Politics
Ukraine wants a no-fly zone. Why do the U.S. and NATO reject the idea?
As persistently as Ukrainians demand a no-fly zone to guard them from Russia, the U.S. and NATO simply as steadily insist it might’t be completed.
The requires a no-fly zone body it as existential: defending hundreds of thousands of determined Ukrainian civilians trapped in besieged villages from the may of Russia’s air pressure and its arsenal of cluster bombs. The pleas turned extra pressing when Russian forces attacked and captured Europe’s largest nuclear energy plant, situated in southern Ukraine and certainly one of a number of scattered across the nation.
But leaders together with President Biden and NATO Secretary-Basic Jens Stoltenberg have repeatedly turned apart the pleas from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, populations all through Europe and even some U.S. lawmakers.
“All of the individuals who die from this present day ahead can even die due to you, due to your weak point,” Zelensky stated bitterly final week, addressing leaders who once more opposed navy restrictions of Ukrainian airspace. “The alliance has given the inexperienced mild to the bombing of Ukrainian cities and villages by refusing to create a no-fly zone.”
Why are so many Western officers so adamant?
A no-fly zone, many Western officers say, would draw the U.S. and its NATO allies into direct fight with Russia, as fighter pilots from the 2 sides in concept would attempt to shoot one another down — an escalation that many liken to a world battle, one involving two main nuclear powers.
“The one option to implement a no-fly zone is to ship NATO fighter planes into Ukrainian airspace, after which impose that no-fly zone by taking pictures down Russian planes,” Stoltenberg stated. “We perceive the desperation, however we additionally imagine that if we did that, we’d find yourself with one thing that might finish in a full-fledged battle in Europe.”
In a single state of affairs that some analysts have raised, a U.S. or NATO fighter jet would discover itself within the place of firing on a Russian transport plane dropping paratroopers onto the battlefield. The Russian dying toll in such a case wouldn’t be restricted to the comparatively few members of a crew however may embrace presumably dozens of troopers.
Not simply fighter jets
It’s much more difficult than that. To implement a no-fly zone, air fight missions must be supported by ground-based operations that present intelligence, focusing on steering and different info. These could possibly be arrange in Poland or different NATO international locations within the neighborhood, or presumably from plane carriers offshore, nevertheless it represents one other stage of involvement.
And the U.S. and its NATO allies would additionally should be ready to go in over land to rescue downed pilots and maybe take out anti-aircraft weapons inside Russian or Belarusian territory.
At the least initially, “it will be a one-sided struggle as a result of U.S. and NATO airpower has a marked benefit,” stated Alexander Downes, co-director of the Institute for Safety and Battle Research at George Washington College. “However the danger is escalation. It’s a slippery slope from there to a taking pictures battle.”
What a couple of restricted no-fly zone over, say, a humanitarian hall for fleeing Ukrainians?
“No,” was the one-word reply from a senior U.S. Protection official on Monday.
Later, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby described the state of play within the skies over Ukraine. Russia has but to determine air superiority over your complete nation, he stated.
“It’s dynamic,” Kirby stated. “It modifications each day. However Ukrainian plane are flying. Russian plane are flying. Missiles from each are additionally within the airspace.”
Russian forces are more and more utilizing “long-range fires” with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and even artillery launched from the air, the bottom and ships and submarines within the sea, Kirby stated. They declare a mounting variety of civilian lives.
Warning from Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already warned in opposition to aggressive U.S. or NATO actions; even financial sanctions, he says, are tantamount to a declaration of battle.
And late final month he advised Russia’s navy to position nuclear forces on “excessive fight alert.” The U.S. has not modified its alert stage, with the Biden administration accusing Putin of “manufacturing threats.”
Nonetheless, momentum for a partial safety of the airways is rising. A bunch of overseas coverage consultants, together with many former U.S. authorities officers, acknowledged in an open letter launched Tuesday {that a} “restricted” no-fly zone executed by the U.S. and NATO allies over humanitarian corridors delivering help and permitting individuals to flee was not solely attainable however crucial.
