China is spending more money on weapons and defense than ever. The reason is evident: Xi Jinping wants to take Taiwan. Europe should follow the U.S. and support Taipei militarily as the only way to deter Beijing from war.
Tag: weapons
A retired German general spells out in clear language what the choice is for Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and what the long-term consequences of half-hearted support for Kyiv as it battles for survival against the Russian invasion.
After Dnipro was left devastated by one of Russia’s deadliest attacks on Ukrainian civilians to date, the problem of arms delivery in a war that keeps escalating has never been more urgent.
The war in Ukraine has shown how civilian drones can be effectively used as weapons. Meanwhile in Paris, with preparations on to host the Olympics in 2024, the city is testing some unlikely solutions to make sure the devices can’t be employed by terrorists.
A senior Ukrainian official said that Kyiv was not being pressured to negotiate with Russia, but would do so under certain strict conditions: restoring Ukraine’s borders, compensation for Russian attacks and punishing those responsible for war crimes. [shortcode-Subscribe-to-Ukraine-daily-box] Mykhaylo Podolyak, a Ukrainian official advisor to the head of the Office of the President, speaking to […]
If not cannon fodder, many of the reservists are facing shortages of food, weapons and promised payments.
Moscow has been forced to turn to rogue regimes for military supplies for its stalled invasion of Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin told the world yesterday “don’t worry” about a nuclear attack, even as he’s setting up a scenario that makes it more likely.
The Russian military is systematically committing war crimes – now for all to see in the middle of Kyiv. It is shameful that the West is not helping adequately, for example with appropriate air defense systems. The time for political excuses is over.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky should not be putting pressure for NATO membership now. It raises the risk of a wider war, and the focus should be on continuing arms deliveries from the West. After all, peace will be decided on the battlefield.
In the face of Russia’s stranglehold over supplies, the European Commission has proposed support packages and price caps. But across Europe, fears about the cost of living are spreading — and with it, doubts about support for Ukraine.
In response to Vladimir Putin’s announcement of partial mobilization, protesters flocked to the streets in outrage across Russia. By Thursday morning, Russian independent monitoring group OVD, puts the number of arrests as a result of the protests at 1,300. [shortcode-Subscribe-to-Worldcrunch-Today-box] Perhaps more telling for both public opinion and the potential effectiveness of the mobilization are […]
Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service posted a video Tuesday morning with the caption “Vovchansk is back home.” In the video, Ukrainian troops can be seen removing Russian flags and signs from buildings in the city in the northeast Kharkiv region. Vovchansk was occupied on the first day of the invasion and reports began to come […]
Russia’s progress on the frontline has stalled. But without weapons promised by the West, Ukraine has not been able to carry out decisive counteroffensives. The West’s indecisiveness risks the war being dragged out until next year — which is exactly what Putin wants.
Gun sales have soared since a 2020 law made the process faster, easier and cheaper.
The Ukrainian army is preparing its counteroffensive, already beginning to hit Russians hard with U.S. Himars missiles. But experts warn about keeping the expectations too high, because Russia has key advantages. A German reporter sees how Ukrainians are preparing and how far they are willing to go to regain their lost territory.
Western leaders have given mixed messages on ending war in Ukraine. They fear the fallout of a power change in Moscow, and when it comes to Putin, it may be a case of “better the devil you know.”
Outgunned by Ukraine’s Turkish-made Bayraktar drones, Russia has reportedly started importing armed drones from Iran, which may have explained Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to Tehran, which is looking to flex its muscles internationally. But it could prove to be a dangerous turning point in the war.
Russia’s territorial goals in Ukraine are no longer limited to the eastern Donbas region, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Instead the Kremlin’s objectives in Ukraine are likely to extend into the country’s south toward the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, and “a number of other territories,” Lavrov said in an interview with Russian state […]
There is perhaps nothing more foreign about America than its “gun culture,” and of course its plague of mass shootings. For a French-American who has lived her life in Paris, there is a search for understanding with her family in Louisiana.
