US Security Assistance in Ukraine After the Russian Invasion: A Statement of Interest in a New Trade Agreement between the Ukraine and the United States

Austin said that the US will continue to provide security assistance to the Ukrainians for as long as it takes.

Russia still has an advantage in weapons. He requested additional artillery, as well as modern tanks — equipment that Ukraine has repeatedly asked for, along with fighter jets and longer range missiles.

The US has pushed back requests for long-range ATAMCS missiles with a range of around 200 miles, similar to the Gray Eagle. According to CNN, sources stated that the US has been offered a remarkable level of transparency by the Ukrainians.

“It’s not just about the equipment that you have. He said that it was about how you use equipment and how you synchronized things together to create battlefield effects that could create opportunities.

“The Ukrainians have amazed the world in terms of their ability to fight back, their ability to exercise initiative, their commitment to the defense of their democracy,” he said. “And that willingness to fight has rallied the international community in an effort to help provide them the security assistance so that they can continue to fight.”

Mr. Zlatev and his new business partner, a local osteopath, took their first crack at international arms dealing. The New York Times obtained documents and other records that show that the deal was done through layers of middleman and transit between seven countries. And it exists in a legal gray area, designed to skirt the arms-export rules of other countries.

“Time is of the essence,” the pair recently wrote to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense. The arms plan outlined by them was to sell them to the people of Ukraine.

Since the Russian invasion in February, the Biden administration has quietly fast-tracked hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of private arms sales to Ukraine, slashing a weekslong approval process to a matter of hours. In just the first four months of the year — the latest data available — the State Department authorized more than $300 million in private deals to Ukraine, government documents show. The department authorized less than $15 million worth of such sales to Ukraine during all of the 2021 fiscal year.

The Secretary of State spoke with the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs on Monday in order to reiterate US support. Biden is expected on Tuesday to join an emergency video conference with G7 leaders during which Zelensky is expected to address the group.

Biden, the statement said, “also underscored his ongoing engagement with allies and partners to continue imposing costs on Russia, holding Russia accountable for its war crimes and atrocities, and providing Ukraine with security, economic, and humanitarian assistance.”

Asked whether the attacks of the past 24 hours would change the calculus on what the US would consider offering Ukraine, a senior administration official said they had no announcements to make on that front, but that the US will continue to help provide Ukraine with short- and long-range air defense systems, as it has in the past.

As of a Department of Defense briefing in late September, the US had yet to deliver NASAMS to Ukraine. At the time, Brig. The general said that two systems would be delivered in the next two months, and the other six would arrive later.

Zelensky said in a video message Tuesday that 20 of 28 missiles fired at Ukraine that morning had been shot down. Ukrainian officials told CNN that more than 50% of the Russian missiles fired on Monday and Tuesday were brought down.

The southernUkrainian port city of Odesa was hit by Russian drones over the weekend, killing more than a million people in the region. Zelensky said the strikes were leaving the region in a difficult situation, warning that it would take days to restore power to civilians.

“We continue to monitor his nuclear capabilities, Kate, best we can. And what I can tell you today is that we just don’t see any indications that Mr. Putin has made a decision to use weapons of mass destruction or even nuclear weapons. Kirby said that they had seen nothing that would cause them to change their deterrent posture.

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, also recently said he thinks Moscow should aim for the “complete dismantling” of Zelensky’s “regime.”

John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said Monday that there will likely be additional support packages for Ukraine announced “in the very near future.”

Kirby told CNN that the man is feeling the pressure at home and overseas, and that he can only speak for himself.

Last week, Biden delivered a stark warning about the dangers of Putin’s nuclear threats, invoking the prospect of “Armageddon.” Multiple US officials have said that the comment was not based on anything new in Russia or its nuclear posture.

The role of Iranian-made missiles in Ukraine’s defenses during the first three months of the Russian campaign against the threat of a missile attack

As Ukraine races to shore up its missile defenses in the wake of the assault, the math for Moscow is simple: A percentage of projectiles are bound to get through.

Over the last three days, the Russians have been using a mix of their missile stocks. Some of the missiles were delivered near the Caspian Sea. But they also deployed ship-launched Kalibrs from the Black Sea, ground-launched Iskander cruise missiles and dozens of attack drones.

Iran provides weaponry to Russia and is unclear as to how long it will last.

