Funding for Kyiv has been tied to policies to address the flow of migrants across the US-Mexico border. But efforts to deal with the issue has recently encountered growing opposition among Republicans aligned with Donald Trump. A US Senate deal to secure further aid to Ukraine is in danger of collapsing, according to lawmakers. “We’re at a critical moment, and we’ve got to drive hard to get this done. And if we can’t get there, then we’ll go to plan B,” senator John Thune, the chamber’s No 2 Republican, told reporters on Thursday. Former Nato security general Lord Robertson has told Sky News the Ukrainians are “fighting for us” and “we need to do more”.
- Russia might use the crisis to launch cyber and other hybrid attacks on Nato countries.
- But the head of the British Army Gen Sir Patrick Sanders is not alone in issuing a national call to prepare for a major conflict on European soil.
- It has sent military equipment, weapons as well as ammunition as well as anti-tank drones to Ukraine, however, Germany’s has refused to send “lethal weapons” to Ukraine.
- Joe Biden will host the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, at the White House on 9 February to discuss aid to Ukraine.
But be we warriors or wimps, now is the time to start facing up to the prospect, says Ed Arnold, a European Security Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. If we took casualties at the rate the Ukrainians are taking them, the NHS would immediately be overwhelmed, and for years we’ve missed recruitment targets for the Armed Forces. Indeed, for all the foreboding about societal collapse, facing a common threat could give Britain a new-found sense of unity – something many Ukrainians speak of. Just as there was the “Clap for Carers” during the pandemic, similar rituals might take place for those serving at the front.
Biden to host German chancellor to discuss Ukraine aid
The Biden administration already has sent Ukraine $111bn in weapons, humanitarian assistance and other aid. Local authorities in Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, said the crash killed all 74 people on board, including six crew members and three Russian servicemen. Social media users in the Belgorod region posted videos that showed a plane falling from the sky in a snowy, rural area and a huge ball of fire erupting where it allegedly hit the ground. The Russian defence ministry said that missiles fired from across the border brought down the transport plane, but Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said that Kyiv had no verifiable information about who was on the plane.
Madame Chair, as we approach the third year since Russia’s full-scale invasion, the UK’s support will not falter. During his visit to Kyiv earlier this month, my Prime Minister announced a package of support and reaffirmed the close UK-Ukraine partnership. This included £2.5 billion in military support and a historic long-term security agreement. This brings the United Kingdom’s total package of support to Ukraine to approximately £12 billion. We remain deeply humbled by the bravery and the resilience of the Ukrainian people and their determination to win. Joe Biden will host the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, at the White House on 9 February to discuss aid to Ukraine.
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Since the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, the UK has sanctioned around 183 individuals under the Russia sanctions regime. The UK is not protected from rising prices purely because it relies less on Russian gas. The price of British gas for next-day delivery shot up by 40 per cent, to £280 per therm.
And for every shirker or draft-dodger, others might take pride in national duty, be it manning a machine gun post or cleaning the streets. The Covid lockdown, which saw fights breaking out in queues at supermarkets and garages, was a glimpse of how trouble can spark during times of nationwide panic. There would also be concerns about looting, especially if food shortages started to bite. The decline in manufacturing means there are far fewer factories that can be converted to make arms, as happened in the Second World War, when car makers churned out Spitfire parts. And in a globalised world, many industries that are key in wartime rely on imports. Key bridges could be dynamited, airport runways blocked, and beaches sown with landmines.
Andrey Kelin told Times Radio on Friday that any measure the UK took against Moscow would be met with an equal response, but he refused to give further detail on how this could look. Moscow’s ambassador to London previously warned that the UK would be hit with “immediate retaliation” if it tried to sanction Russia. Ukraine is a country that for decades has enjoyed freedom and democracy and the right to choose its own destiny. It is extremely unlikely that the UK will go to war with Russia any time soon. Russia is continuing to bombard Ukraine with missiles, with heavy fire directed at the city of Kharkiv. When that failed, No.10 sanctioned five Russian banks and three “hit net wealth” individuals.
- The latest versions of those weapons includes the NLAWs (Next generation Light Anti-tank Weapons) and Javelins.
- The Russian offensive was preceded by artillery fire and there were injuries to border guards, the DPSU said.
