Latest news with #NATO
Time of India
27 minutes ago
- Business
- Time of India
NATO floats cybersecurity to be included in new spending target
NATO proposed including expenditures on cybersecurity and activities related to border and coastal security to qualify for the military alliance 's new defense-related spending target of 1.5% of GDP. NATO started negotiations with countries on what will be allowed under its new spending target that it plans to adopt at a June summit, according to a document shared with member countries and people familiar with the matter. The total spending target will be 5% of GDP, with 3.5% on hard defense expenditures and 1.5% on defense-related outlays. Other expenditures that may qualify for the 1.5% portion will be protecting critical infrastructure spending, non-defense intelligence agencies and space-related activities, according to the document. A broader definition of what qualifies as a defense-related outlay would make it easier for countries to meet the target, with some nations lobbying to have expenditures such as counter-terrorism to be included. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said this week that he expected alliance members to approve the new 5% target. A spokesperson from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Talks are expected to continue in NATO's policy and planning committee Wednesday, according to the document. The proposal is subject to change and will form the basis for discussion among alliance members, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Infrastructure expenditures, particularly for the purpose of military mobility, will likely be included, according to the document. Those outlays will have to contribute to the military alliances defense plans or enable the use of the core-defense spending activities. Southern NATO countries are pushing for counter-terrorism related spending to be included, some of the people said. The inclusion of dual-use goods other than infrastructure will also have to be agreed on, said people, who stressed an agreement will need to be found before the summit. Kyiv is pushing for Ukraine aid to count toward this spending, according to a person familiar with the matter. This would allow the country to make up for the fact that NATO isn't currently discussing the renewal of last year's €40 billion ($45.3 billion) pledge for Ukraine. US President Donald Trump first demanded allies spend 5% earlier this year after threatening to pull out of the alliance or to only protect the allies that spent enough on defense. The figure was widely regarded as unrealistic when he first mentioned it, but European allies and Canada have come around to the understanding that their spending had to drastically increase. Only 23 out of 32 allies reached the current spending target of 2%, according to NATO's annual report published in April. But all of them are expected to meet it by the summer, Bloomberg reported earlier.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Germany's Friedrich Merz offers to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missiles to hit Russia
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Remove Ads German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged Wednesday to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any Western-imposed limitations on their use and targets as the Kyiv government fights to repel Russia 's of the advanced weapon systems that allies have supplied to Ukraine during the 3-year war were subject to range and target restrictions - a fraught political issue stemming from fears that if the weapons struck deep inside Russia, the Kremlin might retaliate against the country that provided them and draw NATO into Europe's biggest conflict since World War beside visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , Merz said that under an intensified cooperation agreement, Germany "will strive to equip the Ukrainian army with all the capabilities that truly enable it to successfully defend the country," including upgraded domestic missile the United States, Germany has been the biggest individual supplier of military aid to Ukraine."Ukraine will be able to fully defend itself, including against military targets outside its own territory" with its own missiles, Merz said at a joint news after Merz's pledge, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov publicly invited Ukraine to hold direct peace talks with Moscow in Istanbul on June a video statement, he said that Russia would use the meeting to deliver a memorandum setting out Moscow's position on "reliably overcoming the root causes of the crisis." He also said any Russian delegation would again be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky "We hope that all those who are sincerely interested in the success of the peace process in more than just words will support a new round of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul," Lavrov Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said his country isn't opposed to such direct peace talks but it still hasn't seen the memorandum promised by Russia and that further meetings would be "empty" without it."We call on them to fulfill that promise without delay and stop trying to turn the meeting into a destructive one," Umerov wrote on X. He said he had handed such a document with the Ukrainian position to the Russian delegations from Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in three years in Istanbul on May 16. The talks, which lasted two hours, brought no significant breakthrough, although both sides agreed to the largest prisoner exchange of the war. It was carried out last weekend and freed 1,000 captives on each doesn't mention its Taurus cruise missiles Merz declined to say whether Germany will supply its advanced Taurus long-range cruise missile to Ukraine - long a request by Kyiv and a step that Berlin has decision not to commit