Long-range missiles pledge at Nato summit to help Kyiv push back Putin’s forces

Jump to content Sign up to our newsletters Subscribe News Sport Voices Culture Lifestyle Travel Premium News World Europe Arpan Rai , Martha McHardy Wednesday 12 July 2023 05:11 Comments Close Zelensky accompanies Azovstal commanders back to Ukraine France will join Britain in supplying Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles, a move that allows Ukrainian forces to hit Russian troops and supplies deep behind front lines, French officials confirmed on Tuesday. The missiles can travel up to 250 km (155 miles), with French President Emmanuel Macron stating he had decided to boost military aid to Ukraine to help its counteroffensive as he arrived at a summit of the 31-member NATO alliance in Lithuania. ‘I have decided to increase deliveries of weapons and equipment to enable the Ukrainians to have the capacity to strike deeply,’ Macron said, while declining to say how many missiles would be sent. A French diplomatic source said they were talking about 50 SCALP missiles produced by European manufacturer MBDA. Meanwhile, Ukraine said its troops had caught occupying Russian troops ‘in a trap’ in the shattered eastern city of Bakhmut, where its forces have been gaining ground as part of their counter-offensive. ‘Bakhmut. The enemy is caught in a trap,’ general Oleksander Syrskyi, in charge of Ukraine’s ground forces, said bluntly on the Telegram messaging app. ‘The city is under the fire control of (our) defence forces…the enemy is being pushed out of their positions.’ 1689134062 The war in Ukraine will continue until the West gives up plans to dominate and defeat Moscow, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said, calling the Russian full-scale invasion an ‘armed confrontation’. ‘Why doesn’t the armed confrontation in Ukraine come to an end? The answer is very simple. It will continue until the West gives up its plans to preserve its domination and overcome its obsessive desire to inflict on Russia a strategic defeat at the hands of its Kyiv puppets,’ according to a transcript of the interview with Indonesian newspaper Kompas published on Russia’s foreign ministry website. ‘For the time being, there are no signs of change in this position,’ he said, speaking at the same time as Nato allies meet for a key summit where military aid for Ukraine is top of the agenda. Western nations have called on Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine conflict by withdrawing his troops from the neighbouring country. In the more than 500 days since Russia invaded Ukraine – dubbed a ‘special military operation’ by Putin on the first day of the war in February last year – tens of thousands of troops have been killed, millions of civilians displaced and hundreds of children have been killed in bombing raids on public infrastructure. Mr Lavrov claimed that the goal of the ‘US-led collective West’ in supporting Ukraine is to bolster its global hegemony. The West has stated its clear intentions to help Ukraine win its conflict with Russia, and Western powers have supplied large amounts of modern arms and ammunition to help Kyiv defend its territory. Arpan Rai 12 July 2023 04:54 1689131790 While an invite to join Nato remains off the table this year for Ukraine, its allies and all members of the G7 are set to sign a long-term security arrangement with the war-hit nation that Rishi Sunak said had the potential to ‘return peace to Europe’. The G7 declaration, out later today and expected to be ratified on the margins of the Nato summit in Vilnius, is set to provide more defence equipment, increase and accelerate intelligence sharing and bolster support for cyber defences. It plans to expand training programmes and military exercises, while also developing Ukraine’s industrial capabilities, according to Downing Street. As the British prime minister cited the UK as having played a leading role in the pact, No 10 said the accord marked the first time that so many countries had agreed a comprehensive multi-year security arrangement of such a nature with another country. The announcement comes after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky voiced his frustration that Nato has not offered a timeframe for Kyiv to join the alliance. The announcement comes after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky voiced his frustration that Nato has not offered a timeframe for Kyiv to join. Arpan Rai 12 July 2023 04:16 1689130987 US president Joe Biden skipped a dinner with Nato leaders last night and instead returned to his hotel room in Lithuania. A US official was reported as saying that the US president skipped the dinner because he has four full days of official business ahead of him and is preparing for a major speech for today. Mr Biden, who arrived in Europe on Sunday, sent Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the dinner in his place. The gathered leaders have offered an invitation to Ukraine to join in the defence alliance, pending certain conditions. