Latest news with #SabineSiebold
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ukraine offers its front line as test bed for foreign weapons
By Sabine Siebold WIESBADEN, Germany (Reuters) -Ukraine will let foreign arms companies test out their latest weapons on the front line of its war against Russia's invasion, Kyiv's state-backed arms investment and procurement group Brave1 said on Thursday. Under the "Test in Ukraine" scheme, companies would send their products to Ukraine, give some online training on how to use them, then wait for Ukrainian forces to try them out and send back reports, the group said in a statement. "It gives us understanding of what technologies are available. It gives companies understanding of what is really working on the front line," Artem Moroz, Brave1's head of investor relations, told Reuters at a defence conference in Wiesbaden, Germany. Moroz said there has been strong interest in the scheme, but did not name any companies that have signed on to use it and declined to go into more detail on how it would operate or what, if any, costs would be involved. More than three years after their invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces are pressing a grinding offensive across the sprawling, more than 1,000-km (620-mile) front line and intensifying air strikes on Ukrainian cities. Ukraine is betting on a budding defence industry, fuelled in part by foreign investment, to fend off Russia's bigger and better-armed war machine. Brave1 - set up by the government in 2023 with an online hub where Ukrainian defence companies can seek investment, and also where Ukrainian military units can order up arms - had drawn up a list of the military technologies it wanted to test, Moroz added. "We have a list of priorities. One of the top of those would be air defence, like new air defence capabilities, drone interceptors, AI-guided systems, all the solutions against gliding bombs," he said. Unmanned systems in the water and electronic profile systems on the ground are also on Ukraine's list of priorities, as are advanced fire control systems or AI guidance to make howitzers more accurate. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Patriots to move to Kyiv 'as quickly as possible', says NATO top commander
By Sabine Siebold WIESBADEN, Germany (Reuters) - Preparations are underway to quickly transfer additional Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine, NATO's top military commander Alexus Grynkewich said on Thursday, as the country suffers some of the heaviest Russian attacks of the war so far. "We are working very closely with the Germans on the Patriot transfer", he told a conference in the German city of Wiesbaden. "The guidance that I have been given has been to move out as quickly as possible." U.S. President Donald Trump this week announced a toughened stance against Russia for its more than three-year war in Ukraine and promised new missiles and other weaponry for Kyiv. He said on Tuesday that some Patriot missiles, coming from Germany, were already on their way to Ukraine. A meeting of Patriot-owning nations and Ukraine donors, aimed at finding additional Patriot air defence batteries for Kyiv and chaired by Grynkewich, could take place on Wednesday next week, a source close to the talks told Reuters. The expert level meeting is expected to be held at NATO's military headquarters SHAPE near the Belgian town of Mons, according to the source. Grynkewich said there was also an issue of sequence with regard to deliveries to Ukraine. "Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio just talked about capabilities that are in Europe (which) can be moved more quickly than something coming off the production line", Grynkewich noted. "But the production line can then be used to backfill the capabilities that others donate." He said he had no sense of what number of Patriot systems might be freed up for delivery to Kyiv. "There will be a lot more to follow, we're going to move as quickly as we can on this," he said. After a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in Washington on Monday, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said a decision on supplying two U.S.-made Patriot systems to Kyiv could be reached within days or weeks. Germany has already donated three of its own Patriot units to Kyiv. Ukraine treasures the Patriot system, built by U.S. defence company Raytheon, as its most valuable means to intercept ballistic and hypersonic missiles fired by Russia. Solve the daily Crossword
Hindustan Times
22-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
NATO agrees Hague summit statement with 5% defence spending goal, diplomats say
By Sabine Siebold, Andrew Gray and Lili Bayer NATO agrees Hague summit statement with 5% defence spending goal, diplomats say BRUSSELS -NATO countries agreed a statement on Sunday for their upcoming summit that sets a goal of 5% of GDP for annual defence and security-related spending by 2035, overcoming objections from Spain, diplomats said. The statement has the green light from all 32 NATO members, diplomats said, but will only become official when it is approved by leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump at their summit in The Hague on Wednesday. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had blocked an earlier version of the text, saying that committing to a 5% target would be unreasonable and counterproductive. Spain spent 1.24% of GDP on defence in 2024, according to NATO estimates Diplomats overcame Sanchez's objections by adjusting the text on the spending pledge, changing the language from "we commit" to "allies commit", diplomats said. That allowed Sanchez to claim the commitment would not apply to Spain. "We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defence investment, but we are not going to do so," Sanchez said in an address on Spanish television Sunday. NATO operates by consensus so all of its 32 members have to approve a statement for it to be adopted. NATO officials argue that big defence spending increases are needed to counter a growing threat from Russia and to allow Europe to take on more responsibility for its own security as the United States shifts its military focus to China. The alliance's current defence spending target is 2% of GDP but Trump insisted it should rise to 5% - although he suggested on Friday that target should not apply to the United States. Under a plan by NATO boss Mark Rutte, countries would reach 5% of GDP by boosting their core defence spending goal from 2% to 3.5% and spending a further 1.5% on related items like adapting roads and bridges for military vehicles and cyber security. Rutte had originally proposed countries meet the new target by 2032 but the deadline in the final text is 2035, according to diplomats. There will also be a review of the target in 2029. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukrainian attack damaged 10% of Russia's strategic bombers, Germany says
