Latest news with #PhilipBreedlove
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hamas launches rockets toward Israel
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas seems to be breaking down as Hamas launched rockets at Israel, which previously launched a series of airstrikes in Gaza. Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove joins "Elizabeth Vargas Reports" to talk about the latest developments and what they means for negotiations over the remaining Hamas hostages.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
European air forces could protect Ukraine from Russian aerial strikes, experts suggest
Military experts proposed to deploy European air forces to protect Kyiv and other non-front-line Ukrainian cities from Russian aerial attacks, the Guardian reported on March 6, citing the so-called Sky Shield plan. The plan could potentially work as part of the "truce in the sky" proposed by President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this week, preventing missiles, long-range drones, and bombs from targeting civilian infrastructure. The project's supporters said it could be a European-led air defense zone involving 120 fighter jets that will operate separately from NATO. According to the plan, developed by former British Air Force planners in cooperation with Ukraine's Armed Forces, the protection zone would cover Ukraine's three operational nuclear power plants, as well as the cities of Odesa and Lviv in Ukraine's south and west. The country's east, where the fierce battles are ongoing in Donetsk Oblast, were not included in the zone. According to the authors, this step can be more tangible than the deployment of ground troops as peacekeepers. In February, the Washington Post reported that up to 30,000 European troops could be deployed in the country after a potential ceasefire. Among those who supported the Sky Shield plan are Philip Breedlove, former NATO supreme commander in Europe, Polish ex-President Aleksander Kwasniewski, and Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's former foreign minister. European defense ministries have considered the plan, but their leaders have been reluctant to authorize patrolling Ukrainian skies while Russia's full-scale war is ongoing, the Guardian wrote. In light of the U.S. policy shift and suspension of military aid to Ukraine, the initiative can be revisited, the news outlet noted. Yet, Western partners still fear an escalation if an aircraft from either side is attacked or shot down. Russian forces regularly launch drones and missiles against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, inflicting heavy civilian casualties. A Russian missile strike against a hotel in Kryvyi Rih late on March 5, carried out shortly after the U.S. paused vital intelligence sharing, killed four people and injured over 30. According to figures released by Kyiv, U.N. statistics, and open-source data published by BBC Russia, the total death toll of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers, as well as Ukrainian civilians, stood at over 148,000 as of mid-February. Read also: Trump's alignment with Russia derails Europe's push for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The Guardian
06-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
European-led Ukraine air protection plan could halt Russian missile attacks
A European air force of 120 fighter jets could be deployed to secure the skies from Russian attacks on Kyiv and western Ukraine without necessarily provoking a wider conflict with Moscow, according to a plan drawn up by military experts. Sky Shield, its proponents argue, would be a European-led air protection zone operated separately from Nato to halt Russian cruise missile and drone attacks on cities and infrastructure, potentially operating as part of the 'truce in the sky' proposed by Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this week. It would cover Ukraine's three operating nuclear power plants and the cities of Odesa and Lviv, but not the frontline or the east of the country – and, according to a newly published paper, it could 'achieve greater military, political, and socioeconomic impact than 10,000 European ground troops'. Supporters include Philip Breedlove, a former US Air Force general and Nato supreme commander in Europe, and Sir Richard Shirreff, a former British army general and deputy Nato supreme commander at the beginning of the last decade, as well as former Polish president Aleksander Kwaśniewski. Another backer, Gabrielius Landsbergis, a former Lithuanian foreign minister, said in a statement: 'The implementation of Sky Shield would be an important component of Europe's stepping up, guaranteeing Ukraine's security effectively and efficiently.' Though variants of the proposal have been discussed without making progress since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a fresh version of the plan has gained renewed impetus this week after Zelenskyy's acrimonious meeting with US president Donald Trump on Friday. Since then the US has halted military aid and curbed intelligence sharing with Kyiv, prompting a rapid realisation in Europe that the continent will have to take the lead in supporting Ukraine while the war continues and by providing security guarantees to the country as part of any peace deal. It is understood Sky Shield has been drawn up by former RAF planners working in conjunction with Ukraine's armed forces, and it has been canvassed before European defence ministries. However, there has been no real appetite from European leaders to sanction patrols of Ukrainian skies while the war is ongoing. Those involved believe the pace of events in the last week means that ideas about protecting some of Ukraine's airspace can now get a fresh hearing, though the plan also serves to highlight how important and efficient air protection would be as part of providing security guarantees to Kyiv in the event of a ceasefire. The concern in western political circles is that it would risk placing fighter jets from Nato member states directly in conflict with Russia, and could lead to a dangerous escalation of hostilities if a jet from either side was attacked or shot down. However, backers of the scheme argue the 'risk to Sky Shield pilots is low' because Moscow has not dared to fly its combat jets beyond the existing front lines since early 2022. The de facto separation from Russian aircraft would be 'more than 200km' according to the scheme's designers. Russia routinely attacks Ukraine with missiles and long range drones and the belief is that fighter patrols could help Kyiv eliminate them. Knocking them out is a burden on Kyiv's existing air defence, some of which – most notably Patriot interceptors – are manufactured in the US and whose resupply is covered by the White House ban. On Wednesday, Ukraine's military said 181 drones and four missiles had been launched by Russia. Though most of the drones were shot down, one person was killed in the southern city of Odesa and infrastructure was targeted in the region, the local authorities said. Ukraine has fewer missiles than Russia but has used US Atacms and Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles to strike targets inside Russia since the autumn. It has also conducted a string of long range drone attacks on military and other infrastructure, such as refineries.
