Latest news with #airdefences
Al Jazeera
6 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
EU steps up air defences for Ukraine and sanctions for Russia
Ukraine's European allies marshalled resources this week to provide the besieged country with air defences against drones and ballistic missiles. The European Union also announced an 18th round of sanctions designed to sever all remaining Russian energy imports, and proposed a fivefold increase in the common defence budget to boost EU defence research and procurement. European leaders convinced the United States to symbolically rejoin the 52-nation Ukraine Defence Contact Group coordinating defence donations, but not as a donor. It was the first such meeting attended by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth since February, when he told EU members that pushing Russia out of Ukraine's internationally recognised territory was unrealistic. Operational developments As the ideological chasm between the EU and the US over Ukraine widened, Russia continued to pound Ukrainian defenders, making a few inroads. Russian forces seized Degtyarnoye in Ukraine's northern Kharkiv region, Popov Yar in its eastern Donetsk region, and Kamenskoye in the southern region of Zaporizhia on July 17. They captured Belaya Gora on Sunday and Novotoretskoye on Tuesday, both in Donetsk. While holding its front line, Ukraine has targeted Moscow with long-range weapons for the past two weeks. Russian air defences downed 13 drones approaching Moscow on Saturday, said its mayor, and Ukrainian drones disrupted traffic in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Sunday, said Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation. Then, on Monday, Russia claimed to have shot down 74 Ukrainian drones, a third of them near Moscow. Others must have hit their targets, because a fire at Kamenolomny station in the Rostov region caused delays to train services in the Caucasus. Kovalenko also said that on June 11, Ukrainian drones attacked the Lukhovitsky Aviation Plant in the Moscow region, which produces MiG-29 and MiG-31 fighters. Ukraine's General Staff said drones also hit the Shipunov Design Bureau – a manufacturer of anti-aircraft missiles. The following day, Ukraine reportedly blew up a gas pipeline in Khanty-Mansiysk, about 3,000km (1,900 miles) from Moscow. The pipeline reportedly supplied military production facilities. Drone air defence At Monday's meeting of Ukraine's allies, known as the Ramstein format, after the German town where the meetings began, the United Kingdom and Germany pledged to jointly provide Ukraine with an unspecified number of missiles to defend its skies. 'Boris and I have agreed to jointly supply Ukraine with critically needed anti-aircraft missiles,' UK Defence Secretary John Healy said, referring to German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. Ukraine uses the German-made IRIS-T and US-made NASAMS and SHORAD missile defence systems against drone attacks, which have intensified in recent weeks. From July 17 to 22, Ukraine shot down or electronically suppressed 833 of 968 unmanned aerial vehicles targeting its cities and critical infrastructure. The largest attack came on Monday, when Russia launched 426 drones overnight, along with five Kh-47 M2 Kinzhal ballistic missiles, four Kalibr cruise missiles, one Iskander-K cruise missile and 14 Kh-101 cruise missiles. The largest attack of the war on July 9 used 728 drones, and the head of the German Planning and Command Staff, Major-General Christian Freuding, said on Saturday that Russia plans to further increase its drone production capacity with the goal of launching 2,000 drones in one overnight strike package. Ukraine has used a variety of methods to down or disable drones, including man-portable air defence kits, heavy machineguns and electronic warfare. But its most successful methods so far have proven the German radar-assisted Gepard anti-air 35mm gun and its domestically-developed interceptor drones, said Ukrainian drone warfare expert Olena Kryzhanivska. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made such domestically produced weapons a top priority. Inaugurating a new government headed by Yulia Svyrydenko on July 17, Zelenskyy said its top priority was to increase domestic arms production: 'Currently, about 40 percent of the weapons in the hands of our warriors are made in Ukraine. In six months, it should be no less than 50 percent,' he said. The goal was 'to push the war back onto Russia's territory – back to where the war was brought from. So that they feel what they've done', Zelenskyy said. Pistorius revealed details of a separate German collaboration with the US to provide Ukraine with Patriot air defence batteries. Ballistic air defence Ukraine has no domestic solution for countering Russia's deadliest long-range weapons, its ballistic missiles. The only effective defence it possesses is the US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile system. Pistorius revealed on Monday that 'during my trip to Washington last week, I agreed with Pete Hegseth that Germany would contribute to the rapid provision of five much-needed Patriot systems.' A complete Patriot system consists of a central radar and antenna array, and at least six launch vehicles carrying four interceptor missiles each. It appeared that Germany would pay for these systems. In return, the US would award it – and other countries donating their Patriots to Ukraine – priority placement in the production queue when buying replacement systems. Zelenskyy told Newsmax and the New York Post that he would separately buy Patriot systems and pay for them with Ukrainian-built drones. 'I told President Trump: 'The American people need this technology, and you should have it in your arsenal.' I believe this is a mega deal – a win-win for both sides. We're ready to share our experience with America and European partners,' Zelenskyy told Newsmax. Europe at the forefront of Ukraine aid While the US administration of Donald Trump remains willing to sell military kit to Ukraine after suspending donations, Europe remains ideologically committed to bankrolling Ukraine's defence and ending its own reliance on the US. Presenting the EU's next seven-year, 1,816-billion-euro ($2,130bn) budget on July 16, Ursula Von Der Leyen proposed a 131-billion-euro ($154bn) budget for defence and space, a fivefold increase on the 2021-27 budget. The money, which is in addition to that spent by EU national governments, would go towards buying European defence goods, investing in European defence industries, cybersecurity and dual-purpose critical infrastructure. Von Der Leyen proposed establishing a European Competitiveness Fund for defence research and innovation. She also proposed doubling the Ukraine Assistance Fund to 100 billion euros ($117bn). On July 18, the EU succeeded in agreeing on an 18th raft of sanctions against Russia. It bans the last remnants of Russian energy purchases from the EU, worth about 23 billion euros ($27bn), and lowers a price cap on oil carried to third parties on EU-insured tankers. The UK, where much of the world's tanker fleet is insured, has coordinated with the EU to follow the price cap of $47.60 per barrel, down from the price cap imposed in December 2022 of $60. 'The UK and EU are working in lockstep to combat those callously fuelling the fires of destruction in Ukraine,' said the UK Foreign Office. The new price cap will be dynamic, and is to be set 15 percent below market prices every six months. The EU forbade companies from transacting with the Russian-built Nordstream I and II pipelines, which were blown up in 2022, ensuring they would never be repaired or rescued from bankruptcy. The EU also banned any refined oil products from entering the EU, and added 105 vessels to the Russian shadow fleet banned from entering EU ports or receiving services, bringing the total to 444. The EU increased the number of Russian banks banned from transacting with its financial sector from 23 to 45, and sanctioned dozens of entities and companies believed to be helping Russia circumvent sanctions to its defence industry, 11 of them non-Russian. Diplomacy versus all-out war Amid this barrage of new measures from the EU and its slender mercantile collaboration with the US, diplomacy was not entirely given up. Ukraine proposed, and Russia accepted, a third round of direct talks in Istanbul on Thursday. Putin would attend China's 80th anniversary celebrations commemorating its defeat of Japan in World War II, the Kremlin said, and could meet with Trump if the latter accepted the invitation. Trump has spent most of his political career demonising China, however, and might resist casting it in the role of peace broker. US Air Force general Alexus Grynkewich told Bild last week that 'the EU and the US have only 18 months to prepare for a global military conflict with China and Russia. 'China and Russia are preparing for a simultaneous strike on Taiwan and Europe,' Grynkewich was quoted as saying. 'The conflict could start with a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Since Russia is currently a satellite of the PRC, Xi Jinping will undoubtedly coordinate actions with Putin. We will need every piece of equipment, all available machinery, and every munition we can get to be ready,' reported the commander-in-chief of NATO's European forces.