to giving Taurus missiles to Ukraine was a "big disappointment," said lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter , a senior member of Merz's party, the Christian Democratic loves "very strong personal statements" but is not able to back them up with support from his coalition partners, Kiesewetter told The Associated Press."We have a Moscow connection in Germany," Kiesewetter said, suggesting some politicians are in favor of Ukraine ceding territory to Russia to end the war, along with lifting some about Germany's offer to fund long-range missile production in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that the move was an obstacle to reaching a peace Merz and Zelenskyy criticized the Kremlin's effective rejection of an unconditional ceasefire proposed by the U.S., which Kyiv accepted. Kyiv says Moscow has been slow to respond to proposals for a said last Monday that Germany and other major allies were no longer imposing range limits on weapons they send to Ukraine, although he indicated their use was limited to Russian military targets. Ukraine has launched its own long-range drones against sites that support Russia's military efforts, including refineries and chemical President Joe Biden last year authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied missiles for limited strikes in Russia. The decision allowed Ukraine to use the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, against Berlin, Zelenskyy called for deeper defense cooperation across Europe and with Washington, stressing the need for long-range capabilities and sustained military funding to ensure Ukraine's said the cooperation projects already exist. "We simply want (the missiles) to be produced in the quantity we need," Zelenskyy told said Tuesday that Ukraine is ready to hold peace talks at the highest level, including a trilateral meeting with himself, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump."We are ready to meet at the level of leaders. Both the American side knows this, and the Russian side knows this," he said. Zelenskyy said he would accept any configuration of talks, whether that includes one trilateral meeting or separate meetings with the Kremlin spokesman, said Russia is grateful to Trump for his mediation efforts."At the same time, there is a big number of nuances to be discussed that can't be neglected and which neither party is going to sacrifice, because of its national interests," Peskov told reporters. "Just like the United States, Russia has its national interests that are of primary importance to us."Front-line fighting, deep strikes continue Meanwhile, fighting has continued along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where Ukraine's army is shorthanded against its bigger adversary. Zelenskyy claimed Tuesday that Russia is mobilizing up to 45,000 men every month, while Ukraine mobilizes between 25,000-27, sides are continuing to conduct deep strikes. Russia launched its biggest drone attack of the war against Ukraine on air defenses downed 296 Ukrainian drones over 13 Russian regions late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Russia's Defense Ministry said, in what appeared to be one of the biggest Ukrainian drone assaults of the is increasing its domestic production of drones and missiles, according to Zelenskyy. He said late Tuesday that Ukraine wants European countries to help it invest in the manufacture of attack drones, air defense interceptors, cruise missiles and ballistic Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses shot down Ukrainian 33 drones heading toward the capital. Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 42 drones were downed. He said drone fragments damaged three residential buildings in the village of Troitskoye, but no one was than 60 flights were canceled Wednesday in Moscow as the capital's airports were forced to ground planes amid drone warnings, said the federal aviation agency, Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine using five Iskander ballistic missiles, one guided air-launched missile and 88 drones, Ukraine's air force said. Air defense units shot down 34 drones, and 37 drones were jammed.
Yomiuri Shimbun
an hour ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Germany's Merz Offers to Help Ukraine Develop Its Own Long-Range Missiles to Hit Russia
The Associated Press Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, right, welcomes Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an official military reception at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged Wednesday to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any Western-imposed limitations on their use and targets as the Kyiv government fights to repel Russia's invasion. Some of the advanced weapon systems that allies have supplied to Ukraine during the 3-year war were subject to range and target restrictions — a fraught political issue stemming from fears that if the weapons struck deep inside Russia, the Kremlin might retaliate against the country that provided them and draw NATO into Europe's biggest conflict since World War II. Standing beside visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Merz said that under an intensified cooperation agreement, Germany 'will strive to equip the Ukrainian army with all the capabilities that truly enable it to successfully defend the country,' including upgraded domestic missile production. After the United States, Germany has been the biggest individual supplier of military aid to Ukraine. 'Ukraine will be able to fully defend itself, including against military targets outside its own territory' with its own missiles, Merz said at a joint news conference. Hours after Merz's pledge, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov publicly invited Ukraine to hold direct peace talks with Moscow in Istanbul on June 2. In a video statement, he said that Russia would use the meeting to deliver a memorandum setting out Moscow's position on 'reliably overcoming the root causes of the crisis.' He also said any Russian delegation would again be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. 