Military Madness > USA stops all weapons to Ukraine - The Economist; F-35 stuck in Kerala - fodder for jokes

 

US halts all military shipments to Ukraine

The Economist

Washington could be gradually wrapping up its support for Kiev, the British outlet has claimed

FILE PHOTO. ©  Global Look Press / US Embassy In Kiev

The US has suspended all military equipment and ammunition deliveries to Ukraine, including all types of shells and spare parts, The Economist has reported, citing Ukrainian officials. Washington had earlier confirmed a decision to halt certain key arms shipments, citing low stocks.

The decision reportedly followed an internal review of American weapons reserves ordered by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to Politico and NBC News. The initial reports suggested that the decision would stop the supply of Patriot missile interceptors, Stinger and AIM air-to-air missiles, hundreds of Hellfire and GMLRS systems, and thousands of 155mm artillery shells.

According to The Economist, the suspension of military aid was actually total. “Ukrainian officials say that, in fact, all shipments of American weapons, including shells and spare parts, have been halted,” the outlet said on Wednesday, adding that the US officials have denied that.

Washington’s envoy to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, told Fox News on Wednesday that the decision to halt certain aid was made as part of the “America first” policy, aimed at ensuring Washington’s own “strategic defense capabilities.”

Read more

 Halt to US military aid could spell doom for Kiev – Bild

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that “we can’t give weapons to everybody all around the world. We have to look out for America and defending our homeland and our troops around the world.” Neither official provided details about exactly which shipments were suspended.

The move could be part of a bigger plan to end US support for Kiev altogether, The Economist suggested. No money for Ukraine was included in the “big beautiful” budget bill promoted by President Donald Trump, the article pointed out. Funding allocated to support Kiev within the regular Pentagon budget “would be cut further under the budget request for fiscal year 2026,” the outlet said, citing officials.

US support for Ukraine has come mostly in two forms: Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which allowed Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, to send weapons to the country out of the Pentagon’s stocks, and the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), under which Washington ordered arms from manufacturers.

Trump has made no use of PDA since coming to office in January. The weapons orders made by the previous administration under the USAI would continue US shipments to Ukraine until late 2028, according to The Economist. The magazine asserts that these supplies could now be “interrupted.”

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You would almost think that F-35s were built by Boeing.

Brits fail to fix stranded F-35 stealth fighter in India – media

A crew from the UK has reportedly been unable to repair the aircraft for over 19 days

A British F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter jet, grounded in Thiruvananthapuram, India. © Twitter / Source: X

A British F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter that has been grounded at Thiruvananthapuram Airport in southern India since June 14 will be dismantled and taken back to the UK, the News18 website reported, citing Indian government sources.

With a British field repair crew unable to fix the aircraft, the UK is now exploring the option of airlifting the jet aboard a C-17 Globemaster transport plane, according to NDTV. The jet, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group. It was engaged in operations in the Indo-Pacific region after conducting joint exercises with the Indian Navy.

On June 14, it made an emergency diversion to Thiruvananthapuram due to low fuel levels and hydraulic snags and landed at the city’s airport after encountering bad weather. India’s air force facilitated the safe touchdown of the fighter. The pilot initially refused to leave his plane, a move described as standard protocol since the jet is considered among the most advanced aircraft of its kind. 

G7 still thinks it is running the world. The global majority has moved on

Last week, the British High Commission in New Delhi said the fighter would be moved to an Air India maintenance hangar once specialist teams and equipment arrived from the UK. 

Since being stranded in southern India, the plane has been a topic of ridicule and memes on social media among Indian users. Thiruvananthapuram is the capital of the state of Kerala, a popular international tourist destination. On Wednesday, Kerala’s tourism board posted an AI-generated image showing the plane surrounded by palm trees, suggesting that it was as charmed by the state as foreign tourists. 

The Royal Air Force is expected to pay the airport authorities parking charges for the aircraft, which is valued at over $110 million. In February, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to Washington, US President Donald Trump suggested that New Delhi buy the fifth generation F-35, produced by Lockheed Martin. Some defense analysts in India have recommend the Russian-made Sukhoi Su-57 as a better alternative for the country.

Politics in Europe > Hungary and Slovakia block EU's new energy sanctions on Russia; Russia's friend, Serbia, supplying Ukraine with weapons; Rutte can't explain Russophobia

 

EU member states block new Russia sanctions

Hungary and Slovakia have vetoed the latest package of punitive measures due to energy security concerns, the Hungarian FM has said

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. ©  Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Hungary and Slovakia have blocked the European Union’s 18th sanctions package against Moscow, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has announced. The bloc's proposal to cut Russian energy imports would deal a major blow to his country’s energy security, he explained.

Budapest has opposed EU sanctions on Russian energy since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, saying the imports are vital to its national interests. The country has a long-term contract with Russia's Gazprom and receives the bulk of its oil and gas from Russia. Slovakia has also voiced similar concerns.

