Latest news with #RadekSikorski
The Independent
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Putin may be mocking Trump over Ukraine – but the US president won't do anything about it
European leaders have redoubled their efforts to prise Donald Trump away from Russia by warning that the US president is being 'mocked' by Vladimir Putin, alleging that Moscow is using chemical weapons in Ukraine and demanding that the US restore weapons supplies to Kyiv. The move came after Ukraine said it had endured the biggest overnight air attack of the entire war, with swarms of 500 drones and missiles intended to overwhelm already stretched air defences. Radek Sikorski, Poland's foreign minister, called for the US to end its suspension of air defence missiles and other weapons – most of which are on standby for delivery to Poland –and derided Trump's fruitless efforts to secure a ceasefire. 'Mr Trump, Putin is mocking your peace efforts,' said the Oxford-educated Sikorski. In addition, the Dutch and German governments said their intelligence services had evidence of widespread use of chemical choking agents (teargas) against Ukrainian trenches by Russian troops. These have been used to force soldiers into the open where they could be shot by Putin's forces. 'This intensification is concerning because it is part of a trend we have been observing for several years now, where Russia's use of chemical weapons in this war is becoming more normalised, standardised, and widespread," said the Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans. With the recent US focus on its attacks on Iran in support of Israel, Russia has been gradually stepping up efforts against Kyiv. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has been warning for weeks that his country faces a critical shortage of defensive weapons, so the announcement that the US is suspending promised weapons such Patriot air defence missiles will inevitably entrench the already strong belief that Trump has taken Putin's side after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and that the US is no longer a real ally in the defence of Europe. Pentagon officials suggested the suspension was a 'pause' in delivery of Patriots, precision artillery and Hellfire missiles mounted on Ukrainian F-16 aircraft as part of a review of US supplies worldwide. But the US has not declared a pause in supply to any other nation. Israel is the largest recipient of US military aid by far and has recently enjoyed an uptick in supplies of bombs and missiles even as it stands accused by the United Nations of 'ethnic cleansing' and its prime minister has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. Trump has been trying to secure a ceasefire in the Ukraine war for months. Despite Kyiv offering a 30-day pause in fighting, Putin has repeatedly made it clear that Russia is not interested while it pursues a summer offensive to carve out the east of Ukraine. Trump has suggested he is frustrated by Putin but has threatened the Russian president with no definitive sanctions. Kyiv, however, has endured having its intelligence feed from the US blinded during the Russian counterattacks to retake Kursk, seen military aid suspended, been offered no new promises of support, and forced into a mineral deal that trades future US weapons for mining profits. In March, Trump said he was very angry and 'pissed off' after the Russian president continued to swerve his attempts to get Moscow to agree a ceasefire. The pair spoke again at length on Thursday in what turned out to be, from the Oval Office perspective, another unsatisfactory call. When asked if he had any success with Putin on Ukraine, Trump was clear: 'No, I didn't make any progress with him today at all... I'm not happy about that. I'm not happy about that.' But again there was still no sign that the US was going to lift its suspension of military aid to Ukraine, let alone increase it to try to force Russia to negotiate a workable ceasefire. So Russia continues its grinding offensive, claiming this week to have captured all of Luhansk province, which it has already illegally annexed. As a precondition to any ceasefire, Putin has demanded he keep at least Luhansk, Crimea, Kherson, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia provinces. The US has largely accepted this position as a 'given' and further insisted that in any long-term peace deal Ukraine is prevented from joining Nato and will not get security guarantees from the US to defend its future borders. So Nato's European and Canadian members are now planning, training and producing weapons to fill an American void that is widening. Kyiv has held on in spite of the massive air attacks and 'meat grinder' Russian land assaults, largely because of its superiority in drone technology. But Moscow has now forged ahead with the development of long-range wire-guided first-person view (FPV) drones and is developing AI weapons. For the last year or so Russian drone pilots have been using civilians in Kherson as target practice on training operations, with FPV drones killing several people most weeks. 'It won't be long before we see people being hunted through the streets of Kyiv by AI drones in swarms. We need to defeat Russia before that happens,' said a senior officer in Ukraine's drone warfare operations.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Putin may be mocking Trump over Ukraine – but the US president won't do anything about it
