Tag: Arms Trade

Pentagon Says Accounting Mistake Frees Up $3 Billion More for Ukraine

The Pentagon has significantly reduced its estimate of the value of weapons it has sent to Ukraine amid intensifying pressure to explain how it intends to keep Ukrainian troops supplied without approaching Congress to replenish its budget before the end of the fiscal year. The revised accounting frees up $3 billion worth of weapons that […]

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Ukraine’s Dogged Effort to Get Weapons to the Battlefield, Not the Black Market

Rocket launchers, precision-guided missiles and billions of dollars’ worth of other advanced American weapons have given Ukraine a fighting chance against Russia ahead of a counteroffensive. But if even a few of the arms wind up on the black market instead of the battlefield, a Ukrainian lawmaker gloomily predicted, “we’re done.” The lawmaker, Oleksandra Ustinova, […]

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Ukraine’s Spring Offensive Comes With Immense Stakes for Future of the War

WASHINGTON — Ukraine is preparing to launch a counteroffensive against Russian forces as early as next month, American officials say, in the face of immense risks: Without a decisive victory, Western support for Ukraine could weaken, and Kyiv could come under increasing pressure to enter serious negotiations to end or freeze the conflict. American and […]

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Ukraine Needs South Korean Artillery Shells, Poland’s Prime Minister Says

WASHINGTON — Poland’s prime minister said he believed that only the direct intervention of President Biden would lead to an agreement for South Korea to make its artillery shells available to Ukraine to use in the fight against Russia. Leaked intelligence documents posted on social media in March and brought to wider public attention in recent […]

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Ukraine War Plans Leak Prompts Pentagon Investigation

“Whether these documents are authentic or not, people should take care with anything released by Russian sources,” said Michael Kofman, the director of Russian studies at CNA, a research institute in Arlington, Va. One of the slides said 16,000 to 17,500 Russian soldiers had been killed while Ukraine had suffered as many as 71,500 troop […]

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From Rockets to Ball Bearings, Pentagon Struggles to Feed War Machine

WASHINGTON — The Navy admiral had a blunt message for the military contractors building precision-guided missiles for his warships, submarines and planes at a moment when the United States is dispatching arms to Ukraine and preparing for the possibility of conflict with China. “Look at me. I am not forgiving the fact you’re not delivering […]

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Ukraine Burns Through Ammunition in Bakhmut, Risking Future Fights

The Ukrainian military is firing thousands of artillery shells a day as it tries to hold the eastern city of Bakhmut, a pace that American and European officials say is unsustainable and could jeopardize a planned springtime campaign that they hope will prove decisive. The bombardment has been so intense that the Pentagon raised concerns […]

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Ukraine’s Allies Promise Weapons for Spring Counteroffensive

KYIV, Ukraine — The United States on Wednesday promised to “fully and quickly” give Ukraine the weapons required for a spring counteroffensive against Russia, addressing one of the most critical needs amid a global shortage of ammunition caused in part by the yearlong conflict. The intensity of the battles in Ukraine has strained the production […]

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Ukraine Needs Shells, and Arms Makers Want Money. Enter the E.U.

BRUSSELS — So desperate is Ukraine for ammunition, it is firing considerably fewer artillery shells than it otherwise would, its defense minister says. But it is still going through shells faster than the West can produce or supply them, and making more shells is expensive. If arms manufacturers are to increase production and build new […]

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They’re Exporting Billions in Arms. Just Not to Ukraine.

CHANGWON, South Korea — A year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the war has spurred a global effort to produce more missiles, tanks, artillery shells and other munitions. And few countries have moved as quickly as South Korea to increase output. Last year, South Korea’s arms exports rose 140 percent to a record $17.3 billion, including […]

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Biden and Germany’s Scholz Meet Amid Concerns Over Ukraine and China

At times during their short but eventful alliance, Mr. Biden has appeared keen to let Mr. Scholz and other Western leaders take a public lead on decisions related to penalizing Russia or aiding Ukraine, a strategy designed to bolster the idea that Europe is acting in concert with — instead of at the direction of — […]

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Biden Reaffirms Support for Ukraine Amid Concerns About Russia-Iran Ties

WASHINGTON — President Biden marked the start of a second year of war in Europe on Friday by announcing billions of dollars in additional military aid for Ukraine, imposing more sanctions on those helping Russian President Vladimir V. Putin and delivering a grim warning about an alliance between Russia and Iran. Just days after making […]

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The U.S. Intelligence Playbook to Expose Russia’s Ukraine War Plans

WASHINGTON — A year ago, the United States did something extraordinary — it released previously classified intelligence that exposed Russia’s plans to invade Ukraine. Last week, Antony J. Blinken, the secretary of state, made a similar move when he warned China’s top foreign policy official, Wang Yi, against providing weapons to Russia. In a previous […]

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Bulgarian Factories and Secret Task Forces: How the West Hunts for Soviet Arms

KOSTENETS, Bulgaria — The job is straightforward, dangerous and will soon be open to applicants: filling a 122-millimeter Soviet-style artillery shell with explosives that will turn it into a lethal projectile. For the residents of Kostenets, a dying mountain town in western Bulgaria, it’s a welcome opportunity despite the risk of death. It means more jobs […]

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How a Tiny NATO Nation Tackled a Big Problem: Arming Ukraine

LUXEMBOURG — Luxembourg’s military consists of fewer than 1,000 troops, one cargo plane, two helicopters shared with police forces and fewer than 200 trucks, ranging from Humvees to about 10 state-of-the-art Dingo combat reconnaissance vehicles. There are no tanks, warplanes or Patriot air defense missiles to contribute to the Western push to arm Ukraine. The […]

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