“NATO leaders ought to convey to Russian officers that they don’t search direct confrontation with Russian forces, however they have to additionally clarify that they won’t countenance Russian assaults on civilian areas,” the letter states.
The 27 signatories embrace former ambassador to NATO and Ukraine particular envoy Kurt Volker and two-time U.S. ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor.
In concept, Russia has agreed to permit such safety for humanitarian corridors, however belief in Moscow’s guarantees and intentions is at a low level.
Is there a historical past of profitable no-fly zones?
Some navy historians level to the managed skies over Iraq within the Nineteen Nineties in reference to the primary Gulf Warfare.
However the structure was considerably totally different from Ukraine’s scenario. Within the Nineteen Nineties model, the zone was arrange not between two warring superpowers combating one another however amongst quite a few international locations working kind of in live performance to include a typical enemy, Iraq, and stop it from flying its plane.
Related zones have been established throughout the civil battle in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1993-95, and throughout the Libyan civil battle in 2011 — with various levels of success and problems.
Opinions from Congress
A uncommon congressional voice in favor of a no-fly zone surfaced over the weekend. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois and a former Air Drive fight pilot, stated it was pressing to cease Putin now earlier than his takeover of Ukraine is irreversibly entrenched.
“There’s danger,” he stated on CNN. “We clearly have a look at that with eyes vast open. However I believe there’s danger in inaction.”
His fellow Republican, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, sided with the naysayers.
“A no-fly zone has develop into a catchphrase,” he advised ABC. “I’m undecided lots of people totally perceive what which means. It’s not some rule you cross that everyone has to oblige by. It’s the willingness to shoot down the aircrafts of the Russian Federation, which is principally the start of World Warfare III.”
A ‘tough line’
For now, the U.S. technique is to ship massive quantities of weaponry into Ukraine — a $350-million tranche is being delivered now — that can help Ukrainians in defending themselves.
“A lot of the harm being completed is by artillery and rocket hearth, not by the Russian Air Drive. So an NFZ, which I initially supported, won’t resolve the issue, but it brings all of the dangers of escalation,” retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commanding basic of the U.S. Military in Europe, advised The Occasions.
“We wish to get the UAF [Ukrainian Air Force] the aptitude to knock down drones and helicopters,” he stated. “We ought to be in search of longer-term options.”
He steered Stingers, Avengers and Patriot surface-to-air missile techniques as splendid weapons.
Even because the U.S. will increase the quantity of weaponry it sends to Ukraine, it should achieve this with out showing to be immediately concerned within the battle. How Putin assesses that participation is one other query, stated Downes, of the Institute for Safety and Battle Research.
“It’s a really tough line to stroll,” he stated.
Politics
Homan taking death threats against him ‘more seriously’ after Trump officials targeted with violent threats
Incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan reacted to news of death threats against Trump nominees on Wednesday and said he now takes the death threats he has previously received seriously.
“I have not taken this serious up to this point,” Homan told Fox News anchor Gillian Turner on “The Story” on Wednesday, referring to previous death threats made against him and his family.
“Now that I know what’s happened in the last 24 hours. I will take it a little more serious. But look, I’ve been dealing with this. When I was the ICE director in the first administration, I had numerous death threats. I had a security detail with me all the time. Even after I retired, death threats continued and even after I retired as the ICE Director. I had U.S. Marshals protection for a long time to protect me and my family.”
Homan explained that what “doesn’t help” the situation is the “negative press” around Trump.
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“I’m not in the cabinet, but, you know, I’ve read numerous hit pieces. I mean, you know, I’m a racist and, you know, I’m the father of family separation, all this other stuff. So the hate media doesn’t help at all because there are some nuts out there. They’ll take advantage. So that doesn’t help.”
Homan’s comments come shortly after Fox News Digital first reported that nearly a dozen of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees and other appointees tapped for the incoming administration were targeted Tuesday night with “violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” prompting a “swift” law enforcement response.
