Tag Archives: tanks

Europe spending on tanks and missiles a sign the world is becoming insecure about what comes next – WWIII?

russia-ukraine-war-leopard-tank-german

Important Takeaways:

  • WWIII Watch: Europe Defense Spending Soars with Tanks, Missiles, Fighter Jets, Attack Helicopters, All on Order
  • Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and since then only one thing has been certain: the rest of Europe is desperate to build military muscle as soon as possible to help counter any further predatory moves by Moscow.
  • Europe must race to ensure it can better defend itself as new military threats could emerge by the end of the decade even as the focus of security ally the U.S. shifts towards the Indo-Pacific, Germany’s defense minister has already warned.
  • Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová… announced Thursday her country is advancing negotiations with Germany to carry out a joint acquisition of up to 77 new Leopard 2A8 main battlefield tanks.
  • The NATO member is also nearing the completion of talks to buy C-390 Millennium transport aircraft and F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.
  • Spain has ordered 16 Airbus C295 aircraft in maritime patrol and surveillance configurations for €1.7 billion (U.S. $1.9 billion), Airbus announced Wednesday.
  • Figures released in April showed $2.24 trillion was outlaid globally in 2022 with Europe leading the way due to Ukraine’s demands for continued supplies of battlefield hardware.
  • Some of the sharpest increases were seen in Finland (+36 percent), Lithuania (+27 percent), Sweden (+12 percent) and Poland (+11 percent).
  • “The continuous rise in global military expenditure in recent years is a sign that we are living in an increasingly insecure world,”

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Ukraine War update: Reports of Russia amassing tanks, aircraft and soldiers for new assault

Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • COUNTDOWN TO Z-DAY Russia ‘massing 1,800 tanks, 700 aircraft & 500k men for new Ukraine assault in 10 DAYS’ after Zelensky begs UK for jets
  • Ukraine has been monitoring the military buildup as they continue to plea for Western support – including during Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit yesterday to London.
  • The new assault is feared to be “much bigger” than the first wave which stormed across the country towards Kyiv almost exactly one year ago.
  • Russia is believed to be massing 1,800 tanks, 3,950 armored vehicles, 400 fighter jets and 300 helicopters for the attack, according to a Ukrainian official.
  • They added Putin is also gathering 2,700 artillery guns and 810 rocket launchers for a “new wave of attacks”, reports Foreign Policy.
  • “It’s much bigger than what took place in the first wave,” the official said.
  • “They are not paying attention to any casualties or losses. In the next 10 days, we expect a new, huge invasion.”
  • Ukrainian intelligence has put the figure for the spring offensive at between 300,000 and 500,000 soldiers.
  • Russia is believed to have approximately 300,000 troops already operating in Ukraine.

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As Ukraine gains support from Baltic nations for fighter jets Putin makes stern warning over more NATO allies sending tanks

Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • Fuming Putin sends chilling threat to West as more NATO allies to send tanks to Ukraine
  • Vladimir Putin sent a stern warning to the West after NATO allies agreed to aid Ukraine with armored tanks
  • He said: “Those who involve Germany in a new war with Russia, and even more, irresponsibly declare it as an accomplished fact, those who expect to win over Russia on the battlefield, probably do not understand that the modern war with Russia will be completely different for them.
  • “We do not send our tanks to their borders. But we have something to respond with, and the matter will not end with the use of armored vehicles. Everyone should understand that.”
  • He also added: “We have many friends. Moreover, all over the world, in particular on the American continent, in North America, in Europe.”
  • Ukraine’s defense minister expressed confidence Sunday that Western allies would agree to the country’s latest weapons request — warplanes to fight off Russian forces that invaded nearly a year ago.
  • So far, Ukraine has won support from Baltic nations and Poland in its quest to obtain Western fighter jets.