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended the dinner in his place Arpan Rai 12 July 2023 04:03 1689127260 For Ukraine , what it is asking for has been simple – a pathway to membership of Nato to protect its future in the wake of Russia ‘s invasion. For its Western allies however, making that a reality is not so straightforward. The advantages of membership for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky are obvious. Article 5 of the alliance treaty is a cast-iron mutual defence clause that has US, UK and French nuclear weapons at its core. Given the vast swathes of destruction that Moscow’s aggression has wrought, being given a seat at the Nato table would also give Kyiv the extra layer of security needed during what will be a long period of reconstruction (whenever that comes). My colleague Chris Stevenson reports: Kyiv has been clear that it wants a pathway to join – but some nations are wary about moving at speed and provoking Moscow, writes Chris Stevenson Eleanor Noyce 12 July 2023 03:01 1689123600 Volodymyr Zelensky said it is ‘absurd’ that no timeframe has been set for Ukraine to join Nato following confirmation the UK is pushing for long-term military support to be pledged for Kyiv. The Ukrainian president said ‘uncertainty is weakness’ as he criticised Nato leaders for failing to agree a pathway for his war-torn country to accede to the defensive alliance. Mr Zelensky said the delay was providing Russia with the ‘motivation to continue its terror’. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had said he wanted Nato leaders to ‘reaffirm’ its commitment to Kyiv joining the alliance. Eleanor Noyce 12 July 2023 02:00 1689120000 Eleanor Noyce 12 July 2023 01:00 1689116460 Russian and Belarusian players will return to Wimbledon as neutrals this year after the All England Club lifted its ban on players from both countries competing in the Championships. Wimbledon was the only one of the four grand slam tournaments to ban players from Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but was criticised by the men’s and women’s professional tours for doing so. In response, Wimbledon was stripped of its ranking points and the Lawn Tennis Association was hit by a fine after the ban on Russian and Belarusian players was extended to the summer’s other grass-court events in Britain. Top players such as Aryna Sabalenka and Daniil Medvedev are back after the All England Club lifted its controversial ban Eleanor Noyce 12 July 2023 00:01 1689112804 U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration will move ahead with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in consultation with Congress, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday, a day after Ankara gave the green light for Sweden to join NATO. Turkey, which had been the main stumbling bloc on Sweden’s path towards the alliance, had requested in October 2021 to buy $20 billion of Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernisation kits for its existing warplanes. Speaking ahead of a summit of NATO leaders in Lithuania, Sullivan said Biden ‘had been clear that he supports the transfer.’ ‘He has placed no caveats on this … He intends to move forward with that transfer,’ Sullivan told reporters, without giving details on the timing. U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, a Democrat who has blocked the F-16 sale, said on Monday he was in talks with the Biden administration about his hold and that he could make a decision ‘in the next week.’ State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and members of Congress, including Menendez, in recent weeks. ‘And as the national security adviser said today, we will move forward with that sale, which we do understand needs to be approved by key members of Congress,’ he told a daily news briefing. Blinken pressed Fidan on Sweden’s accession to NATO during calls on Wednesday and Saturday, according to State Department readouts. He spoke to Fidan again on Monday, hours before Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced that he had agreed to approve Sweden’s accession. ‘I am not going to characterize those conversations other than to say we have always made clear that we have supported the sale of F-16s to Turkey and we will continue to do so,’ Miller said. Tensions between Turkey and fellow NATO member Greece – which wants to buy F-35 jets from the United States – could be a stumbling block for the F-16 sale, however. Blinken also spoke to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday. Menendez had said he had concerns about Turkey that extended beyond Sweden joining NATO, including human rights and Turkish overflights of Greek airspace. Eleanor Noyce 11 July 2023 23:00 1689109264 A Belarusian artist who once dumped manure outside an office of President Alexander Lukashenko has died in a prison, where he was serving a five-year sentence, human rights activists and his wife said Tuesday. Ales Pushkin, 57, died in a prison in Grodno in western Belarus of an unknown cause, even though he wasn’t known to be sick, according to the Viasna human rights center. His wife, Janina Demuch, told The Associated Press he ‘died in the intensive care unit of the prison under unclear circumstances.’ Belarusian authorities did not comment. A Belarusian artist who dumped manure outside an office of President Alexander Lukashenko has died in a prison, where he was serving a five-year sentence Eleanor Noyce 11 July 2023 22:01 1689107404 A US official was reported as saying that the US .president skipped the dinner because he has four full days of official business ahead of him and is preparing for a major speech on Wednesday. Mr Biden, who arrived in Europe on Sunday, sent Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the dinner in his place. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended the dinner in his place Eleanor Noyce 11 July 2023 21:30 Ukrainian servicemen ride on armoured personnel carriers (APC) on a road toward Bakhmut AFP via Getty Images Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in