Speaking at a press conference following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Szijjarto said that “we, together with Slovakia, prevented the adoption of the [18th] sanctions package today,” which would mostly have focused on Russia’s energy sector.

The diplomat clarified that Budapest and Bratislava vetoed the sanctions package because in separate trade legislation, Brussels has proposed phasing out all remaining Russian gas flows to the EU by the end of 2027. The minister argued that this would severely undermine Budapest’s energy security and lead to a sharp spike in energy costs for Hungarians.

”We are not willing to have the Hungarian people pay the price for supporting Ukraine,” Szijjarto insisted.

READ MORE: Ditching Russian gas could cost EU state €16 billion – Reuters

The EU-wide phasing-out plan that Szijjarto referred to was announced by EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen last Tuesday, with the backing of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The proposal, which is currently opposed by Hungary, Austria and Slovakia, and reportedly by Italy, is expected to be introduced as trade legislation, which under EU rules does not require unanimity among bloc members to become law, but merely the support of at least 15 of the EU’s 27 member states.

Commenting on the plan, Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, said that “EU Commission bureaucrats seem obsessed – with making the EU as uncompetitive as possible on the global stage.”

While pipeline flows have dropped sharply since 2022, EU imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) have soared. Russia supplied 17.5% of the bloc’s LNG in 2024, trailing only the US at 45.3%, according to industry data. France, Spain, and Belgium accounted for 85% of the EU’s LNG imports from the sanctioned country, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

Russia maintains that it is still a reliable energy supplier, while denouncing Western sanctions and trade restrictions targeting its exports as illegal under international law.

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The War Industry betrays friendships

Moscow accuses Belgrade of betraying friendship

Serbian companies continue to send munitions to Ukraine via third countries, according to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service

FILE PHOTO. Ukrainian soldiers target Russian military with a 120 mm mortar in Toretsk. ©  Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images

Ukraine’s military continues to receive weapons from Serbia, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has stated in a press release published on Monday, in which it accused Belgrade of betraying its historic friendship with Moscow.

Officially, Serbia has avoided backing Kiev in the conflict and asserted its neutrality.

Despite this, Serbian defense firms have been increasing their supply of ammunition to Ukraine, according to the SVR. The agency asserts that this has been made possible through indirect export schemes designed to obscure the weapons’ true destination.

The SVR said that Serbian-made munitions are being exported as kits to NATO countries, where they are assembled before being transferred to Ukraine. The components are reportedly shipped primarily to the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, allowing Kiev to formally receive fully built weapons from NATO soil rather than directly from Serbia.

According to the Russian intelligence agency, Serbian arms producers are fully aware that their products are ultimately destined for the Ukrainian military and that their munitions “will kill Russian servicemen and civilians.”

“It is regrettable that now these traditions of friendship and mutual assistance are being erased by the thirst for profit and cowardly multi-vectorism,” the SVR concluded.

READ MORE: Serbia reaffirms commitment to energy cooperation with Russia

Following the report, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Monday that Belgrade has suspended the export of ammunition and that special permissions will now be required for such shipments.

”We have now stopped literally everything and are sending it to our army,” he said.

The accusation follows a similar claim made by the SVR in late May, in which it alleged that Serbian companies had secretly shipped 100,000 rockets and one million small arms rounds to Ukraine. The weapons were allegedly rerouted through various states, using falsified end-user certificates.

Vucic responded at the time by denying the existence of any direct contracts with Kiev, and emphasized that Serbian law prohibits the supply of weapons to countries at war. He insisted that any such arms that do reach Ukraine must have done so via third countries, and pledged to clamp down on attempts to circumvent export controls.

Moscow has consistently criticized foreign military aid to Ukraine, stating that it only prolongs the conflict and leads to more bloodshed without affecting the final outcome.

NATO - War Industry storefront;  Mark Rutte - salesman-in-chief 

NATO chief dodges question about why to

fear a ‘Russian attack’

Mark Rutte only cited general concerns and requested more military spending when asked to explain the timeline for an alleged invasion

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte © Getty Images / Jakub Porzycki;  NurPhoto

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has failed to explain why the bloc believes Russia could attack within five years despite citing the claim during a press conference on Monday to legitimise his calls for increased military spending. 

In recent months, a number of Western officials have repeatedly claimed that Russia may attack an Eastern European member state in the near future, using the rhetoric as a foundation for drastically raising defense spending. Moscow has vehemently denied harboring any hostile intent, and called such accusations “nonsense.”

While speaking at a pre-summit press conference in The Hague, Rutte was asked to disclose what NATO’s assessment of a Russian attack within five years was based on. The secretary general, however, avoided giving any specific intelligence or threat assessment, citing only general fears and urging an increase in the bloc-wide defense spending target to 5% of GDP. 

