from Russia's Kursk Region in March 2025, the fighting quickly spilled across the border into Ukraine's Sumy Region. Moscow officially described its objective as the creation of a buffer zone intended to safeguard the resumption of peaceful civilian life in Russia's border regions.
The Independent
16-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
UK forces could defend Israel against Iranian attacks
Chancellor Rachel Reeves says that Britain is not at war despite increasing RAF presence in the Middle East amid escalating conflict between Iran and Israel. However, she says the UK could play a military role in defending Israel from Iranian attacks. Ms Reeves said the UK has supported Israel in the past against missile attacks and is currently deploying assets to protect itself and potentially support its allies. Iran and Israel have exchanged heavy missile strikes, with casualties reported on both sides, following Israeli attacks on Iran's nuclear programme and armed forces last week. The conflict has caused a 10 per cent increase in oil prices and threatens key trade routes like the Strait of Hormuz, potentially impacting UK household finances.