European leaders have redoubled their efforts to prise Donald Trump away from Russia by warning that the US president is being 'mocked' by Vladimir Putin, alleging that Moscow is using chemical weapons in Ukraine and demanding that the US restore weapons supplies to Kyiv. The move came after Ukraine said it had endured the biggest overnight air attack of the entire war, with swarms of 500 drones and missiles intended to overwhelm already stretched air defences. Radek Sikorski, Poland's foreign minister, called for the US to end its suspension of air defence missiles and other weapons – most of which are on standby for delivery to Poland –and derided Trump's fruitless efforts to secure a ceasefire. 'Mr Trump, Putin is mocking your peace efforts,' said the Oxford-educated Sikorski. In addition, the Dutch and German governments said their intelligence services had evidence of widespread use of chemical choking agents (tear gas) against Ukrainian trenches by Russian troops. These have been used to force soldiers into the open where they could be shot by Putin's forces. 'This intensification is concerning because it is part of a trend we have been observing for several years now, where Russia's use of chemical weapons in this war is becoming more normalised, standardised, and widespread," said the Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans. With the recent US focus on its attacks on Iran in support of Israel, Russia has been gradually stepping up efforts against Kyiv. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has been warning for weeks that his country faces a critical shortage of defensive weapons, so the announcement that the US is suspending promised weapons such Patriot air defence missiles will inevitably entrench the already strong belief that Trump has taken Putin's side after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and that the US is no longer a real ally in the defence of Europe. Pentagon officials suggested the suspension was a 'pause' in delivery of Patriots, precision artillery and Hellfire missiles mounted on Ukrainian F-16 aircraft as part of a review of US supplies worldwide. But the US has not declared a pause in supply to any other nation. Israel is the largest recipient of US military aid by far and has recently enjoyed an uptick in supplies of bombs and missiles even as it stands accused by the United Nations of 'ethnic cleansing' and its prime minister has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. Trump has been trying to secure a ceasefire in the Ukraine war for months. Despite Kyiv offering a 30-day pause in fighting, Putin has repeatedly made it clear that Russia is not interested while it pursues a summer offensive to carve out the east of Ukraine. The US president has suggested he is frustrated by Putin, but has threatened Russian president with no definitive sanctions. Kyiv, however, has endured having its intelligence feed from the US blinded during the Russian counter attacks to re-take Kursk, seen military aid suspended, been offered no new promises of support, and forced into a mineral deal that trades future US weapons for mining profits. In March, Trump said he was very angry and 'pissed off' after the Russian president continued to swerve his attempts to get Moscow to agree a ceasefire. The pair spoke again at length on Thursday in what turned out to be another unsatisfactory call between the two presidents from the Oval Office perspective. When asked if he had any success with Putin on Ukraine, Trump was clear: "No, I didn't make any progress with him today at all... I'm not happy about that. I'm not happy about that'. But again there was still no sign that the US was going to lift its suspension of military aid to Ukraine, let alone increase it to try to force Russia to negotiate a workable ceasefire. So Russia continues its grinding offensive, claiming this week to have captured all of Luhansk province, which it has already illegally annexed. As a precondition to any ceasefire, Putin has demanded he keep at least Luhansk, Crimea, Kherson, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia provinces. The US has largely accepted this position as a 'given' and further insisted that in any long term peace deal that Ukraine is prevented from joining Nato and will not get security guarantees from America to defend its future borders. So Nato's European and Canadian members are now planning, training, and producing weapons to fill an American void that is fast opening up. Kyiv has held on in spite of the massive air attacks and 'meat grinder' Russian land assaults, largely because of its superiority in drone technology. But Moscow has now forged ahead with the development of long-range wire guided First Person View (FPV) drones and is developing AI weapons. Russian drone pilots have been using civilians in Kherson as target practice on training operations with FPV drones killing several people every week – for the last year or so. 'It won't be long before we see people being hunted through the streets of Kyiv by AI drones in swarms. We need to defeat Russia before that happens,' said a senior officer in Ukraine's drone warfare operations. That will be difficult while Trump hold back critical arms when Ukraine needs them most.