Rutte said there was “great worry in many circles of NATO” and referred to “senior military leaders” and “intelligence community people” who have spoken about the possibility that “3, 5, 7 years from now, Russia will be able to successfully attack us, if we do not start investing more today.”

Surely, there must be some intelligence that points to Russian ambitions in Europe. Where is it? 

He emphasized that “huge extra defense spending over the next three to five years” was required to ensure NATO’s future readiness. According to Rutte, yearly increases would be needed to strengthen the bloc through new personnel and military equipment.

Read more

 Thousands rally in London demanding ‘Welfare Not Warfare’ (VIDEOS)

Russia has consistently rejected the idea that Moscow plans to invade NATO countries, with President Vladimir Putin calling the accusations “nonsense” and “shameless lies” designed to extract resources from the population and divert it towards military spending. 

Speaking to military academy graduates on Monday, Putin stated that the West “came up with this horror story themselves and repeats it year after year,” using it to provoke a new arms race and justify what he called “global militarization.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has also slammed NATO’s “unbridled militarization” and suggested that the bloc would need to create a “monster” to push through the proposed 5% GDP defense spending benchmark. 

“Let’s call things by their proper names,” he said. “This is an alliance created for confrontation. This is an alliance that brings aggression and confrontation. This is not an instrument of peace and stability.”

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Middle East Madness > 3 steps toward sanity in ME - Kurdistan's PKK disbanding military wing; Hizbollah staff purged from Beirut airport; Israel to feed Gazans, starve Hamas

PKK says it is dissolving and ending 

its conflict with Turkey

By Darryl Coote

Supporters of The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) hold pictures of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan, and shout slogans next to a bonfire during a rally for Newruz celebrations in Diyarbakir, Turkey, on March 21, 2025. On Monday, the PKK announced they were dissolving. Photo by Metin Yoksu/EPA-EFE

May 12 (UPI) -- The Kurdistan Workers' Party, a militant organization that seeks an independent Kurdistan, announced Monday that it was disbanding and ending its conflict with Turkey, a move that is expected to have wide-ranging consequences throughout the region.

The decision was announced by the Firat News Agency, which is closely aligned with the militant group known by the initials PKK, following the completion of its 12th Congress.

"The PKK's struggle has broken the policy of denial and annihilation imposed on our people and has brought the Kurdish issue to a point where it can be resolved through democratic politics. In this respect, it concluded that the PKK has fulfilled its historical mission," the PKK said in a statement.

"On this basis, the 12th Congress decided to dissolve the organizational structure of the PKK and to end the method of armed struggle, under the leadership and implementation of Leader APO (Abdullah Ocalan), thereby bringing to a close all activities conducted under the name of the PKK."

Related

• Pope calls for 'no more war' during first papal prayer
• Zelensky vows to meet 'personally' with Putin for talks to end war
• Pakistan accused of violating cease-fire with India

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his foreign ministry have yet to respond to the development.

That should be interesting when it happens. I'm not sure this is what Erdogan really wants.

The PKK was a Marxist-Leninist organization that formed, under Ocalan, in 1978 and sought an independent Kurdistan. It has led an insurgency against Turkey from Syria, where it was based, since 1984. More than 40,000 people are believed to have been killed in the nearly 50-year conflict.

The militant group is considered a terrorist organization by numerous countries, including Turkey, Britain, Canada and the United States.

Its disbanding comes after its long-imprisoned leader, Ocalan, called for the group in late February to end its insurgency against Turkey.

Ocalan, 75, is serving a life sentence at a South Istanbul prison. He was captured in 1999 and sentenced to death but was later commuted to life when Turkey abolished the death penalty.

Kurdistan region

Lebanon purges dozens of Hizballah-linked staff from Beirut airport

May 12, 2025 9:00 am By Christine Douglass-Williams

In mid-April, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun stated that negotiations and not force would disarm Hizballah. Although how this could be done was a mystery, President Aoun stated that “civil peace is a red line.” It didn’t seem realistic that Lebanon could control Hizballah, even in light of the fact that Israel has drastically weakened the jihad group.

Aoun’s declaration appeared unrealistic because of the heavy influence of Hizballah in Lebanon, from its political and military might to social services network, as well as its ability to obstruct the workings of the Lebanese government. Nevertheless, back in January, Aoun and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam challenged Hizballah: “Aoun and Salam have both spoken about the state having a monopoly on weapons and deploying to southern Lebanon, a clear message to Hezbollah that its military supremacy may be over.”

Now, Aoun and Salam are finally making good on their threats, in this precedent-setting wave of actions against Hizballah. The Lebanese government is showing a new level of confidence, demonstrating that it can act and withstand whatever response Hizballah may make to its actions.

