Tag: ukraine

The British and French-led effort to establish a ‘coalition of the willing’ to stand up to Russia and defend Ukraine just hit another major roadblock, as Bloomberg is reporting Wednesday the US has effectively vetoed a plan to provide American air defenses to back a “reassurance force” for postwar Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been insisting that US-backed air defenses are key to any future permanent settlement plans for ending the war. Western proposals for ending the war have all featured foreign-backed and monitored security guarantees for Ukraine.

On this, Starmer had said back in February that “There must be a US backstop” and that the “US security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again.”

After Western billions already sunk into keeping Ukraine’s military and civic infrastructure afloat, the UK and France are also seeking from President Trump pledges of future air power, and border surveillance and intelligence.

The Europeans also envision a strong, permanent security bulwark backed by the United States along NATO’s eastern flank.

Yet, President Trump has repeatedly warned allies that if NATO countries don’t pay their fair share they won’t be protected. This despite European leaders as well as some US politicians expressing recent concern that the Atlantic alliance is becoming weaker than ever, and that Article 5 collective defense is in peril.

Trump has lashed out at NATO countries for not even meeting their current two percent spending goal while the unfair burden has long fallen United States.

“We appreciate the work that the allies, particularly France and the United Kingdom together with Germany and others have undertaken to develop the coalition of the willing,” US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said at a press breifing Brussels on Wednesday. “We are counting on all our European allies to continue taking the leadership position in contributing military resources and providing the political capital to make security guarantees a reality.”

All of this comes as it was only on Tuesday that Dutch slapped down a proposal to increase defense spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), key to NATO’s capability targets, in a non-binding motion.

While it doesn’t have legal force at this point, this makes clear parliament’s opinion, unleashing deeper tensions among NATO allies, and as the Trump White House exerts pressure to rapidly raise collective defense.

Also, Bloomberg reported separately Tuesday, “NATO is asking European member states to expand ground-based air-defense capabilities fivefold as the alliance races to fill a key gap in response to the threat of Russian aggression, people familiar with the matter said.” 

All indicators are that the Trump administration no longer envisions the United States as heading up NATO, especially when other countries can’t step up and pay their fair share.

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The US Embassy in Kyiv has issued a new Wednesday heightened security alert due to “continued risk of significant air attacks” by Russia on Ukraine.

The Kremlin, including President Vladimir Putin himself, has said that major retaliation is coming, after the Sunday massive cross-border Ukrainian operation which destroyed many of Russia’s premier military aircraft, including long-range strategic bombers.

President Trump has said of an over one-hour phone call he held with Putin Wednesday, that “We discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides.” Trump went on to call it a good conversation, however “not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace.”

The below official embassy alert, marked June 4, relays the following information for American citizens remaining in the Ukrainian capital [emphasis ZH]:

Event:  Russia has increased the intensity of its missile and drone attacks against Ukraine in recent weeks, and there is currently a continued risk of significant air attacks. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv urges U.S. citizens to exercise appropriate caution.  As always, we recommend you be prepared to shelter immediately in the event an air alert is announced. 

Actions to Take: 

• Identify shelter locations in advance of any air alert.
• Download a reliable air alert app to your mobile phone, such as Air Raid Siren or Alarm Map.
• Immediately take shelter away from windows in the most hardened location you can move to if an air alert is announced.
• Monitor local media for updates.
• Keep reserves of water, food, and medication.
• Follow the directions of Ukrainian officials and first responders in the event of an emergency.
• Review what the Department of State Can and Cannot Do in a Crisis. 

Of note in Trump’s phone call with Putin is that nothing was stated from Trump in the way of a US demand that Putin not retaliate against Ukraine (or at least which was not disclosed in his Truth Social post).

The absence of a preemptive condemnation for any major retaliation suggests that major aerial retaliation is indeed imminent, and that Washington ‘understands’ the tit-for-tat nature of what is likely about to happen.

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Despite the fact that on the first day after the terrorist attack in the Bryansk region, when the automobile overpass collapsed in front of the passenger train “Klimov-Moscow”, something vague along the lines of “an external impact was involved” was heard, now things are called by their proper names. In the area of ​​the Bryansk village of Vygonichi, there was a deliberate blowing up of the supports of that very automobile overpass – a terrorist act that led to the death of people.

At the moment, there are more and more reports that as a result of collecting samples from the scene of the tragedy and their subsequent analysis, the presence of an explosive substance has been established. And this substance attracts special attention. This is the American explosive C-4. This is a plastic explosive based on hexogen, which was developed in the USA in 1956. It is an explosive for military purposes.

In total, about 10 kg of this substance was used to blow up the bridge, which eventually collapsed in front of a passenger train.

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