- The former minister, currently a serving Conservative MP, pointed out that the prime minister grew up without that existential threat.
- The Biden administration has announced the approval of a $23bn deal to sell F-16 warplanes to Turkey, after Ankara ratified Sweden’s Nato membership, the state department said.
- But beyond the Johnsonian rhetoric the 2021 document was quite clear-sighted about UK interests.
Last week, another senior Nato military chief said countries needed to be on alert "and expect the unexpected". Adm Rob Bauer, who heads the alliance's military committee, said the public needed to change their mindset for an era "when anything can happen at any time". About 10 civilians are believed to have been killed, including six in an air strike in Brovary near the capital Kyiv. A man was also killed in shelling outside the major eastern city of Kharkiv. Unfortunately, the attacks on Tuesday morning were just the latest of a series of acts of wanton destruction by Russia in Ukraine since we last gathered for a Permanent Council in December.
This comes as the US president has been pressing Congress to embrace a bipartisan Senate deal to pair border enforcement measures with aid for Ukraine. Some Republicans have set a deal on border security as a condition for further Ukraine aid. According to reports, Russian missiles on Kyiv and Kharkiv killed at least 18 people and injured over one hundred. The devastation was felt most acutely in Kharkiv, where an apartment block was hit, killing two people, and injuring 35 residents. From significant rises in petrol and gas prices to the potential for cyberattacks and a financial hit on London’s markets from western sanctions, people in the UK will feel the cost of the conflict.
- Downing Street has ruled out any move towards conscription, saying the army service will remain voluntary.
- Further east in Kramatorsk, in the eastern Donetsk region, the BBC's Eastern European Correspondent Sarah Rainsford said people did not expect such a full-on assault.
- It is extremely unlikely that the UK will go to war with Russia any time soon.
- The foreign secretary also warned last week that harsh UK sanctions could have far-reaching consequences.
The Home Office’s initial response was criticised for being slow and bureaucratic, as the department’s overriding instinct to prioritise control, and security won out over pressure to get refugees into safe UK accommodation quickly. But while by far the most significant consequences of the invasion over the past year have clearly been for the people of the Ukraine (and Russia), the advent of war in mainland Europe has also had consequences for UK government. https://euronewstop.co.uk/what-is-a-no-fly-zone-above-ukraine.html to deploy British forces to eastern European members of the Nato military alliance if Russian troops cross Ukraine's borders. I offer my condolences and that of the UK to all Ukrainians for the lives lost due to these barbaric airstrikes. These took place far away from the front lines of Russia’s war, in civilian populated areas. The intensity, regularity and indiscriminate nature of Russia’s attacks may violate international humanitarian law, is extremely concerning and must stop.
- But it boosts the strength of the professional armed forces, which is often relatively small.
- Unfortunately, the attacks on Tuesday morning were just the latest of a series of acts of wanton destruction by Russia in Ukraine since we last gathered for a Permanent Council in December.
- Hungary has signalled it is ready to compromise on EU funding for Ukraine - after Brussels reportedly prepared to sabotage its economy if it did not comply.
- "They're always trying to find a better way to break our air defence systems and make their attack more efficient," Oleksandr Musiyenko at Ukraine's Center for Military Legal Research told the BBC.
- All the expeditionary wars involved victories that came, generally, in a matter of weeks, sometimes days.
Nato powers are already promising to build up their own forces in the alliance's eastern flank. The memorandum is not a treaty and lawyers dispute whether it is legally enforceable. But it is a formal, public and written commitment by the UK to support Ukraine.
Last week, after President Putin ordered the first Russian troops into Ukraine, the Prime Minister confirmed the UK would sanction three wealthy allies of Vladimir Putin and five Russian banks. If President Putin decides to extend his attacks beyond Russia and into a neighbouring Nato state, such as Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia, then the UK would be bound to go to war with Russia. But Ukraine is not a part of Nato, so the Western response to Russia’s invasion will initially focus on sanctions. Ukraine has said its goal for the talks is an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces from the country. Nato has said it will listen to Russia’s concerns about wanting Ukraine not to join the organisation but its core values, of allowing each nation to choose its own path and defending all allies, will not be compromised.