Category: war machines

Joe Biden has approved Kyiv’s use of American-made weapons to strike within Russia as long as the targets relate to Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, a US official said on Thursday.  The decision marks an important shift from Washington’s previous position that Ukraine should not use US weapons to strike targets in Russia — and follows growing pressure on Biden from Kyiv and its allies.  President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office did not immediately confirm or comment on the US decision. He…

A police sniper was reportedly photographed and filmed “overlooking” pro-Palestine protests at Indiana University on Thursday. if you criticize the state of israel they send snipers to your schools https://t.co/LyRiGCWhB4 — Mohammad (@MargBarAmerica) April 25, 2024   They won’t even do this for our border, but they’ll do it for Jewish feelings. Incredible. pic.twitter.com/FkrdF8CCHv— Lucas Gage (@Lucas_Gage_) April 26, 2024 The photograph was captured by Ben Sharpe: There is a fucking sniper on the roof of the IMU overlooking the…

European lawmakers have approved a resolution that calls for the “immediate and unconditional release” of all political prisoners held in Russia, including journalists Alsu Kurmasheva and Evan Gershkovich. The resolution was part of a joint motion in the European Parliament on April 25, condemning Russia’s “undemocratic” presidential election last month and their “illegitimate extension” to territories inside Ukraine that Moscow has illegally annexed. The resolution — which was approved by 493 MEPs in favor while 11 were against and 18…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has greenlighted an emergency $138 million in foreign military sales for Ukraine to provide critical repairs and spare parts for Kyiv’s Hawk missile systems. The U.S. announced the move Tuesday saying that Ukraine has an urgent need for the maintenance support to keep the missile system running. The announcement follows a similar, small-sized round of $300 million in munitions support the Pentagon announced last month after it was able to convert contract savings to…

Chinese anti-corruption authorities are investigating a senior executive at one of the country’s top military equipment suppliers, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, in a new sign of turmoil in the country’s defence establishment. The probe into He Wenzhong, deputy general manager of CETC, a company subject to US sanctions, follows a shake-up of the armed forces last year, when the two generals in command of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force were replaced. The force controls China’s land-based nuclear missiles….

Israeli MK Nissim Vaturi, a representative in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party, issued a not-so-veiled threat on Saturday suggesting that if America doesn’t supply Israel with weapons aid then Israel will use nuclear weapons. “In the event of a conflict with Iran, if we do not receive American ammunition – we will have to use everything we have…” Vaturi ominously said. Israel assassinated a high-ranking Iranian Brigadier General and 15 others in an airstrike on an Iranian embassy…

The US is warning allies that China has stepped up its support for Russia, including by providing geospatial intelligence, to help Moscow in its war against Ukraine. Amid signs of continued military integration between the two nations, China has provided Russia with satellite imagery for military purposes, as well as microelectronics and machine tools for tanks, according to people familiar with the matter. China’s support also includes optics, propellants to be used in missiles and increased space cooperation, one of…

Israeli air strikes destroyed a building belonging to the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing a senior commander in the Quds Force, the external military and intelligence service of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iranian state media reported on Monday. General Mohamad Reza Zahedi, 65, oversaw Iran’s covert military operations in Syria and Lebanon, Iranian officials said.He is among the senior most Iranian commanders believed to have been killed by Israel in a yearslong shadow war that has included assassinations of…

  Ukrainian drones were used to hit multiple targets in a sweeping attack on Russia that reportedly ignited fires at two major oil facilities and saw armed groups cross into Russian territory. Russia’s Defense Ministry said nine of its regions were attacked by Ukrainian drones, while Ukrainian missiles were shot down over the Belgorod region early on March 12. The attacks, the ministry said, targeted several energy facilities, including LUKoil’s Norsi refinery, Russia’s fourth-largest, in the Nizhny Novgorod region about…

The Pentagon’s inspector general said its criminal investigators have opened more than 50 cases related to aid provided to Ukraine, including some involving contractors, but have yet to firm up any allegations. The investigations, which are at different stages, are looking at issues including “procurement fraud, product substitution, theft, fraud or corruption, and diversion,” the inspector general, Robert Storch, said in a briefing Thursday. “We have not substantiated any such allegations, though that may well change in the future,” he…

ROME — Italy’s parliament has approved the planned acquisition of two new FREMM frigates with updated electronics and 132 combat-version Leopard tanks as well as 140 other tank versions. The new buys, approved Feb. 21 by the parliament’s defense commission, are part of a uptick in Italian military spending partly spurred by the Ukraine conflict. Italy has previously ordered 10 FREMM frigates; the latest orders, dubbed FREMM EVO, will take the fleet to 12. Italy has already taken delivery of…

In a significant legal move, authorities in the United States have brought charges against the head of a prominent Japanese criminal organization, accusing him of orchestrating a scheme to traffic nuclear materials from Myanmar, with the intended destination being Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Takeshi Ebisawa, aged 60, stands accused alongside his associate, Somphop Singhasiri, aged 61, of engaging in a range of illicit activities, including drug trafficking, arms smuggling, and the illicit trade of nuclear substances. Anne Milgram, Director of…

ROME — Italy’s Fincantieri and UAE group EDGE have agreed to create a Abu Dhabi-based joint venture to build and sell naval vessels to non-NATO countries, the firms said Tuesday. The JV, which will be 51% owned by EDGE but run by Fincantieri managers, will aim to take advantage of the UAE’s relations with other states and the export credit financing it offers. The venture “will be awarded prime rights to non-NATO orders, especially leveraging on the attractiveness of UAE…

The Marine Corps now has its first F-35B squadron on the East Coast that has achieved initial operational capability. That is one of many steps in the Corps’ pursuit of a fully fielded and operational F-35 fleet of aircraft by 2030. Initial operational capability means that Marine Fighter Attack Squadron, VMFA 542, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, has enough operational F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, pilots, maintainers and equipment to…

The first set of A-10 Warthogs from the 355th Wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, have moved to the boneyard after nearly a half-century of flight. Both of the aircraft, which belonged to the 354th Fighter Squadron, didn’t have to go far to retire, according to an announcement Thursday. The second of the two aircraft taxied to its final resting place on Tuesday at the 309th Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Group, otherwise known as the boneyard. Davis-Monthan retired its…

SEOUL: North Korea fired an apparent intermediate-range missile into the sea on Sunday, South Korea and Japan said, as tensions run high after Pyongyang’s recent launches of an intercontinental ballistic missile and its first military spy satellite. North Korea has stepped up pressure on Seoul in recent weeks, declaring it the “principal enemy”, saying the North will never reunite with the South and vowing to enhance its ability to deliver a nuclear strike on the US and America’s allies in…