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The “attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting,’” according to Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman and incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” she told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “In response, law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action.”
Sources told Fox News Digital that John Ratcliffe, the nominee to be CIA director, Pete Hegseth, the nominee for secretary of defense, and Rep. Elise Stefanik, the nominee for UN ambassador, were among those targeted. Brooke Rollins, who Trump has tapped to be secretary of agriculture, and Lee Zeldin, Trump’s nominee to be EPA administrator, separately revealed they were also targeted.
Threats were also made against Trump’s Labor Secretary nominee, GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and former Trump attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz’s family.
Homan told Fox News that he is “not going to be intimidated by these people” and “I’m not going to let them silence me.”
“What I’ve learned today I’ll start taking a little more serious.”
Homan added that he believes “we need to have a strong response once we find out is behind all this.”
“It’s illegal to threaten someone’s life. And we need to follow through with that.”
The threats on Tuesday night came mere months after Trump survived two assassination attempts.
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report
Politics
Democrat Derek Tran ousts Republican Michelle Steel in competitive Orange County House race
In a major victory for Democrats, first-time candidate Derek Tran defeated Republican Rep. Michelle Steel in a hotly contested Orange County congressional race that became one of the most expensive in the country.
Tran will be the first Vietnamese American to represent a district that is home to Little Saigon and the largest population of people of Vietnamese descent outside of Vietnam.
The race was the third-to-last to be called in the country. As Orange County and Los Angeles County counted mail ballots, Steel’s margin of victory shrank to 58 votes before Tran took the lead 11 days after the election. Tran was leading by 613 votes when Steel conceded Wednesday.
Tran was born in the U.S. to Vietnamese refugee parents. He said his father fled Vietnam after the fall of Saigon, but his boat capsized, killing his wife and children. Tran’s father returned to Vietnam, where he met and married Tran’s mother, and the couple later immigrated to the United States.
“Only in America can you go from refugees fleeing with nothing but the clothes on your back to becoming a member of Congress in just one generation,” Tran said in a post on X.
“This victory is a testament to the spirit and resilience of our community,” he said. “My parents came to this country to escape oppression and pursue the American Dream, and their story reflects the journey of so many here in Southern California.”
In a statement Wednesday, Steel thanked her volunteers, staff and family for their work on her campaign, saying: “Everything is God’s will and, like all journeys, this one is ending for a new one to begin.” Steel filed paperwork Monday to seek re-election in 2026.
The 45th District was among the country’s most competitive races, critical to both parties as they battled to control the House of Representatives.
With Steel’s loss, Republicans hold 219 seats in the House, barely above the 218-seat threshold needed to control the chamber.
Two races have yet to be called. A recount is underway in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, where a Republican incumbent is leading her Democrat challenger by fewer than 800 votes. And in California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley, Democrat Adam Gray holds a slender lead over GOP Rep. John Duarte, but the race remains too close to call.
Steel and Tran both focused heavily on outreach to Asian American voters, who make up a plurality of the district. The district cuts a C-shaped swath through 17 cities in Orange County and Los Angeles County, including Garden Grove, Westminster, Fountain Valley, Buena Park and Cerritos.
Born to South Korean parents and raised in Japan, Steel broke barriers in 2020 when she became one of three Korean American women elected to the House. She leaned on anti-communist messaging to reach out to older voters who fled Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975.
Tran also focused on Vietnamese American voters and Vietnamese-language media, hoping that voters would leave their loyalty to the Republican Party in order to support a representative who shared their background.
Steel became a prime target for Democrats because, although she is a Republican, voters in the 45th District supported President Biden in 2020. The two-term congresswoman is a formidable fundraiser with deep ties to the Orange County GOP, including through her husband, Shawn Steel, the former chairman of the California Republican Party.
The Republican establishment and outside groups, including the cryptocurrency lobby and Elon Musk’s super PAC, spent heavily to defend Steel.