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Ukraine holds the line while waiting for Western tanks to arrive

Tanks seen in Ukraine

Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • Russia Seeks Gains in Ukraine Before Western Tanks Arrive
  • Russian forces are seeking to seize an advantage in the months before tanks pledged by Kyiv’s Western allies begin to arrive on the battlefield and on Friday they pressed an offensive in eastern Ukraine.
  • Ukrainian forces said on Friday they had repelled Russian attacks on Vuhledar and several other villages in the eastern Donetsk region over the preceding 24 hours
  • Russia also launched 148 attacks along the front line with Ukrainian forces in the southern Zaporizhzhia region over the past day using tanks, rockets and artillery, the regional military administration said.
  • Kyiv’s allies are rushing to assemble two battalions’ worth of Leopard 2 tanks from a range of European countries after Germany and the U.S. committed to provide their own tanks. The initial battalion is expected to arrive in Ukraine within three months.
  • Zelensky has urged Western countries to speed up the delivery of tanks and the training of Ukrainian forces to use them as Russia regains initiative.

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Biden approves tanks to Ukraine, as Kyiv asks for F-16s

Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • Ukraine will now push for F-16 fighter jets, government adviser says
  • Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s Defense secretary, told The Hill that he was optimistic about receiving Western fighter jets such as the American F-16s, which Ukrainians have sought since early last year when Russia first invaded.
  • “Every type of weapon we request, we needed yesterday,” Sak said. “We will do everything possible to ensure Ukraine gets fourth-generation fighter jets as soon as possible.”
  • Reuters first reported the news that Ukraine was setting its sights on fighter jets.
  • Ukraine scored a major win on Wednesday with the announcement from President Biden that the U.S. will donate 31 American-made M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Kyiv.
  • German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday also said he would supply Ukraine with the country’s Leopard 2 tanks and approve the transfer of other Leopards from European allies.
  • So far, the U.S. has resisted sending the F-16 fighter jets and does not appear ready to announce their transfer anytime soon.
  • But national security adviser John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday the U.S. was “in constant discussions” with Ukraine and “we evolve those as the conditions change.”

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US positions four ships east of Taiwan, China moves tanks to the coast as Pelosi visits Taipei

Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • Chinese TANKS flood beaches opposite Taiwan as Beijing warns America will ‘pay the price’ for Pelosi’s Taipei visit: Four US warships lie off island’s east coast and flight tracking website goes DOWN as 300,000 people chart Nancy’s journey
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set to arrive in Taipei on Tuesday evening at 10:20 p.m., sources said
  • China warned the US will ‘pay the price for undermining China’s sovereign security interests’ with visit
  • Chilling footage appears to show Chinese amphibious tanks on the coast of Fujian along the Taiwan Strait
  • Beijing’s warplanes have been flying very close to the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday in a ‘provocative’ move
  • Four US warships, including the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, are positioned in waters east of Taiwan

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Czech Republic first NATO nation to send tanks, armored vehicles raising concerns NATO may be dragged into war

Revelations 6:3-4 “ when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • First NATO country sends tanks to Ukraine: Czech Republic provides T-72 tanks and armored infantry vehicles following Zelensky’s plea for help
  • Czech Republic is the first NATO country to deliver heavy military equipment since war began on February 24
  • BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, howitzer artillery pieces, and a dozen T-72 tanks were transferred to Ukraine
  • The delivery has once again raised concerns that NATO may get dragged into Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine
  • It comes as Russian artillery continued to pound the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Kharkiv

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Putin gearing up for war

Matthew 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

Important Takeaways:

  • Putin issues terrifying war warning – Russia ready to turn ‘everyone to radioactive ash’
  • America has been warning for weeks that Mr. Putin appears to be readying tens of thousands of troops, tanks and artillery pieces to invade Ukraine, but Mr. Putin has insisted it is merely a defense force – until now.
  • Putin has warned he is willing to take “military measures” in response to “unfriendly” Western action in Ukraine, in the clearest sign yet that the Russian strongman is gearing up for war.
  • Dmitry Kiselyov, a Russian media mogul, threatened to “put a gun to America’s head” if NATO forces are stationed in Ukraine and warned the alliance to back off “otherwise, everyone will be turned into radioactive ash.”