The U.S. and Europe have again committed to supplying weapons to Kyiv, whose gratitude has its limits in the face of the life-and-death struggle against the Russian invasion.
Russia continues to shrink its ambitions in Donbas, as Ukraine doubles down on its strategy of guerilla attacks, interrupting supply and communication contacts and ultimately undermines the morale of the enemy.
When the two Nordic countries confirmed their intention to join NATO this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated his plans to block the application. Accusing Sweden and Finland of’ “harboring” some of his worst enemies may not allow room for him to climb down.
A group of pro-peace German intellectuals published a letter asking the country not to deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine, but they’re missing the point completely. Germany needs to reinvent itself in order to face today’s challenges — and threats.
The battle for the Donbas is being waged across small villages in what is commonly known as “Ukrainian Switzerland” are now paying the price for Russia’s defeat in Kyiv, risking to forever change this longtime tourist destination.
Testimonies are emerging of civilians being evacuated from Mariupol and Lyman, as Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities continue. Meanwhile, the EU has revealed plans to enforce its sixth package of sanctions against Moscow.
Ukraine cannot win the war against Russia’s superior military power. But it can at least try not to lose it — with methods like those used in Vietnam or Algeria. Last week’s sinking of the Moskva warship was a perfect example.
The gruesome images from Bucha are shocking. But how many more massacred Ukrainian civilians will it take before the West and NATO say enough? The West’s constant fear of escalation makes things easy for Putin.
Germany is the only country that can provide the necessary army forces to secure NATO’s eastern flank against Russia. Its army urgently needs targeted investment in tanks and personnel, as well as a new doctrine that examines all options without taboo, including a draft.
For decades, burdened by its history, Germany refused to face the harsh realities of foreign policy. Now, suddenly spurred by the Ukraine crisis, the German government is ready to once again show strength — long-awaited good news, for all.
The three victims, 14 and younger, were contacted while playing the online game Free Fire, and promised paid work.
In a recent government meeting, the Russian strongman once again showed off his trademark flare for political theater, promising, among other things, to leave his foreign foes toothless.
Campers don’t visit Mrzeżyno, on the Baltic Sea, to sing ‘Kumbaya’ and eat s’mores. They go to shoot guns and fire grenade launchers.
Israel’s offensive against the Iran nuclear deal could be an opportunity for European leaders to improve it.
The bipolar world of yesteryear is gone. In its place is a shifting geopolitical landscape of circumstantial alliances and ascendant authoritarianism.
WASHINGTON — As he heads to Florida this weekend, President Donald Trump is following in the footsteps of former President Barack Obama, a man he loathes and a leader whose time in office in many ways came to be defined by mass shootings. Obama bequeathed on his successor an almost ritualistic response to gun tragedies, beginning with the 2011 attack on then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and ending with the 2016 Dallas attack that left five officers dead. There were 15 speeches from the White House, countless prayers for the fallen and more than a dozen visits to the crime scenes. […]
Beijing has become one of the largest weapons exporters in the world, allowing it to gain new allies and place its pawns strategically throughout the continent.
WASHINGTON — This month, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will open for signature at the United Nations. Signatories will promise never to “develop, test, produce, manufacture . . . possess or stockpile nuclear weapons’; never to transfer weapons to other parties nor to receive them; and never to “use or threaten to use nuclear weapons.” The treaty’s aims, if they could be universally effected, are noble. After all, the prospect of nations — including, now, an international pariah like North Korea — facing off with their respective nuclear arsenals is horrific. Their renewed use in war would […]
MUNICH — On Oct. 5, German doctor Alexander Haase* opened his web browser and dropped merchandise he wanted to purchase into a checkout basket. He paid 590,99 euros — money that went into a Hungarian bank account. A few weeks later, an inconspicuous brown package arrived by DHL delivery. He opened it. There was a […]