The Independent
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Putin may be mocking Trump over Ukraine - but the US president won't do anything about it
European leaders have redoubled their efforts to prise Donald Trump away from Russia by warning that the US president was being 'mocked' by Vladimir Putin, alleging Moscow was using chemical weapons in Ukraine and demanding that the US restore weapons supplies to Kyiv. The move came after Ukraine said it had endured the biggest overnight air attack of the entire war, with swarms of 500 drones and missiles intended to overwhelm the already stretched air defences. Radek Sikorski, Poland's foreign minister, called for the US to end its suspension of air defence missiles and other weapons - which are mostly on standby for delivery to Poland - and derided Trump's fruitless efforts to secure a ceasefire. 'Mr Trump, Putin is mocking your peace efforts,' said the Oxford-educated Sikorski. In addition, the Dutch and German governments said their intelligence services had evidence of widespread use of chemical choking agents (tear gas) against Ukrainian trenches by Russian troops. These have been used to force soldiers into the open where they could be shot by Putin's forces. 'This intensification is concerning because it is part of a trend we have been observing for several years now, where Russia's use of chemical weapons in this war is becoming more normalized, standardized, and widespread," said Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans. With the recent US focus on its attacks on Iran in support of Israel, Russia has been gradually stepping up efforts against Kyiv. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has been warning for weeks that his country faced a critical shortage in defensive weapons. So the announcement that the US is suspending promised weapons such Patriot air defence missiles, will inevitably entrench the already strong belief that Trump has taken Putin's side after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and that the US is no longer a real ally in the defence of Europe. Pentagon officials suggested the suspension was a 'pause' in delivery of Patriots, precision artillery and Hellfire missiles mounted on Ukrainian F-16 aircraft as part of a review of US supplies worldwide. But the US has not declared a pause in supply to any other nation. Israel is the largest recipient of US military aid by far and has recently enjoyed an uptick in supplies of bombs and missiles even as it stands accused by the United Nations of 'ethnic cleansing' and its prime minister has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. Trump has been trying to secure a ceasefire in the Ukraine war for months. Despite Kyiv offering a 30-day paus in fighting, Putin has repeatedly made it clear that Russia is not interested while it pursues a summer offensive to carve out the east of Ukraine. The US president has suggested he is frustrated by Putin, but has threatened Russian president with no definitive sanctions. Kyiv, however, has endured having its intelligence feed from the US blinded during the Russian counter attacks to re-take Kursk, seen military aid suspended, been offered no new promises of support, and forced into a mineral deal that trades future US weapons for mining profits. In March, Trump said he was very angry and 'pissed off' after the Russian president continued to swerve his attempts to get Moscow to agree a ceasefire. The pair spoke again at length on Thursday in what turned out to be another unsatisfactory call between the two presidents from the Oval Office perspective. When asked if he had any success with Putin on Ukraine, Trump was clear: "No, I didn't make any progress with him today at all... I'm not happy about that. I'm not happy about that'. But again there was still no sign that the US was going to lift its suspension of military aid to Ukraine, let alone increase it to try to force Russia to negotiate a workable ceasefire. So Russia continues its grinding offensive, claiming this week to have captured all of Luhansk province, which it has already illegally annexed. As a precondition to any ceasefire, Putin has demanded he keep at least Luhansk, Crimea, Kherson, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia provinces. The US has largely accepted this position as a 'given' and further insisted that in any long term peace deal that Ukraine is prevented from joining Nato and will not get security guarantees from America to defend its future borders. So Nato's European and Canadian members are now planning, training, and producing weapons to fill an American void that is fast opening up. Kyiv has held on in spite of the massive air attacks and 'meat grinder' Russian land assaults, largely because of its superiority in drone technology. But Moscow has now forged ahead with the development of long-range wire guided First Person View (FPV) drones and is developing AI weapons. Russian drone pilots have been using civilians in Kherson as target practice on training operations with FPV drones killing several people every week – for the last year or so. 'It won't be long before we see people being hunted through the streets of Kyiv by AI drones in swarms. We need to defeat Russia before that happens,' said a senior officer in Ukraine's drone warfare operations. That will be difficult while Trump hold back critical arms when Ukraine needs them most.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
We've been here before: what the 1930s teach us about rearmament
We are living in a new era of threat. So writes the Defence Secretary John Healey in the just published UK Strategic Defence Review. This is a credible document, reflecting the serious team assembled to work on it. But it's come under fire for promising much without explaining where the funding will come from. Sir Keir Starmer has committed to lift defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP from April 2027, with an ambition to reach 3 per cent in the next Parliament. This is a good first step. But laying out a plan, fully funding commitments and prioritising investments all matter. So, too, does discounting for the optimism bias around procurement. In defence, we commit in haste and are billed at leisure. The strategic environment has pivoted fast. We live in a world where great power competition is a reality. It took time for governments across Europe to wake up to the level of threat. Radek Sikorski, Poland's foreign minister, was an early proponent of higher defence spending. In a brilliant speech last summer at the Ditchley Foundation, he reminded his audience that: 'We are in a pre-war moment. The question is not whether we will be attacked, but whether we will be ready.' The Poles