Lebanon purges Hezbollah staff from Beirut airport in fatal blow to terror group’s smuggling – WSJ

Jerusalem Post, May 10, 2025:

Dozens of staff members at Beirut airport with ties to Hezbollah have been fired as the new government works to crack down on the terror group at one of its main import hubs, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing senior Lebanese security and military officials.

While laws have existed for some time, the officials noted that they had finally begun being enforced, resulting in the arrests of numerous smugglers.

Ground crew members told the WSJ that, unlike in the past, no planes or passengers have been exempt from searches, and flights from Iran have been suspended since February.

“You can feel the difference,” Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in an interview with the WSJ. “We’re doing better on smuggling for the first time in the contemporary history of Lebanon.”

Lebanon has previously denied reports that Hezbollah has an arsenal stored at the airport – claiming the media had been influenced by Israel.

Anonymous airport workers claimed to the Daily Telegraph that Hezbollah was holding a weapons cache at the airport. One worker said that in November, “unusual” boxes arrived from Iran and that a high-ranking Hezbollah official was overseeing the customs shipments……

Israel Has Made Detailed Plan to Feed Gazans and Starve Hamas

May 8, 2025 4:00 pm By Hugh Fitzgerald

What’s wrong with that? Because it is Israel, the country that can in the eyes of so many do nothing right, that made the plan, it must be rejected out of hand. Yet everyone knows — even Francesca Albanese can’t deny it — that for the past 19 months, Hamas has been seizing large amounts of the humanitarian aid sent into Gaza, and keeping it for its own members and their extended families. In addition, Hamas keeps another large tranche of that aid which it then sells to the plain people of Gaza — the very aid they were supposed to receive for free. Israel has come up with a well-thought-out, extremely detailed plan to deliver the aid, and bypass the thieves of Hamas. Yet the world, so ready to malign the Jewish state, rejects this plan. Apparently our Great and Good — the UN secretary-general, the editorial page writers of the New York Times, the entire staff of the BBC — would prefer that the aid be sent to Gaza, as in the past, unguarded and therefore straight into the grasping hands of Hamas. At all costs, we must prevent Israel from looking good.

Here, thanks to the diligent work of Elder of Ziyon, is what the Israeli government now plans to do in order to distribute the aid directly into the hands of the Gazans: 

Israel’s elaborate mechanism to bypass Hamas for aid to Gazans proves ‘starvation as weapon’ is a slander

Elder of Ziyon, May 6, 2025:

Israel is implementing a complex system to bring aid into Gaza. As JNS reports:

Three designated distribution centers will be established in Rafah, which will serve as the central hub for aid to the entire Gaza Strip. Each Gazan family will be represented by a single, registered individual authorized to collect a weekly food allotment, calibrated to meet survival needs—approximately 70 kilograms per household—without creating surpluses that could be exploited by terrorist groups.

Distribution will be managed via a formal registration process overseen by vetted NGOs and American private contractors. A senior Israeli security official emphasized that the new system aims to eliminate Hamas’s ability to intercept or steal bulk shipments.

“Hamas will find it much harder to seize aid from Gazan families,” the official said. “It’s one thing to hijack a supply truck. It’s another to rob food directly from the hands of hungry civilians.”

It strikes me that the logistics involved here are Herculean. Israel is setting up an entire distribution system, from trucks to recipients, from scratch, not relying on any existing systems – because Hamas is embedded in all the existing systems, including the NGOs.

The logistics are mind-boggling:

• Construction or repurposing of secure aid distribution centers (three hubs in Rafah).

• Probable establishment of temporary warehouses to store and protect incoming aid shipments.

• Installation of perimeter fencing, controlled entry/exit points, and crowd management systems.

• Creation of transport corridors from Kerem Shalom or other crossings to Rafah hubs.

• Comprehensive civilian registration system – likely including family rosters and IDs, identifying the allowed family member

• Biometric screening technology, including fingerprint or facial recognition, to prevent fraud or impersonation.

• Pre-verification protocols for NGOs and individuals interacting with the system.

• Weekly aid allotment calculation per household (~70kg) based on nutritional survival standards.

• Tracking software to prevent duplicate pickups and monitor usage patterns.

• Color-coded cards or tokens issued to approved family representatives.

• Deployment of IDF personnel for security and perimeter control.

• Hiring of American private contractors to manage logistics, data handling, and neutral oversight….

Look at the full list here. Think of how much detailed planning went into it. Yet there are still those who won’t accept it because, after all, it’s a plan by “the Zionist colonial-settlers” who’ve been guilty of “genocide,” and who wants to approve anything they propose?

If that Israel plan is not accepted, if aid is again delivered into the hands of Hamas before a pitiful remainder is left for the Gazans to share, then the world must be reminded of all that Israel was ready, willing, and able to do, to feed the people of Gaza while keeping Hamas from stealing so much of it, if only a malevolent world would let it.

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