In a sign of the seat’s importance to Democrats, Gov. Gavin Newsom, former President Clinton and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) all joined Tran on the campaign trail in the weeks before the election.
The race was marked by allegations of “red baiting” after the Steel campaign sent Vietnamese-language mailers to households in Little Saigon that showed Tran next to the hammer-and-sickle emblem of the Chinese Communist Party and Mao Zedong.
Steel’s campaign said that the Tran campaign had been running Vietnamese-language ads on Facebook that accused Steel’s husband of “selling access” to the Chinese Communist Party and that said Steel could not be trusted to stand up to China.
Tran’s win is a key victory for Democrats, who fought to flip five highly competitive seats held by Republicans in California — more than any other state. Republicans were pushing to flip a district in coastal Orange County represented by Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine).
Democrat Dave Min beat Republican Scott Baugh in the costly contest for Porter’s seat and Democrat George Whitesides flipped the district represented by Republican Rep. Mike Garcia in L.A. County’s Antelope Valley.
In the agricultural Central Valley, Republican Rep. David Valadao easily won reelection over Democrat Rudy Salas. The race in the San Joaquin Valley between Gray, the Democrat, and Rep. Duarte, who won two years ago by 564 votes, remained too close to be called.
Politics
Mississippi runoff election for state Supreme Court justice is too close to call
A runoff election for the state Supreme Court in Mississippi is too close to call between state Sen. Jenifer Branning and incumbent Justice Jim Kitchens as of Wednesday morning.
Although Mississippi judicial candidates run without party labels, Branning had the endorsement of the Republican Party, while Kitchens had several Democratic Party donors but did not receive an endorsement from the party.
Branning, who has been a state senator since 2016, led Kitchens by 2,678 votes out of 120,610 votes counted as of Wednesday morning. Kitchens is seeking a third term and is the more senior of the court’s two presiding justices, putting him next in line to serve as chief justice. Her lead had been 518 just after midnight Wednesday.
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Around midnight Wednesday, The Associated Press estimated there were more than 11,000 votes still to be counted. In the Nov. 5 election, 7% of votes were counted after election night.
Branning had a substantial lead in the first round of voting with 42% compared to Kitchens’ 36%. Three other candidates split the rest.
The victor will likely be decided by absentee ballots that are allowed to be counted for five days following an election in Mississippi, as well as the affidavit ballots, according to the Clarion Ledger.
Voter turnout typically decreases between general elections and runoffs, and campaigns said turnout was especially challenging two days before Thanksgiving. The Magnolia State voted emphatically for President-elect Donald Trump, who garnered 61.6% of the vote compared to Vice President Harris’ 37.3%.
Branning and Kitchens faced off in District 1, also known as the Central District, which stretches from the Delta region through the Jackson metro area and over to the Alabama border.
Branning calls herself a “constitutional conservative” and says she opposes “liberal, activists judges” and “the radical left.” The Mississippi GOP said she was the “proven conservative,” and that was why they endorsed her.
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She has not previously held a judicial office but served as a special prosecutor in Neshoba County and as a staff attorney in the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Division of Business Services and Regulations, per the Clarion Ledger.
Branning voted against changing the state flag to remove the Confederate battle emblem and supported mandatory and increased minimum sentences for crime, according to Mississippi Today.
Kitchens has been practicing law for 41 years and has been on the Mississippi Supreme Court since 2008, and prior to that, he also served as a district attorney, according to the outlet.
He is endorsed by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Action Fund, which calls itself “a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond.” Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., also backed Kitchens.
In September, Kitchens sided with a man on death row for a murder conviction in which a key witness recanted her testimony. In 2018, Kitchens dissented in a pair of death row cases dealing with the use of the drug midazolam in state executions.
Elsewhere, in the state’s other runoff election, Amy St. Pe’ won an open seat on the Mississippi Court of Appeals. She will succeed Judge Joel Smith, who did not seek re-election to the 10-member Court of Appeals. The district is in the southeastern corner of the state, including the Gulf Coast.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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