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Israel pounds Gaza to curb Palestinian militants but rockets still fly

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Stephen Farrell

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel pummeled Gaza with artillery fire and air strikes on Friday as it targeted Palestinian militant tunnels to try to stop persistent rocket attacks on Israeli towns.

The 40-minute, pre-dawn offensive killed 13 Palestinians, including a mother and her three children whose bodies were pulled from the rubble of their home, health officials in Gaza said.

The Israeli operation included 160 aircraft as well as tanks and artillery firing from outside the Gaza Strip, Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said.

Palestinian rocket barrages against southern Israel swiftly followed on the fifth day of the most serious fighting between Israel and Gaza militants since 2014.

Egypt was leading international efforts to secure a ceasefire and ensure the conflict does not spread. Security sources said neither side appeared amenable so far but a Palestinian official said negotiations intensified on Friday.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, urging a return to peace in the region.

Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza, launched the rocket attacks on Monday, in retaliation for Israeli police clashes with Palestinians near al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, in East Jerusalem.

Violence has since spread to cities where Jews and Israel’s minority Arab community live side by side. There have also been clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where health officials said seven Palestinians were killed on Friday.

At least 122 people have been killed since Monday in Gaza, including 31 children and 20 women, and 900 others wounded, Palestinian medical officials said.

Among eight dead in Israel were a soldier patrolling the Gaza border, six Israeli civilians – including two children, an elderly woman and an Indian worker, Israeli authorities said.

SYSTEM OF TUNNELS

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said there were reports of more than 200 housing units destroyed or severely damaged in Gaza and hundreds of people seeking shelter in schools in the north of the coastal enclave.

Israel says it makes every effort to preserve civilian life, including warning in advance of attacks.

“What we were targeting is an elaborate system of tunnels that spans underneath Gaza, mostly in the north but not limited to, and is a network that the operatives of Hamas use in order to move, in order to hide, for cover,” Conricus told foreign reporters, adding that the network was known as “the Metro”.

Israeli warplanes bombed the houses of three senior Hamas military commanders in central Gaza on Friday that had already been evacuated, local residents said.

An Israeli plane also bombed the building that housed the National Production Bank in Gaza City, with bricks and debris sent flying and windows shattered in some nearby buildings, witnesses said.

Dozens of mourners took part in the funeral of six people – members of two families whose houses were hit by Israeli air strikes on Thursday – in the southern Gaza town of Rafah.

Holding the cloth-bound body of his 19-month-old nephew in his arms, Khamees al-Rantissi said their house was bombed without prior warning. “What was this child doing? What threat did he pose for the state of Israel?” Rantissi asked.

Netanyahu said on Thursday the campaign “will take more time”. Israeli officials said Hamas must be dealt a strong deterring blow before any ceasefire.

The Israeli military’s build-up of forces on the Gaza border has raised speculation about a possible repeat of ground invasions during Israel-Gaza wars in 2014 and 2009, but Israel is loath to risk a sharp increase in military casualties.

FLURRY OF DIPLOMACY

Egypt was pushing for both sides to cease fire from midnight on Friday pending further negotiations, two Egyptian security sources said, with Cairo leaning on Hamas and others, including the United States, trying to reach an agreement with Israel.

“The talks have taken a real and serious path on Friday,” a Palestinian official said. “The mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations are stepping up their contacts with all sides in a bid to restore calm, but a deal hasn’t yet been reached.”

The hostilities have fueled tension between Israeli Jews and the country’s 21% Arab minority. Violence continued in mixed communities overnight after street fighting and tit-for-tat attacks that prompted Israel’s president to warn of civil war.

Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, who led Friday prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque, decried the treatment of the mosque by Israeli forces. He said its “sanctity has been violated several times during the holy month of Ramadan” in what he called violations “unprecedented” since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Israel’s military said a Palestinian tried to stab a soldier near the West Bank city of Ramallah. The soldier shot the attacker. Palestinian health officials said the man was killed.