The Russians have adapted the S-300 as a weapon with some effect. Their speed makes it difficult to intercept, as they have wreaked havoc in Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv. They are not really accurate.

Repairs to power plants and electricity substations are not new forUkraine’s energy operators. Zelensky said Tuesday that most of the towns and villages that terrorists wanted to leave already have electricity and communication.

He told Richard that it was for the first time since the start of the war that Russia had targeted energy infrastructure.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, said on Tuesday that Ukraine needed more systems to stop missile attacks. “These air defense systems are making a difference because many of the incoming missiles (this week) were actually shot down by the Ukrainian air defense systems provided by NATO Allies,” he said. As long as they are not shot down, there is a need for more.

Zelensky mentioned a video from Monday in which a soldier used a shoulder-held missile to bring down a Russian projectile.

Estimating the proportion of Iranian-made Shahed drones being eliminated is more difficult, because so many are being used. Zelensky said that he gets a message about the use of Iranian Shaheds every 10 minutes. But he also said the bulk of them were being shot down.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov: “On the dawn of a new era of air defense,” he told a Russian Defense Minister

At Wednesday’s meeting, Ukraine’s wish-list included missiles and a transition to a Western-origin layered air defense system.

He said after the meeting that a system would not control all of the airspace, but were designed to control priority targets that theUkrainian government needs to protect. The mix of all of these is short-range low-altitude systems and then medium-range medium altitude and then long-range and high altitude systems.

Western systems are beginning to trickle in. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Tuesday that a “new era of air defense has begun” with the arrival of the first IRIS-T from Germany, and two units of the US National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAM) expected soon.

“This is only the beginning. Before he met with the donors at the Brussels meeting, he said “We need more” and that “item #1 is strengthening (Ukraine) air defense.” Feeling optimistic.”

These are not off the shelf. The IRIS-T had to be made in Ukraine. Western governments have limited inventories of such systems. And Ukraine is a very large country under missile attack from three directions.

Zaluzhnyi urged the West to provide Ukraine with more air defense systems, and Ukraine’s mayor urged Kiev to cooperate with Israel

Ukraine’s senior military commander, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, tweeted Tuesday his thanks to Poland as “brothers in arms” for training an air defense battalion that had destroyed nine of 11 Shaheeds.

He said Poland gave the Ukranian people the ability to destroy drones. There were rumors last month that the Polish government had purchased Israeli equipment and was transferring it to Ukraine, since Israel has a policy of not selling advanced defensive technology to Kyiv.

Russian airstrikes targeted downtown Kyiv according to the mayor. The city has been hit by two more, according to Ukraine’s public broadcaster.

Klitschko’s office says several residential buildings were damaged. He said that two people are still missing, after 18 were pulled from the rubble of a building. Emergency services close many of the city’s central streets.

“”The enemy can attack our cities, but it won’t be able to break us. The occupiers will get only fair punishment and condemnation of future generations, and we will get victory,” wrote Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy’s chief-of-staff, Andriy Yermak, again called on the west to provide Ukraine with more air defense systems. He said there was no time for slow actions.

A picture of a bomb labeled “Geran-2” was removed from the site after commenters accused him of confirmation of a Russian strike.

Kamikaze Drones: U.S. Armed Forces in Ukraine’s South – A Report on EU Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg

The foreign ministers of the EU are in Luxembourg for a meeting. Before the meeting, Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, told reporters that the bloc would look into “concrete evidence” of Iran’s involvement in Ukraine.

Both the Ukrainian and Russian armies use battery- powered commercial drones that are cheaper than larger drones. A Quadcopter can fly longer distances and hover over a position before dropping small weapons on enemy troops. They are designed to be used again after their batteries have been charged.

The defense industry calls these weapons loitering munitions, which is what they are. They are referred to as kamikaze drones due to the fact that they explode on impact.

As Russian forces have retreated in Ukraine’s south, the Biden administration has announced a slew of new military aid packages for Ukraine, but all were missing a piece of weaponry that Ukraine’s military has long sought: the multi-use Gray Eagle drone, armed with Hellfire missiles.

In August, the Pentagon said it would send Puma drones — small aircraft that soldiers toss into the air to launch and then control by remote control from up to nine miles away. Pumas can stay at altitudes of about 500 feet.