'We hope that all those who are sincerely interested in the success of the peace process in more than just words will support a new round of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul,' Lavrov said. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said his country isn't opposed to such direct peace talks but it still hasn't seen the memorandum promised by Russia and that further meetings would be 'empty' without it. 'We call on them to fulfill that promise without delay and stop trying to turn the meeting into a destructive one,' Umerov wrote on X. He said he had handed such a document with the Ukrainian position to the Russian side. Low-level delegations from Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in three years in Istanbul on May 16. The talks, which lasted two hours, brought no significant breakthrough, although both sides agreed to the largest prisoner exchange of the war. It was carried out last weekend and freed 1,000 captives on each side. Germany doesn't mention its Taurus cruise missiles Merz declined to say whether Germany will supply its advanced Taurus long-range cruise missile to Ukraine — long a request by Kyiv and a step that Berlin has resisted. The decision not to commit to giving Taurus missiles to Ukraine was a 'big disappointment,' said lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter, a senior member of Merz's party, the Christian Democratic Union. Merz loves 'very strong personal statements' but is not able to back them up with support from his coalition partners, Kiesewetter told The Associated Press. 'We have a Moscow connection in Germany,' Kiesewetter said, suggesting some politicians are in favor of Ukraine ceding territory to Russia to end the war, along with lifting some sanctions. Asked about Germany's offer to fund long-range missile production in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that the move was an obstacle to reaching a peace agreement. Both Merz and Zelenskyy criticized the Kremlin's effective rejection of an unconditional ceasefire proposed by the U.S., which Kyiv accepted. Kyiv says Moscow has been slow to respond to proposals for a settlement. Merz said last Monday that Germany and other major allies were no longer imposing range limits on weapons they send to Ukraine, although he indicated their use was limited to Russian military targets. Ukraine has launched its own long-range drones against sites that support Russia's military efforts, including refineries and chemical plants. Then-U.S. President Joe Biden last year authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied missiles for limited strikes in Russia. The decision allowed Ukraine to use the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, against Russia. In Berlin, Zelenskyy called for deeper defense cooperation across Europe and with Washington, stressing the need for long-range capabilities and sustained military funding to ensure Ukraine's resilience. He said the cooperation projects already exist. 'We simply want (the missiles) to be produced in the quantity we need,' Zelenskyy told reporters. Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine is ready to hold peace talks at the highest level, including a trilateral meeting with himself, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump. 'We are ready to meet at the level of leaders. Both the American side knows this, and the Russian side knows this,' he said. Zelenskyy said he would accept any configuration of talks, whether that includes one trilateral meeting or separate meetings with Trump. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said Russia is grateful to Trump for his mediation efforts. 'At the same time, there is a big number of nuances to be discussed that can't be neglected and which neither party is going to sacrifice, because of its national interests,' Peskov told reporters. 'Just like the United States, Russia has its national interests that are of primary importance to us.' Front-line fighting, deep strikes continue Meanwhile, fighting has continued along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where Ukraine's army is shorthanded against its bigger adversary. Zelenskyy claimed Tuesday that Russia is mobilizing up to 45,000 men every month, while Ukraine mobilizes between 25,000-27,000. Both sides are continuing to conduct deep strikes. Russia launched its biggest drone attack of the war against Ukraine on Sunday. Russian air defenses downed 296 Ukrainian drones over 13 Russian regions late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Russia's Defense Ministry said, in what appeared to be one of the biggest Ukrainian drone assaults of the war. Ukraine is increasing its domestic production of drones and missiles, according to Zelenskyy. He said late Tuesday that Ukraine wants European countries to help it invest in the manufacture of attack drones, air defense interceptors, cruise missiles and ballistic systems. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses shot down Ukrainian 33 drones heading toward the capital. Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 42 drones were downed. He said drone fragments damaged three residential buildings in the village of Troitskoye, but no one was hurt. More than 60 flights were canceled Wednesday in Moscow as the capital's airports were forced to ground planes amid drone warnings, said the federal aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya. Overnight, Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine using five Iskander ballistic missiles, one guided air-launched missile and 88 drones, Ukraine's air force said. Air defense units shot down 34 drones, and 37 drones were jammed.