have been preparing. They have been there before. History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Our volatile world now looks and tastes more like the 1930s: competing nationalisms and a real threat of war. But there are differences, too. In 1935, even amid mass unemployment and economic hardship, Britain spent more of its GDP on defence then than the 2.3 per cent we spend today. That in a year when 2.5 million were out of work and industrial output had not yet returned to pre-1929 levels. The difference now is that other demands on the public purse have grown: the NHS, pensions, and a large welfare state. A more expansive government is more expensive. This is partly true – but Britain's levels of debt in the 1930s were much higher than they are today. We now need to invest in fresh capabilities as we did then. Just as air power represented the cutting-edge military technology then, cyber and space capabilities define today's defence frontier. All this takes us to the task ahead. There needs to be a vigorous national debate about defence and the current and likely threats we face. Despite social-media doomscrolling and breaking news, public understanding of the threat and what it means has yet to filter through. It's incumbent on all our politicians in government and opposition to be fostering that debate. There's a job for universities, too, where – with a few noble exceptions – teaching and talking about war and defence has withered. We need to be spending much more on defence. The UK risks falling down the league table of European defence spending as others commit to lifting their budgets. There is a logic for Britain to pursue a Nato-first approach and focus on the near-term challenge: Russian aggression. But there is also a logic in maintaining 'actor-agnostic' capability – you never know where the next threat comes from. Cyber attacks mean that hackers in North Korea or China can threaten UK national security. There is still a logic in keeping close to the United States: our firmest ally, a generous friend and the most powerful country in the world. Yet there is logic, too, in co-operating with European countries – while protecting our own strategic autonomy – because we need manufacturing and innovation as well as money. The Allies won in the Second World War because of money, technology and manufacturing prowess, as well as grit, leadership and sacrifice. Without committing enough money, Britain's rhetoric on defence will run hollow. The 2025 defence review is a major contribution, but what matters most is money. This Wednesday we will see that unfold when the Chancellor sets out the spending review. Prof Alexander Evans teaches at the London School of Economics Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
08-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
We've been here before: what the 1930s teach us about rearmament
We are living in a new era of threat. So writes the Defence Secretary John Healey in the just published UK Strategic Defence Review. This is a credible document, reflecting the serious team assembled to work on it. But it's come under fire for promising much without explaining where the funding will come from. Sir Keir Starmer has committed to lift defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP from April 2027, with an ambition to reach 3 per cent in the next Parliament. This is a good first step. But laying out a plan, fully funding commitments and prioritising investments all matter. So, too, does discounting for the optimism bias around procurement. In defence, we commit in haste and are billed at leisure. The strategic environment has pivoted fast. We live in a world where great power competition is a reality. It took time for governments across Europe to wake up to the level of threat. Radek Sikorski, Poland's foreign minister, was an early proponent of higher defence spending. In a brilliant speech last summer at the Ditchley Foundation, he reminded his audience that: 'We are in a pre-war moment. The question is not whether we will be attacked, but whether we will be ready.' The Poles have been preparing. They have been there before. History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Our volatile world now looks and tastes more like the 1930s: competing nationalisms and a real threat of war. But there are differences, too. In 1935, even amid mass unemployment and economic hardship, Britain spent more of its GDP on defence then than the 2.3 per cent we spend today. That in a year when 2.5 million were out of work and industrial output had not yet returned to pre-1929 levels. The difference now is that other demands on the public purse have grown: the NHS, pensions, and a large welfare state. A more expansive government is more expensive. This is partly true – but Britain's levels of debt in the 1930s were much higher than they are today. We now need to invest in fresh capabilities as we did then. Just as air power represented the cutting-edge military technology then, cyber and space capabilities define today's defence frontier. All this takes us to the task ahead. There needs to be a vigorous national debate about defence and the current and likely threats we face. Despite social-media doomscrolling and breaking news, public understanding of the threat and what it means has yet to filter through. It's incumbent on all our politicians in government and opposition to be fostering that debate. There's a job for universities, too, where – with a few noble exceptions – teaching and talking about war and defence has withered. We need to be spending much more on defence. The UK risks falling down the league table of European defence spending as others commit to lifting their budgets. There is a logic for Britain to pursue a Nato-first approach and focus on the near-term challenge: Russian aggression. But there is also a logic in maintaining 'actor-agnostic' capability – you never know where the next threat comes from. Cyber attacks mean that hackers in North Korea or China can threaten UK national security. There is still a logic in keeping close to the United States: our firmest ally, a generous friend and the most powerful country in the world. Yet there is logic, too, in co-operating with European countries – while protecting our own strategic autonomy – because we need manufacturing and innovation as well as money. The Allies won in the Second World War because of money, technology and manufacturing prowess, as well as grit, leadership and sacrifice. Without committing enough money, Britain's rhetoric on defence will run hollow. The 2025 defence review is a major contribution, but what matters most is money. This Wednesday we will see that unfold when the Chancellor sets out the spending review.