Major airlines have suspended flights to Israel and at least two owners of tankers delivering crude oil asked to divert from Ashkelon to the port of Haifa, farther north of Gaza, because of the conflict, shipping sources said on Friday.

There were pro-Palestinian protests in Jordan and Lebanon, on the borders of the West Bank and Israel, and in Bangladesh, where thousands marched from Dhaka’s national mosque.

But the broader picture across the Middle East and the Islamic world, where Muslims are marking the Eid al-Fitr holiday and where restrictions on movement due to COVID-19 are in place in some countries, was noticeably muted.

The U.N. Security Council will publicly discuss the worsening violence on Sunday, diplomats said after the United States had objected to a meeting on Friday.

The Israeli military has put the number of militants killed in Israeli attacks at between 80 and 90. It said that so far, some 1,800 rockets have been fired at Israel, of which 430 fell short in Gaza or malfunctioned.

(Additional reporting by Rami Ayyub, Dan Williams and Ari Rabinovitch in Israel; Aidan Lewis in Cairo, Nandita Bose and Steve Holland in Washington, Michelle Nichols in New York and Emma Farge in Geneva; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Mark Heinrich and Frances Kerry)

President Trump presides over July 4th holiday with military show

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump smiles as he as walks on the South Lawn of the White House upon his return to Washington from South Korea, U.S., June 30, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

By Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump will preside over July Fourth Independence Day celebrations on Thursday with a speech about patriotism and a show of military might that critics say is politicizing an important holiday and wasting taxpayer money.

Trump, a Republican who admired flashy displays of national pride and military strength put on by France, has dismissed concerns about the expense and militaristic overtones of the Washington event, which will take place in front of the Lincoln Memorial and feature fireworks, a flyover by Air Force One and a display of tanks.

Democrats charge the president with staging a campaign rally. Though the White House has said his remarks would not be political in nature, the president has a history of veering off script with sharp partisan attacks even at events that are not meant to be overtly political.

“People are coming from far and wide to join us today and tonight for what is turning out to be one of the biggest celebrations in the history of our Country,” Trump tweeted on Thursday morning.

He is set to give a speech at 6:30 p.m. ET (2230 GMT), followed by fireworks later in the evening. Asked earlier this week if he could give a speech that would represent all Americans, he said he thought he could and then launched into an attack on Democrats’ policies on healthcare and taxes.

Flights will be suspended at nearby Reagan National Airport from 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. ET (2215 to 2345 GMT) and then again later in the evening for the festivities. “Perhaps even Air Force One will do a low & loud sprint over the crowd,” Trump tweeted, encouraging people to get there early.

Some at the White House were worried about the crowd size, according to an administration official. Trump fumed about reports in 2017 that the crowd at his inauguration ceremony on the National Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol was smaller than it was for President Barack Obama. The Lincoln Memorial is at the opposite end of the monument-covered Mall.

Republican political groups were given prime tickets for Trump’s speech, and the Washington Post reported that the U.S. National Park Service diverted $2.5 million in park entrance fees to help pay for the event.

“Instead of addressing something like veteran homelessness, he’s spending it on boosting his ego with a parade that’s fundamentally about him and then getting tickets in the hands of wealthy donors for the Republican Party. What a waste of money,” Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro said on CBS “This Morning” on Wednesday.

Fellow Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders also weighed in with criticism: “This is what authoritarians do: @realDonaldTrump is taking $2.5 million away from our National Park Service to glorify himself with a spectacle of military tanks rolling through Washington,” he wrote in a tweet.

Trump downplayed the expense.

“The cost of our great Salute to America tomorrow will be very little compared to what it is worth. We own the planes, we have the pilots, the airport is right next door (Andrews), all we need is the fuel,” he posted on Twitter on Wednesday. “We own the tanks and all. Fireworks are donated by two of the greats. Nice!” Andrews is the name of a nearby military base.

The July 4th holiday celebrates the U.S. founders’ declaring independence from Britain in 1776.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; additional reporting by Steve Holland; editing by Jonathan Oatis)