By Sabine Siebold BERLIN (Reuters) -A Ukrainian drone attack last weekend likely damaged around 10% of Russia's strategic bomber fleet and hit some of the aircraft as they were being prepared for strikes on Ukraine, a senior German military official said. "According to our assessment, more than a dozen aircraft were damaged, TU-95 and TU-22 strategic bombers as well as A-50 surveillance planes," German Major General Christian Freuding said in a YouTube podcast reviewed by Reuters ahead of its publication later on Saturday. The affected A-50s, which function similarly to NATO's AWACS planes by providing aerial situational awareness, were likely non-operational when they were hit, said the general who coordinates Berlin's military aid to Kyiv and is in close touch with the Ukrainian defence ministry. "We believe that they can no longer be used for spare parts. This is a loss, as only a handful of these aircraft exist," he said. "As for the long-range bomber fleet, 10% of it has been damaged in the attack according to our assessment." The United States estimates that Ukraine's audacious drone attack hit as many as 20 Russian warplanes, destroying around 10 of them, two U.S. officials told Reuters, and experts say Moscow will take years to replace the affected planes. Despite the losses, Freuding does not see any immediate reduction of Russian strikes against Ukraine, noting that Moscow still retains 90% of its strategic bombers which can launch ballistic and cruise missiles in addition to dropping bombs. "But there is, of course, an indirect effect as the remaining planes will need to fly more sorties, meaning they will be worn out faster, and, most importantly, there is a huge psychological impact." Freuding said Russia had felt safe in its vast territory, which also explained why there was little protection for the aircraft. "After this successful operation, this no longer holds true. Russia will need to ramp up the security measures." According to Freuding, Ukraine attacked two air fields around 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Moscow, as well as the Olenya air field in the Murmansk region and the Belaya air field, with drones trained with the help of artificial intelligence. A fifth attack on the Ukrainka air field near the Chinese border failed, he said. The bombers that were hit were part of Russia's so-called nuclear triad which enables nuclear weapons deployment by air, sea and ground, he added.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Europe can sustain Ukraine's war effort without U.S., German general says
By Sabine Siebold BERLIN (Reuters) -Europe is capable of sustaining Ukraine's resistance against Russia, even if the United States were to decide to completely halt its military support to Kyiv, the senior military official in charge of coordinating Germany's arms supplies told Reuters. Major General Christian Freuding said NATO's European members plus Canada had already exceeded the estimated $20 billion worth of U.S. military aid provided last year to Kyiv. They accounted for around 60% of the total costs borne by the Western allies, he said. "The war against Ukraine is raging on our continent, it is also being waged against the European security order. If the political will is there, then the means will also be there to largely compensate for the American support," Freuding said in an interview. Ukraine continues to receive weapons deliveries approved by former U.S. President Joe Biden. It is unclear, however, whether his successor Donald Trump will sign off on any new supplies - or allow third countries to purchase U.S. weapons for Kyiv. Asked how long the Biden-approved deliveries will sustain Kyiv, Freuding said this depended on logistical processes as well as the speed at which Ukraine burns through arms and ammunition, but that the summer seemed a realistic estimate. "How the American government handles further requests for military support for Ukraine is unclear at the moment. We can't say anything about that," he added. "In general, the U.S. has a great interest in boosting its own defence industry. I make the cautious assumption that at least purchasing U.S. defence goods, and delivering them to Ukraine, will be possible." RUSSIAN REARMAMENT Addressing the potential threat that Russia might pose beyond Ukraine, Freuding said Moscow had a clear plan to reconstitute and grow its military, and was expected to succeed in efforts to double its land forces to 1.5 million by 2026. "They are recruiting significantly more personnel than they need as replacements for the war in Ukraine. They are producing surplus stocks of ammunition, in particular, which they are 'putting on store'". Freuding said Russia was also ramping up its military infrastructure, especially in its western military district bordering new NATO member Finland. Any ceasefire in Ukraine could allow Russia to accelerate its rearmament efforts ahead of a possible large-scale attack on NATO territory, he said. The alliance currently believes this could occur from 2029. "Of course, a ceasefire could change the threat situation," Freuding said. Russia denies planning to attack NATO and says it is waging a "special military operation" in Ukraine to protect its own security against what it casts as an aggressive, hostile West. Germany has provided a total of 38 billion euros ($43 billion) in military aid to Ukraine, including funds earmarked for the coming years, making it the second largest donor after the United States, the defence ministry in Berlin says. Freuding said he was not aware of the Trump administration having endorsed any U.S. arms deliveries to Kyiv paid for by third countries. Still, making up for certain crucial parts of U.S. military support to Ukraine would pose significant challenges to Europe. Listing capabilities that would be hard for Europeans to replace, Freuding cited U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data, air defence systems like Patriot and spare parts for U.S. weapons. "If we are capable of replacing specific (ISR) capabilities to a sufficient extent - we need to look into this when we definitely know the Americans won't provide this data anymore." Ukraine uses U.S. intelligence data to help its air defence, and analysts say also for targeting. ($1 = 0.8757 euros)
