NATO lacks adequate air defenses, military mobility, ammunition, and the mindset to be fully ready for a large-scale conventional war, retired U.S. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges said on Oct. 2.
The NATO statement came days after Umerov said the ministry was planning to merge the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) and the State Rear Operator (DOT) into one agency.
Ukraine will have the second-strongest military in NATO on the European continent once it joins the alliance, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze said on Oct. 1.
U.S. President Joe Biden may agree to advance the status of Ukraine's NATO membership bid before leaving office in January, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Oct. 1, citing an unnamed Western official.
"We have to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent, democratic nation," Mark Rutte said on Oct. 1.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed below are those of the author(s) and signatories and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent. Dear U.S. President Joe Biden, As Ukrainian cities continue to be targeted by Russian missiles and drones, bringing death and devastation to
The Kremlin on Sept. 26 emphasized that President Vladimir Putin’s revisions to Russia’s nuclear weapons doctrine should serve as a warning to Western nations, making clear that involvement in attacks on Russia would carry serious repercussions. A day earlier, Putin announced that Russia could respond to conventional missile
President Volodymyr Zelensky met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in New York on Sept. 25, thanking him for "supporting Ukraine throughout his tenure." In a post on social media, Zelensky said the pair discussed several issues, including "the need to enhance Ukraine's air defense, (and) the continued efforts on
An invitation to join NATO is part of Ukraine’s “victory plan,” head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak said during a visit to the U.S. on Sept. 24.
Open-source intelligence project MeNMyRC reported on Sept. 19 that a test launch of Russia’s RS-28 Sarmat Super-Heavy Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) resulted in failure at the launch site in Plesetsk, Russia based on analysis of satellite images.
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, he will visit an unspecified location in Pennsylvania and then travel to New York City and Washington, D.C. “Of course, I will present the ‘victory plan’ to all the leaders of the partner countries," he added.
NATO jets intercepted six Russian aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea without transponders or a flight plan over the past two days, the Latvian Air Force reported late on Sept. 21.
"The paradox is that the more weapons for Ukraine we are able to deliver, the more likely it is that we can reach a peace and end to the war," Stoltenberg said. "The more credible our long-term military support, the sooner the war will end."
Speaking at a meeting of the Bucharest Nine (B9) format, Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar called for "enforcing the rotational air defense and integrated anti-missile model as soon as possible."
“Russian intelligence is everywhere. And its propaganda is everywhere, not only in Estonia but all over the world,” Estonian President Alar Karis told the Kyiv Independent during an interview on the sidelines of the 20th annual Yalta European Strategy (YES) Conference in Kyiv. Russia has been actively meddling in the
"It's for the individual allies to make these decisions, but it's important that we consult closely on these issues as we do," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Stoltenberg said the day the war was launched was the worst in his 10-year stint in the role, from which he is stepping down next month.
Weeks after Ukraine received its first batch of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets from European allies and more than a year after President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the start of test trials on Sweden’s prestigious Gripen multipurpose variants, Stockholm signaled that their possible transfer to Ukraine remains on the
A Russian Shahed-type drone equipped with an explosive crashed in Latvia on Sept. 7, Latvia's Defense Ministry confirmed during a press conference on Sept. 9.
Ukraine received promises of more military aid from allies, including the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada, following a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) on Sept. 6, which President Volodymyr Zelensky attended in person.
A notorious unit of Russia's military intelligence agency (GRU) is carrying out cyber attacks against critical infrastructure in NATO and EU countries, as well as Ukraine, Western intelligence agencies warned on Sept. 5.
Retired U.S. General Philip M. Breedlove discusses how the delayed introduction of F-16s has limited their immediate effectiveness in Ukraine and what lessons on balancing air superiority and drone warfare NATO should learn from Ukraine war.
Two U.S. researchers claim to have pinpointed the likely deployment site in Russia for the 9M730 Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered cruise missile that President Vladimir Putin has hailed as "invincible."
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for clarity. Even as Ukraine's daring incursion into Russian territory brought the full-scale war back to the headlines around the world, Moscow's forces keep grinding on the eastern front, with dire implications for the entire Donbas region. Though Kyiv's operation achieved an
While the Ukraine Compact is a useful overarching framework, many countries had already signed bilateral security agreements, said former Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren.
Participants in the NATO-Ukraine Council meeting on Aug. 28 condemned Russia's recent attacks across Ukraine and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities.
The news come a day after Russia's largest drone and missile attack against Ukraine since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion. The strikes hit several civilian, energy, and fuel facilities, including a dam in Kyiv that is part of the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant.
Jacek Goryszewski, a spokesperson for Poland's Operational Command, told Reuters that "most likely (the object) was a drone, and we assume so because the trajectory of the flight and the speed indicate that it was definitely not a missile."
As of 10:09 a.m. local time, at least three people were killed in Ukraine, and strikes were reported in Odesa, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Kremenchuk, Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, Kropyvnytskyi, and Kryvyi Rih, as well as in Lviv, Rivne, and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts.
Though it does not mention the specific countries behind the air defense pledges, President Volodymyr Zelensky on Aug. 18 singled out the U.S., U.K., and France during his evening address in which he called on allies to speed up deliveries of promised weapons systems.
Lithuania on Aug. 19 began construction of a military base that will house up to 4,000 combat-ready German troops, with completion expected by the end of 2027. This marks the first permanent foreign deployment for the German military since World War II.
"I don't think that the full regaining of control over the entire territory is a necessary condition (for joining NATO)," Czech President Petr Pavel said.