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Fully Chinese-made drone found in Ukraine for first time
A new Russian decoy drone used to spoof Ukrainian air defences is made up entirely of Chinese parts, it has been revealed. The discovery, by Ukrainian intelligence, marks the first time that Russia has deployed weapons made only with Chinese components. It shows the latest sign of cooperation between Beijing and Moscow, despite Xi Jinping insisting that China does not supply lethal aid to either side of the war in Ukraine. While Chinese technology has been found in other Russian weapons, it had always been combined with components from other countries. Ukrainian intelligence said it was able to recover two of the new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and take them apart. The UAV CBTS.611000 drone is primarily used for reconnaissance and as a decoy, but it can also carry a warhead weighing up to 15kg.
Reuters
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Iran says it has replaced air defences damaged in Israel war
DUBAI, July 20 (Reuters) - Iran has replaced air defences damaged during last month's conflict with Israel, Iran's Defah Press news agency reported on Sunday quoting Mahmoud Mousavi, the regular army's deputy for operations. During the conflict in June, Israel's air force dominated Iran's airspace and dealt a heavy blow to the country's air defences while Iranian armed forces launched successive barrages of missiles and drones on Israeli territory. "Some of our air defences were damaged, this is not something we can hide, but our colleagues have used domestic resources and replaced them with pre-arranged systems that were stored in suitable locations in order to keep the airspace secure," Mousavi said. Prior to the war, Iran had its own domestically-made long-range air defence system Bavar-373 in addition to the Russian-made S-300 system. The report by Defah Press did not mention any import of foreign-made air defence systems to Iran in past weeks. Following limited Israeli strikes against Iranian missile factories last October, Iran later displayed Russian-made air defences in a military exercise to show it recovered from the attack.
CBC
11-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Russia's upgraded drone tactics bring intensified attacks across Ukraine
Russia has intensified its aerial attacks on Ukraine, using upgraded drones designed to cause more damage and evade air defences. In Kyiv, a young woman captured video of the drones overhead — just before explosions echoed through the city.
Reuters
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Zelenskiy discusses war supplies, Russia sanctions with US lawmakers
July 11 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had discussed improved air defences and intensified sanctions against Russia with two U.S. lawmakers who are backing a bill to impose tougher punitive measures against Moscow. Zelenskiy, writing early on Friday on Telegram, said he had met Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut in Rome in conjunction with international meetings on Ukraine. "Right now, our priority is strengthening air defences. Russia wants to move on to using 1,000 drones in the space of a single attack," Zelenskiy wrote. "It is therefore important to boost defences, particularly to invest in interceptor drones. We spoke about continuing supplies from the United States and joint weapons production." Ukraine, he said, was ready to work together with Europe to buy "large U.S. Defence packages to protect lives". On Thursday, Zelenskiy said Ukraine had received all necessary political signals for U.S. military aid to resume after a pause last week. He also said that Ukraine had reached agreement with Germany for Berlin to buy two Patriot missile interceptor systems and an accord for Norway to pay for one system. Russia has been intensifying attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, with Zelenskiy saying Moscow had deployed around 400 drones and 18 missiles on Wednesday night, primarily targeting the capital. The previous night, Russian forces launched a record 728 drones at Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had approved sending U.S. defensive weapons to Ukraine and was considering additional sanctions on Moscow, underscoring his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the failure to make progress on solving Russia's war with Ukraine. Zelenskiy discussed U.S. weapons supplies in Rome on Wednesday with Trump's Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg. In his comments on Telegram, Zelenskiy said that, together with Graham and Blumenthal, he had discussed the legislation on tougher sanctions against Russia "and those who support it in the war". "Undoubtedly, this is precisely the lever that can bring peace closer and make diplomacy worthwhile," he wrote. The bill calls for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports.