Asahi Shimbun
an hour ago
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Czech Republic accuses China of ‘malicious cyber campaign' against its foreign ministry
Czech Republic's Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky speaks to journalists during joint press conference with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriiy Sybiha in Kyiv, Ukraine, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo) PRAGUE--The Czech Republic has accused China of being 'responsible' for cyberattacks against a a communication network of its Foreign Ministry, officials said on Wednesday. The Foreign Ministry in Prague said the malicious activities started in 2022 and targeted the country's critical infrastructure, adding it believed the Advanced Persistent Threat 31, or APT31, hacking group, which is associated with the Chinese Ministry of State Security, was behind the campaign. It was not immediately clear what specific information were seized or what damage was caused by the attacks. The Czech ministry said a new communication system has already been put in place. Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said in a separate statement that his ministry summoned China's ambassador to Prague to make it clear to Beijing 'that such activities have serious impacts on mutual relations.' 'The government of the Czech Republic strongly condemns this malicious cyber campaign against its critical infrastructure,' the statement said. 'Such behavior undermines the credibility of the People's Republic of China and contradicts its public declarations.' The Chinese Embassy dismissed the Czech accusations as 'groundless.' It said China fights 'all forms of cyber-attacks and does not support, promote or tolerate hacker attacks.' The United States denounced the Chinese activities and called on China to stop it immediately, the U.S. Embassy in Prague said in a statement. It said ATP31 previously targeted U.S. and foreign politicians, foreign policy experts and others. 'APT31 has also stolen trade secrets and intellectual property, and targeted entities in some of America's most vital critical infrastructure sectors, including the Defense Industrial Base, information technology, and energy sectors,' the embassy said. NATO and the European Union also condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the Czechs. 'We observe with increasing concern the growing pattern of malicious cyber activities stemming from the People's Republic of China,' NATO said. 'This attack is an unacceptable breach of international norms,' Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, said. 'The EU will not tolerate hostile cyber actions.' In a separated cyberattack in 2017, the email account of then Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek and the accounts of dozens of ministry officials were successfully hacked. Officials said the attack was sophisticated, and experts believed it was done by a foreign state, which was not named then.
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Russian-linked hackers posing as journalists targeted Ministry of Defence, government says
Why you can trust Sky News Russia-linked hackers posing as journalists targeted staff at Britain's Ministry of Defence in a cyber spying operation that was spotted and thwarted, the government has revealed. Details of the foiled hack emerged as Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK military is bolstering its own offensive capabilities to conduct cyber attacks against hostile states like Russia. The Strategic Defence Review is expected to be published on Monday. It was launched by Sir Keir Starmer last July and comes ahead of a major summit of NATO allies in June. "The nature of warfare is changing," Mr Healey told a group of journalists on a visit to a secure facility in Wiltshire where the defence team that defeated the Russian cyber attack is located. "The keyboard is now a weapon of war and we are responding to that." Part of this response, announced on Thursday, includes the creation of a new cyber command to oversee offensive and defensive cyber operations. The government also plans to invest more than £1bn on improving its ability to hunt, locate and strike targets on the battlefield, drawing on digital technology. "In future conflict, those that prevail will be those who are not just better equipped and better trained, but better connected and also capable of innovating ahead of adversaries," the defence secretary said. The thwarted Russia-linked hack was one of more than 90,000 cyber attacks associated with hostile states that were directed against the UK military and other parts of defence over the past two years - a doubling from the previous two years, the Ministry of Defence said. Part of the increase is because the military is getting better at spotting the attempts against its networks. However, it is understood the attacks are becoming more sophisticated - making them harder to combat. Late last year, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ, alerted the Ministry of Defence to a suspected spear phishing campaign. The Global Operations Security Control Centre at MoD Corsham, in Wiltshire, which defends the Ministry of Defence's networks in the UK and overseas, was tasked with identifying the threat. The team worked on computers inside a large, windowless hall - filled with rows of desks and a bank of large screens along one wall. "MoD detected a spear phishing campaign targeting staff with the aim of delivering malware," the analysis by the NCSC said. "The initial campaign consisted of two emails with a journalistic theme attempting to represent a news organisation. The second campaign followed a financial theme, directing targets to a commercial file share." The officials who were involved revealed details of the effort during the defence secretary's visit to MoD Corsham this week. One of the individuals said it took about an hour to spot the attack. Asked what it felt like to discover the intrusion, the individual said "cool". 1:14 The malware was linked to a Russian hacking group called RomCom, a second official said. The particular code that was used had not been seen before, so the British side gave it the name "Damascened Peacock". "Corsham is famous for peacocks," they said. The two officials are part of a team of cyber experts - a mix of military personnel, civil servants and civilian contractors - who work at the secure centre. A key focus at the moment is protecting a major deployment by the Royal Navy's aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, loaded with state-of-the-art F-35 fast jets and protected by a task force of warships, as it travels through the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen. The carrier strike group is expected to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the coming days - well within range of an Iranian-backed militia that has targeted British and American warships and well as commercial shipping with missiles. 0:57 The cyber experts, though, are trying to defend the deployment from cyber attacks. Earlier in the month, US President Donald Trump struck a deal with Houthi militants to stop them from attacking ships, but the British side is still very alert to the potential threat. "The strike group is going through what could be a high risk dangerous passage," Mr Healey said.