Iran’s support of the Ukraine conflict, and the role of the drones in causing a thaw in relations with the US

The Iranian mission to the United Nations didn’t reply to a request for comment about the new shipment. Iran has previously denied supplying Russia with weapons for use in Ukraine, saying it “has not and will not” do so.

The Iranian drones are known as a “loitering munition” because they are capable of circling for some time in an area identified as a potential target and only striking once an enemy asset is identified.

Sending more Iranian weaponry to Russia is likely to cause a thaw in relations with the US. If nothing happens in the talks, the Biden administration will not waste their time, according to the US envoy to Iran. The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini during protests prompted by Tehran’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war have resulted in the US imposing further sanctions on Iran.

John Kirby, the communications coordinater at the National Security Council, said earlier this month that Iranian personnel was proof of Tehran’s engagement in the conflict.

The drones have been used to target civilians. And we know that Iran, in the face of all of this evidence, keeps lying and denying that it’s happening,” Malley said.

Last month the US sanctioned an air transportation provider for its involvement in the shipment of the Iranian drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to Russia. The US is also ready to “target producers and procurers” contributing to the UAV program, the Treasury Department’s Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said.

The Impact of the First World War on Oil Prices in Central Asia and the Middle East: CNN World Affairs Analysis with Frida Ghitis

Editor’s Note: Frida Ghitis, (@fridaghitis) a former CNN producer and correspondent, is a world affairs columnist. She is an opinion contributor to CNN as well as columnist for The Washington Post and World Politics Review. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. CNN has more opinion on it.

Everyone is affected by the war in Ukraine. Fuel prices have gone up as a result of the conflict.

Since the Second World War most nations have rejected invasions of one country by another, but Yuval Noah Harari argues that this could change if Russia were to win.

For that reason, Ukraine received massive support from the West, led by the United States. The war in Ukraine reinvigorated NATO, even bringing new applications for membership from countries that had been committed to neutrality. It also helped reaffirm the interest of many in eastern European states – former Soviet satellites – of orienting their future toward Europe and the West.

The repercussions are still there for what happens far from the battlefields. Saudi Arabia, along with other oil- Producing nations, decided last month to slash production and the US accused Saudi Arabia of helping to fund the war by boosting its oil revenues. The Saudis deny the accusation.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz recently reiterated that “Israel supports and stands with Ukraine, NATO and the West,” but will not move those systems to Ukraine, because, “We have to share our airspace in the North with Russia.”

A UN and Turkey-brokered agreement allowed Ukraine’s maritime corridors to reopen, but this week Moscow temporarily suspended that agreement after Russian Navy ships were struck at the Crimean port of Sevastopol. A surge in wheat prices on world commodity markets followed the announcement of Putin. Those prices partly determine how much people pay for bread in Africa and across the planet.

Family budgets and individual lifestyles are affected by higher prices. They pack a political punch when they come with such powerful momentum. Inflation, worsened by the war, has put incumbent political leaders on the defensive in countless countries.

We’re Not All Right on the Fronts: U.N.-Broken Aid for Ukraine, Secretary of State and the White House

It’s not all right on the fringes. The top Republican in the House, Kevin McCarthy, suggested that the GOP may decide to reduce aid to Ukraine. The letter calling for negotiations was released by the Progressives. Evelyn Farkas, a former Pentagon official during the Obama administration, said they’re all bringing “a big smile to Putin’s face.”

There is increased concern about a potential battle for Kherson, a Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine. Kremlin-installed officials have been evacuating civilians in preparation for a potential Ukrainian counteroffensive.

And Ukraine will be watching America’s midterm election results this week, especially after some Republicans warned that the party could limit funding for Ukraine if it wins control of the House of Representatives, as forecast.

Also Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will host Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Sweden can join NATO if certain conditions are met.

Ukraine is expected to be on the agenda of the United Nations general assembly on wednesday, when they discuss an I Atomic Energy Agency report.

Russia rejoined a U.N.-brokered deal to safely export grain and other agricultural goods from Ukraine, on Nov. 2. Moscow had suspended its part in the deal a few days prior after saying Ukraine had launched a drone attack on its Black Sea ships.

The Pentagon will provide 400 million dollars in aid to Ukraine, consisting of 45 refurbished T-72 tanks and 1,100 Phoenix Ghost drones.

You can read past recaps here. You can find more of NPR’s coverage here. Also, listen and subscribe to NPR’s State of Ukraine podcast for updates throughout the day.

A White Paper on the US Navy Attempt to Deliver an Antiaircraft Launcher to Ukraine in the Light of the Iran War and the Crisis in the Middle East

A congressional official said that specific and very technical tweaking and neutering that can be done to these may make it possible in the nearer term. Those things are very complex and take time.

A US official confirmed that the Army is leading the efforts to study what changes are possible to the drone, which is made by General Atomics and referred to in the Army as the MQ-1C.

The director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said that this was about as good as you could get. These drones are really advanced.

On top of the lethal capability of the missiles it carries, the Gray Eagle would allow Ukrainian forces greater ability to gather intelligence and carry out reconnaissance from farther away, expand the assistance of targeting by artillery on the ground and combat the drones flown by Russia.

The logistical challenges of delivering and operating the system are immense, andUkraine has been asking for it for months. Despite those obstacles, “the reality of what is going on the ground” led the administration to make the decision, the senior administration official told CNN, noting the continuing intense Russian missile barrages.

The Gray Eagle has not been specifically commented on by the Pentagon, though it is said that the Department of Defense consults with Ukraine on security assistance.

An official said that the systems are expensive and could be shot down if taken by Russians.

It’s a scenario that the US has recently been on the receiving end of. The US was able to look at the wreck after the Iranian drones were shot down.

The US official declined to elaborate on what technology on the Gray Eagle is the most sensitive but said they wouldn’t be considered escalatory since similar capabilities are being provided.

According to Jones from CSIS, the technology likely centers on the intelligence-gathering abilities and sensors and the US fears are related to the conflict with Russia.

He said that they were going to fly those far back from the frontlines. “I don’t think you’d risk them up close and you wouldn’t need them up close because they can fire from a distance and they can collect [intelligence] from a distance.”

Modifications to US systems have been done before to get them to Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal noted in March that components of the antiaircraft missiles were removed with a few screws. That was enough for the US to be able to ship them out.

Last week, President Joe Biden reiterated his team’s concerns, telling reporters at a news conference: “I’m not looking for [Ukraine] to start bombing Russian territory.”

Sending American warplanes directly to Ukraine makes little sense, the congressional official said, since there is little air-to-air combat, Ukrainian pilots aren’t trained on them and they require significant maintenance.

Three people familiar with the discussions say that they are still being considered. Whether the US or Soviets are involved is a big part of the conversation. The US could ask a country like Poland to give Ukraine Mig-29s and backfill Poland with American jets.

“This is bullshit frankly, what kind of escalation?” the Ukrainian official asked. “They drop a nuclear bomb, or what we are afraid of? I don’t understand.

The transfer of the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine, in response to the Ukraine’s request for bolstering the US air defense system against Russian and Ukrainian missile attacks

The Biden administration is finalizing plans to send the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine that could be announced as soon as this week, according to two US officials and a senior administration official.

Before the Pentagon plan can go to President Joe Biden, it must be approved by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The three officials told CNN that approval is expected.

It is not clear how many missile launchers will be sent but a typical Patriot battery includes a radar set that detects and tracks targets, computers, power generating equipment, an engagement control station and up to eight launchers, each holding four ready to fire missiles.

Many questions remain about the potential transfer, which was reported earlier by CNN, including how long it would take to train Ukrainian soldiers on the system, presumably in Germany, and where the Patriots would be deployed inside Ukraine.

Unlike smaller air defense systems, Patriot missile batteries need much larger crews, requiring dozens of personnel to properly operate them. The training for Patriot missile batteries normally takes multiple months, a process the United States will now carry out under the pressure of near-daily aerial attacks from Russia.

Previously, the US has sent Patriot batteries to NATO allies like Poland as a way to bolster their defenses, and sent other weapon systems to Ukraine to assist against the Russian invasion.

WASHINGTON — The US is expected to give its approval to send its most advanced ground-based air defense system to Ukraine in response to the country’s urgent request to help defend against Russian missiles and drones.

The officials said that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin could approve the transfer of a missile battery to Ukraine as early as this week. Final approval would then rest with President Biden.

White House, Pentagon and State Department officials declined to comment on details of the transfer of a Patriot battery, which, if approved, would amount to one of the most sophisticated weapons the U.S. has provided Ukraine.

In a speech to the Group of 7 nations on Monday, Mr. Zelensky thanked the countries for their continued support but listed financing for weapons first among his requests.